Turner helps Dodgers win big series
DENVER — Justin Turner hit a two-run homer as part of a four-hit day and the Dodgers climbed closer to the first-place Rockies in the NL West with a 9-6 win Sunday.
The Dodgers captured two of three from the Rockies in a pivotal series and moved within a half-game for the division lead.
The Rockies have never won the NL West crown.
Enrique Hernandez homered and Chris Taylor added a tworun double as the Dodgers pounded out 14 hits on an afternoon when the Rockies’
Braves: Ender Inciarte hit a three-run HR during a six-run rally in the ninth and the visiting Braves beat the Diamondbacks 9-5 and increased their NL East lead to a season-best 41⁄ games. The D’backs lost for the seventh time in their last nine games.
Brewers: Jonathan Schoop hit a grand slam in the sixth and the Brewers beat the Giants 6-3 in Milwaukee, completing a series sweep and preserving the Brewers’ 21⁄ game lead atop the NL wild-card standings.
Cardinals: John Gant allowed two runs in 62⁄ innings and the Cards scored all their runs in the seventh to beat the host Tigers 5-2 and maintain their one-game lead for the second NL wild card. scoreboard temporarily malfunctioned.
Rich Hill (8-5) allowed four runs over five innings to pick up his first career win against the Rockies. He gave up a homer to Charlie Blackmon on his fifth pitch of the game, but settled into a groove.
Kenta Maeda gave up a single to start the ninth before turning it over to Scott Alexander. The lefty got the Rockies 1-2-3 for his third save.
Alexander was filling in for All-Star closer Kenley Jansen, who didn’t make the trip to Denver after a team cardiologist recommended he not pitch at
Athletics: Stephen Piscotty homered and the A’s rallied from an early three-run deficit to beat the visiting Rangers 7-3. It was the fourth straight win for the A’s, who pulled within 21⁄ games of the Yankees for the first AL wild card and maintained their 71⁄ game lead over the Mariners for the second wild card.
Mariners: Mitch Haniger scored the go-ahead run on a grounder in the eighth and then made a diving catch for the final out that gave the Mariners a 3-2 home win over the Yankees. The Mariners got off to a solid start with two runs in the first off Yankees starter CC Sabathia. Edwin Diaz pitched the ninth for his MLB-best 54th save. altitude after suffering an irregular heartbeat episode there last month.
Turner went 4-for-5 with an intentional walk as he keeps wearing out Rockies pitching. He had a single in the first, double in the fourth, a two-run homer in the sixth that gave the Dodgers an 8-2 lead, and another double in the eighth. He’s hitting .385 at Coors Field this season.
Blackmon finished with two solo homers, including one in the eighth that made it 8-6, and Nolan Arenado broke out of a slump with a two-run shot in the sixth. It was Arenado’s first homer since Aug. 24.
Rays: Brandon Lowe hit a three-run HR in a five-run first and the Rays tied a team record with their 11th consecutive home win, beating the Orioles 8-3. The Rays have won 16 of 19 overall, and outscored the Orioles 32-10 in a three-game sweep.
Blue Jays: 1B Randal Grichuk was injured in a bizarre collision with a security guard’s chair, and replacement Tesocar Hernandez hit a three-run HR as the Jays beat the Indians 6-2 in Toronto. The Indians’ magic number to lock up their third straight AL Central title stayed at five. Grichuk was being checked for a concussion after slamming facefirst into the metal stool while chasing a foul fly in the fourth.