Late Puig homer lifts Dodgers over Marlins
Yasiel Puig hit his second homer of the game with two outs in the ninth inning Friday night, and the three-run shot helped the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Miami Marlins 6-4 for their seventh consecutive Major League Baseball victory. Corey Seager also homered for the Dodgers (62-29), who were one strike from defeat three times before winning for the 27th time in the past 31 games. The Marlins led 4-3 when Joc Pederson singled on a 1-2 pitch with two outs in the ninth against A.J. Ramos (2-4). Pederson moved up on a wild pitch, Yasmani Grandal walked on a 3-2 pitch, and both runners advanced on another wild pitch. Puig fell behind 1-2 before pulling a 94 mph fastball into the home run sculpture. It was his 18th homer this year, and the second blown save by Ramos. Josh Fields (5-0) worked a perfect eighth, and Kenley Jansen followed with a 1-23 ninth for his 22nd save.
RED SOX 5, YANKEES 4
Aroldis Chapman walked home the winning run without getting an out in the ninth inning, handing Boston a victory over New York. Chapman (2-1) gave up two runs in the ninth for his third blown save. New York entered tied for the major league lead with 17 blown saves. Mookie Betts and Dustin Pedroia started the rally with consecutive singles and a successful double steal. Betts scored when second baseman Ronald Torreyes booted Xander Bogaerts’ grounder. After an intentional walk to Hanley Ramirez, Chapman walked Andrew Benintendi on five pitches to bring home Pedroia. Robby Scott (1-1) got the win for the Red Sox, who got their first victory over the Yankees at home this season. It was Boston’s first game-ending walk since Sept. 23, 2000, against Baltimore.
CUBS 9, ORIOLES 8
Addison Russell hit a go-ahead solo homer in the ninth inning as Chicago edged Baltimore after squandering an eight-run lead. Baltimore’s Mark Trumbo tied the game at 8 with a two-run homer off Chicago’s Japanese reliever Koji Uehara (3-4) in the eighth. Russell responded when he hit a first-pitch fastball from Brad Brach (2-2) over the left field fence. Wade Davis picked up his 17th save. Willson Contreras and Kyle Schwarber hit back-to-back homers in a four-run first inning for the Cubs. Ben Zobrist also homered onto the flag court behind the right field scoreboard, and Jason Heyward reached Eutaw Street with another towering shot. Chicago improved to 3-6 in interleague play after going 15-5 against the AL last season. Welington Castillo homered for the Orioles, who left 10 runners on base. Kevin Gausman tied a career high by allowing eight runs and seven hits over three innings. He also gave up four home runs - the most of his career.
ASTROS 10, TWINS 5
Brian McCann hit a three-run homer to cap an eight-run second inning and Marwin Gonzalez had a solo shot as Houston opened the second half of the season with a win over Minnesota. Gonzalez, Alex Bregman, George Springer, Josh Reddick and Carlos Correa each had an RBI to chase starter Jose Berrios (8-3). McCann, who struck out to start the second inning, greeted Phil Hughes with his homer. Gonzalez finished with three hits and two RBIs. Every Astros batter had at least one hit. Charlie Morton (7-3) allowed five runs - four earned and three hits with 10 strikeouts and a career high-tying five walks in five innings.
BREWERS 9, PHILLIES 6
Ryan Braun hit a grand slam off the scoreboard in center field and Orlando Arcia added a three-run shot during an eight-run second inning, helping Milwaukee beat Philadelphia. Nick Pivetta (2-5) struck out his first four batters before the Brewers got on top of his fastball in the second. Arcia hit his ninth home run, and Braun crushed the first pitch for his sixth career grand slam, most in franchise history. Zach Davies (11-4) won his fourth straight start, but it was a struggle. He labored through the first and fifth innings before being pulled with one out and two on in the sixth. He was charged with six runs, five earned. Corey Knebel pitched the ninth for his 15th save.
BRAVES 4, DIAMONDBACKS 3
Freddie Freeman and Atlanta topped baseball’s comeback kings at their own game, scoring two runs in the eighth inning to beat Arizona. The Diamondbacks lead the majors with 29 come-from-behind wins and were in position for No. 30 when Chris Owings scored the tiebreaking run on a wild pitch in the eighth. The Braves answered quickly against Archie Bradley (3-2). Ender Inciarte beat second baseman Brandon Drury’s throw to first for an infield single and raced to third on Brandon Phillips’ double into the right-field corner. Freeman’s single to left scored Inciarte and Phillips. Freeman hit his 17th homer and drove in two runs. Arizona’s Paul Goldschmidt hit his 21st homer. Rex Brothers (1-0) got the last out in the eighth. Jim Johnson pitched the ninth for his 20th save in 27 chances.
