An extremely busy Friday featured, among other things, career hit No. 3,000 for Albert Pujols and a combined no-hitter in Monterrey, Mexico. Saturday brings a full 15-game slate of MLB action, including the second game of the three-game 2018 MLB Mexico Series. Here is everything you need to know about Saturday's MLB action.

Saturday's scores

Cardinals walk it off vs. Cubs, but it was costly

The Cardinals and Cubs played the second game of their three-game weekend set at Busch Stadium on Saturday. The Cardinals took the opener on Friday night after a ninth-inning comeback attempt by the visitors, but on Saturday it was the Cubs who forged an early lead. 

Chicago took a 4-0 lead in the second, the Cardinals tied it with a big fourth, and then homers by Javier Baez in the sixth and Anthony Rizzo in the seventh gave the Cubs a two-run cushion. The Cardinals clawed back in the ninth, and a clutch, two-run double by Marcel Ozuna tied it up again, this time at 6-6. With that, Cubs closer Brandon Morrow not only blew his first save opportunity of the season but also allowed his first runs of the season. 

All of that brings us to the home half of the 10th. One on, no outs for Kolten Wong ... 

Wong was struggling pretty badly this season just prior to that walk-off bomb (the third walk-off homer of his career), so he no doubt relished that one. Speaking of which ... 

Yep, the rivalry is alive and well. 

Alive but not particularly well are a number of Cardinal core contributors. This was a big win for St. Louis -- for the moment they have a one-game lead over the Brewers in the NL Central -- but it came at a cost ... 

  • CF Tommy Pham was forced to leave the game after his first plate appearance because of groin tightness. Pham missed a bit of time earlier this season with a groin issue. 
  • C Yadier Molina departed late in the game after Jordan Hicks bounced a pitch directly in his groin area. 
  • CL Bud Norris left with an undisclosed injury in the 10th. 

As for the Molina injury, we'll reluctantly roll some tape ... 

And keep in mind that Hicks regularly hits triple digits. Also, don't forget that setup man Dominic Leone exited Friday night's game with a biceps issue. No doubt, the Cardinals are most pleased to take the first two games of this key series, but some roster moves are likely forthcoming. 

Kimbrel saves No. 300

The Red Sox edged the Rangers on Saturday night in Arlington and maintained a slim division lead over the surging Yankees. Of note is that Boston closer Craig Kimbrel worked a perfect ninth for the save (and in the process lowered his ERA to 1.23). Speaking of Kimbrel and saves, there's also this ... 

Yes, Kimbrel is the latest member of the 300 saves club. While you don't necessarily need to be a great relief pitcher in order to rack up a bunch of saves, Kimbrel truly is a great relief pitcher. He entered the night with a career ERA of 1.79, which comes to an unthinkable ERA+ of 225. He has also struck out 41.8 percent of opposing batters (again, an absurd figure) while converting more than 90 percent of his save opportunities. 

It remains to be seen what Kimbrel's decline phase will look like, but assuming it's a normal one he's looking very much like a future Hall of Famer.

Mariners win wild one over Angels

The M's and Halos played a wild back-and-forth affair on Saturday night. Let's let the line score do the talking ... 

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In the top of the sixth, the Angels, per basic win expectancy, had a 92 percent chance of winning the game. Not long before Justin Upton's two-run, game-tying homer in the ninth, the Mariners had a 98.9 percent chance of winning. By the top of the 10th, the Angels were back to an 85.6 percent chance of winning. Then the Mariners were at a 63.2 percent chance of winning in the home half of the 10th. Then the Angels barged back to an 82.3 percent chance of winning on Andrelton Simmons' fourth hit of the night in the 11th. In the bottom of the 11th, though, Kyle Seager doubled home Robinson Cano to tie it yet again, which brought Ryan Healy to the plate with one out and the winning run in scoring position ... 

That taut victory pulls Seattle to within a half-game of the Angels and Astros atop the AL West standings. That's also just the third road loss for the Angels this season. 

