Braves beat suddenly struggling Yankees 8-1
NEW YORK (AP) — Ozzie Albies hit a two-run homer on Carlos Rodón’s second pitch of the night, Austin Riley and Matt Olson also went deep off the left-hander and the Atlanta Braves routed the suddenly struggling New York Yankees 8-1 on Friday for their seventh win in eight games.
Chris Sale (10-2) joined Kansas City’s Seth Lugo and Philadelphia’s Ranger Suárez as the major leagues’ only 10-game winners, getting his first victory over the Yankees since 2018.
New York has lost five of six, including three in a row while allowing 32 runs to the Braves and Baltimore, and was in danger of dropping below the Orioles into second place in the AL East. By the end of the fourth inning, the Yankees had given up runs in 13 of 14 innings, including nine in a row — tying a team record from June 16-18, 1940.
Rodón (9-4) lost his second straight start after winning seven in a row and appeared to shout at someone in the dugout after the top of the first. He gave up eight runs -- seven earned -- in 3 2/3 innings and 11 hits, including seven for extra bases. His ERA has climbed from 2.93 to 3.86 in his last two outings.
Atlanta’s first five hits were off fastballs as the Braves extended their winning streak to four. Atlanta has won four straight over the Yankees, outscoring them 26-4.
METS 11, CUBS 1
CHICAGO (AP) — J.D. Martinez, Francisco Alvarez and Brandon Nimmo homered against Shota Imanaga, and New York pounded Chicago.
Francisco Lindor had three hits and scored twice as New York won for the eighth time in nine games. Jose Iglesias went 4 for 5 with three RBIs.
The Mets became the first team to get a second look at Imanaga (7-2) during his impressive transition to the major leagues, and they tagged the Japanese left-hander for 10 runs and 11 hits in three-plus innings. Imanaga pitched seven innings of three-hit ball in a 1-0 victory at New York on May 1.
This time, the Mets scored three times before Imanaga recorded his first out. Lindor hit a leadoff double and Nimmo walked before Martinez hit a 412-foot drive to center for his ninth homer.
Alvarez led off the second with his second homer. With two out and Iglesias on first, Nimmo made it 6-1 when he hit an opposite-field shot for his 10th on the season.
TIGERS 2, WHITE SOX 1
DETROIT (AP) — Carson Kelly hit an early two-run homer, Jack Flaherty was solid into the sixth inning and Detroit snapped a four-game losing streak by holding on to edge Chicago.
The game ended when Paul DeJong, who was hit by a pitch with one out in the ninth, took off running on pinch-hitter Andrew Benintendi’s flyout and apparently lost track of the outs and was doubled off first.
Flaherty (5-4) allowed one run and five hits while striking out eight in 5 2/3 innings. Beau Brieske went 1 2/3 innings in relief and Jason Foley got four outs for his 13th save.
The Tigers scored a total of three runs during their losing streak — and Kelly’s homer was just enough to end the slide.
Kelly’s homer off Erick Fedde (5-2) followed a one-out double by Justin-Henry Malloy in the second inning. It was Kelly’s fourth home run of the season.
Fedde allowed two runs and five hits in seven innings. He retired the last 14 batters he faced.
RAYS 10, PIRATES 3
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Josh Lowe homered twice, including a three-run blast in the sixth that broke open a close game, and Tampa Bay breezed past Pittsburgh.
Lowe hit a solo shot to right off Luis Ortiz in the third inning and went deep again with two aboard in the sixth to give the Rays a rare breather amid a string of tight finishes.
Tampa Bay entered Friday having had each of its previous four games decided in the final at-bat. There was no drama this time thanks to the first multi-homer game of Lowe’s career.
Ben Rortvedt added three hits, including a three-run homer in the ninth. Jose Siri also had three hits. Yandy Díaz singled twice to extend his hitting streak to 13 games and his on-base streak to a career-best 23 games as the Rays finished with a season-high 17 hits.
Colin Poche (1-1) helped Tampa escape a bases-loaded jam in the fourth by getting Pittsburgh’s Andrew McCutchen to hit into an inning-ending double play.
REDS 5, RED SOX 2
CINCINNATI (AP) — Jeimer Candelario homered twice, Andrew Abbott struck out a season-high 10 and Cincinnati beat Boston in the opener of an interleague series.
Candelario hit solo homers off Kutter Crawford (3-7) in the first and third innings. Jonathan India had solo shot off the Red Sox starter in the second, and the Reds scored two more on a throwing error by reliever Cam Booser in the seventh to halt Boston’s five-game winning streak.
Abbott (6-6) allowed two runs — solo homers by Jarren Duran and Connor Wong — and four hits in 5 2/3 innings. He gave up a single to Romy Gonzalez to start the sixth and then fanned Tyler O’Neill and Rafael Devers before giving way to Fernando Cruz, who struck out Wong to end the inning.
Sam Moll and Nick Martinez followed, each with a scoreless innings, and Alexis Diaz pitched the ninth for this 17th save.
Crawford allowed five runs and five hits over 6 1/3 innings.
GUARDIANS 7, BLUE JAYS 1
CLEVELAND (AP) — Carlos Carrasco pitched six strong innings and Austin Hedges hit a two-run single when Toronto’s pitchers couldn’t find the strike zone, lifting Cleveland to a win.
The Guardians scored seven runs in the second inning as Jays rookie starter Yariel Rodríguez (0-2) and reliever Bowden Francis needed 70 pitches to get three outs.
