In St. Louis, Pujols delivers for Dodgers
Albert Pujols rewarded an adoring crowd by hitting a home run in his return to Busch Stadium, sending the Dodgers toward a 7-2 win over the Cardinals on Tuesday.
Justin Turner homered twice and Will Smith also homered for the Dodgers, who won for the sixth time in eight games. St. Louis has lost four in a row.
Pujols, who led the Cardinals to two World Series championships, made his second appearance at Busch Stadium after playing for St. Louis from 2001 through ’11. He drew a 40-second standing ovation when his name was announced prior to a first-inning at-bat.
“Getting a standing ovation and then homering in that first at-bat. Storybook,” L.A. manager Dave Roberts said. “I’m a firm believer that the game honors you.” Angels 4, Padres 0: Blake Snell didn’t allow a hit until there were two outs in the seventh, but the lefty took the loss for host San Diego.
Blue Jays 5, Yankees 1: Alejandro Kirk homered twice and Marcus Semien also went deep for visiting Toronto. New York starter Gerrit Cole, a frontrunner for the AL Cy Young Award, left in the fourth inning with what the team announced as left hamstring tightness. The
Blue Jays moved to 21⁄2 games behind the Yankees for the AL’s first wild-card spot and to two games back of Boston for the second wild card.
Astros 5, Mariners 4: Carlos Correa doubled home the winning run in the 10th inning for host Houston.
Rays 12, Red Sox 7: Tampa Bay’s Nelson Cruz went deep twice to become the oldest player to reach the 30-homer plateau in major-league history for the visiting Rays. Cruz, 41, surpassed David Ortiz (2016) and Darrell Evans (1987), who reached the 30-homer plateau at age 40.
Twins 3, Indians 0: John Gant pitched five innings and Brent Rooker homered for visiting Minnesota. The Indians failed to homer for the first time in 20 games, ending the longest streak in club history.
Mets 9, Marlins 4: Pete Alonso hit two home runs to help New York win in Miami.
Reds 4, Cubs 3: Jonathan India and Nick Castellanos homered and Wade Miley struck out eight in seven innings as Cincinnati ended host Chicago’s seven-game winning streak.
Orioles 7, Royals 3: Cedric Mullins homered for the third consecutive game for host Baltimore.
Braves 8, Nationals 5: Adam Duvall and Ozzie Albies homered for host Atlanta.
Brewers 10, Phillies 0: Avisail Garcia homered and Eric Lauer and two relievers combined on a five-hitter for host Milwaukee.
Pirates 3, Tigers 2: Ben Gamel had a go-ahead two-run single in the sixth inning for host Pittsburgh.
Rangers 3, Diamondbacks 1: Jason Martin had a two-run single in a three-run fourth inning for visiting Texas.