Phillies beat Rays, run road winning streak to 11 games
ST. PETERSBURG, FLA. >> Taijuan Walker overcome early struggles to win his sixth consecutive start and the Philadelphia Phillies extended their road winning streak to 11 games with an 8-4 victory over the ALleading Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday night.
It's the third-longest road winning streak in Phillies history, trailing a 13-game run in 1976 and 12-game stretch that spanned the 1887 and `88 seasons. Tampa Bay has lost four in a row and 10 of 16 overall.
Walker (10-3) allowed four runs and five hits, all in the first three of his seveninning outing. Bryson Stott had four hits as Philadelphia finished with 17 hits overall. Bryce Harper went 2 for 5 in his fifth consecutive game with two hits.
The Phillies grabbed a 5-4 lead on Trea Turner's leadoff homer and Stott's RBI single in the fifth. Nick Castellanos extended the Phillies' advantage to 6-4 on a 437-foot homer to center off Robert Stephenson.
Luke Raley homered for Tampa Bay. Yonny Chirinos (4-4) was the loser.
BRAVES 8, GUARDIANS 1
All-Stars Sean Murphy and Matt Olson homered and Atlanta bounced back from a rare loss to rout Cleveland.
Atlanta has won 18 of 20 and 25 of 29.
ORIOLES 6, YANKEES 3
Touted prospect Colton Cowser hit an RBI single in his major league debut and scored the go-ahead run when fellow rookie Jordan Westburg followed with a two-run triple, sending Dean Kremer and Baltimore past New York.
Kremer (9-4) struck out a career-high 10 in seven innings of four-hit ball. Ryan O'Hearn lined a two-run homer in the ninth, and All-Star relievers Yennier Cano and Félix Bautista combined to get the final six outs as the second-place Orioles won for the second time in eight games. Bautista got four outs for his 23rd save.
RED SOX 4, RANGERS 2
Brayan Bello took a shutout into the sixth inning, Justin Turner had two hits and a pair of RBIs and Boston beat slumping Texas.
Corey Seager had three hits for the Rangers, and Adolis Garcia celebrated being selected for the Home Run Derby by hitting one that counted, a two-run shot in the sixth that made it 3-2.
But those were the only runs against Bello (6-5), who allowed two runs on eight hits in seven innings, striking out three and walking none. Kenley Jansen, Boston's only All-Star selection, pitched the ninth for his 18th save. The Red Sox won for the fourth time in five games.
5, 3 >>
Manny Machado became the career home run leader at Petco Park and drove in three runs for San Diego, which held two-way AllStar Shohei Ohtani hitless in a three-game sweep.
Ohtani was the designated hitter after leaving Tuesday as a pitcher with a blister on his right middle finger. He was 0 for 10 with two walks and two strikeouts in the series.
Machado gave the Padres a 3-2 lead when he hit a no-doubter to left off reliever Jose Soriano leading off the sixth for his 66th at Petco Park, one more than former Padres star Adrian Gonzalez.
REDS 9, NATIONALS 2 >> Elly De La Cruz hit a massive solo homer and two doubles after a mix-up with a covering on the knob of his bat and surging Cincinnati beat Washington.
Joey Votto also homered and finished with three hits as Cincinnati won for the seventh time in eight games. Will Benson had two hits and two RBIs for the NL Central leaders, and Graham Ashcraft (4-6) pitched six effective innings in his first victory since May 28.
ASTROS 6, ROCKIES 4 Yainer Díaz homered in his first two at-bats, Jeremy Peña added a two-run shot in his return from a stiff neck and Houston beat Colorado,
Díaz had a solo home run in the second inning and made it 3-0 with a tworun homer in the fourth in his first career two-homer game.
CUBS 4, BREWERS 3 >> Mike Tauchman doubled in two runs and scored in a threerun ninth inning off AllStar closer Devin Williams and Chicago rallied to beat Milwaukee.
Tauchman scored the goahead run when Nico Hoerner reached on a throwing error by third baseman Brian Anderson.
TWINS 4, ROYALS 1 >> Pablo López pitched his first career shutout, a four-hitter complete with a career-high 12 strikeouts, in Minnesota's victory over Kansas City.
López (5-5) retired 15 straight from the third to the eighth inning, including a stretch with six consecutive strikeouts, to help the Twins complete a threegame sweep.
MARLINS 10, CARDINALS 9 >> Yuli Gurriel scored from first base on a throwing error by St. Louis reliever Jordan Hicks with one out in the ninth inning and Miami Marlins rallied to beat the Cardinals.
With Gurriel on first after a single and pinch-runner Garrett Hampson on second, Joey Wendle hit a dribbler back to Hicks (15). The pitcher's high, errant throw got past first baseman Paul Goldschmidt to allow both runners to score.