Red Sox beat Braves in matchup of division leaders
ATLANTA — Steve Pearce had three hits and three RBIs, Rick Porcello allowed two hits in five innings and the Boston Red Sox beat the Atlanta Braves 5-1 on Tuesday night for their second straight win in a matchup of division leaders.
The Braves’ lead over secondplace Philadelphia in the NL East was cut to three games.
BREWERS 11, CUBS 1
In Milwaukee, Lorenzo Cain reached base five times, Wade Miley pitched six stingy innings and the Brewers romped past Chicago to climb within three games of the NL Central leaders.
Miley (3-2) allowed one run and three hits, struck out five and walked none as Milwaukee won for the fifth time in its last six meetings with its division rival. The second-place Brewers maintained a 1½-game lead over St. Louis for the top NL wild card.
CARDINALS 11, NATIONALS 8
In Washington, Yadier Molina hit a grand slam, Marcell Ozuna homered twice and St. Louis defeated the Nationals.
Molina provided a cushion for the Cardinals with his sixth career slam, which made it 11-5 in the ninth inning. St. Louis hit five homers overall in stopping a three-game skid.
ROCKIES 6, GIANTS 2
In Denver, Ryan McMahon had a pinch-hit home run and Carlos Gonzalez tripled with the bases loaded during a five-run seventh inning that carried the Rockies past San Francisco.
David Dahl also homered and Charlie Blackmon had three hits for the Rockies, who lead the NL West in September or October for the first time since 1995. It was the fourth straight loss for the Giants, who also have dropped six in a row to Colorado.
PHILLIES 9, MARLINS 4
In Miami, Carlos Santana homered to start a four-run first inning and Philadelphia snapped a threegame losing streak by beating the Marlins.
Jake Arrieta (10-9) struck out a season-high 11 and earned his first win since July 31.
PIRATES 7, REDS 3
In Pittsburgh, Starling Marte hit a two-run homer, Gregory Polanco had a two-run double and the Pirates topped Cincinnati.
Joe Musgrove (6-8) took a shutout into the seventh inning for the Pirates, who improved to 12-4 against the Reds this season.
ASTROS 5, TWINS 2
In Houston, Alex Bregman hit three doubles and Yuli Gurriel homered for the second game in a row, leading Justin Verlander and the Astros to its fourth straight win.
Verlander (14-9) yielded one run and three hits while fanning eight over seven innings. Roberto Osuna got his 13th save.
TIGERS 8, WHITE SOX 3
In Chicago, a fan was hit in the face by a foul ball and bled profusely before walking to the first aid station, causing a brief delay during Detroit’s win.
INDIANS 9, ROYALS 3
In Cleveland, Mike Clevinger struck out 10, Francisco Lindor hit another leadoff homer and the Indians ended a three-game losing streak.
Clevinger (11-7) allowed just three hits in six innings and remained unbeaten in his last seven starts.
RANGERS 4, ANGELS 2
In Arlington, Texas, Adrian Beltre and Elvis Andrus each hit solo home runs in the fourth inning to lead the Rangers.
Andrus hit the first pitch of the fourth against Andrew Heaney (8-9) to tie it at 1. Two batters later, Beltre went deep for the ninth time this season and 471st time in his career.
RAYS 4, BLUE JAYS 0
In Toronto, Ryne Stanek became the first rookie pitcher in 75 years to start consecutive games and combined with six relievers on a three-hitter as Tampa Bay won its fourth in a row.