Bonifacio homers as Royals beat White Sox 5-0

ROYALS 5, WHITE SOX 0

CHICAGO — Jorge Bonifacio homered for the first time since he was suspended for testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance, and the Kansas City Royals beat the Chicago White Sox 5-0 on Saturday for just their second win in July.

Bonifacio hit a drive into the home bullpen in left after Whit Merrifield led off the game with a single. He also drove in Paulo Orlando with a triple to left-center in the fifth, providing more than enough support for Danny Duffy in the lefthander’s second straight scoreless outing.

The 25-year-old Bonifacio broke into the majors last year, hitting 17 homers in 113 games for Kansas City. But he missed the first part of this season after a positive test for Boldenone, resulting in an 80-game suspension.

Duffy (5-8) struck out eight while pitching seven innings of four-hit ball. He tossed six scoreless innings at Minnesota on Monday night, but left with a no-decision after the Twins rallied for a 3-1 win.

Such is life with the last-place Royals (27-67), who have just five wins in their last 29 games.

The White Sox (32-62) lost for the seventh time in nine games. Reynaldo Lopez allowed five runs and nine hits in 72/3 innings in his first start since his wife, Jhilaris, gave birth to a baby girl named Zoe on Friday. RED SOX 6, BLUE JAYS 2, 10 INNINGS

Xander Bogaerts hit a game-ending grand slam with one out in 10th inning, and J.D. Martinez hit his major league-leading 29th homer to carry the Boston Red Sox to a victory over the Toronto Blue Jays. Martinez increased his major league-leading RBI total to 80 with a solo shot and red-hot Mookie Betts extended his hitting streak to 12 games with three singles to raise his majors’ best average to .362 for Boston. The AL East-leading Red Sox had their 10-game winning streak halted Friday.

RAYS 19, TWINS 6 Jake Bauers homered for the second straight game and drove in four runs, Carlos Gomez homered and had two RBIs, and the Tampa Bay Ray scored 15 times in the final three innings to rally past the Minnesota Twins. C.J. Cron hit a two-run homer and Jesus Sucre, who entered in the sixth for injured catcher Wilson Ramos, drove in two runs for Tampa Bay.

ASTROS 9, TIGERS 1 Gerrit Cole struck out eight in 52/3 strong innings, and the Houston Astros hit three home runs in a win over the Detroit Tigers. Cole (10-2) allowed one run and three hits with four walks after being activated from the bereavement list prior to the game. He threw six shutout innings in his last start Monday against Oakland. Josh Reddick and Evan Gattis hit back-to-back solo homers in the fifth to chase Detroit starter Michael Fulmer (3-9). Tyler White added a two-run shot to left in the seventh.

ORIOLES 1, RANGERS 0 Rookie Yefry Ramirez and four relievers combined on a four-hitter, Jonathan Schoop drove in a run with a sixth-inning sacrifice fly and the Baltimore Orioles beat the Texas Rangers in a matchup of last-place teams. Making his fourth start and bidding for his first major league victory, Ramirez pitched five innings of two-hit ball before being pulled in a scoreless game.

YANKEES 5, INDIANS 4 Austin Romine came all the way around to score when Cleveland committed two errors on his routine double in the seventh inning, and the New York Yankees edged the Cleveland Indians. Didi Gregorius hit a three-run homer and Greg Bird added a solo shot for the Yankees, who moved 30 games over. 500 and kept pace with the AL East-leading Boston Red Sox. Indians All-Star Jose Ramirez belted his 29th homer, giving the third baseman as many homers as he had all last season — and tying Mickey Mantle’s record for the most by a switch-hitter before the break.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

REDS 8, CARDINALS 2 Jose Peraza’s best game at the plate turned out to be Mike Matheny’s last in the Cardinals’ dugout. Peraza had a career-best five hits, Scooter Gennett drove in two runs and the Reds waited out a pair of rain delays before beating St. Louis. The Cardinals fired Matheny, who was in his seventh year as manager, after the game. Peraza is hitting 14 for 33 (.424) on the Reds’ eight-game road trip. “I felt good,” Peraza said. “I just swung the bat and something happened.” Following the two delays that totaled 2 hours, 43 minutes, Cincinnati trailed 2-0 after five innings before rallying for eight runs in its final four at-bats.

METS 7, NATIONALS 4 Zack Wheeler won for the first time since April 29, Michael Conforto homered and the New York Mets defeated the Washington Nationals. Wilmer Flores, Jose Reyes and Kevin Plawecki each had two hits as the light-hitting Mets scored seven runs for the first time since June 24. PIRATES 2-6, BREWERS 1-2 Starling Marte and Gregory Polanco hit back-to-back home runs for the second time Saturday, and the Pittsburgh Pirates won the second game of a doubleheader 6-2 over the Milwaukee Brewers. With the Pirates leading 3-0 in the eighth, Marte hit his 13th homer over the left-field wall before Polanco hit his 16th over the wall in right-center to make it 5-0. They also hit consecutive home runs in the first inning of the Pirates’ 2-1 win earlier Saturday. Marte extended his hitting streak to 11 games with a ground-rule double in the sixth. In his second major league start, Clay Holmes (1-1) allowed no runs on four hits with six strikeouts and two walks for his first win.

MARLINS 2, PHILLIES 0 All-Star Aaron Nola gave up two runs in the first inning and the punchless Philadelphia Phillies never recovered, losing to the Miami Marlins. The NL East-leading Phillies have scored only 24 runs in their past nine games. Nola (12-3) needed 31 pitches to get through the first. After he loaded the bases with none out, one run scored on a groundout, and another came home on Martin Prado’s two-out single. DIAMONDBACKS 3, BRAVES 0 Zack Greinke added another road win to his strong first half by allowing only four hits in 72/3 innings, extending Atlanta’s offensive slump, and the Arizona Diamondbacks shut out the Braves. Greinke (10-5), named to the NL All-Star team on Thursday as a replacement for Chicago’s Jon Lester, has won five straight decisions. The 34-year-old right-hander has been especially strong away from home, winning five straight road starts since June 8. Greinke controlled the game.

INTERLEAGUE

ANGELS 5, DODGERS 4, 10 INNINGS Kole Calhoun homered on his first pitch from All-Star closer Kenley Jansen in the 10th inning, lifting the Los Angeles Angels to a victory over the Dodgers after the Angels blew two leads in the Freeway Series. Four of the Angels’ five games against the Dodgers this season have been decided by one run. The Angels lead the season series 3-2. Angels manager Mike Scioscia equaled fellow catcher-turned-manager Ralph Houk for 18th on the career victories list with his 1,619th.