PIRATES 5, CARDINALS 2
Josh Bell hit a three-run homer off Seung Hwan Oh with one out in the ninth inning to give Pittsburgh a dramatic win over St. Louis. Adam Frazier led off the bottom of the ninth with a double and Oh intentionally walked Andrew McCutchen with one out. Bell, a rookie, stepped in and sent a pitch from Oh (1-5) into the seats in left field for the first gameending hit of his career. The Pirates have won six of seven. Bell finished 2 for 3 with four RBIs. His 17 home runs lead the Pirates. Felipe Rivero (4-2) retired the Cardinals on seven pitches in the top of the ninth. Frazier added three hits for Pittsburgh. Jedd Gyorko hit a two-run homer in the first inning, but St. Louis was limited to just four hits the rest of the way against Gerrit Cole and three relievers.
METS 14, ROCKIES 2
Jacob deGrom came out dealing once again, striking out 11 and winning his sixth straight start as New York began what could be a last-chance homestand by routing Colorado. Michael Conforto and T.J. Rivera homered, Yoenis Cespedes got four hits and deGrom contributed two singles for the Mets, who trail Colorado by 9 1/2 games for the second NL wild card. The Rockies posted their best record ever before the All-Star break, but absorbed their most lopsided defeat of the season while losing for the 14th time in 19 games. Big-hitting Nolan Arenado exited a few innings early with a sore hip after slipping on the bases on a misty night. DeGrom (10-3), snubbed for the All-Star team, gave up four hits and one earned run in eight innings. He also fanned at least 10 for the seventh time this year. Jon Gray (2-1) was tagged for eight runs on nine hits and three walks in two-plus innings.
NATIONALS 5, REDS 0
Gio Gonzalez pitched four-hit ball into the ninth inning, and Bryce Harper extended his mid-July tear with a pair of homers to lead Washington over Cincinnati. Gonzalez (8-4) snapped his streak of three straight tough-luck losses. He allowed a double and three infield singles before leaving with one out in the ninth after his 113th pitch. Matt Albers gave up three singles, and Matt Grace escaped the bases-loaded threat for his first save. The Reds were shut out for the second time this season. Four of their seven hits were infield singles. Harper had a two-run shot and a solo homer off Tim Adleman (5-7) as the NL’s top offense got right back in form after the All-Star break. Harper has 22 homers overall, four during his nine-game hitting streak.
BLUE JAYS 7, TIGERS 2
Aaron Sanchez pitched six strong innings for his first win of the season as Toronto beat Detroit. Steve Pearce and Jose Bautista homered for the Blue Jays, who won the opener of a 10-game road trip. Sanchez (1-2) allowed one unearned run and seven hits to win for the first time since beating Boston on Oct. 2. He struck out four. Justin Verlander (5-7) permitted only three hits, but needed 114 pitches to get through 5 1/3 innings. He gave up three runs, two earned.
MARINERS 4, WHITE SOX 2
Robinson Cano hit a three-run drive on his first swing since connecting for the winning homer in the All-Star Game, helping James Paxton and Seattle beat Chicago. Jean Segura added two hits and scored twice as the Mariners started a six-game trip with their third victory in four games. Paxton (8-3) struck out nine while pitching six effective innings in his third straight win. Cano, who went deep in the 10th inning of the American League’s 2-1 victory Tuesday night in Miami, walked on four pitches in the first. He came up again with two on and one out in the third and drove the first pitch from James Shields (2-2) off the top of the wall in right-center for his 18th homer, giving the Mariners a 3-1 lead. The last-place White Sox have dropped five of six. It was Chicago’s first game since it traded left-hander Jose Quintana to the crosstown Cubs on Thursday.
RANGERS 5, ROYALS 3
Adrian Beltre hit a three-run homer while pinch-hitter Mike Napoli had a go-ahead, tworun shot as Texas rallied to defeat Kansas City. Martin Perez (5-6) allowed eight hits and a walk over seven innings, but kept all that traffic to just three runs. Two of those came in the second, when Alcides Escobar homered. Beltre connected in the sixth off Royals starter Jason Hammel, who had just permitted back-to-back singles - the first hits off him all night. It was Beltre’s 453rd homer, passing Carl Yastrzemski for 38th on the career list. The drive also gave Beltre 1,601 RBIs in 20 big league seasons. Napoli homered in the seventh off reliever Mike Minor (5-2). Matt Bush breezed through a perfect eighth and Alex Claudio handled the ninth for his second save, giving the Rangers their 10th straight win over Kansas City dating to last July. — AP