Castro’s resurgence propels Yankees over O’s
Mets sneak away with conquest of Cubs • Pujols (2 HRs) suddenly on fire for Angels • Bosox blank Giants
Starlin Castro has started off the second half in the same fashion as he started the first, and this has been a welcome development for the New York Yankees’ offense.
Castro went 2-for-4 with a home run, a double and four RBIs in Tuesday night’s 7-1 victory over the Baltimore Orioles, continuing his hot stretch. Since the All-Star break, he is 6-for-17, bearing more resemblance to the player who surged in his first month in pinstripes than the one who struggled much of May and June.
“I feel the same I felt at the start of the season right now,” Castro said. “I feel pretty good at the plate.”
Castro led the Yankees with a .305 average in April, that went along with a .345 on-base percentage and .488 slugging, but his performance dipped afterward.
In 265 plate appearances from May 1 until the break, Castro hit .240/.277/.364, posting an uncharacteristically high strikeout rate.
Since the break, Castro has fanned once, and has driven in five runs, two of them in the second inning Tuesday night, when he blasted a two-run shot. It was his 11th home run of the year, matching his total from last season with the Cubs.
In the sixth, his two-run double gave the Yankees a 5-1 lead. (Newsday/TNS)
Mets 2, Cubs 1
Rene Rivera singled in a go-ahead run in the top of the ninth inning as New York held on to beat Chicago.
Rivera, who went 3-for-4, laced a twoout single to right off Cubs closer Hector Rondon to score Neil Walker from second base to give the Mets their first lead of the night.
New York closer Jeurys Familia then pitched a shaky, but ultimately successful, ninth despite loading the bases. He was rescued by a play at the plate that prevented Addison Russell from scoring a tying run followed by a game-ending double play that snuffed out a potential walk-off rally to collect his 33rd save.
Angels 8, Rangers 6
Albert Pujols went 3-for-3 with a pair of three-run homers to lift suddenly hot Los Angeles to a win over Texas at Angel Stadium.
Though still 10 games under .500 and battling with the Oakland A’s to stay out of last place in the AL West, the Angels have won a season-best five games in a row coming out of the All-Star break.
Pujols continued his assault on the record book, his two homers Tuesday – Nos. 18 and 19 on the season – giving him 579 for his career and moving him within four of Mark McGwire for 10th on the all-time list.
Red Sox 4, Giants 0
David Ortiz slugged a three-run homer off old friend Jake Peavy as Boston beat San Francisco at Fenway Park.
Ortiz’s homer was No. 526 of his career, bringing him within eight of Jimmie Foxx for 18th place on the all-time list. It was the 40-year-old slugger’s 994th extrabase hit with the Red Sox.
Peavy, making his first start at Fenway since Boston traded him to San Francisco on July 26, 2014, lasted six innings, allowing four runs on three hits and a walk with six strikeouts.
Blue Jays 5, Diamondbacks 1
Edwin Encarnacion hit a three-run homer, and Aaron Sanchez won his American League-high ninth consecutive decision in Toronto’s interleague victory over Arizona.
Encarnacion hit his 25th homer of the season with two outs in the third inning to give the Blue Jays a 3-1 lead in support of Sanchez, who has not lost in his last 15 starts.
Josh Donaldson added three hits and an RBI, and Devon Travis had two hits, scored twice and drove in a run as the Blue Jays won for the 10th time in 14 games.
Dodgers 8, Nationals 4
Chase Utley had three hits and three RBIs, including a leadoff homer, and crafty left-hander Scott Kazmir gave up just one run and four hits in seven innings as Los Angeles beat Washington.
Utley had an RBI single in the eighth inning off reliever Blake Treinen to boost the lead to 7-1. But Washington’s Trea Turner had a two-run triple in the bottom of the eighth off Chris Hatcher to make it 7-3 before left-hander Adam Liberatore came on to pitch for the Dodgers.
Indians 7, Royals 3
Danny Salazar pitched effectively into the seventh inning, and Mike Napoli and Francisco Lindor homered as Cleveland defeated Kansas City.
Salazar (11-3) gave up three runs, two earned, on eight hits and a walk in 61/3 innings. He struck out seven.
Salazar is 3-0 with a 1.21 ERA in three starts this season against the World Series champion Royals, having allowed 15 hits while striking out 25 in 221/3 innings.
Marlins 2, Phillies 1 (10)
Christian Yelich, who homered earlier in the game, drove in the decisive run with a single in the top of the 10th inning as Miami beat Philadelphia.
It was Miami’s second extra-inning victory over the Phillies in as many days. The Marlins won 3-2 in 11 innings on Monday night.
Mike Dunn (2-1) picked up the victory by pitching a scoreless inning in relief for Miami, which won for the seventh time in eight games to maintain a one-game lead in the race for the NL’s second wildcard berth.
Rays 10, Rockies 1
Blake Snell dominated Colorado in his Coors Field debut and Tampa Bay scored five runs in the third inning on its way to a win.
Evan Longoria hit a mammoth tworun homer in the third-inning uprising when the Rays batted around, pounded out four extra-base hits and scored five runs as Tampa Bay took a 6-0 lead.
The victory ended the Rays’ 11-game road skid – the third longest in franchise history – and was just just Tampa Bay’s fifth win in its past 30 games.