Escobar’s homer and single lead Nats past Padres in series finale
Yankees rout Red Sox as White Sox blank Astros
WASHINGTON, July 19, (AP): Alcides Escobar homered in the eighth inning and hit a winning single in the ninth as the Washington Nationals wrapped up a disturbing weekend with an 8-7 win over the San Diego Padres.
A day after the game was suspended in the sixth inning because of a shooting outside Nationals Park, the Padres completed a 10-4 victory. Washington then came back to end a six-game losing streak.
Tres Barrera singled off Mark Melancon (2-2) with one out in the ninth and, after failing on a bunt attempt, Victor Robles was hit by pitch. Escobar hit a flyball that center fielder Trent Grisham couldn’t corral and Barrera scored.
Brad Hand (5-2) earned the victory. Juan Soto joined Josh Harrison with three hits and added a two-run homer.
Manny Machado, Eric Hosmer and Jackson Profar homered for the Padres.
Nationals ace Max Scherzer allowed four runs on four hits in seven innings. He struck out eight.
In the completion of Saturday’s suspended game, Fernando Tatis Jr. had his third four-hit game of the season and scored twice for the Padres, and Tommy Pham had three hits and two walks.
Reliever Craig Stammen (4-2) pitched a scoreless fifth inning for the win. Starter Blake Snell allowed four runs on six hits and four walks in four innings.
Yankees 9, Red Sox 1
In New York, Gleyber Torres and Rougned Odor homered to back another strong start from Jameson Taillon as depleted New York beat Boston.
Playing without All-Star slugger Aaron Judge and five of his teammates who also tested positive for COVID-19 recently, the Yankees won their second straight against rival Boston.
Taillon (5-4) pitched 5 1/3 scoreless innings of four-hit ball in his 100th major league start. Ryan LaMarre added a two-run homer in the eighth and DJ
LeMahieu extended his on-base streak to 30 games, longest in the big leagues this season, with a single that set up a thirdinning run.
White Sox 4, Astros 0
In Chicago, Carlos Rodón allowed one hit through seven dominant innings, Yoán Moncada and Tim Anderson hit solo homers and Chicago topped Houston.
Danny Mendick and Adam Engel added RBI singles, and the White Sox stymied Astros hitters for the second straight game after losing their first five this season to Houston — and being outscored 34-9 in those contests. Chicago has won seven of eight to move to the top of the American League standings.
Abraham Toro’s sharp single past Mendick at second in the third inning was the only hit off Rodón (8-3) and accounted for Houston’s only baserunner. The big left-hander struck out 10 in this meeting of division leaders.
Mariners 7, Angels 4
In Anaheim, Calif., Ty France hit a three-run homer, Logan Gilbert struck out a career-high nine and Seattle defeated Los Angeles despite Shohei Ohtani’s 34th homer of the season.
Ohtani added to his major leagueleading home run total in the ninth inning, hitting his first since the All-Star break.
David Fletcher’s 26-game hitting streak ended when he went 0 for 5. The streak was the second-longest in franchise history for the Angels.
Luis Torrens also went deep for the Mariners, who have won five of their last seven. His solo shot off Patrick Sandoval (2-4) in the fourth inning was his ninth of the season and extended Seattle’s lead to 3-0.
Phillies 4, Marlins 2, 1st Game Phillies 7, Marlins 4, 2nd Game
In Philadelphia, J.T. Realmuto followed a two-run walk-off homer in the completion of a suspended game with a 3-for-5 performance with two RBIs and Philadelphia beat Miami in the regularly scheduled series finale.
Realmuto’s two-run 10th-inning homer gave the Phillies a win in the conclusion to Saturday’s suspended game.
Andrew McCutchen and Didi Gregorius also homered in the scheduled game for the Phillies, who rallied from a 4-2 deficit to give starting pitcher Zack Wheeler the win.
Adam Duvall hit his 20th homer of the season for the Marlins, who have lost six of their past eight games.
Mets 7, Pirates 6
In Pittsburgh, Michael Conforto hit a two-run homer in the ninth inning to complete a huge comeback and the New York Mets overcame an embarrassing gaffe by All-Star pitcher Taijuan Walker to beat the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Trailing 6-0 in the first inning, the Mets rallied to salvage a rugged weekend at PNC Park. The NL East leaders lost stars Jacob deGrom and Francisco Lindor to injuries, then dropped Saturday night’s game when closer Edwin Diaz gave up a two-out grand slam in the ninth that capped Pittsburgh’s sixrun comeback.
Blue Jays 5, Rangers 0, 1st Game Blue Jays 10, Rangers 0, 2nd Game In Buffalo, N.Y., Hyun Jin Ryu threw a three-hitter in the opener, and Steven Matz and two relievers combined for another shutout in the second game as Toronto blanked Texas in both halves of a doubleheader.
