Muncy’s homer helps LA vault past Chisox
Blast comes after odd intentional walk
CHICAGO — Max Muncy broke open the game with a three-run homer in the sixth inning after White Sox manager Tony La Russa ordered an intentional walk to Trea Turner with a 1-2 count, helping the Los Angeles Dodgers beat Chicago 11-9 Thursday.
Muncy had five RBIs in his return after missing 11 games with left elbow inflammation. He entered hitting .150 to Turner’s .303.
“The baseball mind in me gets it,” Muncy said. “Obviously, my year has sucked up to this point. Trea’s been really good. At the moment, I was animated and I’ll just leave it at that.
“But at the same time, I don’t know if walking someone with two strikes is ever the right move. It kind of gave me something that I really haven’t had a lot of this year.”
Los Angeles trailed 4-0 before a six-run fifth and took a 7-5 lead when Freddie Freeman hit an RBI single in the sixth off Bennett Sousa. a 27-year-old rookie left-hander.
Sousa bounced an 0-2 slider for a wild pitch that allowed Freeman to take second. Wanting to set up a left-on-left matchup, La Russa ordered the intentional walk to the right-handed-hitting Turner, who had singled in a run in the fifth.
ANGELS 5, RED SOX 2: In Anaheim, Calif., Shohei Ohtani pitched seven stellar innings and hit a two-run homer as Los Angeles snapped its 14-game losing streak with a victory over Boston.
Andrew Velazquez added a three-run homer in the sixth, but the Angels ended the longest skid in franchise history squarely on the shoulders of their matchless AL MVP, both on the mound and at the plate.
PHILLIES 8, BREWERS 3: In Milwaukee, Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber and Odúbel Herrera homered as interim manager Rob Thomson’s Phillies won their season-high seventh straight game, beating Milwaukee.
At 6-0, Thomson is off to the best start by a first-time major league manager since Boston’s Joe Morgan won his first 12 games in 1988, the Elias Sports Bureau said.
It was the second consecutive three-game sweep for Philadelphia under Thomson. He took over last Friday after manager Joe Girardi was fired.
ROCKIES 4, GIANTS 2: In San Francisco, Yonathan Daza looped a tie-breaking single into right field, capping a three-run fourth inning fueled by three errors, and Colorado rallied past San Francisco to take two of three from the Giants.
San Francisco made a seasonhigh four errors, including a pair in the fourth by second baseman Thairo Estrada.
BRAVES 3, PIRATES 1: In Atlanta, Max Fried won his sixth straight decision by pitching six sharp innings as Atlanta beat Pittsburgh for its eighth consecutive victory.
Adam Duvall, Dansby Swanson and Travis d’Arnaud each drove in a run for the defending World Series champion Braves, whose winning streak is their longest since they took nine in a row last August. Atlanta has outscored opponents 55-21 during the streak.
YANKEES 10,TWINS 7: In Minneapolis, Gerrit Cole gave up home runs to his first three batters and a career-high five in 2 1/3 innings but New York rallied to beat Minnesota behind two home runs from Joey Gallo.
Cole left trailing 7-3, and the Yankees tied the score in the sixth when Aaron Hicks hit his second home run of the season, a two-run drive Hicks homered after shortstop Carlos Correa and second baseman Jorge Polanco failed to communicate on Gleyber Torres’ popup and allowed the ball to fall for a single.
New York became just the second team to win after allowing home runs to the opposition’s first three batters.
DIAMONDBACKS 5, REDS 4: In Cincinnati, Josh Rojas hit a go-ahead single during a fourrun rally in the ninth inning as Arizona beat Cincinnati to earn a split in the four-game series.
Pavin Smith drew a leadoff walk, went to second on a wild pitch by Santillan (0-1) and scored on Alek Thomas’ single. Santillan then threw away a bunt for an error, and a sacrifice set up Rojas’ two-run single through a drawnin infield that made it 4-3.
Rojas later scored on a grounder.
MARLINS 7, NATIONALS 4: In Miami, Jazz Chisholm bunted for a single on the first pitch of Stephen Strasburg’s return from a one-year absence, stole second and the Marlins kept on going in a win over Washington that finished a three-game sweep.
The 33-year-old right-hander, pitching on the 13th anniversary of Washington selecting him with the first overall pick in the amateur draft, allowed seven runs, eight hits and two walks in 4 2/3 innings.
RAYS 2, CARDINALS 1: In St. Petersburg, Fla., Shane McClanahan (7-2) allowed an unearned run and two hits in eight innings and struck out nine, winning his fifth consecutive start as Tampa Bay completed a three-game sweep.
Ji-Man Choi hit a two-run homer in the fourth off Miles Mikolas (4-4), who pitched a three-hitter.
ROYALS 7, ORIOLES 5: In Kansas City, Mo., Carlos Santana and MJ Melendez homered, leading Kansas City to a victory over Baltimore.
GUARDIANS 8, ATHLETICS 4: In Cleveland, Andrés Giménez drove in the go-ahead run with a single in Cleveland’s four-run eighth inning as the Guardians rallied for a win over Oakland, which dropped its ninth straight.