Yankees win 7th straight, beat struggling Astros 4-1
NEW YORK (AP) — Gary Sánchez and Gleyber Torres each homered for the third game in a row, providing a pair of two-run shots that sent the New York Yankees past the skidding Houston Astros 4-1 on Friday night for their seventh straight victory.
Aaron Judge was hitless in his return to the lineup — batting leadoff — but James Paxton (5-3) won consecutive starts for the first time with the Yankees, who matched their longest winning streak of the year.
Houston wasted a strong start from Brad Peacock (6-5) and has dropped six in a row for the first time since July 2015.
Paxton went five-plus innings before handing a slim lead to a shutdown bullpen that delivered again for the AL East leaders.
Aroldis Chapman got three outs for his 21st save in 23 attempts. He was checked by a trainer after slipping to the turf while fielding Jose Altuve's bunt single with two outs in the ninth. Then he threw a called third strike past rookie bopper Yordan Álvarez with two aboard to end it.
Houston went 1 for 13 with runners in scoring position and stranded 12 in all.
The Astros scored on successive doubles by Tyler White and Jake Marisnick with two outs in the fourth.
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Albert Pujols drew huge cheers in his long-awaited return to St Louis, but Marcell Ozuna spoiled the homecoming with a home run that helped the Cardinals beat Los Angeles.
Pujols spent the first 11 years of his All-Star career with the Cardinals, helped them win the 2011 World Series and then signed with Angels as a free agent. Due to inconsistent interleague scheduling, this was the first time the Angels have visited St. Louis since Pujols left. He went 1 for 2 with a walk.
Ozuna's solo homer in the sixth broke a 1-1 tie. Ozuna also had RBI singles in the fourth and seventh.
Michael Wacha (5-3) went six innings, struck out four, walked one and retired the final eight batters he faced.
Griffin Canning (2-4) sent down the first nine batters he faced before running into control issues in the fourth.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Walker Buehler struck out a career-high 16 in his first complete game and Los Angeles rallied on Matt Beaty's two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth.
With two outs, Max Muncy walked and Beaty followed with a shot to center field off Jairo Diaz (1-2).
Buehler's nine innings were a career high. He gave up two homers, and the only other hit he allowed was a single to Charlie Blackmon in the ninth.
The NL West-leading Dodgers have won nine in a row against second-place Rockies.
German Màrquez gave up two runs — one earned — and five hits in eight innings. The right-hander struck out eight with no walks.
Blackmon and Nolan Arendado homered for the Rockies.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Sandy Alcantara pitched 7 2/3 sharp innings, Bryan Holaday hit a solo homer and Miami dealt Philadelphia its fifth straight loss.
Alcantara (4-6) gave up one run, eight hits and struck out six. Sergio Romo earned his 14th save in 15 tries.
Phillies ace Aaron Nola (6-2) allowed two runs — one earned — and six hits, striking out 10 in eight innings.
The Marlins went ahead in the sixth after Brian Anderson got hit by a pitch to start the inning and moved to third on Starlin Castro's single. Anderson scored when third baseman Scott Kingery bobbled Cesar Puello's slow roller for an error.
The Phillies tied it a 1 in the third when Roman Quinn stole home.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Dallas Keuchel labored through five innings in his Atlanta debut, coughing up a three-run lead in a loss to Washington.
Keuchel (0-1) made his first first major league appearance since starting Game 3 of last year's AL Championship Series for the Houston Astros. He never retired Washington in order and gave up four runs, three earned, on eight hits. He hit two batters.
The Braves had won 11 of 13. The third-place Nationals have won five straight and nine of 12.
Atlanta led 3-0 in the fourth thanks to a two-run homer by Austin Riley and an RBI double by Freddie Freeman.
In the bottom half, Victor Robles lined an RBI triple and scored on Michael A. Taylor's squeeze bunt. Yan Gomes homered to tie it at 3-3.
Washington pushed ahead in the fifth, when Juan Soto led off with a triple and Anthony Rendon singled him home.
Stephen Strasburg (8-4) allowed three runs in six innings. Wander Suero allowed the first two runners to reach in the ninth before retiring the side for his first career save.
