Yelich beats throw to 1st in 9th, Brewers beat Cubs 4-3
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Christian Yelich drove in the winning run with the bases loaded in the ninth after beating a throw from third to avoid a double play, and the Milwaukee Brewers opened an important three-game series with the Chicago Cubs with a 4-3 win Monday.
The .316 hitter hit a 1-2 fastball from Jesse Chavez right at third baseman Kris Bryant, who touched third for the second out of the ninth before firing to first. The speedy Yelich reached safely just before the throw landed in the glove of the outstretched Anthony Rizzo, allowing Keon Broxton to score the game-winner from third.
Cubs reliever Steve Cishek (4-3) loaded the bases in the ninth with a walk, passed ball and two hit batters.
The second-place Brewers pulled within four games of the NL Central-leading Cubs.
Milwaukee tied the score 3-3 after pinch-hitter Mike Moustakas drew a four-pitch walk with two outs in the eighth from Carl Edwards Jr.
Anthony Rizzo hit a two-out, two-run homer off tough left-hander Josh Hader in the eighth.
Jeremy Jeffress (8-1) got the win after pitching a scoreless top of the ninth.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Pinch-hitter Brandon Nimmo slugged a go-ahead, three-run homer in the ninth inning, rallying New York past Los Angeles in Jacob deGrom's latest stellar no-decision.
New York snapped a 12-game skid against Los Angeles. The loss ended the Dodgers' three-game winning streak and dropped them out of first in the NL West. They trail Colorado by a half-game.
DeGrom pitched six innings of one-run ball and drove in the tying run for the Mets, but didn't factor into the decision. He extended his streak of 25 consecutive starts of three earned runs or fewer, breaking a tie with Dwight Gooden (1985) for the longest run in Mets history.
Jay Bruce opened the ninth with a double off Kenta Maeda (8-9) and was sacrificed to third by Kevin Plawecki. Maeda hit Jeff McNeil with a pitch before Nimmo's second career pinch-hit homer went over the right-field wall.
Drew Smith (1-0) got the win with one inning of relief. Robert Gsellman worked the ninth for his 10th save.
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Mark Canha homered and Matt Chapman hit an RBI double to back Trevor Cahill, leading Oakland past New York in a matchup between two teams in the AL wild-card race.
The A's jumped on CC Sabathia early and pulled within 3 1/2 games of New York for the first wild card.
Cahill (6-3) defeated the Yankees for the first time in seven career appearances, the only AL team he'd never beaten. The right-hander improved to 5-0 with a 1.09 ERA in nine home starts, striking out three to leave him one shy of 1,000 for his career. Cahill allowed four hits and three runs — two earned — in five innings.
Lou Trivino relieved Cahill and struck out the side in the sixth. Jeurys Familia issued consecutive two-out walks in the eighth but got out of it unscathed before Blake Treinen finished for his 36th save.
Luke Voit hit a two-run homer for New York, which welcomed back manager Aaron Boone to the bench after he served a one-game suspension Sunday.
Sabathia (7-6) retired Marcus Semien on a flyball before surrendering four straight singles and a bases-loaded walk to Matt Olson as the A's went ahead 3-1.
New York answered right back on Voit's seventh home run that came on a 3-2 pitch.
SEATTLE (AP) — Erasmo Ramirez allowed one run in 5 1/3 innings, and the Seattle bullpen shut down Baltimore the rest of the way.
Ramirez (2-3) allowed two hits, struck out five and walked none. The right-hander is 2-1 in five starts since coming off the disabled list on Aug. 12.
Edwin Diaz struck out the side in the ninth inning for his 52nd save and 26th one-run save, both of which lead the majors. Zach Duke, Nick Vincent and Alex Colome combined to pitch 2 2/3 scoreless innings before Diaz finished off the three-hitter.
Ryon Healy had an RBI single and Dee Gordon added a sacrifice fly, both off Josh Rogers (1-1), who made his second major league start and allowed four hits and two walks in 5 1/3 innings.
CLEVELAND (AP) — Jakob Junis allowed two hits in seven shutout innings, Ryan O'Hearn homered twice and Kansas City won its season-high sixth straight.
Junis (8-12) gave up a two-out single to Francisco Lindor in the third and a leadoff single to Yonder Alonso in the fifth. The right-hander hit a batter, walked none, struck out six and retired the last nine hitters.