The Mets' slide continues

Chad Betts, Adam Ottavino, and Wade Davis combined to blank the Mets on Saturday in Queens, and Nolan Arenado did this to an oncoming baseball ... 

The 2-0 loss means that the Mets have now lost five straight and eight of their last 10. They've scored just 34 runs over that span, and 14 of those runs came in one game. Along the way, they've seen their run differential collapse into negative territory. That 11-1 start seems like a long time ago. 

The Giants are doing what they need to do

By thumping the Braves on Saturday, the Giants moved to a season-best three games over .500. That puts them on pace for 88 wins, and that would figure to be enough to afford them wild-card contention. The notable thing is that they've achieved this despite getting a 5.27 ERA from Jeff Samardzija, just five starts from Johnny Cueto, and zero starts from Madison Bumgarner. 

Cueto's status moving forward is uncertain (he's sidelined with an elbow injury, and we should know more on Monday), but Samardzija figures to improve at least modestly. The big factor, of course, is Bumgarner, who's been sidelined since spring training with a broken hand. Once they get their workhorse ace back, they should be in for better days. Without getting a single pitch from Mad Bum, though, the Giants are hanging in there. 

Ty Blach and Chris Stratton have been solid in the rotation, the frontline relievers have been excellent, Brandon Belt's been a force in the lineup, and Mac Williamson (prior to his concussion) was a revelation. Also, vets Buster Posey, Evan Longoria, and Andrew McCutchen have all been rounding into form of late.

A's snap scoreless tie with walk-off homer

In Oakland, three Orioles pitchers and five Oakland pitchers combined for 23 1/3 scoreless frames. Of particular note is A's starter Trevor Cahill, who struck out 12 and walked only one in six shutout innings. The O's meantime allowed just two hits until the fateful bottom of the 12th. Jed Lowrie rapped a one-out single, and then Khris Davis sent the people home. Please enjoy the celebratory view ... 

A's win, and they're now back to one game over .500. What you see above also constitutes a bit of a rarity ... 

As for our hero, Davis has done nothing but crush the ball on Oakland's watch. Since being acquired via trade from the Brewers prior to the 2016 season, Davis has hit 94 home runs in 336 games. Saturday's was also his third walk-off homer as an Athletic. 

Hosmer's Padres tenure off to strong start

The Padres this past winter of course inked first baseman Eric Hosmer to a $144 million contract that drew criticism from some quarters. The bet was that Hosmer could sustain the kind of production he enjoyed in 2017. Thus far, he's doing that and then some. Here, for instance, is his Saturday home run against the Dodgers in the second game of the Mexico Series in Monterrey ... 

Hosmer also added a walk, and he's now batting a healthy .293/.393/.509 on the season. Particularly notable is that Hosmer has now drawn a walk in 14.1 percent of his plate appearances in 2018 (only one of his 19 walks is intentional). That's versus a previous career high of 9.8 percent last season. Such improved discipline bodes well for Hosmer going forward. 

The real MVP? Top honors go to the cleats of Guadalajara native Christian Villaneuva ... 

Yankees win for 14th time in last 15 games

The hottest team in baseball right? The Yankees and it ain't close. New York beat the Indians on Saturday afternoon for their 14th win in their last 15 games. No other team has more than nine wins during that span. This is the first 14-1 stretch for the Yankees since their 114-win season in 1998.

Saturday's win was all about capitalizing on mistakes. The following all happened in that fifth inning to help the Yankees put four runs on the board:

  • Trevor Bauer walked No. 8 hitter and backup catcher Austin Romine with the bases loaded to force in a run.
  • Francisco Lindor botched a potential inning-ending 6-4-3 double play ball and instead made two errors on the play, and allowed two runs to score. Here's the video.
  • Manager Terry Francona didn't challenge a tag play at third base that would've ended the inning and taken a run off the board. Here's the video.

The Yankees scored four runs while getting just a single base hit in that fifth inning. The hit didn't even drive in run. The runs scored scored on a walk, Lindor's errors, and the sac fly. Add in a solid start from Sonny Gray and dominant bullpen work and you get yet another Yankees win.