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Joe Musgrove pitched five-hit, one-run ball through seven innings, and Pittsburgh capitalized on two errors by Manny Machado in a win over San Diego.
Musgrove (5-7) struck out eight. Felipe Vázquez gave up one hit in the ninth and picked up his 18th save.
Machado, playing his 1,000th major league game, fumbled a ground ball from Jung Ho Kang at third base in the seventh inning before tossing it past first base. Jose Osuna drove in Steven Brault, who was pinch-running for Kang, to give the Pirates a 2-1 lead.
Pittsburgh reliever Kyle Crick walked the bases loaded in the eighth before getting Franmil Reyes to pop to first to end the inning.
The Pirates won for the third time in four games after losing 19 of their previous 26. The Padres had their four-game winning streak halted.
The loss spoiled an efficient outing by Padres starter Eric Lauer (5-7), who allowed two runs (one earned) on five hits in seven innings with 80 pitches (58 strikes).
CHICAGO (AP) — Jeff McNeil homered and drove in three runs in his first career start in right field as New York beat Chicago.
Michael Conforto also connected and the slumping Mets won for just the fourth time in 11 games. Brooks Pounders (1-0) got four outs for his first victory since he was acquired in a deal with Cleveland last week.
Addison Russell hit a two-run homer for Chicago, which dropped to 2-2 on a 10-game homestand. Brad Brach (3-2) got the loss after surrendering Hechavarría's leadoff single in the seventh.
The Cubs had one last chance in the ninth, but Edwin Díaz worked a perfect inning for his 16th save.
Yu Darvish allowed four runs and four hits in six innings in his 10th consecutive no-decision, extending a franchise record. He became the first traditional starting pitcher with 10 straight no-decisions since Philadelphia's Randy Lerch in 1977.
CLEVELAND (AP) — Jason Kipnis hit a tiebreaking triple in the eighth inning, right fielder Tyler Naquin made a game-saving play in the ninth, and Cleveland beat Detroit.
Kipnis' triple — which was initially ruled a home run, a call that was overturned after a replay review — and Jake Bauers' sacrifice fly put Cleveland ahead 7-5.
Closer Brad Hand, the Indians' fifth reliever, earned his 21st save in 21 opportunities. Adam Cimber (3-2) retired two batters on six pitches in the eighth.
Carlos Santana, Naquin and and Jordan Luplow homered for the Indians.
Joe Jiménez (2-5) took the loss. Detroit starter Matthew Boyd allowed five runs in six innings.
RED SOX 7, BLUE JAYS 5, 10 INNINGS
BOSTON (AP) — Christian Vázquez hit a two-run homer in the 10th inning to cap Boston's comeback from four runs down.
Boston trailed 5-1 before scoring three runs in the seventh on Andrew Benintendi's RBI single and J.D. Martinez's two-run single, and tying it in the eighth on pinch-hitter Rafael Devers' run-scoring single.
Jordan Romano (0-1) got two quick outs in the 10th before hitting Marco Hernández with a pitch. Vázquez then drove a 3-2 pitch out to right for his ninth homer of the season to give the Red Sox their eighth win in nine games.
Brandon Workman (6-1) pitched a scoreless 10th for Boston.
Randal Grichuk homered for Toronto, which got six strong innings from rookie Trent Thornton.
Thornton pitched 6 1/3 innings, allowing two runs and eight hits, with one walk and seven strikeouts.
WHITE SOX 5, RANGERS 4, 10 INNINGS
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Eloy Jiménez scored on a sacrifice squeeze bunt by Yolmer Sánchez in the 10th inning and Chicago beat Texas in a game that included two impressive home runs.
Zack Collins got his first big league start for the White Sox and went deep in the second inning. His three-run homer to center was measured at 447 feet by MLB's StatCast.
That was after Rangers right fielder Nomar Mazara pulled a two-run shot into the second deck of seats in right field in the first that MLB's system said would have gone 505 feet unimpeded. That matched the longest ever recorded by StatCast, which is in only its fifth season of use.
In the end, small ball won against Shawn Kelley (3-2). Rougned Odor also homered for the Rangers.
