Betts hits MLB-leading 16th homer as Red Sox top Rays
Carlsbad pitcher Rogers makes professional debut at Single-A
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Mookie Betts hit his major leagueleading 16th homer, Chris Sale struck out nine in 7⅔ innings and the Boston Red Sox beat the Tampa Bay Rays 4-2 on Tuesday night.
Willy Adames made his big league debut and hit a solo home run off Sale in his second at-bat. The 22-year-old shortstop went 1 for 4 with three strikeouts. He was acquired from Detroit as part of a three-team trade that sent Rays ace — and current Sale teammate — David Price to the Tigers on July 31, 2014.
Sale (5-1) gave up four hits and walked two. He has allowed three runs or fewer in his first 11 starts, the longest stretch by a Boston pitcher to open a season since Pedro Martinez’s 12 in 2001.
The announced attendance was 10,642, below the Rays’ AL-low home average of 14,711. Miami is last in the majors at 10,603.
NATIONALS 2, PADRES 1: In Washington, Bryce Harper hit his NL leading 15th home run of the season and Michael Taylor’s one-out double in the ninth scored the game-winning run as Washington defeated San Diego.
Juan Soto, the youngest player in the majors, reached base in all four at-bats in his second career start. The 19-year-old led off the ninth with his third walk, took second on Wilmer Difo’s groundout and scored on Taylor’s hit off the center-field wall against Matt Strahm (0-2).
BLUE JAYS 5, ANGELS 3: In Toronto, Kendrys Morales hit a two-run home run, J.A. Happ won his second straight start and Toronto burst to a five-run first-inning lead in a win over Los Angeles that stopped a four-game losing streak.
Josh Donaldson had two doubles and Teoscar Hernandez singled home the first run as the Blue Jays ended a six-game home skid and won for the fourth time in 16
games at Rogers Centre.
MARLINS 5, METS 1: In New York, Caleb Smith pitched neatly into the seventh inning against a Mets lineup that included newcomer Jose Bautista, leading Miami over New York.
Derek Dietrich homered and J.T. Realmuto got three hits as Miami, the lowest-scoring team in the majors, ended a three-game skid. The Mets had won four in a row.
Bautista signed with the Mets two days after being cut by Atlanta.
RANGERS 6, YANKEES 4: In Arlington, Texas, Cole Hamels limited slugging New York to four hits over seven innings while Jurickson Profar and Ronald Guzman homered for last-place Texas.
New York, a big league-best 31-14, had won 22 of its previous 26 games and was coming off a three-game stretch with 14 homers and 28 runs.
BRAVES 3, PHILLIES 1: In Philadelphia, Ozzie Albies hit his 14th homer and Brandon McCarthy tossed 5⅔ sharp innings, leading Atlanta to the victory.
McCarthy (5-2) allowed one run and four hits. He is 4-0 with a 2.08 ERA against Philadelphia this season and 1-2 with a 6.60 ERA against the rest of the league.
INDIANS 10, CUBS 1: In Chicago, Jose Ramirez hit his 14th homer and the Indians routed the Cubs in their first meeting at Wrigley Field since the 2016 World Series.
The AL Central leaders moved back to .500 with an easy victory against the team that beat them two years ago to end a 108-year championship drought.
ASTROS 11, GIANTS 2: In Houston, Gerrit Cole struck out eight over six innings to lead Houston over San Francisco.
Both of the runs off Cole (5-1) scored on a fifth-inning home run by Crawford, whose sister Amy is married to Cole.
ROYALS 5, CARDINALS 1: In St. Louis, Alex Gordon and Salvador Perez each homered and Jason Hammel earned his first victory of the season as Kansas City beat St. Louis.
Hammel (1-5) has been winless in his previous 13 starts dating to his last win Sept. 6, 2017. Hammel also had been winless in his previous seven road starts. TWINS 6, TIGERS 0: In Minneapolis, Lance Lynn gave up five hits over 6⅔ innings in his most efficient outing of the season, and Brian Dozier drove in three runs with a pair of doubles to help Minnesota beat Detroit.
Lynn (2-4) lowered his jumbo ERA from 7.47 to 6.34 in his ninth start, striking out four and walking one. WHITE SOX 3, ORIOLES 2: In Chicago, Yolmer Sanchez capped Chicago’s three-run eighth with a tie-breaking RBI single, lifting the White Sox to a victory over Baltimore.
Welington Castillo also had an RBI single and Yoan Moncada added a sacrifice fly as last-place Chicago won for the fourth time in six games. REDS 7, PIRATES 2: In Cincinnati, Matt Harvey pitched six innings of one-run ball for his first victory with Cincinnati, and Scooter Gennett hit his fifth grand slam over the last two seasons. DODGERS 5, ROCKIES 3: In Los Angeles, Chris Taylor hit a go-ahead, two-run homer in the sixth inning and Yasiel Puig followed with a solo homer to lead Los Angeles to a win over Colorado. BREWERS 1, DIAMONDBACKS 0: In Milwaukee, Jhoulys Chacin and three relievers combined on a three-hitter, sending Milwaukee to the win.
ROGERS DEBUT: Carlsbad’s Trevor Rogers made his professional debut Tuesday night for the Greensboro (N.C.) Grasshoppers, the Miami Marlins’ Single-A fullseason affiliate.
Rogers, the No. 13 overall pick in last year’s amateur draft, pitched three innings, giving up four hits and three earned runs. He walked two and struck out five against Kannapolis, N.C.
He threw 72 pitches in his debut, 47 for strikes. Rogers had been on an extended spring training with the Marlins before he was called up to Greensboro late last week.