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Sonny Gray
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April 5 vs. Indians
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There are two impressive things about New York's 14-1 stretch. One, they've done it in 15 days. No off-days mixed in at all. And two, the Yankees have beaten good teams. This 14-1 stretch includes a four-game sweep of the Twins, a three-game sweep of the Angels, three wins in four games against the Astros in Houston, and now wins in the first two games against the Indians. They're not beating up a bunch of rebuilding clubs.

The Yankees sat 7 1/2 games behind the Red Sox at the start of this 14-1 stretch and they are now just 1/2 game behind the BoSox heading into Boston's game Saturday night. The Red Sox started the season 17-2, remember. Literally the best start in franchise history. Their lead is already down to a 1/2 game.

Oh, and by the way, the Yankees and Red Sox open a three-game series at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday.

Jays first to 50 homers in loss

Jacob Faria pitched solidly and Mallex Smith reached base four times and scored a pair of runs as the Rays beat Toronto and pulled to within a game of the .500 mark. On the losing side, the story was power. Note this fourth inning bomb by Teoscar Hernandez ... 

That was the Blue Jays' 50th homer of the young season. Later, Lourdes Gurriel would make it 51. That tally leads the majors (the Indians are second with 48). As well, the Jays are now on pace to hit a whopping 243 homers as a team. That figure would tie them with the 1996 Athletics for 13th-most all-time. The 2010 Jays hold the franchise record with 257 homers, and the 1996 Mariners hold the MLB record with 264. 

Phils ends Nats' win streak

The Nationals recently clawed their way back to above .500 thanks to the six-game win streak that they carried in Saturday's game in Philly. Thanks to a Rhys Hoskins homer and one-run, two-hit baseball from Vince Velasquez and four relievers (to be fair, they also combined for eight walks). 

As for Bryce Harper's shift to the leadoff spot, he came into Saturday 6 for 17 (.353) with four homers in four games as the teams No. 1 hitter. The team's overall run production had been up, too:

  • Four games with Harper at leadoff: 7.75 runs per game
  • All other games: 4.34 runs per game

As you saw above, though, the trends didn't continue. (Harper himself went 0 for 4 with a pair of strikeouts.)

On the upside for D.C., Anthony Rendon returned from the disabled list and drew two walks. As for the Phillies, they've now caught the Mets in the NL East standings and are tied for second place. 

Quick hits

  • Angels RHP/DH Shohei Ohtani will start Sunday, the team announced. Ohtani has not pitched since rolling his ankle running through first base last week. He has been in the lineup at DH the last few days.
  • Mets RHP Jacob deGrom threw a bullpen session and will indeed start Monday as scheduled, manager Mickey Callaway told the New York Times. deGrom left his last start with a hyperextended left elbow after swinging and missing at the plate.
  • The White Sox placed 2B Yoan Moncada on the 10-day DL with hamstring tightness, the team announced. He left Friday's game with the injury. The team is being cautious and Moncada is not expected to miss much time
  • Cardinals OF Tommy Pham left Saturday's game with groin tightness, the club announced. Pham's been dealing with a nagging groin issue for several days now and it flared up against Saturday.
  • Red Sox LHP Eduardo Rodriguez was activated off the family medical leave list, the team announced. He is scheduled to start Saturday night. LHP Bobby Poyner was sent down in a corresponding move.
  • The Brewers traded RHP Oliver Drake to the Indians for cash, the team announced. Drake allowed nine runs in 12 2/3 innings for Milwaukee before being designated for assignment earlier this week.
  • Padres C Austin Hedges will rest 7-10 days to see whether his elbow inflammation improves, according to The Athletic. If it doesn't, the Padres will send him for tests to determine whether he has ligament damage.
  • Cardinals RHP Alex Reyes pitched in an extended spring training game Friday, reports MLB.com. He's expected to make his next start in High Class-A. Reyes is currently rehabbing from Tommy John surgery.
  • The Cubs signed OF Lane Adams to a minor league contract, the team announced. Adams opened the season with the Braves and went 4 for 17 (.235) with a homer before being released.

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