Kelvin Herrera (3-3) struck out the only batter he faced. Alex Colomé worked the 10th for his 16th save.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Max Kepler's single drove in the tiebreaking run and Eddie Rosario added a run-scoring hit to cap Minnesota's three-run rally in the eighth.
Minnesota scored five runs in the last three innings to avoid its first three-game losing streak of the season.
Ryne Harper (3-0) pitched one-plus inning to pick up the win despite allowing Jorge Soler's 21st leadoff home run in the eighth that pulled the Royals back within one. Taylor Rogers got the last six outs for his ninth save in 11 chances.
Cheslor Cuthbert had three hits and four RBIs — tying career highs in both — for the Royals, who have lost a major league-high 26 games in which they've held a lead. Kansas City has been outscored 177-125 after the sixth inning this season.
Royals starter Jakob Junis allowed three runs and six hits in six innings.
Martin Perez gave up six runs — four earned — in five innings for the Twins.
MILWAUKEE (AP) — José Iglesias had four hits and drove in two runs and the Cincinnati extended its winning streak to a season-high six games.
Milwaukee's Christian Yelich hit a two-run homer in the fifth, his third in three games, and extended his hitting streak to a career-high 18 games. He has 29 homers this season, tying him with Prince Fielder in 2007 for the most in franchise history before the All-Star break.
Cincinnati scored three runs in the first with just one hit and led 6-1 before Yelich and Mike Moustakas homered off starter Sonny Gray in the fifth. The Brewers lost their fifth straight.
David Hernandez (2-3) got the victory with 1 2/3 innings of one-hit relief.
Chase Anderson (3-2) allowed six runs on six hits in five innings for Milwaukee.
GIANTS 11, DIAMONDBACKS 5
PHOENIX (AP) — Alex Dickerson had a grand slam and six RBIs in his San Francisco debut, Kevin Pillar had four RBIs and the Giants rolled over Arizona.
Dickerson, who was traded from San Diego on June 10, was called up from Triple-A Sacramento after Steven Duggar went on the 10-day injured list with a lower back strain. He made the most of the call-up, crushing his second career grand slam 458 feet to center off Taylor Clarke (1-3) to put the Giants up 6-0 in the third inning.
Dickerson added a two-run triple in the seventh, finishing a double shy of the cycle.
Pillar hit a two-run homer off Clarke in the second inning and had a two-run single in the seventh after Arizona rallied with five runs against Jeff Samardzija (4-6).
Arizona's Nick Ahmed hit a two-run home. The Diamondbacks loaded the bases in the ninth inning, but Will Smith struck out the final two hitters.
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Willy Adames homered and threw out a runner at home, and Tampa Bay snapped a four-game losing streak.
Adames finished with three hits, second baseman Brandon Lowe doubled twice and made a stellar defensive play as Tampa Bay won for the first time on its 10-game road trip. The win came one night after closer Diego Castillo allowed four runs in the ninth and blew a save for the first time this season.
Matt Olson and Ramón Laureano homered for Oakland. Marcus Semien was 0 for 5, ending his career-high 17-game hitting streak.
Austin Pruitt (1-0), the third of seven Tampa Bay pitchers, retired nine batters and earned the win. Emilio Pagán pitched the ninth for his fourth save.
A's starter Tanner Anderson (0-2) allowed three runs and seven hits in four innings.
SEATTLE (AP) — Kyle Seager, Dylan Moore and Mac Williamson all homered to help Seattle build a big lead, and the Mariners held off Baltimore's comeback to hand the Orioles their 10th straight loss.
Mallex Smith reached base five times, stole two bases and scored four runs to help the Mariners take a 10-3 lead in the fifth inning.
The Orioles then scored five in the sixth and one in the seventh to pull within one, but they couldn't tie it.
Baltimore has its longest skid since 2010 and is 8-32 since last winning consecutive games on May 4 and 6 against Tampa Bay and Boston. The streak is tied for the eighth-longest in team history, according to STATS, and is almost halfway to the team record of 21 set in 1988.
Seattle starter Mike Leake (7-6) gave up eight runs and 11 hits in 5 1/3 innings. Roenis Elias pitched the ninth for his ninth save and second in two days.
Sean Gilmartin (0-1) allowed five runs and seven hits in 2 1/3 innings.
