Tanaka, Torres lift Yankees by Tigers
Gleyber Torres came through for the Yankees on a day they welcomed newcomers Andrew McCutchen and Adeiny Hechavarria to the Bronx and got slugging catcher Gary Sanchez back from the disabled list.
Torres hit a two-run homer and Masahiro Tanaka pitched seven strong innings for his first win since July, as the Yankees beat the Detroit Tigers, 2-1, yesterday in New York.
The Yankees got only two hits, but won for the 11th time in 15 games. New York has the second-best record in the majors, behind the American League East-leading Red Sox.
Torres hit his 22nd homer of the season and third since the start of the Yankees’ homestand on Monday, a stretch over which he’s batting .526 with eight RBI.
Torres connected in the fifth off Daniel Norris (0-3) for the Yankees’ first hit.
McCutchen went 0-for-3 and struck out twice in his Yankees debut. The former NL MVP batted leadoff and played right field, a day after being acquired from San Francisco.
Sanchez, who missed nearly six weeks with a recurring groin injury, went 0-for-4.
Hechavarria, traded from Pittsburgh to New York late Friday night, arrived at the ballpark about two hours before first pitch and entered at shortstop to start the ninth.
Tanaka (10-5) gave up one run and seven hits for his first victory since July 31. He was 0-3 with a 4.40 ERA in five August starts.
Tanaka joined Andy Pettitte as the only pitchers in Yankees’ history to reach double-digit wins in each of their first five seasons in the majors.
Rays 5, Indians 3 — Blake Snell moved into a tie for the major league lead with his 17th win as Tampa Bay beat host Cleveland.
Snell (17-5) is tied with New York’s Luis Severino and Cleveland’s Corey Kluber — two other top candidates for the AL Cy Young Award — for the most wins in the majors. Snell is 5-0 in his last six starts.
Astros 7, Angels 3 — Tyler White hit a go-ahead two-run double in a five-run eighth inning, Alex Bregman homered and Houston beat visiting Los Angeles.
Since the All-Star break, White has 16 extra-base hits with 26 RBI.
The Astros entered the game leading the AL West by 11⁄2 games over Oakland.
Royals 5, Orioles 4 — Whit Merrifield hit a two-run homer with one out in the ninth inning, giving Kansas City a backand-forth victory over visiting Baltimore.
Interleague
Marlins 6, Blue Jays 3 — Martin Prado hit a bases-clearing double in his first game in three weeks, Wei-Yin Chen pitched eight strong innings and host Miami beat Toronto.
National League
Mets 2, Giants 1 — Steven Matz struck out a career-high 11 batters and New York went on to beat host San Francisco in 11 innings. Jerry Blevins (2-2) pitched a scoreless 10th and Mets closer Robert Gsellman worked the 11th for his ninth save.
Brandon Nimmo made a diving catch in right field, robbing Austin Slater of a hit to end the game.
Cubs 7, Phillies 1 — Kyle Hendricks pitched six strong innings, Javier Baez notched his NL-leading 99th RBI and star third baseman Kris Bryant doubled and had two hits in his return from the disabled list to lead Chicago past host Philadelphia.
Ian Happ homered and Baez had three hits for the NL Central-leading Cubs, who have won nine of 11. Chicago is now 41⁄2 games in front of St. Louis.
Reds 4, Cardinals 0 — Luis Castillo and two relievers combined on a two-hitter to lead Cincinnati to a win over host St. Louis.
Castillo (8-11) gave up two hits and struck out a career-high 11 in 62⁄3 innings. David Hernandez and Raisel Iglesias completed the two-hitter.
Braves 5, Pirates 3 — Freddie Freeman hit a tiebreaking, RBI single in the fourrun eighth inning, and NL East-leading Atlanta rallied to snap a three-game skid and beat visiting Pittsburgh.
The Braves increased their division lead to three games over Philadelphia. They had dropped five-of-six overall and sevenof-eight at home.