Gonzalez leads Nationals past Braves
WASHINGTON (AP) — Gio Gonzalez ended a personal drought that spanned more than two months — and helped give the Washington Nationals a four-game split with another National League East contender.
Gonzalez pitched seven strong innings for his first victory since May 28, leading the Nationals to a 6-3 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Thursday.
"I think I was just happy that I got to high-five my teammates for the first time in a while," Gonzalez said. "For me it was not the pressure, it was just the going out there and doing what I can do to go out there and try and pitch the best I can. Today it finally showed. It finally stepped to the right direction that I wanted."
The Nationals moved within 5 1/2 games of idle NL East leader Philadelphia. The Braves fell a game behind the Phillies.
Gonzalez (7-8) snapped a seven-game losing streak and had gone 11 consecutive starts without a victory. He allowed six hits and one walk while striking out three. Nick Markakis' solo homer to lead off the second was the lone run he allowed.
Atlanta starter Anibal Sanchez pitched two scoreless innings but left after getting hit in the left calf by a grounder from Michael Taylor. Manager Brian Snitker said he was hopeful Sanchez would make his next start.
"It looked like Anibal was going to have one of his games starting out," Snitker said. "He was sharp as can be. We just had a hard time getting ahold of Gio. That was the biggest thing. We couldn't do anything with him."
Sanchez was replaced by Wes Parsons (0-1), who yielded a bases-loaded walk to Juan Soto and a sacrifice fly by Anthony Rendon as Washington went ahead in the third.
Taylor homered to left in the fourth to bump Washington's lead to 3-1, and Daniel Murphy added an RBI double in the sixth.
But Parsons worked five innings in his major league debut, vital for a team that had two starters last only two innings during the series in Washington and heads home to face Milwaukee after a 5-3 road trip.
"A winning road trip, you take that every single time," said Atlanta first baseman Freddie Freeman, who had three hits. "Sometimes, you have to lose a battle to win the war. I thought what Wes Parsons did was absolutely huge for this ballclub. That's going to win us games later on with a fresh bullpen."
Ronald Acuna Jr.'s oneout homer in the eighth pulled Atlanta within two runs, but the Nationals got RBIs from Ryan Zimmerman and Mark Reynolds in the bottom of the inning to make it 6-2.
Washington went 7-3 on its homestand and begins
a seven-game trip to face the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis.
"It was big, a big win for us," manager Dave Martinez said. "Happy flight."
HARPER SCRATCHED
Washington outfielder Bryce Harper was scratched from the lineup with right knee soreness. Atlanta reliever Dan Winkler hit Harper just below the right knee in the seventh inning on Wednesday night. Martinez said X-rays on Harper were negative.
DOUBLE DEBUT
Parsons and Adam McCreery both made their major league debuts for Atlanta, combining to pitch the last six innings. It was the first time the Braves had two pitchers debut in the same game since June 30, 2015, when Jake Brigham and Ryan Kelly did so against Washington.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Braves: 3B Johan Camargo was out of the starting lineup for the first time since July 14. He struck out as a pinch hitter to end the game. Charlie Culberson filled in at third for Camargo.
Nationals: Martinez said RHP Stephen Strasburg (cervical nerve impingement) will throw at least one more bullpen session before the team decides whether he is ready for a minor league rehabilitation start. Strasburg has not pitched for Washington since July 20.
PADRES 8, BREWERS 4
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Hunter Renfroe hit a go-ahead grand slam in the ninth inning, his fourth straight game with a home run, and the Padres rallied for a victory over the Brewers.
The Padres trailed 4-2 entering the ninth, but rallied against Brewers relievers Corey Knebel and Joakim Soria.
Knebel walked the bases loaded and allowed a run-scoring infield single to Travis Jankowski before Soria entered to try to escape the jam.
Soria retired Eric Hosmer before Renfroe hammered a 1-2 pitch deep into the left-field bleachers for his grand slam.
Renfroe became the first Padres player to hit home runs and have multiple RBI games in four consecutive games.
Franmil Reyes added a solo homer to right off Jacob Barnes to cap the Padres' stunning six-run rally.
The Padres, who went 5-20 in July, won four of seven games against the Chicago Cubs and Brewers on their Midwest road trip.
Milwaukee finished a 3-3 homestand and dropped two games behind the first-place Cubs in the National League Central Division race.
Padres reliever Kirby Yates (4-0) pitched a scoreless eighth for the victory and Craig Stammen closed it out with a scoreless ninth.
Knebel (2-3) took the loss. Brewers right-hander Junior Guerra allowed two runs and eight hits in six innings and was helped by three double plays. The Padres hit into four double plays.
