Taillon nears perfection in Yankees’ victory
YANKEES 6-2, ANGELS 1-1
NEW YORK — Jameson Taillon took a perfect game into the eighth inning, then fell behind before the New York Yankees rallied past the Los Angeles Angels 2-1 Thursday night on a clutch swing by pinch-hitter Anthony Rizzo.
With two outs in the bottom of the eighth, Rizzo grounded a two-run single up the middle. Clay Holmes left the bases loaded in the ninth, and the Yankees swept a thrilling doubleheader while handing the Angels their eighth straight loss — the team’s worst skid since 2019.
New York won the opener 6-1, with Manager Joe Maddon indicating starter Shohei Ohtani may have been tipping his pitches. The AL MVP gave up solo homers to Matt Carpenter, Gleyber Torres and Aaron Judge.
Jared Walsh ended Taillon’s bid for a perfect game in the top of the eighth with a groundball double off shortstop Isiah Kiner-Falefa’s glove. He scored on Kurt Suzuki’s single for a 1-0 lead.
The Yankees countered by loading the bases with one out in the bottom half against Oliver Ortega (1-2). Archie Bradley relieved and struck out Joey Gallo, then got two strikes on Rizzo.
Ohtani made history in the nightcap, joining Hall of Fame slugger Jimmie Foxx as the only players to start both ends of a doubleheader, one of them as a pitcher, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Foxx did it with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1945 during the final month of his career.
In the first game, Nestor Cortes (5-1) delivered seven tidy innings for the Yankees.
Wandy Peralta got his first save, striking out Ohtani to end it. Ohtani (3-4) was charged with 4 runs and 8 hits in 3-plus innings. He had pitched at least five innings in his previous six starts.
BLUE JAYS 8, WHITE SOX 3 Alek Manoah pitched into the eighth inning, Teoscar Hernandez homered and Toronto extended its winning streak to eight games by beating Chicago. Santiago Espinal had three hits and three RBI as the surging Blue Jays won for the 12th time in 15 games.
RAYS 3, RANGERS 1 Corey Kluber excelled again at Globe Life Field, pitching six solid innings to give Tampa Bay a win over Texas. Kluber (2-2) allowed 1 run and 4 hits, striking out 4.
TIGERS 3, TWINS 2 Daz Cameron hit a goahead, two-run homer in the eighth inning and a surging Detroit team beat slumping Minnesota.
MARINERS 7, ORIOLES 6 (10) Abraham Toro hit a tiebreaking triple in the top of the 10th inning, and Diego Castillo shut down Baltimore in the bottom half to lift Seattle over the Orioles.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
MARLINS 3, GIANTS 0 Sandy Alcantara allowed three hits in seven innings and Miami beat San Francisco. The 26-year-old right-hander walked two and struck out eight, extending his string of recent dominant outings. Alcantara (6-2) has completed at least seven innings in his last five starts and allowed only three earned runs.
REDS 8, NATIONALS 1 Cincinnati rookie Graham Ashcraft delivered another gem, throwing seven innings of one-run ball, and Joey Votto and Kyle Farmer hit three-run homers in the Reds’ big win over Washington. The 24-year-old Ashcraft (20), who got his first major league win last week, reached the upper 90s with his sinker and cutter. He struck out four and allowed four hits.
CUBS 7, CARDINALS 5 Frank Schwindel launched a long solo homer and doubled among his three hits, and Chicago topped St. Louis for its third straight victory. Willson Contreras went deep for the third time in four games and Ian Happ also homered to help Chicago end the Cardinals’ threegame winning streak.
BREWERS 5, PADRES 4 Jace Peterson tied the score in the ninth inning with a three-run triple and slumping Andrew McCutchen followed with a game-ending single as the Milwaukee Brewers rallied past the San Diego Padres. Peter Strzelecki (1-0) worked two innings in relief, earning the win in his major league debut. He struck out three.
BRAVES 13, ROCKIES 6 Travis d’Arnaud homered twice, including a grand slam, and drove in a career-high six runs as the Atlanta Braves pounced on Colorado’s struggling pitching. D’Arnaud was 3 for 5 and scored three times.