Major League Baseball

Everything to know about FOX Saturday Baseball: Mariners-Astros, Mets-Rays

Updated May. 3, 2024 9:20 a.m. ET

FOX Saturday Baseball is back this weekend with a two-game slate as the calendar flips to May! Viewers will be treated to either an American League West matchup between the division-leading Seattle Mariners and the laboring Houston Astros or an East Coast interleague clash between the plucky New York Mets and scuffling Tampa Bay Rays.

Here's everything you need to know!

Mariners at Astros (7:15 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app)
Probable starters: Logan Gilbert (Seattle) vs. Framber Valdez (Houston)

Both teams stumbled out of the gate this season after last year's three-way race for the AL West (that also included the eventual World Series champion Texas Rangers) went down to the final few games of the regular season.

But only one of those teams has righted the ship over the past couple of weeks — the Mariners, led by their starting rotation and early Cy Young favorite George Kirby. Gilbert, too, has more than held his own, carrying a 2.03 ERA and a streak of four straight quality starts into Saturday's matchup. The towering righty has allowed just four runs over 27.1 innings with a 29:7 strikeout-to-walk ratio over that span.

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The Astros, meanwhile, are tied for last place in the division, and their turnaround hopes might hinge in part on Valdez's ability to stay healthy and effective after the two-time All-Star missed most of April with an elbow issue. Seattle provides Valdez's first real test since his return from the injured list after the Dominican lefty allowed two runs over five innings against the hapless Colorado Rockies last Sunday.

Mets at Rays (7:15 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app)
Probable starters: Christian Scott (New York) vs. Zack Littell (Tampa Bay)

Scott, the Mets' top pitching prospect, will reportedly make his major-league debut against the Rays on Saturday. The 24-year-old right-hander was the team's fifth-round pick in 2021 and has shot up the prospect charts after transitioning to a four-seam fastball and developing a sweeper. Scott was 3-0 with a 3.20 ERA in five April starts at Triple-A Syracuse. During a run of 26 games in 27 days, the Mets are bringing up the rookie to give their regular rotation a breather.

The Rays, meanwhile, are another 2023 playoff team off to a brutal start in 2024. Tampa Bay's -43 run differential entering Friday is its worst at this point in a season since 2007, and a whopping 156 runs worse than it was at this point in 2023, when the Rays were +113 after a historic start to the regular season.

Now, check out some pregame reading courtesy of FOXSports.com!

MLB Roundtable: Are the Mariners for real? Are the Astros and Rays bad teams or just coming off a bad month? Are the Mets underachieving or overachieving? Should Houston shop Justin Verlander? Who's the best hitter in baseball? Deesha Thosar and Rowan Kavner answer five burning questions.

Which rookies have stood out most? Kavner debuted his monthly power rankings of the top 10 rookies across all of Major League Baseball, including Japanese aces Yoshinobu Yamamoto of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Shōta Imanaga of the Chicago Cubs.

Is William Contreras now baseball's best catcher? Thosar offers three reasons why the Milwaukee Brewers ' budding star has earned that title.

What are those Rays uniforms? Learn more about Tampa Bay's City Connect jerseys, which the Rays are debuting this weekend.

Players of the week: Ben Verlander dove into what makes Mariners ace George Kirby so special in his latest Team of the Week.

Power Rankings: Can the Dodgers or Yankees (or anyone else) catch up to the Braves and Orioles? Verlander offers his takes in another edition of his weekly top 10.

Want more betting angles? FOX Sports MLB gambling analyst Will Hill evaluated whether it's worth betting the Angels to lead MLB in losses following Mike Trout's latest injury. Plus, be sure to check out the latest World Series odds here, and stop by our betting hub for all the latest MLB odds!