Yankees open Subway Series with 4-1 win over Mets
NEW YORK (AP) Brett Gardner hit a tiebreaking, two-run homer off Jacob deGrom on an eighth-inning changeup, and the New York Yankees beat the reeling Mets 4-1 Friday night in the Subway Series opener after losing Masahiro Tanaka to hamstring problems when the pitcher sprinted home to score his first major league run.
Tanaka allowed one hit, a home run into the second deck in right by Brandon Nimmo on his second pitch. The 29-year-old right-hander scored standing up on Aaron Judge's sacrifice fly, then was replaced before the bottom of the sixth. The Yankees said Tanaka had tightness in both hamstrings, and the team expects to know more Saturday.
Gardner's home run, his fifth this season and fourth in his last 21 games, went just over the wall in right-center and followed Gleyber Torres' second single off deGrom (4-1). Giancarlo Stanton added a ninth-inning homer off Paul Sewald, his 22nd at Citi Field - the most among visiting players.
Jonathan Holder, Chad Green (4-0), Dellin Betances each pitched an inning, and Aroldis Chapman finished the four-hitter for his 16th save in 17 chances.
WASHINGTON (AP) - Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasberg exited after two innings because of tightness in his right shoulder, and San Francisco had eight extra-base hits.
Strasburg (6-6) gave up three runs and five hits. He was scheduled for an MRI on Saturday.
Andrew McCutchen and Gorkys Hernandez homered for San Francisco.
Reyes Moronta (2-0) got two outs for the win.
DETROIT (AP) - Jason Kipnis hit a tiebreaking, three-run homer in the ninth inning to lead Cleveland past Detroit.
Jose Ramirez almost broke the tie earlier in the ninth, hitting Shane Greene's 3-1 pitch just past the foul pole down the right-field line, but ended up drawing a walk. Yonder Alonso singled with two outs.
Kipnis connected off Greene (2-3) for a drive over the right-center field scoreboard for his fourth homer of the season.
Trevor Bauer (5-4) struck out 12 in eight innings, giving up one run and seven hits. He has fanned 37 in 21 innings over his last three starts.
Cody Allen pitched the ninth for his 12th save.
CUBS 3, PIRATES 1
CHICAGO (AP) - Kris Bryant had three hits and scored a run while batting leadoff for the first time in his career, Ian Happ made a spectacular diving catch near the left-field corner to end the game and surging Chicago beat slumping Pittsburgh.
Bryant singled in his first three at-bats and scored in a two-run first inning, helping the Cubs win for the 10th time in 12 games.
Ian Happ sprawled out to grab Josh Harrison's drive toward the corner against Pedro Strop with a runner on third and two out in the ninth. He also possibly saved a run in the third when he made a tumbling catch on Corey Dickerson's shallow fly with runners on first and second. Happ made another neat grab in the sixth when he raced back and lunged to snag Colin Moran's smash.
Mike Montgomery (2-1) went six innings, giving up one run and seven hits, in his third start with Yu Darvish on the disabled list because of right triceps tendinitis. The Pirates lost for the 10th time in 13 games, with Chad Kuhl (4-4) once again coming up short. Pedro Strop got his first save in two chances.
BOSTON (AP) - Trayce Thompson had an RBI single in the seventh inning off Chris Sale, Dylan Covey pitched six innings as part of a three-hitter and Chicago beat Boston.
Kevan Smith had two hits and scored the only run after leading off the seventh with a ground-rule double. Thompson brought him in with a one-out single to help Chicago end a six-game skid against Boston.
Covey (2-1) more than kept pace with former White Sox ace Sale (5-4), who lost his third straight start despite striking out 10 in eight innings. Jace Fry and Nate Jones each pitched a scoreless inning, and Joakim Soria earned his seventh save. Chicago has won three of four.
It was Boston's first 1-0 loss at Fenway Park since Sept. 14, 2016 against Baltimore.
TORONTO (AP) - J.A. Happ allowed two hits in seven innings to earn his 100th career victory, Russell Martin homered and drove in two runs and Toronto beat Baltimore to win consecutive games for the first time in more than a month.
Randal Grichuk and Kevin Pillar also homered as the Blue Jays recorded their first back-to-back victories since April 30 and May 1 at Minnesota.
The Orioles lost for the ninth time in 11 games and dropped to 9-25 on the road and 19-43 overall, both worst in the majors.
Craig Gentry got both of Baltimore's hits off Happ (8-3), and two relievers completed the five-hitter. Right-hander Andrew Cashner (2-8) lost his third straight start. Ryan Tepera recorded the final four outs for his third save in six opportunities.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) - Marco Gonzales won his fourth straight start and Seattle beat Tampa Bay for the team's 16th win in 20 games.
Gonzales (7-3) pitched into the eighth inning, leaving the game after taking a throw at first base too late to retire a sliding Mallex Smith. Christian Arroyo had a solo homer in the fifth and C.J. Cron added a two-run shot in the eighth off former teammate Alex Colome to pull the Rays within a run.
However, Edwin Diaz got the final four outs for his 22nd save in 25 opportunities, finishing the Mariners' 20th one-run win of the season and sending the Rays to their eighth straight loss.
Wilmer Font (0-3) gave up two runs and two hits while striking out five in 2 1/3 innings in his first major league start.
BREWERS 12, PHILLIES
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Ryan Braun homered twice and drove in five runs, and Milwaukee busted out of an offensive funk to beat Philadelphiaand snap a three-game losing streak.
