Pirates beat Indians
Pittsburgh has won 11 in a row for the first time since Sept. 12-22, 1996.
CLEVELAND — Starling Marte, Gregory Polanco and Josh Bell each hit a two-run homer, and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Cleveland Indians 9-4 on Tuesday night for their 11th straight win.
The Pirates routed the Indians for the second straight night. Marte homered in the first inning, drove in three runs and extended his career-high hitting streak to 17 games.
Polanco homered and Corey Dickerson tripled in two runs when Pittsburgh scored five times in the second. Bell hit a home run in the fifth. The Pirates have homered in a season-high nine straight games, hitting 22 home runs in that span.
Pittsburgh has won 11 in a row for the first time since Sept. 12-22, 1996. The Pirates have won 13 of 14 and are 17-8 since June 24. Pittsburgh has outscored its opponents 43-8 in the last five games.
Joe Musgrove (4-4) allowed two runs and five hits in seven innings for his first win since June 29.
Shane Bieber (5-2), called up from Triple-A Columbus to make the start, allowed seven runs in 1⅔ innings. The short outing forced the Indians to use seven relievers.
ORIOLES 7, RED SOX 6
In Baltimore, Tim Beckham and Jonathan Schoop homered and drove in three run each, and the Orioles withstood four long balls by Boston in a victory.
It was only the third loss in 18 games for the Red Sox, who have the best record in the major leagues (71-32) and a five-game lead over the New York Yankees in the AL East.
Baltimore closer Zach Britton was not used in a save situation and was traded to the Yankees for three prospects after the game. Brad Brach, another reliever the Orioles want to trade, worked the ninth in the rain for his 11th save.
J.D. Martinez homered twice to raise his season total to 31, and Betts and Blake Swihart contributed solo shots for the Red Sox.
Coming off the disabled list to make his first big league start since May 31 after recovering from left biceps tendinitis, Boston left-hander Drew Pomeranz (1-4) gave up four runs and six hits in 4⅔ innings.
Orioles rookie starter Yefry Ramirez (1-3) yielded three long balls but he struck out six in five innings and earned his first major league victory.
YANKEES 4, RAYS 0
In St. Petersburg, Fla., Masahiro Tanaka pitched a three-hitter, and Austin Romine drove in two runs as the replacement for againinjured catcher Gary Sanchez.
Tanaka (8-2) retired his first 12 batters before C.J. Cron singled leading off the fifth. He struck out nine and walked one, improving to 6-0 on the road.
It was the sixth major league complete game and third shutout for Tanaka, his first complete game since a three-hit shutout at Boston on April 27 last year.
CARDINALS 4, REDS 2 (11 INNINGS)
In Cincinnati, Austin Gomber took a no-hitter in the seventh inning and Dexter Fowler hit a two-run shot in the 11th, leading St. Louis over the Reds.
Mired in a season-long slump, Fowler connected off left-hander Amir Garrett (0-2) for only his second homer while batting righthanded.
Sam Tuivailala (3-3) escaped a two-on threat in the 10th. Bud Norris got his 19th save in 22 chances, one night after he took a loss.
For the second straight night, a Cardinals rookie went deep into the game without allowing a hit. Daniel Poncedeleon threw no-hit ball for seven innings in his major league debut Monday before the Reds rallied against Norris for a 2-1 win featuring Eugenio Suarez’s homer.
Gomber waited on the mound during a 7-minute, 30-second delay to the bottom of the seventh when the ballpark’s fire alarm went off. Joey Votto singled with one out for the Reds’ first hit, and Suarez followed with his 21st homer, ending the rookie’s debut as a starter.
DIAMONDBACKS 5, CUBS 1
In Chicago, Clay Buchholz pitched effectively into the seventh in his return from the disabled list, Steven Souza Jr. had three hits and an RBI and Arizona won its third straight.
Buchholz (3-1), sidelined since June 25 with an oblique injury, walked two and struck out five in 6⅔ innings as he lowered his ERA to 2.38 in eight starts with Diamondbacks.
Jason Heyward lined a solo shot off Buchholz in the sixth, but NL Central-leading Chicago lost for the third time in its last four.
Chicago starter Kyle Hendricks (6-9) labored through five innings, allowing three runs and seven hits. The righty struck out eight and escaped jams in the first and third innings.
ROYALS 5, TIGERS 4
In Kansas City, Mo., Burch Smith picked up his first win in nearly five years, and Mike Moustakas and Salvador Perez homered for the Royals.
Smith (1-1) gave up just one hit — a single by Niko Goodrum to leadoff the fourth — and walked two while striking out six in 6⅓ innings. He got his second career win, and first since Sept. 15, 2013, for San Diego against Atlanta.
Injuries limited the right-hander’s career to just 5⅓ innings the next three seasons. The Royals obtained Smith in the Rule 5 draft last December. He was making his third start of the year after beginning the season with 24 relief appearances.
Wily Peralta gave up at triple to Nicholas Castellanos and a run-scoring grounder to Jeimer Candelario in the ninth before finishing up for his fifth save.
Whit Merrifield doubled to open the first and scored on Moustakas’ 20th homer, into the Royals’ bullpen, in the first off Jordan Zimmermann (4-2).
MARLINS 9, BRAVES 3
In Miami, Wei-Yin Chen pitched six innings and scored the first run of his career to help the Marlins beat Atlanta.
J.T. Realmuto hit his 13th homer of the season for Miami and drove in four runs. Starlin Castro added a three-run homer, his eighth, and Brian Anderson had three hits and scored three times.
Chen (3-7) allowed three runs and five hits. He doubled to start a five-run fifth for his first extrabase hit in 82 career at-bats, and raced home from third on Realmuto’s grounder, barely beating a poor throw by shortstop Dansby Swanson.
Julio Teheran (7-7) matched a career high by allowing nine runs, seven earned, in 4⅓ innings. The Braves committed three errors, including one by Gold Glove center fielder Ender Inciarte that led to two unearned runs.
METS 6, PADRES 3
In New York, Devin Mesoraco hit an early three-run double and made a heads-up play on defense that helped Zack Wheeler and the Mets defeat San Diego.
Michael Conforto launched a two-run homer, extending his recent tear at the plate, and Wheeler (4-6) pitched seven crisp innings to win his second consecutive start. Before that, the right-hander went 13 outings without a victory dating to April 29 in San Diego — the longest stretch without a win for a Mets starter in 20 years.
Before the game, New York put Yoenis Cespedes on the 10-day disabled list again. The team said it was awaiting a second opinion before deciding whether the oftinjured slugger needs surgery on both feet that could require an eight-to-10-month recovery.
Padres left-hander Eric Lauer (5-7) struggled through the early innings once again. He threw 35 pitches in the first, giving up Mesoraco’s bases-loaded double with two outs, before serving up Conforto’s 13th homer after a leadoff walk in the third.
TWINS 5, BLUE JAYS 0
In Toronto, Jose Berrios and two relievers combined on a five-hitter, and Eduardo Escobar hit a three-run home run for Minnesota.
Berrios (10-7) allowed four hits, three of them singles, in seven innings. He walked one and struck out nine to win for the second time in three starts. Trevor Hildenberger worked the eighth and Ryan Pressly finished for the Twins, who have won two straight following a three-game losing streak.