Sleepy Yanks cruise to sixth straight win
Brett Gardner and Matt Holliday homered, Masahiro Tanaka won his fifth consecutive start, and the New York Yankees shook off a long game and a short night’s sleep, beating the Reds, 10-4, last night in interleague play for their sixth victory in a row.
The Yankees have the best record in the majors at 21-9 and are 12 games over .500 for the first time since the end of the 2015 season.
Their biggest challenge was overcoming the fatigue from an 18-inning, 5-4 win at Wrigley Field early Monday. The Yankees didn’t land in the Cincinnati area until 5:08 a.m., and the sun was up when some of them finally fell asleep. Players sipped caffeinated drinks and yawned in the clubhouse pregame.
Tanaka (5-1) gave them what they needed after their all-nighter, going seven innings on 112 pitches to rest the bullpen. He allowed four runs — Joey Votto drove in three with a single and a homer — while ending the Reds’ five-game winning streak.
Gary Sanchez hit a bases-loaded single in the first off Rookie Davis (1-2), a former Yankees prospect.
Orioles 6, Nationals 4 — Trey Mancini capped a three-homer binge in the first inning against Gio Gonzalez, and host Baltimore beat Washington for its season-high fifth straight victory.
Kevin Gausman (2-3) limited baseball’s most potent offense to two runs over seven innings. He retired the first 10 batters and struck out eight in his longest outing of the year.
Joey Rickard hit a leadoff homer and Mark Trumbo added a solo shot before Mancini connected with a runner on to make it 4-0.
Padres 5, Rangers 1 — Trevor Cahill and three relievers held visiting Texas to two hits, and Ryan Schimpf, Austin Hedges and Cory Spangenberg homered to lead San Diego.
American League
Blue Jays 4, Indians 2 — Marcus Stroman pitched six shutout innings, Kevin Pillar made a sensational catch in center field and host Toronto topped Cleveland.
Ryan Goins hit a two-run homer and Justin Smoak added a two-run single as the Blue Jays beat the team that eliminated them from last year’s AL Championship Series.
Athletics 3, Angels 2 — Jed Lowrie hit his second home run of the game with two outs in the 11th inning and host Oakland beat Los Angeles for its third straight walk-off win.
Angels star outfielder Mike Trout was pleased that an MRI on his tight left hamstring showed no damage but he is not ready to return to the lineup.
Royals 7, Rays 3 — Nate Karns struck out 10 while pitching into the seventh inning, Eric Hosmer had three hits and Kansas City busted out of an offensive slump to handle Tampa Bay in St. Petersburg, Fla.
National League
Cardinals 9, Marlins 4 — Pitcher Carlos Martinez drove in four runs, compensating for the two homers he gave up to Marcell Ozuna, to lead visiting St. Louis over Miami for its season-best fourth straight win.
Martinez (2-3) struck out seven in six innings. Miguel Socolovich pitched three innings to earn his first career save.
Dodgers 12, Pirates 1 — Chris Taylor hit a grand slam during a six-run first inning, Alex Wood (3-0) and a pair of relievers combined for 17 strikeouts and host Los Angeles rolled over Pittsburgh.
Pirates pitcher Jameson Taillon underwent surgery for suspected testicular cancer.
Mets 4, Giants 3 — Neil Walker hit a game-ending single with two outs in the ninth inning, and host New York put turmoil aside to beat reeling San Francisco.
Cubs-Rockies, ppd. — The game between Chicago and Colorado in Denver was postponed because of rain. It will be made up as part of a split doubleheader today.
The Cubs placed outfielder Jason Heyward on the 10-day disabled list with a sore knuckle on his right hand, and traded outfielder Matt Szczur to San Diego for minor league right-hander Justin Hancock.
Elsewhere in baseball — The Atlanta Braves released former National League MVP Ryan Howard from his minor league contract after he struggled at Triple-A Gwinnett.