Padres lefty Robbie Erlin was coming off an impressive victory over the Cubs last week, but could not duplicate that success.
He allowed all four runs — two earned — and seven hits in five innings.
Brewers second baseman Jonathan Schoop, acquired from Baltimore before the trade deadline, was 3 for 26 with his new team when he hit a two-run double down the left-field line in Milwaukee's three-run fourth inning. The hit broke a 1-1 tie.
Schoop scored the third run of the rally when he raced home from second base on Lorenzo Cain's grounder that was misplayed by Padres shortstop Freddy Galvis.
The Brewers took a 1-0 lead on an unearned run in the second. Schoop reached on a fielder's choice grounder and advanced on a throwing error by Padres second baseman Jose Pirela.
Brewers catcher Manny Pina hit a run-scoring double with two outs.
San Diego missed a chance for a big inning in the fourth after tying the score on Pirela's one-out RBI single. Guerra struck out A.J. Ellis with the bases loaded and induced Erlin to hit into a forceout to end the threat.
Galvis hit a two-out solo home run to right field in the sixth to cut the Padres' deficit to 4-2.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Brewers: Soria suffered a groin injury in the ninth and was removed while pitching to Reyes.
EASY FOR YOU TO SAY
Newly acquired Mike Moustakas has become a quick hit with Brewers fans, judging from the "Moooose" calls going around Miller Park in the past week.
He hit a flyout to center as a pinch hitter on Thursday. He has a .268 batting average in his first 12 games with Milwaukee, while hitting two home runs and driving in six runs.
"It's just personality," Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. "He's an open book. He's going to wear everything out in the open.
"He's going to get his uniform dirty, dive and make plays like that. You can see from the stadium that the chants have started already. It's fun to say 'Moose.' It just is. It's a fun word to say. It's a good nickname as well and it's easy to get attached to guys like that."
INDIANS 5, TWINS 4
CLEVELAND (AP) — Michael Brantley's ninth-inning single gave the Indians a win over Minnesota, their second straight walk-off victory against the Twins.
Brantley grounded a 2-1 pitch off Addison Reed (1-6) past a diving Miguel Sano at first base to score Greg Allen, giving Cleveland another dramatic win.
Francisco Lindor's three-run homer in the ninth inning Wednesday gave Cleveland a 5-2 victory. Brantley's hit set off another celebration as he was mobbed by his teammates after rounding first base.
Allen started the rally with a single off Reed and stole second with Lindor batting. Lindor's groundout to first moved Allen to third.
Andrew Miller (2-3) struck out a batter in the ninth. The left-hander made his fourth appearance since missing two months because of an inflamed right knee.
Minnesota rallied from a 4-0 deficit against reigning AL Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber. Jake Cave's fifth-inning sacrifice fly scored a run before Jorge Polanco hit first home run of the season — a three-run shot in the sixth — to tie the game.
Polanco missed the first 80 games of the season because of a suspension for violating baseball's drug program.
Kluber appeared to be closing in on his 15th win, which would have tied him for the AL lead with New York's Luis Sevrino. But a couple of bad pitches and a misplay by right fielder Melky Cabrera prevented that.
Bobby Wilson singled to lead off the inning. Eddie Rosario hit a towering fly to right with one out. Cabrera drifted to the wall and attempted a leaping catch, but the ball popped out his glove as he fell to the ground and Roasrio was credited with a single.
Polanco followed with his home run to right on a 1-0 pitch. Kluber struck out the next two hitters and stranded a runner in the seventh, but was done for the day after 117 pitches.
Lindor had three RBIs. His two-run double in the second put Cleveland ahead and he added an RBI double in the fourth.
Yonder Alonso, who started the game in a 3-for-36 slump, hit a leadoff homer in the second.
Twins starter Jose Berrios allowed four runs and walked a career-high six batters in four innings.
Cleveland outfielder Leonys Martin was placed on the 10-day disabled list. He has an unspecified illness, and Indians President Chris Antonetti said Martin could be out for longer than 10 days.
GET TO TOWN FAST
Cody Allen was waiting out a rain delay in Durham, North Carolina, on Wednesday when he was told he would replace Martin.
"I found out about 7:15-7:20," Allen said. "They told me I had to be on a flight like an hour and a half later. So I had to quickly pack up everything, get to the hotel and pack that stuff up, and get to the airport. It was a pretty quick turn of events."
KEY MOMENT
Polanco is batting .280 with 13 RBIs in 33 games since being reinstated on July 2. His first home run couldn't have come at a better time.
"It gives me great confidence because Kluber is one of the best pitchers in the league," Polanco said. "I've just been trying to put good contact on the ball since I came back from the suspension."