Ellsbury injury fails to stop Yankees’ rise
Helped by a great first-inning catch that forced centre fielder Jacoby Ellsbury from the game with a concussion and sprained neck, Luis Severino won for the first time in a month and led the New York Yankees to a 3-0 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday.
On the first pitch of the game, Ellsbury sprinted 107 feet and raised his glove above his head to catch Alcides Escobar’s fly. Ellsbury’s head jarred into the wall as the ball landed in his glove and he crumpled to the field. After being checked by manager Joe Girardi and head athletic trainer Steve Donohue, he remained in the game but was replaced by Aaron Hicks starting the second.
Didi Gregorius homered against Jason Hammel (1-6) leading off the third inning.
Meanwhile, Mike Leake allowed four hits over eight innings as St Louis beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-1.
In Phoenix, Jake Lamb homered off a left-hander for only the second time this season while five Diamondbacks drove in at least one run as Arizona completed a threegame sweep and won for the eighth time in nine games, beating the White Sox 8-6.
Jose Berrios took a two-hitter into the seventh inning while Kennys Vargas drove in two runs as Minnesota completed they first three-game sweep in Baltimore since 1996 with a 4-3 victory.
Ryan Goins hit his first career grand slam, one of four homers for Toronto as they swept two-game interleague series and won three straight to finish a seven-game trip with an 8-4 win against the Brewers.
In Oakland, Sonny Gray struck out a season-high 11 over seven innings in his best start in two years and Khris Davis homered to lead the hosts to a 4-1 win over the Marlins.
Anthony Rendon hit a three-run homer for his eighth of the season and Tanner Roark allowed a run over seven innings to lead Washington, who defeated the Mariners 5-1.
In Boston, Dustin Pedroia waved home the tie-breaking run on a wild pitch then singled in two more during Boston’s sevenrun seventh inning as the Red Sox won their third straight, outplaying the Rangers 9-4.
Gift Ngoepe doubled to drive in Andrew McCutchen for the go-ahead run before the Pittsburgh Pirates hit three straight homers during a seven-run 10th inning to beat Atlanta 12-10.
Steven Souza Jr homered twice to help Tampa Bay rally past the Los Angeles Angels 5-2, while Tyler Chatwood allowed just one hit in seven scoreless innings and Carlos Gonzalez homered as Colorado beat Philadelphia 7-2.
Anthony Rizzo hit two home runs and Kyle Hendricks tossed seven strong innings as the Chicago Cubs held on to edge San Francisco 5-4.