With 19-run efforts, Indians, Rockies roll
In scoring a seasonhigh 19 runs Wednesday, the Cleveland Indians rolled to a victory. Not to be outdone, the Colorado Rockies did the same.
In Cleveland, Jose Ramirez homered twice and drove in five runs as the Indians thumped Cincinnati 19-4 to end a losing streak at four games. Cleveland’s win win came a night after it blew a four-run, ninthinning lead and lost.
“It was terrific — on a lot of fronts,” Cleveland manager Francona said of Wednesday’s rebound. “We struck early and we kept going.”
Ramirez hit a two-run homer in the first inning and connected for a three-run shot in Cleveland’s nine-run third.
Infielder Alex Blandino, a St. Francis High and Stanford alum, pitched a shutout eighth for the Reds, allowing a hit and striking out two.
For Colorado, its 19-2 win over the visiting Diamondbacks featured two home runs by Carlos Gonzalez (six RBIs) as well as one apiece from Ian Desmond (five RBIs), Charlie Blackmon and pitcher German Marquez.
“We’ve had trouble against this team,” Colorado’s Nolan Arenado said. “We all know it, so today was good.”
Arizona’s Shelby Miller allowed five runs before leaving after the first with right elbow tightness.
Things didn’t improve from there for the Diamondbacks, and with his team down 14-1 in the fourth inning, manager Torey Lovullo turned the pitching duties over to infielder Daniel Descalso, another St. Francis alum. He allowed three runs and four hits in 22 ⁄3 innings in his fifth career relief outing. Catcher Alex Avila, in his first pitching appearance since college, finished with two shutout innings.
Yankees 9, Orioles 0: Greg Bird hit his first career grand slam performance visiting to New back York. a by strong Sonny Gray pitching allowed Gray for three hits, walked one and struck out eight over six innings. The right-hander had lost three straight starts and had allowed 11 runs in a combined 41⁄3 innings in his previous two.
Mariners 3, Angels 0: Marco Gonzales and two relievers combined on a two-hitter and David Freitas hit his first career homer for for visiting Seattle. Gonzales retired the first 13 batters before Andrelton Simmons and Mike Trout singled in the fourth. Gonzales then retired the final 11 batters he faced.
Dodgers 4, Padres 2: Kenta Maeda allowed one run and struck out nine in 52⁄3 for visiting Los Angeles. Kenley Jansen, the fourth Dodgers reliever, pitched the ninth to complete the five-hitter and earn his 25th save.
Mets 3, Phillies 0: Pinchhitter Brandon Nimmo launched a three-run homer in the 10th inning to give New York its third game-ending blast in six days. Mets starter Jacob deGrom, who pitched eight innings, lowered his majors-leading ERA to 1.68.
Red Sox 4, Rangers 2: Chris Sale struck out 12 in seven shutout innings as host Boston moved 36 games above .500 for the first time since 1978.
Pirates 2, Nationals 0: Starling Marte hit a two-run home run and Trevor Williams combined with four relievers on a five-hitter for host Pittsburgh.
Marlins 5, Brewers 4: Starlin Castro singled home the winning run in the 12th for Miami, which played before a crowd of 5,265 — the smallest in the seven-season history of Marlins Park.
Braves 9, Blue Jays 5: Ozzie Albies hit two homers to become the first Atlanta player since Andruw Jones in 2006 to hit 20 before the All-Star break as the host Braves won.
Rays 4, Tigers 2: C.J. Cron hit a three-run homer and Kevin Kiermaier added a solo shot as Tampa Bay improved to 14-1 in its past 15 home games.
Twins 8, Royals 5: Brian Dozier hit a two-run homer to help Minnesota improve to 6-1 on an 11-game homestand.
White Sox 4, Cardinals 0: Carlos Rodon and two relievers combined on a four-hitter as host Chicago ended a six-game losing streak.