Rockies walk on wild side but hold off Cubs
CHICAGO » Rockies closer Greg Holland walked the bases loaded in the ninth inning before escaping, and Colorado held off the Chicago Cubs 5-3 Friday for their seasonhigh sixth win in a row.
After three straight one-out walks, Holland retired Ben Zobrist on a short flyball and struck out Jason Heyward for his major league-best 23rd save. The Rockies posted their NL-leading 40th win this season and have their longest winning streak since 2014.
Chris Rusin (3-0) won in relief. Seth Frankoff (0-1) lost in his major league debut.
Cubs shortstop Addison Russell returned to the team a day after the club told him not to come to Wrigley Field while Major League Baseball investigates a domestic abuse claim. Russell, who didn’t play, had been accused of hitting his wife in a social media post that has since been deleted. Russell denied the allegation. BRAVES 3, METS 2 » Dansby Swanson turned a normal grounder up the middle into a hustle double, then dashed home on a single by pinch-hitter Rio Ruiz in the ninth inning to lift Atlanta over New York.
With one out in the ninth, Swanson hit a bouncer through the infield and ran hard out of the batter’s box. As center fielder Curtis Granderson took a casual approach to the ball, Swanson never let up as he rounded first base and slid head-first into second. MARLINS 12, PIRATES 7» Giancarlo Stanton smashed a home run over the batter’s eye at PNC Park, Tyler Moore went deep twice as Miami pounded reeling Pittsburgh.
Stanton’s shot cleared the massive green wall beyond center field and was estimated at 449 feet by Statcast. RANGERS 5, NATIONALS 2» Andrew Cashner quieted the National League’s top-hitting lineup, Jonathan Lucroy and Rougned Odor homered, and Texas topped Washington.
The Rangers advantage of three errors and won for just the fourth time in 15 games. YANKEES 8, ORIOLES 2 » Aaron Hicks homered twice and rookie Jordan Montgomery pitched seven stellar innings to lead New York over Baltimore.
Starlin Castro also connected for the AL East leaders, who won their third straight. The Yankees have outscored rivals Boston and Baltimore 25-3 over the last three nights. RED SOX 5, TIGERS 3 » Jackie Bradley Jr. hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning to lift Boston over Detroit.
The Red Sox rallied for three runs in the inning, capped by Bradley’s two-out shot off Alex Wilson (1-3). ANGELS 9, ASTROS 4 » Cameron Maybin starred in his return from the disabled list, finishing with three hits and a careerhigh four Houston.
Maybin missed nine games with an oblique injury. He doubled, had two infield singles and scored four times while moving into first place in the American League with 17 steals. INDIANS 7, WHITE SOX 3» Edwin Encarnacion hit a go-ahead, two-run homer and Corey Kluber won his second straight start since coming off the disabled list as Cleveland beat Chicago. Encarnacion had three hits. The 30,047 fans at Progressive Field divided their attention with Game 4 of the NBA Finals between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors that took place across the street. steals to help Los Angeles beat
Chicago slugger Jose Abreu left in the seventh inning after being hit on the left leg by Andrew Miller’s pitch. Abreu fell to the ground and couldn’t put any weight on his leg while being helped to the dugout. Chicago said he has a bruised leg and will be re-evaluated Saturday. RAYS 13, ATHLETICS 4 » Tampa Bay tied a season-high with five home runs and Alex Cobb went six strong innings in a win over Oakland.
Steven Souza Jr., Mallex Smith, Logan Morrison, Tim Beckham and Corey Dickerson all homered for the Rays.
Cobb (5-5), coming off a start Saturday at Seattle in which he allowed nine runs and 14 hits over five innings, gave up one run and four hits.