George Lombard Jr. (knee) returns to lineup

It’s unclear when exactly Caglianone sustained the injury or what the extent of it is, but he was replaced by Nick Loftin in the third inning. Expect him to head for further evaluation and for the Royals to provide an update on his status as soon as more information becomes available.

Lowe returned to the lineup on Saturday after missing the previous two contests with a neck issue. He looked just fine as he extended the Angels’ lead in the fifth inning with a leadoff home run off Braxton Ashcraft. It was the 11th home run of the season for the 28-year-old outfielder. He’s hitting .210/.273/.360 with 26 runs scored, 28 RBI, and seven steals across 295 plate appearances.

Reynolds was the only Pirates hitter to find success on Saturday against the Angels. He knocked a base hit in the first inning, then led off the fourth with a walk. After another base hit in the sixth, he took Luke Murphy deep for a solo homer in the eighth to give Pittsburgh their only run. The 31-year-old outfielder is hitting .267/.373/.429 with 16 homers, 96 runs scored, 67 RBI, and nine steals across 624 plate appearances.

Kikuchi was brilliant on Saturday, holding the Pirates lineup scoreless over six frames. He scattered five hits and issued three walks while collecting six strikeouts. The 35-year-old left-hander will look to keep it going when he takes a 4.96 ERA, 1.47 WHIP, and a 49/19 K/BB ratio across 49 innings into a road tilt against the Nationals on Friday.

Greene was basically the entire Tigers’ offense in this one. He tagged Guardians’ southpaw Parker Messick for an opposite-field 407-foot (106.9-mph EV) solo shot to open the scoring in the first inning. He then added to that lead with an RBI single in the third before crushing a 421-foot (108.9-mph EV) solo shot to left-center in the sixth that made it a 3-0 game. Greene also added an RBI double in the seventh and scored on Ben Malgeri’s RBI single. With his four-hit night, the 25-year-old All-Star outfielder is hitting .273/.364/.461 with 18 homers and 60 RBI across 511 plate appearances on the season.

Ashcraft breezed through three scoreless innings before the Angels got to him for a run on two hits in the fourth. He ran into more trouble in the fifth, giving up a solo homer to Josh Lowe and a second run in the frame on a pair of hits. Ashcraft would finish out the fifth and end his day at 67 pitches with nine strikeouts. The 67 pitches were a season-low for him, though he’s already surpassed last season’s innings total by nearly 50. The 26-year-old right-hander will take a 3.65 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, and a 173/35 K/BB ratio across 165 1/3 innings into a start against the Cubs in Chicago on Friday.

Torres led off the third inning with a single off of Parker Messick and scored on an RBI knock off the bat of Riley Greene. He then started a rally with a one-out single in the seventh and raced home on Greene’s RBI double. When healthy, he has been a terrific table-setter in the Tigers’ lineup this season, slashing .270/.371/.384 with eight homers and 36 RBI in 369 plate appearances.

Malgeri led off the second inning with a single, but wound up getting stranded at second base. He also smacked a one-out double in the sixth inning, but once again the Tigers were unable to cash him in. He then took matters into his own hands with a two-out, RBI single in the seventh that extended the Tigers’ lead to 6-0. With his three-hit attack, the 26-year-old outfielder is now slashing .258/.356/.393 with three homers and 14 RBI in his first 104 plate appearances at the game’s highest level.

The 32-year-old left-hander struck out three batters in the contest while allowing only one base on balls. The only real threat against him came in the second inning as the Guardians started with two singles and a sacrifice bunt, putting two runners in scoring position with only one out. He was able to escape trouble there though and didn’t allow another hit the rest of the way. Valdez got just five swings and misses on 94 pitches on the night, registering a CSW of 21 percent. He’ll attempt to replicate this fine outing as he carries a 4.17 ERA, 1.36 WHIP and a 119/58 K/BB ratio (157 2/3 innings) into a premium matchup against the Rockies on Friday.

Geno collected one of just three Guardians’ hits on the evening — all of them singles. The 22-year-old has held his own in his first exposure to big league pitching, slashing .255/.314/.362 with a pair of homers and six RBI in his first 102 plate appearances.