Rays beat Yankees, now sit 5 games back in AL East
ST. PETERSBURG, FLA. >> Jeffrey Springs pitched neatly into the sixth inning, Christian Bethancourt hit a seventh-inning two-run homer, and the Tampa Bay Rays moved within five games of the AL East-leading New York Yankees with a 9-0 victory on Friday night.
Springs (7-4) gave up four hits and three walks, along with seven strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings. JT Chargois, Colin Poche, Jason Adam and Calvin Faucher completed the five-hitter.
Tampa Bay has limited the Yankees to 42 runs (32 earned) in 14 games.
Bethancourt made it 3-0 on his homer off Domingo Germán (2-3), who allowed three runs — two earned — and six hits over 6 2/3 innings.
REDS 3, ROCKIES 2 >> Jonathan India drove in Spencer Steer from third base with a game-ending chopper
against Colorado’s fiveman infield to lead Cincinnati to the win.
Steer, who hit his first career home run in the fifth in his major league debut, led off the ninth with a double against Alex Colomé (2-7) and went to third on a oneout wild pitch. Jake Fraley was intentionally walked
and took second on defensive indifference.
BLUE JAYS 4, PIRATES 0 >> Alek Manoah pitched shutout ball into the eighth inning and Bo Bichette homered to lead Toronto.
Manoah (13-7) allowed five hits and struck out six in 7 1/3 innings, retiring 15 of the final 18 batters he faced. The righthander went at least seven innings without allowing a run for the first time since last Sept. 13, when he made it through eight innings. TIGERS 5, ROYALS 4 >> Ryan Kreidler scored twice in his major league debut, including the go-ahead run on pinch-hitter Harold Castro’s seventh-inning single, and Detroit edged Kansas City.
Kreidler, promoted from Triple-A Toledo on Thursday, drew two walks. Javier Baez hit a two-run homer and Willi Castro had three hits, including a solo homer. Detroit snapped a threegame losing streak.
METS 7, NATIONALS 3 >> Pete Alonso hit a tiebreaking homer leading off the sixth inning to lead New York.
Alonso’s high drive to left field off Josiah Gray made it 4-3 and kicked off a fourrun inning. He has 32 homers and his 106 RBIs are 18 short of the team record shared by Mike Piazza in 1999 and David Wright in 2006. The NL East-leading Mets have 30 games left for Alonso to make a run at the mark.
MARINERS 6, GUARDIANS 1 >> Cal Raleigh homered twice, Luis Castillo pitched six solid innings and Seattle won its fifth straight.
Raleigh hit a solo homer in the second inning off rookie Cody Morris (0-1) and connected for a threerun shot in the sixth as the Mariners kept pace in the crowded AL wild-card chase. Seattle has won seven of eight and 12 of 16.
BRAVES 8, MARLINS 1 >> Travis d’Arnaud and Vaughn Grissom homered off Sandy Alcantara in a four-run fourth inning, Michael Harris II homered in the sixth and Atlanta won its third straight.
Austin Riley hit his 34th homer in the seventh.
RED SOX 9, RANGERS 1 >> Connor Wong hit his first major league homer, Kiké Hernández doubled twice and Boston overcame an early injury to starting pitcher Nick Pivetta to hand Texas its season-worst sixth straight loss.
WHITE SOX 4, TWINS 3 >> Jose Abreu drove in the winning run with a fielder’s choice grounder in the ninth inning after Minnesota closer Jorge López hit Andrew Vaughn to ignite a heated confrontation, and the Chicago White Sox beat the Twins.
CARDINALS 8, CUBS 0 >> Jordan Montgomery pitched shutout ball into the seventh inning to remain unbeaten with St. Louis, Lars Nootbaar and Tommy Edman homered, and the Cardinals beat the Chicago Cubs.
DIAMONDBACKS 2, BREWERS 1 >> Emmanuel Rivera had three hits, Jake McCarthy added the go-ahead RBI single and Arizona edged Milwaukee.