Braun, who came in batting .229, hit a three-run shot off Vince Velasquez (4-7) in the first inning and a two-run blast off Mark Leiter Jr. in a six-run fourth that made it 11-0.
Christian Yelich also went deep and Lorenzo Cain added two hits and two RBIs for the Brewers, who had 13 hits after totaling four runs in their previous three games.
Jhoulys Chacin (5-1) allowed four runs and five hits in 6 1/3 innings for Milwaukee, which held onto a half-game lead over the Chicago Cubs atop the NL Central.
MIAMI (AP) - Caleb Smith pitched into the sixth inning and had an RBI single for his first career hit to help Miami beat San Diego.
Smith (5-6) gave up four hits and two walks while striking out five in 5 1/3 innings. Brad Ziegler pitched 1 2/3 innings, and Drew Steckenrider and Kyle got three outs each to finish the shutout.
Brian Anderson had three hits and Cameron Maybin had two for the Marlins, who have won three of four. Eric Lauer (2-4) allowed three runs amd six hits and walked seven in five innings.
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) - Justin Verlander struck out nine in seven innings after Shin-Soo Choo homered on the Houston ace's first pitch of the game.
Verlander (8-2) gave up three earned runs after allowing just two in his first 40 2/3 innings on the road this season.
Texas slugger Joey Gallo bunted for a single in the sixth, drawing a big cheer from the crowd. The Astros had been putting six defenders to the right side of second base when Gallo batted this season, and old-school baseball fans had been urging him to bunt toward third and beat the shift.
Alex Bregman homered off Doug Fister (1-7), who exited with right knee soreness after throwing one pitch in the sixth.
DIAMONDBACKS 9, ROCKIES 4
DENVER (AP) - Paul Goldschmidt continued his sizzling June with two long home runs and a double, leading Arizona over Colorado Rockies.
Jake Lamb and David Peralta also homered, and Zack Greinke (5-4) tossed 5 2/3 innings and had an RBI single.
Goldschmidt had just 14 hits in May, batting .144 in 27 games, but has already collected 13 hits in seven games this month.
Goldschmidt's first drive was one of three homers German Marquez (4-6) allowed in the third. Lamb and Peralta also connected.
Jon Jay, acquired from Kansas City on Wednesday, went 0 for 4 with a walk and scored a run in his Diamondbacks debut.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Ian Kinsler hit a two-run homer in the seventh inning and Justin Upton went deep in the eighth, powering Los Angeles past Minnesota.
Blake Parker pitched a perfect ninth inning for his sixth save in seven attempts, capping a strong finish for the Angels after a rough start before the game with the news that two-way rookie sensation Shohei Ohtani has an elbow injury and will be out for at least three weeks.
Noe Ramirez (2-2) got the win. Ryan Pressly (0-1) took the loss.
Kinsler has five home runs in his last 10 games, batting .366 over that span. Upton, who took Addison Reed deep, has five homers in his last six games.
CARDINALS 7, REDS 6, 10 INNINGS
CINCINNATI (AP) - Jose Martinez homered twice off Matt Harvey, and Jedd Gyorko singled home the tiebreaking run in the 10th inning as St. Louis beat Cincinnati for the 12th straight time.
The Cardinals haven't dominated the Reds so completely since beating them 12 straight from 1931-32.
St. Louis has won its last 10 games at Great American Ball Park. The Cardinals blew a two-run lead in the ninth before extending the streak.
Bud Norris (3-1) was warming up to pitch the ninth when a downpour prompted a 36-minute delay. Norris then gave up four hits, including RBI singles by Joey Votto and Jesse Winker.
Gyorko's RBI single off Raisel Iglesias (1-1) decided it. John Brebbia gave up a double in the bottom of the inning and an intentional walk before fanning Brandon Dixon for his second save.
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Walker Buehler dominated before being pulled with rib soreness, and Los Angeles overcame another blow to their injury-depleted pitching staff by hitting five home runs.
Yasmani Grandal went deep twice, and Joc Pederson, Max Muncy and Cody Bellinger also homered to help the Dodgers win their sixth in seven games despite a decimated rotation. They're already without Clayton Kershaw, Rich Hill, Kenta Maeda, Hyun-Jin Ryu and Dennis Santana, and now they may be without Buehler, too.
The rookie right-hander was perfect through four innings and still cruising with one out in the sixth when manager Dave Roberts and trainer Nathan Lucero went to the mound. After a lengthy discussion, Buehler (4-1) was pulled.
Bellinger has homered in four straight games for the first time in his career. Both of Grandal's home runs came off former teammate and batterymate Brandon McCarthy (5-3), who allowed four runs on five hits in 4 2/3 innings.
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) - Frankie Montas pitched shutout ball into the eighth inning to win his third straight start since being called up from the minors and Khris Davis homered twice to lead Oakland.
Dustin Fowler also homered and Jonathan Lucroy drove in three runs to help the A's send the Royals to their sixth straight loss and drop them to a season-worst 22 games under .500.
Montas (3-0) was the beneficiary of the big night from Oakland's bats even if he didn't need much help. He followed up his eight scoreless innings in a win at Kansas City last Friday night with another sharp outing. He allowed six hits and held Kansas City scoreless until Mike Moustakas hit a two-run homer with two outs in the eighth.
Lou Trivino got four outs for his first save.
Davis had a solo homer in the first against Jakob Junis (5-6) and added another to lead off the fourth for his 17th career multihomer game and second this year.
