Strong outing by Mahle sends Reds past Twins

MINNEAPOLIS — Tyler Mahle pitched into the seventh inning, Jose Peraza had three hits and Adam Duvall homered to lead the Cincinnati Reds past the Minnesota Twins 8-2 on Sunday.

Mahle (2-3) cruised through the Twins’ lineup in his second straight impressive outing. After striking out 11 against Atlanta in his most recent start, Mahle gave up one run in 6 innings, allowing four hits and two walks while striking out seven.

“He’s really stretching it out a little bit each time, throwing great stuff, really a challenge for the hitters,” Reds interim manager Jim Riggleman said. “Big-league hitters don’t miss too many times in the strike zone, and he’s had a couple games in a row now where he’s gotten a lot of swings and misses.”

Peraza had eight hits during the weekend series as the Reds took two of three from the Twins. Cincinnati won for the fourth time in seven games after starting the season 3-18. Minnesota lost for the ninth time in 10 games.

PIRATES 5, CARDINALS 0: Nick Kingham carried a perfect game into the seventh inning in his majorleague debut for host Pittsburgh. The 26-year-old righthander retired 20 straight batters before Paul DeJong singled down the left-field line with two outs in the seventh. Kingham finished with one hit and nine strikeouts on 98 pitches (72 strikes) in seven innings after being recalled from triple-A Indianapolis earlier in the day. RED SOX 4, RAYS 3: Sandy Leon hit a go-ahead, RBI single inside the third-base bag with two outs in the eighth inning, and host Boston snapped Tampa Bay’s eightgame winning streak. J.D. Martinez had four singles and drove in two runs for the Red Sox, but misplayed a fly ball into a double that put runners on second and third in the eighth before Craig Kimbrel struck out Brad Miller to end the inning. CUBS 2, BREWERS 0: Tyler Chatwood allowed two hits in seven innings and helped himself with an RBI single, and host Chicago completed a four-game sweep of Milwaukee. The Brewers had won eight in a row before they were held to two runs and 14 hits in the sweep by the Cubs. ASTROS 8, ATHLETICS 4: Gerrit Cole worked into the seventh inning and struck out 12 for host Houston. After Cole allowed the tying run on his 99th and final pitch, the Astros took advantage of two errors in the bottom of the seventh — among Oakland’s four on the afternoon — to pull away. ORIOLES 5, TIGERS 3: Substitute starter Pedro Alvarez hit two home runs, and Trey Mancini had a solo shot for host Baltimore, which took two of three from Detroit following a five-game skid. ROYALS 5, WHITE SOX 4: Cheslor Cuthbert homered twice and drove in four runs, and host Kansas City won consecutive games for the first time this season.