Tigers hammer Rangers, end 10-game win streak
DETROIT — Alex Avila, Miguel Cabrera and J.D. Martinez hit consecutive home runs in the first inning, and the Detroit Tigers beat Texas 9-3 on Saturday night, ending the Rangers’ 10-game winning streak.
Nicholas Castellanos added a three-run homer in the third, and Justin Verlander (4-3) pitched seven solid innings for the Tigers. The Rangers were on their longest winning streak since a 12-game run in 2011, but it ended emphatically against Detroit.
A.J. Griffin (4-1) allowed nine runs and nine hits in 3⅓ innings.
Cabrera homered in his first atbat after missing three games with a strained oblique, but Detroit second baseman Ian Kinsler left the game in the fifth with left hamstring tightness. The team said he was taken out for precautionary reasons.
Jonathan Lucroy homered for the Rangers.
INDIANS 3, ASTROS 0
In Houston, Mike Clevinger pitched no-hit ball into the seventh inning, and Andrew Miller and Cody Allen completed the three-hitter to pitch the Cleveland Indians past the Astros.
Clevinger (2-1) yielded two hits and struck out a career-high eight in 7-plus innings, the longest outing of his career.
Houston didn’t get its first hit until Jose Altuve’s sharp grounder down the left-field line for a single with no outs in the seventh inning. Clevinger was lifted after Evan Gattis singled with no outs in the eighth. Miller struck out two in the eighth and Allen allowed one hit in the ninth to convert his 12th save in as many opportunities and give him 21 straight dating to Aug. 18.
Lonnie Chisenhall had two hits and homered for the second straight day with a solo shot off Mike Fiers (1-2) in the fourth inning to help the Indians take their second straight from Houston.
METS 7, ANGELS 5
In New York, Jose Reyes had three instrumental hits, including the 2,000th of his career, and Terry Collins made the right moves on a milestone night as the New York Mets held off the Los Angeles Angels.
New York gave up three runs in a nervous ninth inning before fill-in closer Addison Reed struck out pinch-hitter Danny Espinosa on a full-count fastball with the bases loaded for his sixth save.
Collins became the longest-tenured manager in team history, passing Davey Johnson (1984-90) by reaching 1,013 games with the Mets. The oldest skipper in the majors, seven days shy of his 68th birthday, massaged an unreliable bullpen through four innings after starter Zack Wheeler (3-2) unraveled in the sixth.
ORIOLES 7, BLUE JAYS 5
In Baltimore, Welington Castillo hit a go-ahead home run for the second consecutive game to lead the Baltimore Orioles past the Toronto Blue Jays at sold-out Camden Yards.
The Orioles improved to 15-3 at home — the best mark in the majors — and can complete a three-game sweep Sunday. Baltimore took over first place in the American League East by a half-game over the New York Yankees, who lost to Tampa Bay earlier Saturday.
Jose Bautista had given Toronto a 5-4 lead with a three-run homer off winning pitcher Mychal Givens (5-0) in the seventh. Baltimore responded in the bottom half when Chris Davis and Mark Trumbo hit one-out singles.
BRAVES 5, NATIONALS 2
In Atlanta, Rio Ruiz, Matt Kemp and Tyler Flowers hit home runs and the Atlanta Braves again relied on their bullpen for a victory over Max Scherzer and Washington, the Nationals’ fourth straight loss.
After Bartolo Colon allowed two runs, one earned, in 4⅓ innings, five relievers combined for 4⅔ hitless innings. Ian Krol (1-1) recorded the final two outs in the fifth. Jim Johnson pitched the ninth for his eighth save.
Four relievers combined for 3⅔ perfect innings in Atlanta’s 7-4 win over Washington on Friday night. The Braves have won seven of nine.
Ruiz and Kemp hit homers off Scherzer (4-3).
PIRATES 6, PHILLIES 3
In Pittsburgh, Ivan Nova pitched into the eighth inning for his first win in four starts since April 29, leading the Pittsburgh Pirates past the Philadelphia Phillies.
Nova (4-3) allowed three runs and nine hits in 7⅓ innings. The NL Pitcher of the Month in April struck out three and walked none.
