Bellinger’s 41st HR helps Dodgers win
Cody Bellinger hit his 41st home run, Max Muncy and Justin Turner connected against reliever Sean Newcomb in the seventh inning, and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the host Atlanta Braves 83 Friday night in a meeting of NL division leaders.
It was nothing new for the Dodgers, who set a majorleague record with 22 homers in a fivegame span when Will Smith launched a tworun shot off Jerry Blevins in the eighth.
The Dodgers improved to 186 against Atlanta since 2016, using Muncy’s threerun homer and Turner’s solo shot to lead 63 after Newcomb relieved starter Mike Soroka.
“I think we’re a pretty complete team all around,” Muncy said. “Obviously the home runs are what you notice, but look at what happens before the home runs.”
Los Angeles led 10 in the second when Bellinger crushed a homer to rightcenter, his fourth in five games to take the NL lead. He is tied with the Angels’ Mike Trout for most in the majors.
The NL Eastleading Braves pounced on Kenta Maeda in the bottom half, going ahead 31 on Matt Joyce’s tworun double and Ronald Acuna Jr.’s hard RBI single to leftcenter.
Maeda avoided further trouble when Freddie Freeman lined out with the bases loaded. The righthander struck out seven straight before Josh Donaldson singled with two outs in the fifth.
White Sox 7, Angels 2: Lucas Giolito struck out 11 over six innings and James McCann hit his second grand slam in three games for visiting Chicago. Trout hit a solo shot to center in the fifth, matching his career high from 2015.
Phillies 8, Padres 4: Bryce Harper homered for the third straight game, Roman Quinn and J.T. Realmuto also went deep and Philadelphia’s resurgent offense remained red-hot at home. Since Charlie Manuel arrived as the team’s hitting coach Wednesday, the Phillies are batting .337 with eight doubles and seven homers.
Nationals 2, Brewers 1: Anthony Rendon hit a tie-breaking RBI double in the eighth inning for host Washington.
Yankees 3, Indians 2: Masahiro Tanaka pitched effectively into the seventh inning, Aaron Judge broke out of his slump with two hits and two runs, and host New York prevailed.
Tigers 2, Rays 0: Daniel Norris pitched three innings, Drew VerHagen pitched five and Joe Jimenez earned his seventh save for Detroit in St. Petersburg, Fla.
Red Sox 9, Orioles 1: Andrew Benintendi and Mitch Moreland each hit RBI triples in the fourth inning, Rick Porcello held Baltimore to one run over six innings, and Boston won at home. Porcello (11-9) allowed four hits and two walks to earn his sixth win in eight starts.
Royals 4, Mets 1: After failing to cross the plate in 22 straight innings, Kansas located some offense at the bottom of its lineup at home and beat a tough starter, Noah Syndergaard.
Twins 4, Rangers 3: Max Kepler and Jonathan Schoop hit two-run home runs to lead Minnesota in Arlington, Texas.
Pirates 3, Cubs 2: Pinch-hitter Cole Tucker drew a bases-loaded walk and Kevin Newman hit an RBI single, all with two out in the ninth inning, as Pittsburgh rallied to win at home.
Rockies 3, Marlins 0: Jon Gray struck out seven in eight strong innings and Nolan Arenado and Ryan McMahon homered for the second straight game, leading Colorado to a home win.
Cardinals 13, Reds 4: Dexter Fowler hit a three-run home run and drove in four runs, Paul DeJong and Paul Goldschmidt each added two-run shots and St. Louis rocked Luis Castillo in Cincinnati.
Blue Jays 7, Mariners 3: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Randal Grichuk hit back-to-back home runs, Jacob Waguespack won his third straight decision and Toronto won at home.