Beltre becomes 31st member of 3,000-hit club
Pearce’s second walk-off slam in a week completes Jays’ 7-run 9th-inning rally to shock Angels
Adrian Beltre ripped a double down the left-field line and into the corner and put himself into baseball history.
The fourth-inning double on Sunday afternoon in Texas Rangers’ 10-6 loss to the Baltimore Orioles was the 3,000th hit of his career. Beltre became the 31st player to accomplish the feat.
At 38 and almost four months, Beltre is the ninth youngest player when he collected hit No. 3,000.
Beltre’s 605th double tied him with Hall of Famer Paul Molitor for 14th all-time. He also has 454 career home runs and 1,607 RBIs, while batting .286 over the course of his 19-year MLB career, and counting.
He was joined by his kids A.J., Cassie and Camilla on the field for a brief moment of recognition for the achievement. Over 30,000 Rangers fans, on hand to share moment, cheered with anticipation for each of his at-bats and roared with excitement as hit No. 3,000 sailed down the left-field line.
Beltre’s 3,000th hit came on the same afternoon as former Rangers’ catcher Pudge Rodriguez was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Beltre is tied with Roberto Clemente for 30th all-time. He needs to 111 more hits to pass Dave Winfield into the top 20 all-time. The last player to reach the milestone was the Marlins Ichiro Suzuki, who did it last August. Beltre is the first player from the Dominican Republic to collect 3,000 hits.
Whether that happens or not, the 3,000hit milestone almost guarantees Beltre’s election into the Baseball Hall of Fame five years after he retires.
The way he has played since returning from a series of calf strains during spring training, it appears the veteran third baseman could keep adding to his career totals for several more years.
“I don’t see any difference from last year or the year before,” manager Jeff Banister said, before knocking on his wooden desk. “He seems, at times, ageless.”
(Fort Worth Star-Telegram/TNS)
Blue Jays 11, Angels 10
Steve Pearce hit his second walk-off grand slam of the week, and Toronto scored seven runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to defeat Los Angeles.
Pearce also had a game-ending grand slam Thursday to beat the Oakland Athletics. Toronto avoided a three-game sweep by Los Angeles with the biggest ninth-inning comeback win in club history.
Ezequiel Carrera and Kevin Pillar also homered for the Blue Jays, while Matt Dermody (1-0) allowed one run in three innings of relief to earn his first major league victory. The Angels’ Albert Pujols had two homers, a single and four RBIs to end an 0-for-24 drought.
Dodgers 3, Giants 2 (11)
Kyle Farmer, in his first major league at-bat, rifled a pinch-hit double into the right field corner to score two runs in the bottom of the 11th inning and give Los Angeles a walk-off win over San Francisco.
The Dodgers completed a three-game sweep and earned their eighth win in a row.
With two on and one out and the Giants leading 2-1, Farmer hit a line drive into the corner off Albert Suarez (0-1) to score Corey Seager, who had doubled, and Justin Turner, who had been intentionally walked.
White Sox 3, Indians 1
Matt Davidson hit a walk-off, two-run homer as Chicago ended Cleveland’s ninegame winning streak.
Davidson homered against reliever Bryan Shaw (4-5) on a 1-1 pitch as the White Sox won for only the second time in their past 16 games. Chicago did not collect its first hit until left fielder Leury Garcia smacked a solo home run with two outs in the sixth inning, tying the game at 1-1.
The White Sox activated Garcia from the 10-day disabled list before the game to take the roster spot of leadoff hitter and offensive catalyst Melky Cabrera, who was traded to Kansas City on Sunday in exchange for two minor league pitchers.
Cubs 4, Brewers 2
Rookie Victor Caratini hit a go-ahead home run in the seventh inning to lift Chicago over Milwaukee.
By taking the rubber match of a threegame series between the top teams in the National League Central, the Cubs increased their lead to 2½ games over the second-place Brewers.
Caratini was in the Cubs’ lineup at first base in place of Anthony Rizzo, who was unable to play because of back stiffness. Normally the backup catcher, Caratini fell behind 0-2 before fouling off a pair of pitches and taking a ball before drilling a fastball from Zach Davies (12-5) out to dead center field for his first major league home run.
Rays 5, Yankees 3
Jacob Faria and five relievers combined on a four-hitter as Tampa Bay salvaged the finale of the four-game series with New York in the Bronx.
Faria did not qualify for the win after allowing three runs and three hits in fourplus innings. Sergio Romo, Dan Jennings, Steve Cishek (2-1), Tommy Hunter and Alex Colome (30th save) combined for five scoreless innings of one-hit ball.
Royals 5, Red Sox 3
Alex Gordon smashed a two-run triple to cap a four-run eighth inning as Kansas City rallied past Boston.
Gordon’s heroics were preceded by a game-tying, two-run, bases-loaded single from Alcides Escobar, who had three RBIs to help the Royals take the rubber match of the three-game series.
Rafael Devers clubbed his first career homer at Fenway, a solo shot, and his second since his major league debut last Tuesday after Boston brought him up from Triple-A Pawtucket. The Red Sox have lost seven of their past 10 games.
Tigers 13, Astros 1
Justin Upton hit a grand slam and tied a career best with six RBIs, and Miguel Cabrera hit a milestone RBI double in Detroit’s rout of Houston.
Justin Verlander (6-7) pitched six scoreless innings. He retired the last seven batters he faced but left eight Houston runners on base in the first four innings. Verlander is rumored to be a trade target before the Monday deadline.
The Tigers broke the game open with three runs in the sixth, chasing Lance McCullers Jr. (7-3), who gave up at least four runs in his fourth straight start. McCullers Jr. allowed eight hits, walked four, struck out four and was charged with five runs in five innings.
Rockies 10, Nationals 6 (1st) Nationals 3, Rockies 1 (2nd)
Colorado blasted Washington’s Erick Fedde in his major league debut, scoring seven runs off the right-hander en route to a victory in the opener of a day-night doubleheader.
Nolan Arenado and DJ LeMahieu had three hits and two RBIs apiece for the Rockies. Kyle Freeland (11-7) pitched five innings to earn the victory, breaking a tie with teammate Antonio Senzatela for the most wins among major league rookies.
Colorado’s Greg Holland entered with the bases loaded in the ninth, and after allowing Anthony Rendon’s RBI single, got Howie Kendrick to ground into a double play to secure his 33rd save in 34 tries. Ryan Zimmerman homered twice and drove in four runs for the Nationals.
In the nightcap, Edwin Jackson pitched seven strong innings, and Adam Lind and Brian Goodwin both homered in the fifth inning as Washington defeated Colorado to salvage a split of the doubleheader.
Mariners 9, Mets 1
James Paxton pitched six scoreless innings and set a franchise record as Seattle defeated New York.
Paxton (11-3) allowed six hits, didn’t walk a batter and struck out eight as the Mariners won two of three in the series. Paxton broke the team mark for most victories in a month by a pitcher. He finished July 6-0 with a 1.37 ERA, with 46 strikeouts and six walks in 391/3 innings.
Seattle’s Nelson Cruz launched a threerun homer in the first inning.