Yankees pound Rays
Aaron Judge hit a goahead, two-run homer in the eighth inning, Didi Gregorius followed with a grand slam and the Yankees beat Tampa Bay 8-3 last night in New York after another surly clash between CC Sabathia and the Rays.
A pitch after slicing a would-be homer foul by about two feet, Judge smashed a 3-2 pitch from left-hander Colin Poche (2-3) into the right-center field seats to make it 4-3. It was Judge’s 10th homer, and he carried the bat nearly all the way to first base before tossing it down and shouting into New York’s dugout.
Gregorius took a curtain call after hitting a long grand slam later in the inning that ended a 1-for-23 skid. Edwin Encarnación hit his 28th homer and third in two games, DJ LeMahieu also went deep, and New York stretched its AL East lead over Tampa Bay to six games.
Yandy Díaz hit a solo homer and an RBI double, and All-Star Austin Meadows delivered his 14th homer for Tampa Bay.
Benches cleared during the sixth inning amid a shouting match between Sabathia and hitter Avisaíl García. After Sabathia struck out García looking to strand two runners, the 38year-old barked and pointed at García. Sabathia was restrained by Gregorius and never got close to García while both benches and bullpens emptied. No punches were thrown.
Sabathia was ejected for plunking the Rays’ Jesus Sucre during his last regular season start in 2018 and has had a few salty run-ins with Tampa Bay this season, including when he threw at Meadows three times and shouted insults during a game in May.
National League
Phillies 9, Dodgers 8 — Bryce Harper hit a two-run double off Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen with one out in the bottom of the ninth after pinch-hitter Matt Beaty hit a three-run homer off Philadelphia closer Hector Neris in the top half, rallying the Phillies to a win over visiting Los Angeles.
Pinch-hitter Andrew Knapp hit a double with one out in the bottom of the ninth and Cesar Hernandez singled. Scott Kingery followed with a bloop single to center that scored Knapp to get the Phillies within a run. Harper then ripped a ball to the gap that bounced off A.J. Pollock’s glove and went to the wall.
Marlins 12, Padres 7 — Brian Anderson hit a three-run homer in the first inning and host Miami went on to beat San Diego, which lost its fourth consecutive game.
Harold Ramirez had two doubles, two RBI and two runs scored. Garrett Cooper hit his 11th homer and a tworun single, and Starlin Castro had a bases-loaded triple to make it 11-3 in the sixth.
Interleague
Nationals 8, Orioles 1 — Matt Adams and Juan Soto homered, rookie Austin Voth extended a streak of strong performances by the rotation and visiting Washington breezed past neighboring Baltimore.
Though the Nationals and Orioles play in stadiums located just 40 miles apart, the gap between their talent and expectations is far wider. Eagerly chasing a playoff berth, Washington has won 13-of-16 and owns the third-best record in the National League.
The Orioles, in the first year of a major rebuild, possess the worst home mark in the majors (12-35) and worst overall record (28-66).
Elsewhere in baseball — The Cardinals have placed infielder Matt Carpenter on the 10-day injured list with a right foot contusion . . . .
The Twins placed center fielder Byron Buxton on the seven-day injured list for players with concussion-like symptoms, just as first baseman C.J. Cron and left fielder Eddie Rosario returned from their injuries . . . .
The Indians optioned first baseman Bobby Bradley to Triple-A Columbus and recalled right-hander Zach Plesac to start last night against Detroit.