Yanks’ Gardner digs up split vs. O’s
In the opener, Danny Valencia snapped an 0-for-25 skid with a three-run homer off CC Sabathia, and Baltimore ended a six-game losing streak with a 5-4 victory.
The split left the Yankees a 4-4 record against Baltimore and dropped them 21⁄2 games behind the first-place Red Sox in the American League East.
The first game ended with Gardner grounding out as a pinch hitter with the potential tying run on third base. He returned in the nightcap to torment the Orioles at the plate and in center field, where he made several fine, running catches.
Gardner led off with a single off Jefry Ramirez (0-3) and scored on a double by Didi Gregorius. In the fourth, Gardner hit his seventh homer, a two-run drive that made it 3-0.
That was enough offense for Luis Cessa (1-1), who allowed three hits over six shutout innings.
A four-run eighth —highlighted by Austin Romine’s two-run homer and an RBI double by Gardner — ended any doubt.
Despite allowing a home run to Tim Beckham, Giovanny Gallegos finished for his first major league save.
In the first game, Baltimore trailed 4-2 in the sixth when Sabathia (6-4) walked Mark Trumbo and yielded a double to Jonathan Schoop. With the New York bullpen buzzing in an effort to get a reliever ready, Sabathia served up a 2-1 pitch that Valencia drove far over the center-field wall.
For Baltimore, reliever Darren O’Day will undergo surgery Thursday to repair a severe hamstring strain.
Twins 3, Royals 1 — Eduardo Escobar had three hits and drove in the go-ahead run in the seventh to support Jose Berrios’ strong outing as Minnesota beat Kansas City in Minneapolis.
Athletics 2, Astros 0 — Frankie Montas and two relievers combined for a five-hitter, Stephen Piscotty homered and hit an RBI single and visiting Oakland beat Houston.
Rays 10, Tigers 9 — Daniel Robertson hit an RBI single in the 10th inning and Tampa Bay won for the 12th time in its last 13 home games by beating Detroit in St. Petersburg, Fla.
Interleague
Reds 7, Indians 5 — Anthony DeSclafani allowed one run in seven innings, Scott Schebler was 4-for-5 with a homer, and Cincinnati defeated host Cleveland.
National League
Phillies, Mets split — Aaron Nola allowed one hit in seven shutout innings and lashed a three-run double that sent Philadelphia past New York, 3-1, for a split of their twinight doubleheader.
One night after being named to his first All-Star team, Nola (12-2) struck out 10 and won his sixth straight decision to become the only 12-game winner in the National League. With his teammates scuffling at the plate, he took care of the offense himself by doubling his career RBI total in the fifth.
In the opener, Wilmer Flores connected for a pinch-hit homer in the bottom of the 10th to give New York a 4-3 victory.
In other news for the Mets, third baseman Todd Frazier has been placed on the 10-day disabled list with a strained muscle in his left rib cage.
Marlins 4, Brewers 3 — Backup catcher Bryan Holaday hit a walkoff RBI single with one out in the 10th inning, and Miami beat visiting Milwaukee.
Holaday, who came into the game batting .165, was in the lineup because the Marlins placed All-Star catcher J.T. Realmuto on the paternity list before the game in anticipation of the birth of his first child.
Pirates 6, Nationals 3 — Gregory Polanco drove in four runs in the first two innings and host Pittsburgh went on to a victory over Washington.
Polanco hit a two-run double in the first as the Pirates started the game with four straight hits, then added a two-run home run in the second, his 13th of the season.
In other news, the Nationals activated catcher Matt Wieters from the 10-day disabled list. He had been on the disabled list since May 11 and had surgery on a strained left hamstring.
Elsewhere in baseball — Giants catcher Buster Posey will miss the All-Star Game because of a lingering right hip issue that needs an injection to calm the inflammation.