Orioles sweep Indians as Reimold homers in 9th
Astros blast Angels; Yankees halt Giants
BALTIMORE — This is how good things are going for the Orioles at home this season: After blowing a late-inning lead, Baltimore launched the game-winning uprising with a third strike.
Pinch-hitter Nolan Reimold hit a decisive two-out homer in the ninth inning after Pedro Alvarez reached on a strikeout, and the Orioles beat the Cleveland Indians 5-3 on Sunday for a three-game sweep.
Cody Allen (2-4) began the ninth by striking out Alvarez, but the ball eluded catcher Roberto Perez. After fielding the bouncing ball off the backstop, Perez hit Alvarez in the helmet with the throw for an error.
“As long as I have been playing baseball the rule is you run down the baseline,” Alvarez said. “I saw the ball get away from him and I just ran down to first base.”
A sacrifice bunt and a strikeout followed before Reimold lined a 2-0 pitch into the leftfield seats.
“I was taking the first pitch, trying to get comfortable,” Reimold said. “After that, I got up 2-0 and I was ready to hit. I figured he would try to throw a fastball there.”
The Indians’ catchers often practice the throw to first after a dropped third strike,
but Perez still evidently has some work to do.
“I don’t think he rushed. He didn’t move his feet,” manager Terry Francona said. “We talk to him about that all the time. You don’t want somebody to learn a lesson the hard way, and he did.”
ASTROS 13, ANGELS 3: In Houston, Jose Altuve hit two of Houston’s season-high five homers and had a career-high six RBIs to lead the Astros to a three-game sweep of the Angels.
Luis Valbuena, Preston Tucker and Evan Gattis also homered for the Astros, who extended their winning streak against the Angels to 11 games.
There were runners at first and second with no outs in the first when Altuve connected off Tim Lincecum (2-4) on a home run to left-center field to make it 3-0. Valbuena’s home run came with one out in the inning to push the lead to 4-0.
RED SOX 8, TWINS 7: In Boston, Rick Porcello became the first Boston pitcher in 55 years to open a season 10-0 in Fenway Park, and Hanley Ramirez and Travis Shaw both hit three-run homers as the Red Sox earned a split of a four-game series. BLUE JAYS 2, MARINERS 0: In Toronto, J.A. Happ and three relievers combined on a one-hitter, Edwin Encarnacion hit a solo home run and the Blue Jays avoided a threegame sweep. ATHLETICS 3, RAYS 2: In Oakland, Calif., Billy Butler hit a tiebreaking home run off Erasmo Ramirez with one out in the eighth inning and the Athletics completed a threegame sweep. WHITE SOX 4-5, TIGERS 3-4: In Chicago, Melky Cabrera drove in Adam Eaton with a game-ending single in the ninth inning after closer David Robertson gave up three home runs in the top half to lead the White Sox.
The White Sox beat the Tigers 4-3 earlier in the day on a single by Eaton in the ninth after play was suspended because of rain the previous night. RANGERS 2, ROYALS 1: In Kansas City, Mo., Delino DeShields homered in the seventh inning to break a tie and Texas defeated the Royals. DODGERS 9, CARDINALS 6: In St. Louis, Adrian Gonzalez hit a grand slam and Howie Kendrick added a tworun homer, helping the Dodgers spoil Mike Mayers’ major league debut.
Mayers (0-1) lasted just 1⅓ innings, throwing 62 pitches. He gave up nine runs on eight hits, including two home runs. His ERA is 60.75. DIAMONDBACKS 9, REDS 8: In Cincinnati, Paul Goldschmidt’s solo home run in the fifth inning gave Arizona the lead for good, and the Diamondbacks finished with four homers in holding off the Reds.
METS 3, MARLINS 0: In Miami, Steven Matz pitched six innings for his first win since May, and the Mets took the rubber game of their series against Miami. CUBS 6, BREWERS 5: In Milwaukee, Anthony Rizzo hit a three-run double in the seventh inning and the Cubs rallied from a four-run deficit. PADRES 10, NATIONALS 6: In Washington, San Diego hit back-to-back homers off Shawn Kelley in the eighth inning and scored four runs off Jonathan Papelbon in the ninth to beat the Nationals.
PIRATES 5, PHILLIES 4: In Pittsburgh, Adam Frazier’s pinch-hit home run in the seventh inning powered the Pirates. ROCKIES 7, BRAVES 2: In Denver, Trevor Story lined his fourth homer in three games, Tyler Chatwood allowed one hit over five erratic innings and Colorado swept Atlanta.
Nolan Arenado jumpstarted the offense with a three-run homer in the first and DJ LeMahieu added a solo shot in the fourth.
YANKEES 5, GIANTS 2: In New York, Nathan Eovaldi pitched shutout ball into the seventh inning, Carlos Beltran and Mark Teixeira hit early solo home runs and the Yankees completed a 6-4 homestand that likely was too little and too late to keep management from selling off players ahead of the Aug. 1 trade deadline.