AROUND THE HORN
Giants: Carlos Rodon pitched two-hit ball over six strong innings and the San Francisco Giants completed a three-game sweep of the division-leading Dodgers, beating Los Angeles 2-0 on Sunday. Austin Slater and Mike Yastrzemski homered off Julio Urias in the first inning to send the stumbling Dodgers to their sixth loss in eight games. Chris Taylor doubled twice for Los Angeles, but was forced out of the game after suffering a cut near his right eye when he crashed into the fence in left field trying to make a catch.The Dodgers remained one-half game ahead of San Diego in the NL West. The Giants pulled within 3 ½ games of first place. Rodon (5-4) helped that trend continue with a dominant performance coming on the heels of one of his worst starts this season. John Brebbia and Dominic Leone retired three batters apiece. Leone got Taylor to strike out swinging with runners at the corners and two outs in the eighth, then yelled and flexed his arms while walking off the mound.
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 seasonhigh 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.