Adams’ first career home run lifts Nats

Braves blow lead, waste shot to move by Mets in NL East

Riley Adams’ two-run homer in the ninth gave Washington the lead and the Nationals rallied with three runs off Atlanta closer Will Smith, beating the Braves 3-2 on Saturday night.

Smith blew a 2-0 lead in the ninth, wasting a strong start from Charlie Morton and costing Atlanta an opportunity to move past the New York Mets and into second place in the tight NL East.

Adams, a rookie catcher who took a .091 batting average into the game, crushed the first pitch he saw from Smith for a high homer, the first of his career, into the left-field seats. The homer drove in Ryan Zimmerman, who had a pinch-hit double.

Astros 4, Twins 0: Yordan Alvarez hit the 50th home run of his career, rookie Luis Garcia pitched six scoreless innings, and three relievers completed the four-hitter to help Houston beat Minnesota.

Athletics 12, Rangers 3: Matt Olson matched his career high with four hits, including a tworun double as part of Oakland’s seven-run third inning, and the Athletics beat Texas, handing the Rangers their 13th consecutive road loss.

Cardinals 5, Royals 2: Nolan Arenado homered, pinch-hitter Matt Carpenter delivered a tiebreaking double and St. Louis beat Kansas City.

Rays 12, Orioles 3: Brandon Lowe hit a grand slam, Nelson Cruz homered for the second straight game and Tampa Bay maintained its dominance of Baltimore.

Reds 11, Pirates 3: Jesse Winker went 3-for-5 with a homer, double and tied a careerhigh with six RBIs to lift Cincinnati over Pittsburgh.

White Sox 4, Cubs 0: Carlos Rodon struck out 11 in five stellar innings, Cesar Hernandez and Jose Abreu hit back-to-back home runs and the White Sox beat the Cubs. Yoan Moncada added a two-run double for the White Sox in their second straight win in the crosstown series at Wrigley Field.

Tigers 2, Indians 1: Tyler Alexander tossed a season-high 51⁄3 scoreless innings to lift Detroit. Former Tigers catcher Wilson Ramos spoiled the shutout with a leadoff homer in the ninth off Gregory Soto.

Rockies 7, Marlins 4: Austin Gomber had a career-high nine strikeouts in six scoreless innings for Colorado.

Giants 9, Brewers 6 (12): LaMonte Wade Jr. drove in the go-ahead run with an 11th inning single and Brandon Belt hit two home runs to lift San Francisco.

Note: Infielder Jonathan Schoop and the Tigers agreed to a $15 million, two-year contract covering 2022 and 2023.

Cole Burston / Getty Images Xander Bogaerts of the Red Sox reacts as he strikes out in the fourth inning of Game 1 of the doubleheader against Toronto at Rogers Centre on Saturday. Boston has scored five runs or fewer in 15 straight games.

Todd Kirkland / Getty Images Riley Adams of the Nationals rounds third after hitting a two-run home run in the ninth inning Saturday.