Springer sparks Astros to a win over Red Sox
Athletics rout Royals; Braves blank Nationals
HOUSTON — George Springer dashed home from second base on a wild pitch by Chris Sale, then homered off the Boston ace to send the Houston Astros over the Red Sox 7-3 Friday night in a matchup of AL division leaders.
Carlos Correa and Evan Gattis homered late to boost the Astros.
Mitch Moreland and J.D. Martinez hit back-to-back homers off Gerrit Cole (6-1) to start the fourth inning and get within 4-3. Martinez hit his major league-leading 19th homer.
Springer’s sprint put the Astros ahead in the first inning. With runners at first and second and one out, Sale (5-3) threw a hard slider that caught Correa swinging for strike three. But the ball bounced off catcher Sandy Leon’s glove and caromed toward the first-base dugout, and Springer hustled home on the wild pitch. ATHLETICS 16, ROYALS
0: In Kansas City, Mo., Matt Olson hit two homers and drove in a career-high five runs, while Frankie Montas pitched a career-best eight innings to help Oakland rout Kansas City.
Dustin Fowler also homered twice and had four RBIs for Oakland. Montas (2-0) made his second start since being called up from the minors last Sunday and limited the Royals to six hits and used ground-ball double plays to end the fourth and fifth innings.
The A’s sent 10 men to the plate in the third against Royals starter Ian Kennedy (1-6) and the first six
reached, including Fowler’s solo home run. YANKEES 4, ORIOLES 1: In Baltimore, Sonny Gray pitched six sharp innings, Aaron Judge homered and the Yankees breezed past punchless Baltimore.
Rookie Gleyber Torres had two hits and an RBI for the Yankees, who have won three straight to move a season-high 19 games over .500 (36-17). Gray (4-4) allowed one run and four hits with six strikeouts. Aroldis Chapman struck out the side in the ninth for his 13th save. BRAVES 4, NATIONALS
0: In Atlanta, Mike Foltynewicz pitched a two-hitter for his first career complete game and Dansby Swanson broke the game open with a three-run homer in the seventh for the Braves.
Foltynewicz (5-3) retired 20 straight batters before issuing a leadoff walk in the eighth to outpitch Stephen Strasburg (6-5), who left the game with cramps in his left wrist after 6⅔ innings.
The first-place Braves, winners of five of their last seven, moved 1½ games ahead of the Nationals in the NL East. DIAMONDBACKS 9,
MARLINS 1: In Phoenix, Ketel Marte hit two of Arizona’s franchise recordtying six homers, Clay Buchholz struck out nine in seven innings and Diamondbacks rolled over Miami.
Arizona broke out of a prolonged offensive slump in the previous series, scoring a season-high 21 runs while taking two of three from the Cincinnati Reds. DODGERS 11, ROCKIES 8: In Denver, Chris Taylor hit a go-ahead three-run homer in the sixth, Dennis Santana earned the win in his major league debut and Los Angeles beat NL Westleading
Colorado.
Santana (1-0) was brought in after reliever Scott Alexander started the game and recorded four outs. Santana allowed five runs over 3⅔ shaky innings. He also had a two-run double on the first major league pitch he faced.
CUBS 7, METS 4: In New York, Kyle Schwarber entered as a defensive replacement in the sixth inning and wound up homering and driving in four runs as Chicago rallied against the beleaguered Mets bullpen.
The Cubs trailed 2-0 in the seventh before posting their fifth win in six games. Randy Rosario (2-0) pitched 1⅔ scoreless innings. TWINS 7, INDIANS 4: In Minneapolis, Eduardo Escobar hit two homers and drove in four runs, and Jose Berrios pitched six effective innings to help Minnesota pull away from Cleveland. ANGELS 6, RANGERS 0: In Anaheim, Calif., Jaime Barria pitched six scoreless innings, Albert Pujols and Ian Kinsler both homered and Los Angeles beat Texas. PIRATES 4, CARDINALS 0: In St. Louis, Jameson Taillon pitched three-hit ball over eight innings to help the Pirates get their second win in their past seven games. WHITE SOX 8, BREWERS 3: In Chicago, Tim Anderson’s go-ahead triple drove in two runs as the White Sox scored three times in the sixth inning to snap a four-game losing streak. TIGERS 5, BLUE JAYS 2: In Detroit, Nicholas Castellanos homered and had three hits, Miguel Cabrera got a hit in his return from the disabled list and Detroit beat Toronto.