Francisco Cervelli and Adam Frazier hit two-run singles during a four-run sixth inning that extended the Pirates’ lead to 6-1. David Freese’s leadoff home run, his fourth, in the fourth inning broke a 1-1 tie.
Vince Velasquez (2-4) gave up five runs and seven hits in 5⅓ innings with six strikeouts and two walks for the Phillies, who have not won consecutive games since a six-game winning streak from April 20-27.
ATHLETICS 8, RED SOX 3
In Oakland, Calif., Chad Pinder hit a monster home run, Khris Davis and Mark Canha also connected in the fifth inning, and the Oakland Athletics cleared the fences four times in all to beat the Boston Red Sox for their third straight win.
Hanley Ramirez homered for Boston, which has lost three in a row.
Jed Lowrie had a solo shot in the sixth for Oakland, which leads the AL with 63 home runs. A’s manager Bob Melvin didn’t see any of them in person after being ejected in the second inning.
While no official records are kept, the A’s said Pinder’s deep drive into the plaza reserved section is believed to be just the fourth home run to reach the second-deck seating level since it was built in 1996. San Francisco’s Jarrett Parker had the last one in 2015 and Larry Walker did it for Colorado in 1999. Mark McGwire hit one that far against Cleveland in 1996.
Canha homered leading off the fifth against Ben Taylor (0-1). Sean Manaea (2-3) allowed two earned runs in five innings.
RAYS 9, YANKEES 5
In St. Petersburg, Fla., Corey Dickerson homered twice and the Tampa Bay Rays won their season-high fourth in a row, beating the New York Yankees in a game that included three hit batters, three ejections and one animated argument.
Yankees rookie Aaron Judge hit his 15th home run, most in the majors. He also doubled and has a career-best eight-game hitting streak.
New York manager Joe Girardi used his hands to cover the plate with dirt after being tossed by umpire Scott Barry in the fifth inning. That came right after pitching coach Larry Rothschild was ejected by Barry during a mound visit.
Rays starter Matt Andriese hit Matt Holliday after giving up a home run to Gary Sanchez in the fifth. In the bottom half, Yankees reliever Tommy Layne plunked Dickerson, who had hit two home runs off Masahiro Tanaka. Andriese (4-1) hit Judge with a pitch leading off the sixth and was thrown out. The 6-foot-7 Judge dropped his bat and calmly went to first base after being struck.
Tanaka (5-3) struggled for the second consecutive start, allowing six runs and nine hits, including three homers, in threeplus innings.
GIANTS 3, CARDINALS 1 (13 INNINGS)
In St. Louis, Christian Arroyo’s two-run double broke a scoreless tie and the San Francisco Giants outlasted the St. Louis Cardinals.
Arroyo’s double off the wall in left field scored Buster Posey and Brandon Crawford and came on the 12th pitch he saw from Cardinals reliever Kevin Siegrist (0-1). Posey, Crawford and Eduardo Nunez singled to load the bases, giving the Giants their first runners in scoring position in the game.
Giants starter Jeff Samardzija threw eight innings, scattering five hits and striking out eight. Hunter Strickland (1-1), Derek Law and Josh Osich pitched in relief for the Giants, who won for the seventh time in eight games. Mark Melancon earned his eighth save.
The game was stopped for 42 minutes after the 10th inning for a rain delay.
REDS 12, ROCKIES 8
In Cincinnati, Scott Schebler’s homer completed Cincinnati’s comeback from a five-run deficit, and the Reds ended a seven-game losing streak — their longest in a year — with a victory over the Colorado Rockies.
It was Cincinnati’s longest skid since it dropped 11 straight last May.
Colorado rookie Antonio Senzatela was in line for an NL-leading seventh win before the Rockies’ bullpen let the big lead slip away.
Senzatela had a bases-loaded single during a six-run fifth inning that put the Rockies ahead 8-3.
Devin Mesoraco hit a solo homer to start the Reds’ sixth against Chad Qualls, who faced only four batters. Schebler’s three-run shot off Mike Dunn (2-1) finished a six-run rally.