Torres hits slam, Yankees three-hit skidding Red Sox
NEW YORK >> Gleyber Torres hit a first-inning grand slam, left-hander James Paxton cruised after that and the New York Yankees threehit the Boston Red Sox in a 4-2 victory Friday night.
Boston has lost five straight for the first time since 2015 and dropped 11½ games behind firstplace New York in the AL East.
Red Sox slugger J.D. Martinez hit a two-run homer during yet another rocky first inning by Paxton, but Torres bailed him out with his slam off Eduardo Rodriguez (13-5). Paxton (6-6) struck out the side in the second and completed six innings on 100 pitches, allowing two hits and two runs with six strikeouts.
New York earned its major league-leading 35th comeback win and improved to 23-21 when its opponent scores first. The Yankees are the only team in baseball with a winning record in such games.
Yankees relievers Tommy Kahnle and Zack Britton pitched a scoreless inning each, and Aroldis Chapman was perfect in the ninth for his 28th save.
Boston had scored six or more runs in seven straight games against New York, a first in the rivalry. The Red Sox entered the game leading the majors with 640 runs and a .277 batting average. INDIANS 7, ANGELS 3 >> Yasiel Puig drove in his first two runs for Cleveland, Mike Clevinger won his fifth consecutive decision and the Indians beat the Los Angeles Angels 7-3 on Friday night.
Puig, acquired from Cincinnati in a blockbuster trade Wednesday, had RBI singles in the first and second, helping Cleveland take an early 6-1 lead.
The 6-foot-2, 240-pound right fielder also showed off his defensive skills. He made a leaping catch on the warning track of Andrelton Simmons’ line drive in the fourth and ran down Kole Calhoun’s fly ball in the corner in the eighth.
Puig is 3 for 7 in two games for the Indians and has instantly become a fan favorite. The crowd of 28,386 gave him a loud ovation before each at-bat and chanted his name on several occasions. PIRATES 8, METS 4 >> Starling Marte’s three-run homer in the seventh inning broke open a tight game and Pittsburgh snapped the New York’s seven-game winning streak.
The Pirates led 5-4 when Marte turned on a pitch from Tyler Bashlor and sent it into the seats in left field for his 19th home run of season.
Melky Cabrera hit a two-run double during Pittsburgh’s five-run fourth inning against Steven Matz (6-7). José Osuna, starting at third base after the Pirates designated Jung Ho Kang for assignment, had two hits and an RBI for the Pirates. REDS 5, BRAVES 2 >> Joey Votto homered and drove in three runs, Alex Wood pitched 6 2/3 strong innings and Cincinnati beat Atlanta.
Wood (1-0) was sharp in his second start since returning from a season-long back injury, allowing five baserunners and solo homers to Austin Riley in the fifth and Ronald Acuña Jr. in the sixth. Wood struck out five.
JAYS 5, ORIOLES 2 >> Freddy Galvis had a home run among his three hits, Brandon Drury also went deep and Toronto beat Baltimore for its season-high fifth straight victory.
Galvis hit his 17th homer in the fourth inning off Aaron Brooks (25) and Drury connected in the sixth for a 4-0 lead. Toronto has seven home runs in the first two games of the series and a major league-leading 81 since June 16.
CUBS 6, BREWERS 2 >> Javier Báez homered and drove in three runs, and Chicago beat Milwaukee.
José Quintana pitched solidly into the seventh inning and Jason Heyward also went deep to help Chicago move within one-half game of first-place St. Louis in the NL Central. The third-place Brewers fell 2½ games back of the Cardinals, who have a rare Friday off before starting a two-game series at Oakland.
Báez ripped two doubles and scored twice. Quintana (9-7) also singled in a run as he won his fifth straight decision. The left-hander allowed two runs on seven hits and struck out five.