Rendon helps Nats sweep Cubs 7-5 in 11 for 5th straight win
CHICAGO (AP) — Anthony Rendon homered and had four hits, including an RBI single in the 11th inning, and the Washington Nationals beat the Chicago Cubs 7-5 on Sunday for their fifth straight victory.
Juan Soto added three hits and Stephen Strasburg struck out 10 in six innings, helping Washington finish off its first sweep of Chicago since September 2012. The Nationals outscored the Cubs 23-10 in a three-game series between the top two teams in the NL wild-card standings.
Kyle Schwarber, Addison Russell and Victor Caratini homered for Chicago, which had won five in a row before Washington rolled into town. The Cubs fell 2½ games behind first-place St. Louis in the NL Central.
The Nationals grabbed the lead for good when Howie Kendrick scored on Tyler Chatwood's wild pitch with Rendon at the plate in the 11th. Rendon then drove in Trea Turner with a single off Chatwood (5-2).
Daniel Hudson (7-3) pitched two innings for the win.
The Cubs played without Anthony Rizzo, sidelined by tightness in his back.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — DJ LeMahieu, Aaron Judge and Mike Ford homered, Domingo Germán outdueled Clayton Kershaw for his major league-leading 17th win, and New York defeated Los Angeles.
The Yankees set a major league record for most homers in a month with 61 in August. They slugged nine in taking two of three games in a potential World Series preview to remain tied with Houston for the best record in the American League at 85-47.
Germán (17-3) allowed one run and five hits in six innings.
Kershaw (13-3) gave up three homers for the second straight game. The three-time Cy Young Award winner allowed three runs and four hits in seven innings. He struck out a season-high 12 and walked none.
Kershaw had won 11 consecutive interleague decisions, and each of his last six decisions overall.
Ford came off the bench in the third when Yankees shortstop Didi Gregorius exited a couple of innings after getting hit by a pitch from Kershaw. Gregorius sustained a bruised right shoulder and was to have X-rays at the ballpark later.
Ford homered to extend the Yankees' lead to 3-1 in the sixth. His RBI double to deep left field made it 4-1 in the eighth.
Judge, who wears No. 99, launched his 99th career homer in the third, snapping a 1-all tie. In the bottom half, Brett Gardner robbed Corey Seager of a potential three-run homer.
LeMahieu and Joc Pederson traded leadoff homers in the first.
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Matt Carpenter broke out of his slump with a homer and three hits, Dexter Fowler drove in three runs and St. Louis cruised past Colorado after a long rain delay.
The streaking Cardinals, who have won seven of eight and 13 of 16, swept the four-game series by a combined score of 31-12. They are a season-high 13 games over .500.
Nolan Arenado and Garrett Hampson homered for the Rockies, who have dropped six of seven. Arenado reached 100 RBIs for the fifth successive season.
Tommy Edman had three hits and Lane Thomas added a pinch-hit homer for St. Louis. Ryan Helsley (1-0) picked up his first career win with 2 1/3 innings of relief.
Antonio Senzatela (8-8) was tagged for six runs and five hits over 1 2/3 innings in his return from the minors.
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Evan Longoria homered early and hit a go-ahead, two-run single in the seventh inning as San Francisco rallied late again to beat Oakland for a two-game sweep.
Donovan Solano added four hits and an RBI for the Giants in Bruce Bochy's 4,000th game as a major league manager. Buster Posey struck out four times and grounded into a double play.
Mark Canha homered twice for the Athletics, both off starter Logan Webb. Canha also struck out with the bases loaded to end the fifth.
Oakland remains a half-game behind Tampa Bay for the second AL wild card.
Sam Coonrod (4-0) retired three batters and Will Smith pitched the ninth for his 30th save.
Jake Diekman (1-7) took the loss.
NEW YORK (AP) — Josh Donaldson hit two more home runs against the Mets, Dallas Keuchel pitched his best game of the season and Atlanta won its eighth in a row by holding off New York.
Braves relievers set an Atlanta record by extending their string to 25 scoreless innings before the Mets scored in the ninth. Mark Melancon got pinch-hitter Joe Panik to ground out with two on to end it.
The NL East leaders completed a three-game sweep and matched their longest winning streak of the season. The Mets dropped to 5-11 against Atlanta, long their nemesis.
A day after hitting his 30th home run, Donaldson connected twice to give him nine against the Mets this season. He tied Hank Aaron's club mark for most homers in a year versus the Mets — Hammerin' Hank did it against the expansion club in 1962.
Keuchel (5-5) allowed four hits in seven innings, striking out seven.
Sean Newcomb pitched a perfect eighth and Melancon closed for his sixth save, including a 5-for-5 performance since being traded from San Francisco to the Braves in late July.
Steven Matz (8-8) took the hard-luck loss.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — C.J. Cron and Jonathan Schoop homered, Martín Pérez pitched six solid innings and Minnesota beat last-place Detroit to increase its AL Central lead to 3½ games over Cleveland.
Cron's three-run shot broke open a 2-0 game in the fourth and gave Pérez (9-5) plenty of cushion to work with. The left-hander allowed two runs and five hits for his first win since July 5.
Tigers lefty Matthew Boyd (6-10) permitted just four hits but was tagged for seven runs in six innings. He walked a season-high five.
ROYALS 9, INDIANS 8, 10 INNINGS
CLEVELAND (AP) — Ryan O'Hearn led off the 10th inning with his second homer of the game, sending Kansas City to a wild win over the Cleveland Indians, whose playoff hopes were rocked by losing third baseman Jose Ramírez to a broken right hand.
