As is the case with almost any fine Saturday during the MLB season, this one's a full slate with plenty of day baseball. Let's jump in ... 

Saturday's scores

Nationals 7, Giants 5 (box score)
Brewers 12, Phillies 3 (box score)
Blue Jays 4, Orioles 3 in 10 innings (box score)
Angels 2, Twins 1 (box score)
Cubs 2, Pirates 0 (box score)
Red Sox 4, White Sox 2 (box score)
Royals 2, Athletics 0 (box score)
Cardinals 6, Reds 4 (box score)
Rays 7, Mariners 4 (box score)
Tigers 4, Indians 2 in 12 (box score)
Padres 5, Marlins 4 (box score)
Yankees 4, Mets 3 (box score)
Diamondbacks 12, Rockies 7 (box score)
Astros 4, Rangers 3 (box score)
Braves 5, Dodgers 3 (box score)

Eaton returns to Nats, Harper goes yard in win

The Nationals have been hit hard by injuries thus far in 2018, but on Saturday they welcome back an important core contributor ... 

Yep, leading off and manning right field was Adam Eaton (Bryce Harper played center in order to give Eaton a less taxing return to the lineup). Eaton's missed the last two months because of an ankle injury. This, of course, is after a torn ACL cost him all but 23 games of the 2017 season. 

The Nationals paid a steep price in trade in order to get Eaton from the White Sox back in December of 2016, and now they hope is that he'll enjoy his first extended run of health of D.C.'s watch. When healthy, Eaton is a plus defensive outfielder who combines strong on-base skills with pop to the gaps and good baserunning. In other words, he figures to be a big asset for a contending team like the Nats. Rookie phenom Juan Soto has filled in very nicely in the latter weeks of Eaton's absence, and the loss of Howie Kendrick for the season means he still has a path to regular playing time even after Eaton's return. 

To be sure, the Nats still have plenty of health concerns, but the return of their leadoff hitter in tandem with their recent surge (they were 19-7 in May after the disappointing start to 2018) means the reigning NL East champs could begin to assert themselves in the division. Speaking of Eaton's return, he went 1 for 4 with a single and two runs scored. He was hit by a pitch in his first PA. 

Otherwise, the Nats got a rare poor start from Gio Gonzalez, but the bullpen stepped up, as six relievers combined to allow only one run in 5 2/3 innings of work. Also of note: Harper mashed his 19th homer of the season, which left the bat at a healthy 109 mph ... 

No, Harper isn't hitting for average in his walk year (.232), but his patience and power mean he's got strong OPS of .883. Harper's Nats are now back to a season-best 10 games over .500. 

Lester keeps dominating

The Cubs blanked the Pirates on Saturday and in doing so won their fourth straight and for the 11th time in their last 13 games. The Pirates, meantime, fell for the sixth time in their last seven games and dropped to two games below .500 for the first time in 2018. Doing the heavy lifting for Chicago was 34-year-old lefty Jon Lester ... 

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Jon Lester
STL • SP • #31
vs. PIT, 6/9
IP7
H1
R0
SO5
BB2
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On the season, Lester has now pitched to a 2.22 ERA after 13 starts. Suffice it to say, that's run prevention at an elite level. You can point to Lester's somewhat middling peripherals and say he's ripe for regression, and that may indeed be the case. His relatively high rate of hard-hit balls and high rate of stranded runners say the same. Thus far in 2018, though, he's traded away some sinkers for more four-seam fastballs, and it's worked swimmingly for the veteran ace. 

Hoskins returns in style, but Phils get bombed

Phillies outfielder Rhys Hoskins returned from a broken jaw on Saturday, and let's just say his new souped-up batting helmet was looking pretty cool ... 

In the third inning against Milwaukee, Hoskins and that power lid got to work ... 

That's a three-run homer in support of Jake Arrieta, and that's the first time Hoskins has gone deep since May 20. Hoskins got off to a hot start in 2018 (after an outstanding rookie campaign in 2017), but he slumped badly in May. Perhaps this dinger is a sign of things to come, now that he's healthy and looking like whoever that super hero is above. 

On the other hand, that's about all that went right for Philly, as the Brewers bombed them for 12 runs. Phils starter Jake Arrieta, one start after airing some grievances, got roughed up for five runs in 5 1/3. Adam Morgan allowed this opposite-field grand slam to Ji-Man Choi ... 

The dominant Milwaukee bullpen contributed four scoreless innings, and with that the Phillies have lost four in a row and are down to two games over .500 for the first time since April 13. 

Ozuna crushes one for Cards

On balance, outfielder Marcell Ozuna has been a disappointment in his first season since being traded from the Marlins to St. Louis. Going into Saturday's tilt in Cincinnati, Ozuna had a slash line of .275/.325/.378 with five home runs in 57 games. That's not awful by any means, but it's a drop-off in light of Ozuna's 2017 when he mashed 37 homers with an OPS+ of 146. 

The good news for the Cardinals is that Ozuna's been heating up of late. Entering Saturday he had a line of .324/.419/.541 over the last two weeks. Then in the early innings he went out and did this to a Luis Castillo fastball ... 

Woof. That's some serious power on display right there. As for the official estimation of 453 feet, well ... 

Ozuna's first homer as a Cardinal back on April 3 checked in at 479 feet, and this one looked comparable. Whatever the case, Ozuna seems to be rounding to form. 

Pillar does Pillar things

Toronto fly-catcher/purveyor of action-sports highlights Kevin Pillar was doing his usual thing in center field on Saturday against the Orioles. Check out your clubhouse leader for catch of the day ... 

That's a lot of ground to cover, and that's a finishing dive that seemed actually necessary (Pillar isn't one for eyewash, but others are from time to time). Pillar's putting up decent numbers at the plate this season, and he's also nine for 10 in steals. He can also still very much go and get the baseball. 

Quick hits

  • The Yankees have placed RHP Masahiro Tanaka on the DL with mild strains of both hamstrings.
  • Nationals RHP Stephen Strasburg is headed to the DL with shoulder inflammation. However, an MRI revealed no structural damage.
  • The Phillies have activated OF Rhys Hoskins from the DL.
  • The White Sox have activated LHP Carlos Rodon from the DL. He'll make his 2018 debut against the Red Sox on Saturday.

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