Brian Flynn pitched a scoreless eighth and Wily Peralta reliever began the ninth with a 5-0 lead. Lindor homered with one out, Michael Brantley singled and Peralta walked Jose Ramirez and Edwin Encarnacion on eight pitches.
Left-hander Tim Hill relieved and pinch-hitter Yandy Diaz hit a hard grounder that second baseman Whit Merrifield turned into a game-ending double play. Hill recorded his second save.
Adam Plutko (4-5) gave up three homers and allowed four runs in six innings.
DENVER (AP) — Pinch-hitter Noel Cuevas delivered a go-ahead, two-run single in the eighth inning and Colorado rallied after squandering a five-run lead.
On an afternoon when Trevor Story hit two homers off Giants ace Madison Bumgarner and the Rockies seemed in command at 7-2 after five innings, they needed the rookie Cuevas to come through with a clutch hit.
Colorado had a 7-5 lead in eighth when Giants pinch-hitters Alen Hanson and Chris Shaw hit back-to-back homers off reliever Seunghwan Oh (6-3). Hanson tied the game at 7 on a two-run homer and three pitches later Shaw lined an 0-2 cutter from Oh over the fence in right for his first career homer.
The Rockies answered right back, with Ian Desmond starting the inning with a single and pinch-hitter Chris Iannetta later lining a double. Cuevas brought them in with a grounder up the middle through a drawn-in infield off reliever Tony Watson (4-6).
Wade Davis struck out the side in the ninth for his 38th save.
CHICAGO (AP) — Matt Davidson hit a two-run, game-ending homer as Chicago scored three times in the bottom of the ninth for its eighth win in 11 games.
Davidson hit his 20th homer into the left-field bullpen on the first pitch his saw from Detroit closer Shane Greene (2-6) after Welington Castillo singled. Daniel Palka's 21st homer to lead off the ninth tied it at 2.
Victor Martinez homered deep to left with one out in the top of the ninth off Jace Fry (2-2) to put Detroit ahead 2-1. Greene then failed to retire a batter in the ninth as he blew his fifth save.
Niko Goodrum's solo shot in the seventh tied it 1-all after Chicago's Nicky Delmonico homered to lead off the game for Chicago.
HOUSTON (AP) — Alex Bregman homered for the third straight game and Yuli Gurriel also went deep to help Houston win its third straight.
Dallas Keuchel (11-10) scattered five hits over six innings and allowed an unearned run for his second straight win. Brad Peacock allowed a single with two outs in the ninth to load the bases but struck out Jorge Polanco to escape the jam and get his third save.
Minnesota's Kyle Gibson (7-12) yielded four hits and four runs — two earned — with five strikeouts in seven innings for his third straight loss.
There were two outs in the first inning when Bregman knocked his 28th home into the seats in left field to give Houston a 1-0 lead. Bregman has reached base safely in 31 straight games, which is the longest active streak in the majors.
NATIONALS 4, CARDINALS 3, 10 INNINGS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Bryce Harper hit a tying, two-run homer in the ninth inning, then delivered a sacrifice fly in the 10th that lifted Washington past St. Louis.
The Cardinals led 3-1 with one out in the ninth when Harper hit his 31st home run, sending a 96 mph fastball from closer Bud Norris over the center field fence.
Mark Reynolds led off the Washington 10th against Chasen Shreve (1-1) with a double that went in and out of right fielder Tyler O'Neill's glove. Pinch-runner Michael Taylor moved to third on Adam Eaton's bunt single and an out later, Harper flied to deep left. Taylor slid in safely, well ahead of Marcell Ozuna's throw.
Greg Holland (2-2) pitched two scoreless innings to earn the victory against the Cardinals, who designated him for assignment July 27. It was his longest outing since a two-inning appearance Kansas City on May 12, 2015.
ATLANTA (AP) — Ian Kinsler drove in three runs and Boston continued its interleague success, beating Atlanta in a matchup of division leaders.
The Red Sox have won 23 of their last 27 games against National League teams. Boston has the best record in the majors and is atop the AL East.
Kinsler hit a two-out, two-run single in the eighth after a throwing error by first baseman Freddie Freeman prolonged the inning, making it 5-2. Xander Bogaerts hit a two-run single as Boston scored three times in the ninth off Bryse Wilson.
Boston scored three runs in the fifth off Braves rookie Touki Toussaint (1-1), making only his second start in the majors.
