Ingredients mix up well, Orioles win
BALTIMORE — Manny Machado hitting a three-run homer . Kevin Gausman pitching seven shutout innings. The Orioles winning in blowout fashion.
Three things Baltimore was counting on happening with frequency this season finally occurred in unison Sunday in a 7-1 win over the Tampa Bay Rays.
The Orioles (40-41) concluded the first half of their schedule with a victory that was particularly special because of the contributions from Machado and Gausman, two key players who have thus far failed to reach their potential.
Machado has 16 home runs and 41 RBIs, decent numbers that don't quite offset his .217 batting average.
Gausman (5-7) lowered his ERA to 5.61, hardly solid but at least it's under 6.00 for the first time in nearly a month.
Mark Trumbo also homered and Seth Smith had two RBIs for the Orioles, playing their final home game until July 14.
Gausman gave up two singles, struck out nine and walked two in the finest of his 18 starts this season. It was his second straight scoreless outing; the right-hander blanked Toronto over 5 1/3 innings on Tuesday.
Jesus Sucre ended Baltimore's shutout bid with an eighth-inning homer off Mychal Givens.
Red Sox 15, Blue Jays 1
TORONTO — Mookie Betts hit two home runs and matched a career-high with eight RBIs to help Boston rout Toronto.
Betts went 4 for 6 as AL East-leading Boston won for the sixth time in seven games, completing the three-game sweep. He hit an RBI single in the second, a three-run homer in the fourth, a two-run blast in the sixth, and a two-run single in the seventh. It was the second multihomer game of the season for Betts, who also hit two at Philadelphia on June 14. Betts had eight RBIs against Arizona on Aug. 14, 2016.
Drew Pomeranz (8-4) pitched six innings for his third straight road win.
Hanley Ramirez had three hits, including a two-run homer, as the Red Sox collected a season-high 21 hits.
Joe Biagini (2-8) took the loss as he was chased in the sixth inning by Betts' second homer.
Astros 8, Yankees 1
HOUSTON — Yuli Gurriel finished a triple shy of the cycle, Carlos Correa tied a career-high with four hits and had three RBIs, and Houston handed New York its 14th loss in 19 games.
Marwin Gonzalez hit a two-run homer in a three-run second off Luis Severino (5-4) as the Astros improved the best record in the major leagues to 56-27. Houston had 14 hits, including seven doubles, and went 6 for 17 with runners in scoring position.
New York, which led the AL East by four games on June 13, lost two of three to the Astros and dropped three games behind division-leading Boston.
Chris Devenski (5-3) pitched two perfect innings in relief to get the win.
Indians 11, Tigers 8
DETROIT — Jose Ramirez homered twice, and Cleveland snapped Justin Verlander's decade-long streak of games with at least one strikeout, chasing the Detroit star in the fourth inning.
Verlander (5-5) had struck out a batter in 331 consecutive appearances and was tied with Curt Schilling for the sixth-longest streak since 1913. He hadn't gone without a strikeout since April 28, 2007, when he lasted only three innings against Minnesota.
On Sunday, he allowed seven runs and nine hits with three walks in 3 1/3 innings.
Royals 6, Twins 2
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Alcides Escobar had two hits and two RBIs and Scott Alexander picked up his first major league victory for Kansas City.
The Royals have won 15 of 21 games to move a game above .500 and into a tie with the Twins for second place in the American League Central.
Escobar went 7-for-16 with four extra-base hits, including a home run, with seven RBIs and scored four runs in the four-game series to raised his average 50 points since June 13.
White Sox 6, Rangers 5
CHICAGO — Yolmer Sanchez hit a two-run home run with two outs in the eighth to rally Chicago past Texas.
The Rangers had the bases loaded in the ninth, but David Robertson (4-2) struck out Carlos Gomez to end the game.
Todd Frazier walked with one out in the eighth and, two batters later, Sanchez drove the ball to right-center off Texas reliever Jose Leclerc (1-2) for his fourth homer of the season. It handed the Rangers bullpen its American Leagueleading 17th blown save.
Mariners 5, Angels 3
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Robinson Cano hit a three-run homer in the eighth inning and James Paxton retired the first 16 Angels he faced in the Seattle Mariners' victory over Los Angeles.
Paxton (6-3) continued his career-long dominance of the Angels, throwing 6 1/3 innings of two-hit ball in his best start since missing most of May with a forearm strain. The left-hander has a career 2.04 ERA against the Halos, the second-best among active pitchers.
Jean Segura had four hits and drove in two runs as the Mariners took two of three from their AL West rivals.