TODAY’S PROBABLE PITCHERS
All times Eastern
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Baltimore (Wells 1-2) at Detroit (Skubal 2-2), 1:40 p.m. Toronto (Manoah 4-0) at Tampa Bay (Kluber 1-2), 1:40 p.m. Cleveland (Mckenzie 2-2) at Minnesota (Ryan 3-2), 2:10 p.m.
N.Y. Yankees (Cortes Jr. 1-1) at Chicago Sox (Kopech 0-0), 2:10 p.m. Boston (Whitlock 1-1) at Texas (Pérez 1-2), 2:35 p.m.
L.A. Angels (Sandoval 1-1) at Oakland (Montas 2-3), 4:07 p.m.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
San Diego (Musgrove 4-0) at Atlanta (Wright 3-2), 11:35 a.m. Cincinnati (Greene 1-5) at Pittsburgh (Quintana 1-1), 1:35 p.m.
Milwaukee (Woodruff 3-2) at Miami (Hernandez 2-2), 1:40 p.m. Chicago Cubs (TBD) at Arizona (Castellanos 2-1), 4:10 p.m. Philadelphia (Nola 1-4) at L.A. Dodgers (TBD), 4:10 p.m.
San Francisco (Rodón 4-1) at St. Louis (TBD), 7:08 p.m.
INTERLEAGUE
Houston (Verlander 4-1) at Washington (Corbin 0-5), 1:35 p.m. Seattle (Ray 3-3) at N.Y. Mets (Carrasco 3-1), 1:40 p.m. Kansas City (Lynch 2-2) at Colorado (Gomber 2-3), 3:10 p.m.
Associated Press Ascending Astros
Jose Altuve and the Houston Astros were playing for their 12th straight win, which would tie the team record.
Altuve homered on the first pitch of the game Friday night as the Astros won their 11th in a row, beating Washington 6-1. For Altuve it was his third leadoff homer of the season and 24th of his career.
Houston, which began play in 1962 as a National League expansion team called the Colt .45s, has won 12 straight three times – in 1999, 2004 and 2018.
The Astros won the series opener in manager Dusty Baker’s first game back at Nationals Park since being fired as Washington’s skipper after the 2017 season – that was the year the Nats won their second straight NL East championship.
This series marks the first games that count between the franchises – who share a spring training facility – since Washington beat the Astros in the 2019 World Series.
Ailing ace
Dodgers lefty Clayton Kershaw is out with inflammation in a pelvic joint, the seventh straight season he’s gone on the injured list. Los Angeles made the roster move several hours before he was set to face the Phillies at Dodger Stadium.
The 34-year-old Kershaw was bothered by pain in his pitching arm for the entire second half of last season and missed the Dodgers’ playoff run.
Kershaw (4-0, 1.80 ERA) is off to an outstanding start to his 15th season with the Dodgers. The three-time NL Cy Young winner has 32 strikeouts and just three walks in his five starts since signing a $17 million, one-year deal in March to return to his only professional club.
Kershaw also became the Dodgers’ franchise leader in strikeouts on April 30.
2B or not 2B
Robinson Canó has found another job in the majors, signing with San Diego less than a week after being released by the Mets. The Padres plan to use the 39-year-old Canó as a left-handed bat off the bench. Acting manager Ryan Christenson said he could get some occasional starts at second base and designated hitter.
“I’ve got a lot left in the tank,” Canó said. “I know I can still play this game and just go out on top.”
The Mets owe Canó nearly $45 million remaining on his original contract signed with Seattle. He will earn a prorated share of the $700,000 minimum.
Canó hit .195 with one home run and three RBIS in 43 plate appearances for the NL East-leading Mets. He sat out last season serving a second suspension for performance-enhancing drugs.
The eight-time All-star second baseman had a career batting average of .302 with 335 home runs in 17 seasons when the Mets cut him.
Christenson has taken over the Padres while manager Bob Melvin recovers from prostate surgery.
The Padres said Friday that no cancer was found during the operation two days earlier. Melvin, 60, had said he hoped to miss only the first six games of the team’s nine-game trip, which started in Atlanta and continues through Philadelphia and San Francisco.
Trainer’s room
Brewers: RHP Trevor Gott (quadriceps) became available to pitch after sitting out the last two games of the series at Cincinnati.
White Sox: Chicago placed ace Lucas Giolito on the COVID-19 injured list. Giolito began experiencing mild symptoms Wednesday, and the White Sox hope to have him pitch during their series at Kansas City next week. … OF Andrew Vaughn was activated following a rehab assignment with Triple-a Charlotte after being sidelined because of a bruised right hand.