Nationals cruise past Orioles
BALTIMORE—Anthony Rendon hit a three-run homer to back a sharp pitching performance by Gio Gonzalez, and surging Washington beat Baltimore, 6-0.
Gonzalez (6-2) allowed six hits over 7 2/3 innings to end a six-game losing streak against Baltimore. The left-hander won his first start against the Orioles in 2009 before coming up empty in his next nine outings.
Shawn Kelley got four outs to complete the fifth shutout against the Orioles this season.
Matt Adams and Michael Taylor both had two hits and an RBI for the Nationals, who have won four straight and 13 of 18.
Though NL home run leader Bryce Harper went hitless, his leaping catch against the rightfield wall in the fifth inning robbed Andrew Susac of a potential extrabase hit.
Making his ninth start with Baltimore since signing as a free agent in March, Alex Cobb (1-7) was undone by a horrific, 42-pitch third inning that featured Rendon’s sixth home run.
INDIANS 9, WHITE SOX 6
CLEVELAND—Edw in Encarnacion homered and had four RBIs, and Cleveland took advantage of Chicago’s leaky defense to score five times in the fifth inning.
Encarnacion tied the game in the fifth with a three-run bloop double. Yonder Alonso’s double drove in the go-ahead run later in the inning and Encarnacion hit a leadoff homer in the seventh.
Cleveland trailed 5-2 going into the fifth, but errors by catcher Alfredo Gonzalez, shortstop Tim Anderson and second baseman Yoan Moncada made three of the runs unearned.
Adam Plutko (3-0) allowed five runs in five innings and has won all three of his starts this season. Tyler Olson, Evan Marshall and Neil Ramirez combined to pitch three shutout innings. Ben Taylor allowed a run in the ninth.
Chris Volstad (0-3) gave up Encarnacion’s double, the only batter he faced.
BRAVES 4, METS 3, GAME 1
ATLANTA—Charlie Culberson’s pinch-hit, two-run homer off Seth Lugo in the bottom of the ninth inning gave the Braves a victory in the first game of a doubleheader.
Lugo (1-1) gave up Nick Markakis’ sacrifice fly in the eighth and walked Johan Camargo to begin the ninth before Culberson took him deep.
Devin Mesoraco gave the Mets a 3-2 lead in the top of the ninth with a solo homer off Shane Carle (3-1), but Lugo’s performance wiped out seven strong innings from Jacob deGrom as the Mets lost their fourth straight.
DeGrom pitched six scoreless innings before allowing Tyler Flowers’ homer to make it 2-1 in the seventh. He allowed five hits and three walks and struck out eight, lowering his NL-leading ERA to 1.52. DeGrom has given up just two runs over his past 40 1/3 innings, a span of seven starts in which he has a 0.45 ERA.
BREWERS 8, CARDINALS 3
MILWAUKEE—Jonathan Villar and Christian Yelich homered, while Ryan Braun had three hits to lead Milwaukee.
Milwaukee starter Brent Suter (5-3) allowed three runs in five innings, but hit a two-run double in the fourth that gave Milwaukee a 4-0 lead. Milwaukee won for the 10th time in 12 games.
St. Louis starter Luke Weaver (3-5) lost his third consecutive start, allowing four runs on five hits and two walks with three strikeouts in four innings.
CUBS 7, PIRATES 0
PITTSBURGH—M ike Montgomery pitched two-hit ball into the sixth inning, Anthony Rizzo went 3 for 4 with a home run and three RBIs, and the sleep-deprived Cubs beat slumping Pittsburgh.
Montgomery (1-1), starting for the first time this season in place of injured Yu Darvish, retired the first 13 batters before giving up a sharp single to Corey Dickerson with one out in the fifth. He struck out five and needed just 76 pitches to get through 5 2/3 innings. Montgomery struck out five without allowing a walk.
Rizzo hit his seventh home run in the second off Chad Kuhl (4-3) to give the Cubs an early lead. Addison Russell gave Chicago breathing room in the seventh with the second pinch-hit home run of his career, a shot to the bleachers in left off reliever Steven Brault that stayed just inside the foul pole.
The Cubs arrived in Pittsburgh at 4 a.m. local time following a victory over San Francisco in Chicago on Sunday night. Manager Joe Maddon wondered openly before the game why the start time wasn’t pushed until later in the day, but the well-rested Montgomery, who has worked exclusively in the bullpen this season, was more than ready to go.
RED SOX 8, BLUE JAYS 3
BOSTON—Andrew Benintendi hit a three-run homer to cap a fiverun fourth inning, J.D. Martinez added a solo homer and Boston coasted.
Benintendi also had a triple and single, and Jackie Bradley Jr. added an RBI double, scored twice and made a spectacular catch in center field. Boston won for the seventh time in nine games.
It was the Blue Jays’ 11th loss in 15 games, dropping them to 2-5 against the Red Sox this season. Teoscar Hernandez had an RBI triple and double for Toronto.
David Price (5-4) labored through five innings, allowing two runs and four hits with four strikeouts and four walks.
Aaron Sanchez (2-5) was tagged for seven runs and nine hits in five innings, falling to 0-3 in his past five starts with a 5.96 ERA.
DIAMONDBACKS 12, REDS 5
PHOENIX—Nick Ahmed, Chris Owings and John Ryan Murphy each homered as Arizona’s offense—slumbering for nearly all of May—came alive for a victory over the Cincinnati Reds, just the Diamondbacks’ third win in their past 18 games.
Ahmed and Owings each had a three-run home run in the opener of a six-game homestand after Arizona staggered back from a 1-8 road trip. Murphy added a solo shot.
Ahmed and Murphy homered off Homer Bailey (1-7), who allowed eight runs, six earned, on six hits in four innings. The Reds are 1-11 in games Bailey has started.
Matt Koch (3-3) went five innings, giving up five runs on 11 hits for Arizona. Eugenio Suarez had four hits for the Reds, including an RBI double.