Trio smack homers to lift Yanks over Royals
NEW YORK—Didi Gregorius, Brett Gardner and Chris Carter homered, and the New York Yankees beat Jason Vargas again in a 4-2 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Monday night.
A reversed call in the seventh inning kept the Yankees ahead and enabled Michael Pineda (5-2) to top Vargas for the second time in a week. The Royals, with the worst record in the AL, have lost five of seven.
Vargas (5-3) began the day with a 2.03 ERA, tied for second-best in the majors. But the lefty fell to 0-7 lifetime against the Yankees when he was tagged by Gardner and Gregorius, the only left-handed hitters in New York's lineup.
Angels 3, Rays 2
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.—Jefry Marte scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch in the seventh inning to help the Los Angeles Angels' beat the Tampa Bay Rays 3-2 on Monday night.
The Angels, who have won six of eight, pushed across the run without a hit in the seventh inning against Tampa Bay relievers Jumbo Diaz (0-3) and Ryne Stanek. After walking Mike Trout intentionally to load the bases with two out, Stanek threw a ball in the dirt while facing Albert Pujols, allowing Marte to score easily.
Corey Dickerson and Logan Morrison homered off Angels starter J.C. Ramirez for Tampa Bay's only two runs.
Twins 14, Orioles 7
BALTIMORE—Max Kepler homered and drove in four runs, Miguel Sano and Jorge Polanco each had a careerhigh four hits and the Minnesota Twins roared back to beat the Baltimore Orioles 14-7 Monday night.
Minnesota trailed 5-0 in the second inning and 6-2 entering the fifth before cranking up the offense against Ubaldo Jimenez and an ineffective Baltimore bullpen.
A two-run double by Kepler helped the Twins knot the score in the fifth, Minnesota sent 11 batters to the plate in a six-run sixth and Sano added a two-run homer in the ninth.
Joe Mauer had three hits, two RBIs and scored twice for the Twins, who reached season highs in runs and hits (21).
Rockies 8, Phillies 1
PHILADELPHIA—Jeff Hoffman struck out seven and tossed three-hit ball over seven innings to lead the Colorado Rockies to an 8-1 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday night.
Hoffman (2-0) also had his first big league hit and the National Leagueleading Rockies continued to cruise away from home. They are the best in the majors with a 16-7 road record and are 5-2 on this season-long 10-game road trip.
The 22-year-old-Hoffman, rated Colorado's No. 2 prospect, made his second spot start of the season. He was needed because the Rockies played a doubleheader last week and went with Hoffman rather than use a starter on short rest. He'll likely return to the minors but certainly impressed against the woeful Phillies.
The tarp covered the field until 30 minutes or so before first pitch, the sixth straight game the Rockies failed to take batting practice.
No worries. Nolan Arenado hit a two-run homer and the Rockies scored four runs off Phillies starter Jerad Eickhoff (0-5).
Reds 5, Indians 1
CINCINNATI—Scott Feldman struck out a season-high nine while ending Cincinnati's long stretch of ineffective starts, and Scott Schebler homered for the third straight game on Monday night, leading the Cincinnati Reds to a 5-1 victory over the Cleveland Indians.
The Reds took the opener of the annual intrastate series. The teams play two games in Cincinnati followed by two in Cleveland. The Indians had won their last four at Great American Ball Park and six straight overall in the Ohio series.
Feldman (3-4) got the first victory by a Reds starter since May 9. He gave up four hits, including Jason Kipnis' homer, while becoming the first Cincinnati starter in the last 10 games to make it through six innings. The Reds' rotation is last in the NL in ERA and innings pitched.
Three relievers closed out a seven-hitter for Cincinnati's second victory in 10 games.