It was the first time the Blue Jays swept a doubleheader with two shutouts in team history. It was the first time the Rangers were shut out twice in a day since the team moved to Texas.
Lourdes Gurriel Jr. hit a first-inning grand slam, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. slugged his 31st homer of the season, and George Springer and Randal Grichuk also went deep for Toronto in the second game. Danny Jansen homered in the first game.
Indians 4, Athletics 2
In Oakland, Calif., Bradley Zimmer had three hits, including a home run on All-Star Chris Bassitt’s first pitch, to help Cleveland beat Oakland.
Daniel Johnson, who grew up about 30 minutes north of the Coliseum and had a group of family and friends in attendance,
BASEBALL
connected for his first career home run and made a sparkling defensive play to help the Indians win their fifth in six games.
Zach Plesac (5-3) pitched six strong innings to win in his second start since breaking his right thumb while taking off his jersey in late May. Nick Wittgren and Phil Maton retired three batters apiece. Bryan Shaw pitched the ninth for his second save.
Seth Brown hit his 11th home run for Oakland.
Rays 7, Braves 5
In Atlanta, Yandy Diaz homered during a four-run rally in the seventh inning and Tampa Bay beat Atlanta. The Rays completed their 28th come-from-behind win and took two of three in the series. A.J. Minter (1-4) took the loss.
Wander Franco’s third homer in the sixth off Braves starter Drew Smyly made it 3-all.
Tampa Bay starter Rich Hill allowed three runs in four innings. Left-hander Jeffrey Springs (5-1) gave up one hit while recording two outs. Pete Fairbanks pitched the ninth for his fifth save.
Rockies 6, Dodgers 5, 10 Innings
In Denver, Charlie Blackmon hit a solo homer in the bottom of the 10th inning, leading Colorado over Los Angeles. Trevor Story hit a tying sacrifice fly and Blackmon followed with a drive to right off Phil Bickford (0-1) that gave Colorado the victory.
Will Smith, who homered earlier, singled off Mychal Givens (3-2) in the top of the 10th, scoring the automatic runner and putting Los Angeles up 5-4. But the Dodgers could not hold on. Their winning streak ended at four, and their eight-game run against the Rockies was also snapped.
Cardinals 2, Giants 1
In St, Louis, Harrison Bader put St. Louis ahead with a checked-swing single off the glove of first basemen LaMonte Wade Jr. in the seventh inning in a win over San Francisco.
The Cardinals won the season series, taking two out of three against the Giants in both series against them.
Matt Carpenter hooked a ground-rule double down the right-field line off former teammate John Brebbia (0-1) in the seventh. José Rondón was brought in to pinch-run, and he advanced to third on a flyout by Paul DeJong (homer). With the infield in, Bader hit a grounder that deflected off Wade’s glove, scoring Rondón.
Diamondbacks 6, Cubs 4
In Phoenix, Merrill Kelly threw eight solid innings, Eduardo Escobar hit a two-run homer and Arizona avoided a three-game sweep with a win over Chicago.
Kelly (6-7) needed just 75 pitches to navigate the Cubs’ lineup through eight innings and threw 59 strikes. The righthander gave up four runs and six hits, struck out six and walked none. Joakim Soria earned his fourth save.
Christian Walker and Nick Ahmed both had two hits. Josh Rojas reached base five times, walking four times. Escobar’s homer was his 21st of the season.
Brewers 8, Reds 0
In Cincinnati, Corbin Burnes pitched sharply into the ninth inning, leading Milwaukee over Cincinnati.
The Brewers stretched their NL Central lead to seven games over secondplace Cincinnati.
Burnes (5-4) dominated, striking out 12 while allowing five hits and a walk in 8 1/3 innings. Reliever Angel Perdomo came on to preserve the shutout.
Tigers 7, Twins 0
In Detroit, Jeimer Candelario homered, drove in three runs and started two double plays as Detroit finished a weekend sweep of Minnesota.
The game was the seventh in a row between the teams. Minnesota swept a four-game series at home immediately before the All-Star break before losing three in Detroit. The series was scheduled for four games, but Friday’s doubleheader was rained out. The Tigers swept a doubleheader on Saturday.
Wily Peralta (3-1) pitched seven shutout innings for the second time in three starts, allowing four hits and four walks while striking out four. Peralta, who was aided by four double plays, is 3-1 with a 0.34 ERA in his last five starts.
Orioles 5, Royals 0
In Kansas City, Mo., Matt Harvey ended his nine-game losing skid with his best performance in years, pitching six crisp innings and sending Baltimore over Kansas City.
Harvey (4-10) had been winless in 12 starts since his previous victory on May 1. The former All-Star allowed just three singles, walked one and struck out two against his former team. Harvey’s six innings matched his season high. This was the first time since September 2018 that Harvey pitched at least six innings and didn’t allow a run.