Betts belts 3 HRs as Red Sox romp
BOSTON — Mookie Betts hit three home runs against James Paxton during the first four innings Friday night of a 10-5 rout over the New York Yankees, whose starting pitchers have stumbled this week in historic fashion.
Betts homered on Paxton’s eighth pitch in a threerun first that included J.D. Martinez’s two-run homer, went deep again leading off the third for a 4-0 lead and hit a two-run drive in the fourth for a 7-0 advantage. Betts added an RBI double in the sixth off David Hale.
Andrew Cashner (10-5) allowed three runs and 10 hits in 62⁄3 innings.
Martinez had three RBIs for the Red Sox, who won the opener of the four-game series 19-3 and have pulled within nine games of the AL East-leading Yankees. The Red Sox had 14 hits, giving them 37 in the first two games of the series, and reached 11 games above .500 for the first time this season at 58-47.
TWINS 6, WHITE SOX 2: Nelson Cruz homered for the seventh time in his last five games, and Minnesota became the fastest team to reach 200 homers in major league history during a win at Chicago.
RAYS 3, BLUE JAYS 1: Ryan Yarbrough won his fourth straight decision, Travis d’Arnaud hit a two-run single and Tampa Bay won at Toronto.
BREWERS 3, CUBS 2: Ben Gamel’s two-run single in the eighth inning gave host Milwaukee a come-frombehind win that knocked the Cubs out of first place, but Brewers starting pitcher Gio Gonzalez left the game in the seventh inning with a shoulder injury.
RANGERS 5, ATHLETICS 2: Lance Lynn pitched six strong innings and Willie Calhoun homered as Texas won at Oakland.
DODGERS 4, NATIONALS 2: Justin Turner hit a twoout, three-run homer in the eighth inning as Los Angeles won at Washington.
INDIANS 8, ROYALS 3: José Ramirez hit a three-run home run and Zach Plesac pitched seven strong innings in Cleveland’s road win.
BRAVES 9, PHILLIES 2: Ronald Acuna Jr. had two hits and three RBIs, Brian McCann hit a solo homer and Atlanta won at Philadelphia.
ORIOLES 9, ANGELS 3: Renato Núnez hit a three-run homer and Asher Wojciechowski allowed two runs in seven innings as visiting Baltimore won.
MARINERS 3, TIGERS 2: Mallex Smith’s run-scoring single with two outs in the ninth inning gave host Seattle a walkoff win. MARLINS 3, DIAMONDBACKS 2: Sacrifice flies in the ninth inning by Jorge Alfaro and Harold Ramirez lifted host Miami to a walkoff win. ROCKIES 12, REDS 2: .Daniel Murphy hit a three-run homer and a three-run double for a career-high six RBIs, leading Colorado to a win at Cincinnati. METS 6, PIRATES 3: Trade candidate Zack Wheeler showed off a live arm in his return from the injured list, Jeff McNeil hit the first of four Mets homers and host New York beat slumping Pittsburgh.