Outman breaks out of slump with go-ahead slam
INTERLEAGUE DODGERS 7, TWINS 3
LOS ANGELES — James Outman has struggled since being named the National League’s Rookie of the Month in April. The Dodgers outfielder though showed signs of possibly getting back to his earlier form with a big game Wednesday.
The outfielder hit a go-ahead grand slam in the seventh inning as the Dodgers rallied for a 7-3 victory over the Minnesota Twins.
“It felt good to finally come through in a big spot,” Outman said. “I’m glad that we got the go-ahead run right there in that situation. The grand slam was kind of like the cherry on top.”
Byron Buxton and Joey Gallo homered for the Twins, who dropped two of the three in a matchup of division leaders.
The Dodgers trailed 3-2 in the seventh before scoring five runs all with two outs. Will Smith tied it after Emilio Pagan walked Miguel Vargas with the bases loaded and Outman put them on top when he drove a first-pitch fastball over the wall in center. It was the rookie outfielder’s ninth home run of the season and second career grand slam.
Outman had two hits in the game. He broke out of an 0-for-13 slump with a hit in the fourth inning.
Outman was batting .289 at the end of April but has had a rough May. He came into the game not only hitless in his last five games, but was 5 for 33 in his last 11.
“It was no secret I was grinding. My teammates were keeping me positive and centered,” he said.
Jose De Leon (0-1) took the loss after he allowed two-out base hits to Smith and Max Muncy in the seventh.
Wednesday’s games NATIONAL LEAGUE
Colorado 11, Cincinnati 6
San Francisco 7, Philadelphia 4
Miami 4, Washington 3
St. Louis 3, Milwaukee 0
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Baltimore 3, LA Angels 1
Boston 12, Seattle 3
Toronto 3, NY Yankees 0 (10)
Chicago White Sox 7, Cleveland 2
INTERLEAGUE
Pittsburgh 8, Detroit 0
LA Dodgers 7, Minnesota 3
Arizona 5, Oakland 3
Kansas City 4, San Diego 3
NY Mets 8, Tampa Bay 7 (10)
Atlanta 6, Texas 5
Houston 7, Chicago Cubs 6 BRAVES 6, RANGERS 5 Orlando Arcia hit a tiebreaking home run with two outs in the ninth inning and the NL East-leading Atlanta avoided consecutive series losses for the first time this season by rallying for a win over Texas.
DIAMONDBACKS 5, ATHLETICS 3 Lourdes Gurriel Jr. led off the ninth with a double and scored the go-ahead run on a sacrifice fly by Jose Herrera, and Arizona got its fifth win in six games by beating Oakland.
METS 8, RAYS 7 (10) Francisco Alvarez hit a tying three-run home run with two outs in the ninth inning and Pete Alonso hit a game-ending three-run shot in the 10th, giving New York an improbable win over Tampa Bay.
PIRATES 8, TIGERS 0 Rich Hill gave up one hit in six innings, Austin Hedges drove in three runs and Pittsburgh rolled past Detroit. The 43-year-old Hill (4-3), the oldest active player in the majors, allowed just Matt Vierling’s infield single and two walks while striking out seven. A trio of relievers completed the shutout as Pittsburgh won for just the third time in 15 games. ROYALS 4, PADRES 3 Vinnie Pasquantino hit a tiebreaking two-run home run off Yu Darvish to lead Kansas City over San Diego.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
CARDINALS 3, BREWERS 0 Matthew Liberatore tossed five shutout innings in his season debut and Paul DeJong homered to lead St. Louis Cardinals to a win over Milwaukee. St. Louis has won eight of 10 games after a 10-24 start to the season.
GIANTS 7, PHILLIES 4 Thairo Estrada hit a tiebreaking RBI single as part of a three-run eighth inning and San Francisco completed a three-game sweep of Philadelphia. MARLINS 4, NATIONALS 3 Jorge Soler hit a go-ahead home run for the second consecutive game, and Miami held off Washington. ROCKIES 11, REDS 6 Elias Diaz drove in three runs and Kris Bryant, Jurickson Profar and Brenton Doyle each had two RBI in a two-inning, 11-run outburst for Colorado in a victory over Cincinnati.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
BLUE JAYS 3, YANKEES 0 (10) Danny Jansen hit a three-run home run in the 10th inning and Toronto beat New York.
ORIOLES 3, ANGELS 1 Kyle Bradish pitched impressively into the seventh inning and Austin Hays homered to lift Baltimore over Los Angeles. Mike Trout went deep for the Angels, but they fell back to .500 with their eighth loss in 11 games. RED SOX 12, MARINERS 1 Pablo Reyes doubled twice for a career-high four RBI to help Boston beat Seattle.