AROUND THE HORN
Yankees: Matt Carpenter homered twice and tied his career high with seven RBIS, powering the Yankees to complete a weekend sweep of the Cubs with a 18-4 rout on Sunday in New York for their 11th win in 12 games. The 36-year-old was signed May 26 after spending the first seven weeks at the Rangers’ Triple-a Round Rock. A three-time All-star with the Cardinals coming off three straight seasons of decline, Carpenter became the second player since 1900 to hit six home runs in his first 10 games for a team after the Rockies’ Trevor Story in 2016. Kyle Higashioka added his first two home runs of the season, after hitting seven in spring training. Giancarlo Stanton and Isiah Kiner-falefa had three RBIS each as the Yankees scored their most runs since beating the Blues Jays 20-6 on Sept. 15, 2020. The Yankees had a seasonhigh 17 hits. The Cubs’ six-game losing streak is their longest this year, dropping them a season-worst 13 games under .500.
Braves: Adam Duvall homered twice off José Quintana, William Contreras and Matt Olson also connected, and the Braves won their 11th straight game, 5-3 over the visiting Pirates. It’s the Braves’ best stretch since they won 14 in a row from July 26 to Aug. 9, 2013. During the current streak, the defending World Series champ haves outscored opponents 74-30 with 22 HRS. The pitching staff has a 2.32 ERA over the same span. It’s been equally fun for Duvall, who has mostly scuffled this season with a .206 batting average, six HRS and a .614 OPS. Last year, Duvall led the NL with 113 RBIS and was second with 38 HRS. Kyle Wright (7-3) allowed five hits and three runs with two walks and seven strikeouts in six innings. The Pirates have lost a season-high six straight games, including four against the Braves. The Pirates were swept for the fifth time this season.
Astros: Justin Verlander earned his major league-leading eighth win, Jeremy Peña and Jose Altuve homered and the host Astros snapped their three-game losing streak with a 9-4 victory over the Marlins. Verlander (8-2) set down the first 10 batters he faced before giving up a flare single into shallow right field in the fourth. The 39-year-old two-time Cy Young Award winner gave up four unearned runs and three hits, walked one and struck out five in seven innings, lowering his ERA to 1.94.
Extra innings: Carlos Rodón pitched two-hit ball over six strong innings and the Giants completed a three-game sweep of the NL West-leading Dodgers with a 2-0 win at home. Austin Slater and Mike Yastrzemski homered off Julio Urías in the first to send the stumbling Dodgers to their sixth loss in eight games . ... Christian Walker had three hits and three RBIS, Jake Mccarthy homered and the visiting Diamondbacks beat the Phillies 13-1 to end the Phillies’ nine-game winning streak and give interim manager Rob Thomson his first loss. ... Willy Adames homered and drove in three runs, and the Brewers snapped an eight-game losing streak with a 4-1 victory over the host Nationals. The Brewers’ Craig Counsell tied Phil Garner for the most managerial victories in franchise history with 563 as the Brewers snapped their longest skid since September 2015 . ... The Red Sox placed RHP Nathan Eovaldi on the 15-day IL with lower back inflammation. Eovaldi is 4-2 with a 3.16 ERA in 12 starts.