It was the most pitches thrown by the Blue Jays in an inning since June 21, 1995 — 30 years to the day.
Carrasco (3-6) won for first time in six starts and avenged a loss in Toronto last week. The 37-year-old right-hander allowed one run and four hits, struck out a season-high seven — five straight in one stretch — and didn’t walk a batter.
The performance probably won’t affect the Guardians’ desire to add starting pitching before the trading line, but Carrasco at least bought himself a few more outings.
MARLINS 3, MARINERS 2, 10 INNINGS
MIAMI (AP) — Tim Anderson singled in the 10th inning to drive in automatic runner Jake Burger and Miami rallied past Seattle for their third straight walk-off win.
Anderson hit a grounder off Mariners reliever Austin Voth (2-1) on the first pitch that went into left field. Dominic Canzone threw to catcher Cal Raleigh at home, but Raleigh couldn’t quite handle the throw and his slight bobble allowed Burger just enough time to slide home safely.
Starter Trevor Rogers struck out five over six innings, while allowing two runs and four hits as the Marlins recorded their MLB-leading eighth walk-off win of the season. Anthony Bender (2-2) worked a scoreless 10th for the win.
Bryan De La Cruz launched a 96 mph fastball from Mariners starter George Kirby 403 feet to center in the sixth for his 14th home run. Josh Bell followed by pouncing on another fastball by Kirby and sent it 413 feet for a solo shot that tied the game at 2.
Kirby had retired 16 straight before the consecutive homers. It was the Marlins’ second straight game with back-to-back home runs and sixth overall this season.
DIAMONDBACKS 5, PHILLIES 4
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Gabriel Moreno and Joc Pederson hit homers against struggling Philadelphia starter Taijuan Walker to lead Arizona to a win.
It was the first game between the teams since Arizona won the final two games of the National League Championship Series on the road last season en route to the club’s second World Series appearance.
Jordan Montgomery (6-4) allowed only five hits and two earned runs over six innings. Montgomery — who signed late in spring training as a free agent — has won his last three starts, dropping his ERA from 6.80 to 5.71.
Trea Turner and Nick Castellanos homered for Philadelphia, which has dropped six of its last nine games.
Walker, the Phillies fifth starter, has been the subject of speculation about being replaced in the starting rotation. He has now allowed 10 home runs in his 10 starts (52 1/3 innings. His ERA is 5.60 while the rest of the Phillies starting staff has a combined ERA of 2.67.
Walker was replaced by Spencer Turnbull, who threw three innings of scoreless relief.
RANGERS 6, ROYALS 2
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Marcus Semien hit three-run double to cap Texas’ five-run sixth inning, Wyatt Langford had two run-scoring hits and they beat Kansas City.
Nathan Eovaldi (4-3) allowed two runs and four hits and with one walk while striking out six in six innings as the Rangers won their second straight following a five-game losing streak.
Semien lined a 2-0 fastball into the left field corner after going 0 for 17 at the plate.
Langford doubled in Adolis García in the fourth inning and singled him home in the sixth, each time tying the score. Jonah Heim followed Langford with an RBI fielder’s choice against John Schreiber (3-2) for a 3-2 lead.
José Leclerc, David Robertson and Kirby Yates shut out the Royals over the final three innings on two hits and one walk.
Royals starter Brady Singer left with a 2-1 lead after giving up three hits and two walks in five innings with four strikeouts.
ASTROS 14, ORIOLES 11
HOUSTON (AP) — Jake Meyers hit a three-run homer, Jose Altuve and rookie Joey Loperfido added three hits each and Houston used a nine-run sixth inning to pull away for a win over Baltimore.
Houston set a season-high in runs, a day after the Orioles had their highest-scoring game of the year in a 17-5 win over the Yankees.
The Astros trailed by 1 and had two on with two outs in the fifth inning when Meyers sent a pitch from Grayson Rodriguez (8-3) into the seats in left field to make it 5-3.
Houston sent 13 batters to the plate as they tacked on nine runs in the sixth to extend the lead to 14-3. The nine runs are the most by the Astros in an inning this season. They hit five doubles in the frame, including two from Loperfido.
Baltimore’s Gunnar Henderson homered twice to give him 24 this season, which ranks second in the majors behind Aaron Judge’s 27. The Orioles, who lead the majors with 123 home runs, have homered in 20 consecutive games, which is tied for the longest streak in franchise history.
NATIONALS 11, ROCKIES 5
DENVER (AP) — Luis Garcia Jr.’s three-run homer highlighted a five-run third inning, Drew Millas had a home run among his three hits and Washington pounded out a season-high 19 hits in a win over Colorado.
Ezequiel Tovar, Hunter Goodman, and Nolan Jones homered for the Rockies in a game in which the teams combined for 30 hits.
Jacob Young had three hits and scored three runs, and CJ Abrams added three hits, with the first of his two doubles coming on the first pitch of the game from Dakota Hudson (2-10) to extend his career-best hitting streak to 12 games.
Tovar finished with three hits, including his 12th homer of the season as the Rockies fell to 5-15 in June. Colorado also hit another dubious milestone with their 50th loss of the season for a 26-50 record.
Leading 5-1 going into the top of the fourth, Millas homered off Hudson, igniting a four-run burst for the Nationals. Thomas chipped in with a two-run double off reliever Geoff Hartlieb, and Eddie Rosario had a sacrifice fly.
