Rays rout Twins, tie franchise record with 6 HRs
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Yandy Diaz hit one of Tampa Bay’s franchise record-tying six home runs and drove in four runs, Wander Franco extended his on-base streak to 34 games and the American League East-leading Tampa Bay Rays beat the Minnesota Twins 11-4 on Saturday.
Diaz had an RBI single in the first inning and a three-run home run off Andrew Albers during a five-run second as the Rays went up 7-0.
“It was amazing to see,” winning pitcher Chris Archer said. “A lot of times you hear the saying, ‘hitting is contagious.’ It was contagious tonight.”
Franco broke a tie with Hall of Famers Mel Ott and Arky Vaughan for the third-longest streak by a player under 21 on his first-inning RBI single.
The 20-year-old Franco played after clearing MLB concussion protocols.
He left Thursday’s game against Boston with a headache and sat out Friday night’s game with the Twins.
“He looked good to me,” Tampa Bay Manager Kevin Cash said. “Play at high energy, making nice plays and just barrelling baseballs all over the field.”
Jordan Luplow, Manuel Margot, Randy Arozarena, Nelson Cruz and Brandon Lowe also homered for the Rays, who increased their division lead over the New York Yankees to 7 ½ games.
Archer (1-1) allowed 4 runs and 4 hits over 5 innings in his third start after missing four months with forearm tightness. It was his first win since June 6, 2019, with Pittsburgh.
ANGELS 4, RANGERS 1 Shohei Ohtani hit his major league-leading 43rd home run and Jose Suarez pitched a five-hitter, leading Los Angeles over Texas.
ORIOLES 4, YANKEES 3 Aroldis Chapman gave up Pedro Severino’s tiebreaking sacrifice fly with the bases loaded in the ninth inning and New York lost to Baltimore after the last-place Orioles took a no-hitter into the seventh. Joey Gallo’s two-run home run in the eighth tied it at 3-3, and Manager Aaron Boone went to his All-Star closer with the save taken out of play.
BLUE JAYS 10, ATHLETICS 8 Teoscar Hernandez hit his 100th career home run, Jose Berrios took a no-hitter into the fifth inning and Toronto beat Oakland for its sixth victory in seven games.
WHITE SOX 10, ROYALS 7 Yasmani Grandal went 3 for 3 with a home run and four RBI as Chicago built a big lead and then survived two home runs from Salvador Perez to beat Kansas City.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
BREWERS 4, CARDINALS 0 Adrian Houser pitched his first pro shutout, throwing a crisp three-hitter that led Milwaukee over St. Louis. ROCKIES 7, BRAVES 6 Charlie Blackmon homered for the third consecutive game, Raimel Tapia had a go-ahead sacrifice fly and Colorado hung on to beat Atlanta.
METS 11-3, NATIONALS 9-4 Lane Thomas and Alcides Escobar homered as Washington ended a seven-game skid, beating New York to split a doubleheader and stop the Mets’ sixgame winning streak. The Mets won the opener, blowing a nine-run lead before bouncing back on Francisco Lindor’s two-run home run in the ninth inning.
MARLINS 3, PHILLIES 2 Lewis Brinson hit a go-ahead two-run home run in the bottom of the eighth inning and Miami rallied to beat Philadelphia. Brinson’s opposite-field shot off reliever Archie Bradley ricocheted off the inside of the foul pole in right field for his eighth home run, punctuating a three-run inning.
CUBS 7, PIRATES 6 Rookie Frank Schwindel’s RBI single capped a three-run rally with two outs in the ninth inning, lifting Chicago over Pittsburgh for its fifth consecutive win.
INTERLEAGUE PADRES 10, ASTROS 2 Manny Machado, Wil Myers and Fernando Tatis Jr. each hit two-run home runs as San Diego beat Houston. MARINERS 8, DIAMONDBACKS 5 Kyle Seager hit a pair of three-run home runs, J.P. Crawford added four hits and two RBI and Seattle beat Arizona.
REDS 7, TIGERS 4 Aristides Aquino hit a three-run home run, Tyler Naquin drove in two with a pinch-hit triple and Cincinnati beat Detroit.