The Indians tied it in the ninth against Ian Kennedy (1-2) on a solo homer by Francisco Lindor and Franmil Reyes' stunning three-run shot with two outs. Reyes also homered leading off the eighth.
O'Hearn connected off Nick Goody (3-1) as the Royals salvaged a back-and-forth series finale to snap a four-game losing streak. O'Hearn also homered in the third against Indians starter Shane Bieber.
Jorge López worked the 10th for his first major league save.
Losing the game was secondary to the Indians, who will be without Ramírez for their playoff push. The two-time All-Star will undergo surgery Monday in New York to repair a fractured hamate bone, and the club won't know his recovery time until after the procedure.
HOUSTON (AP) — Jose Altuve homered to cap a seven-run eighth inning, Framber Valdez grinded through six gritty innings and Houston beat Los Angeles.
Alex Bregman, Abraham Toro, Josh Reddick and Altuve all drove in runs in the eighth. Altuve's homer was his 24th, tying a career high. Houston has won seven of eight. The club entered the day tied with the Yankees for the best record in the AL at 84-47.
Valdez (4-6) gave up one run, two hits and five walks but struck out eight.
Jaime Barria (4-7) only gave up two runs but still was stuck with his fourth-straight loss. Barria allowed three hits, struck out four and walked three in 5 1/3 innings.
DIAMONDBACKS 5, BREWERS 2
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Robbie Ray returned from the injured list and pitched five scoreless innings, Eduardo Escobar and Christian Walker each homered, and Arizona beat Milwaukee to avoid a series sweep.
Ray (11-7) had been out since Aug. 14 due to lower back spasms. He allowed three hits, walked four and struck out six in five innings. The left-hander has thrown 18 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings against the Brewers.
Escobar hit his 29th homer and Walker got his 23rd. Archie Bradley retired Christian Yelich with two on in the ninth to finish his seventh save.
Zach Davies (8-7) allowed four runs in four innings and dropped his fifth straight start.
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Manny Machado hit a two-run homer — his first in more than three weeks — and left-hander Joey Lucchesi pitched five decent innings for San Diego in a victory over Boston to avoid a three-game sweep.
Machado, the $300 million slugger, drove a pitch from left-hander Brian Johnson (1-3) for his 27th homer to give the Padres a 3-0 lead. It was the third straight hit off Johnson to open the game. It was the Padres' 190th homer of the season, setting the franchise's season record.
Lucchesi (9-7) allowed one run and three hits in five innings, struck out three and walked two.
His only big mistake was allowing J.D. Martinez's 411-foot home run into the top balcony of the Western Metal Supply Co. Building in the left-field corner for Boston's first hit of the game with two outs in the fourth. It was his 31st.
MIAMI (AP) — Starlin Castro's two-run double in the sixth inning capped a comeback by Miami, who rallied against Aaron Nola (12-4) to beat Philadelphia.
Four Miami pitchers combined on a four-hitter and allowed one walk after giving up 10 bases on balls in each of the first two games of the series.
Elieser Hernandez (3-5) gave up two runs in six innings. Ryne Stanek pitched around a leadoff walk in the ninth for his first career save.
Rhys Hoskins hit his 25th homer for Philadelphia.
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Trevor Bauer had another rocky outing for Cincinnati, allowing eight runs in three innings as Pittsburgh swept a three-game series.
Since being acquired from the Cleveland Indians prior to the July 31 trade deadline, Bauer (10-11) is 1-3 with a 7.62 ERA in five starts. Seven of the runs charged to him Sunday were earned, and he had two walks and two strikeouts.
Eugenio Suarez's leadoff home run in the ninth inning drew the Reds within a run, but Felipe Vazquez retired the last three hitters for his 23rd save in 25 opportunities.
Dario Agrazal (3-3) allowed four runs in five innings to end his three-game losing streak. The rookie struck out five and walked two.
BALTIMORE (AP) — Anthony Santander went 5 for 5 with a homer, Renato Núñez drove in three runs and Baltimore beat Tampa Bay for a split of the four-game series.
Rays opener Diego Castillo (2-7) gave up one run over two innings before Jalen Beeks was roughed up for seven runs and 11 hits in five innings.
Tampa Bay loaded the bases with one out in the fourth before Dylan Bundy (6-13) got Joey Wendle to bounce into a double play, one of four turned by the Orioles.
CHICAGO (AP) — Reynaldo López (8-11) pitched five no-hit innings before leaving with dehydration and flu-like symptoms and Chicago beat Texas.
José Abreu drove in both runs to reach 100 RBIs for the fifth time in six seasons. Alex Colomé worked around a walk in the ninth to earn his 25th save after Aaron Bummer allowed Texas' first hit in the sixth.
Brock Burke (0-1) allowed a run and two hits over six innings.
SEATTLE (AP) — Marco Gonzales (14-10) pitched three-hit ball over seven innings to get his career-best 14th win, Dylan Moore hit a solo homer and Seattle beat Toronto.
Matt Magill allowed a one-out double to Derek Fisher in the ninth but struck out Teoscar Hernandez and got Brandon Drury to fly out to first baseman Austin Nola in foul territory for his fourth save.
Moore started the scoring with Seattle's first hit, sending a 2-1 pitch from Clay Buchholz (0-3) over the left-center field wall for his sixth home run.