The NL East-leading Braves scored only one run after loading the bases in the first, fourth and seventh innings. Kurt Suzuki's bases-loaded sacrifice fly added a run in the seventh.
Brandon Workman (3-0) recorded two outs after replacing Nathan Eovaldi in the fourth.
PADRES 6, DIAMONDBACKS 2
PHOENIX (AP) — Franmil Reyes homered twice and had four RBIs, Bryan Mitchell pitched five effective innings and San Diego knocked off Arizona.
Reyes hit a three-run homer off Zack Godley (14-8) in the second inning and a solo shot off the right-hander in the fourth. Austin Hedges added a two-run single in the eighth inning for the Padres, who have won five of seven.
Mitchell (1-3) was sharp in his first start off the DL due to a right elbow impingement, holding the Diamondbacks to a run on two hits.
Steven Souza Jr. had a run-scoring single in the first inning and Paul Goldschmidt an RBI double in the eighth for Arizona. The Diamondbacks have lost four of five to drop two games behind Colorado in the NL West.
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Matt Shoemaker pitched five scoreless innings in his first start for the Angels in more than five months, and Taylor Ward snapped a scoreless tie with his seventh-inning homer.
Ward's two-run homer was part of a three-run seventh that made rookie reliever Taylor Cole (1-2) a first-time winner. Cole went 1 1/3 innings after relieving Shoemaker.
All of the Los Angeles runs came off Zac Curtis (0-1), the third pitcher for the Rangers on a night they started the game with two scoreless innings by reliever Jeffrey Springs before fellow rookie Ariel Jurado's four innings.
Shoemaker had missed 134 games since going on the disabled list because of a right forearm strain after his first start of the season March 31. The right-hander missed the final 3 1/2 months last season because of the same issue.
TORONTO (AP) — Blue Jays starter Marcus Stroman got roughed up early in his return from the disabled list, Ji-Man Choi added a solo homer to lead Tampa Bay.
Joey Wendle had three hits, Matt Duffy had two hits and two RBIs, and Tommy Pham reached base three times for the Rays. Tampa Bay won its third straight and fourth of six following an eight-game winning streak that ended Aug. 28.
Kevin Keirmaier returned after missing Sunday's game because of a sore back and had three hits and an RBI, coming within a home run of the cycle.
Making his first start since Aug. 17, Stroman (4-9) allowed four runs and six hits in 1 2/3 innings. It was Stroman's shortest start since Aug. 15, 2014.
Ryan Stanek opened for the Rays and left after a perfect first inning. Yonny Chirinos (3-5) followed with seven innings of relief, allowing one run and four hits. Jaime Schultz pitched the ninth.
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Reds star Joey Votto got a new shirt from a big fan at PNC Park, but Cincinnati wound up with little else against Trevor Williams and Pittsburgh.
In the middle of the fourth inning, Votto walked over to a fan sitting along the first base side who was wearing a T-shirt that read "Votto for President." Votto asked for the shirt, and the man obliged — the suddenly bare-chested fan and Votto exchanged first bumps.
Votto then gave the fan an autographed jersey. That was the highlight of the day for Votto, who went 1 for 4 and grounded into a double play as the Reds lost for the ninth time in 12 games.
Trevor Williams (12-9) continued his stretch of strong starts by pitching 6 2/3 scoreless innings.
Pittsburgh's Adam Frazier had career high-tying four hits, including a solo home run off Matt Harvey (6-8) with one out in the first inning and a two-run single in the seventh that stretched the Pirates' lead to 5-0. Frazier also had a double and three RBIs.
Tge Pirates' Gregory Polanco and Cincinnati's Scooter Gennett also homered.
MIAMI (AP) — Philadelphia mustered only four hits and no walks against Jose Urena and two relievers in a loss to last-place Miami.
The Phillies, who began the afternoon four games behind first-place Atlanta in the NL East, lost their third game in a row. They're 9-17 since Aug. 6, when the led the division.
Philadelphia has scored five runs in the past four games.
The Phillies aren't out of the division race because they face Atlanta in seven of their final 11 games. But the loss to the Marlins doesn't help their chances.
Urena (5-12) gave up one run in seven innings. He struck out seven to increase his season total to 117, a career high. Drew Steckenrider pitched a perfect ninth with two strikeouts for his third save.
Vince Velasquez (9-10) allowed three runs in five innings.
Asdrubal Cabrera hit his 22nd homer for the Phillies.
