Streaking Nats edge Mets, 3-1
NEW YORK — Gio Gonzalez pitched no-hit ball into the sixth inning to win again at Citi Field and the Washington Nationals beat the New York Mets 3-1 on a drizzly Saturday for their sixth straight victory.
Gonzalez (2-0) gave up two singles in 6 1/3 innings. The lefty improved to 9-1 lifetime on the Mets’ home field.
Still missing injured slugger Yoenis Cespedes and other starters, New York has lost seven of eight.
Koda Glover, the fourth Washington pitcher, completed the combined two-hitter
by getting the last out for his first big league save.
Jacob deGrom (0-1) struck out
10 and walked six in 5 2/3 innings — he matched a career high by fanning 13 in his last start. He was supposed to pitch Friday night, but was scratched with a stiff neck after sleeping on it wrong. Mets pitchers fanned 15 in all.
Trea Turner returned to the Nationals’ starting lineup from a strained right hamstring and hit an RBI double. A day after being activated from the disabled list, he hustled home on Ryan Zimmerman’s single for a 3-0 lead in the fifth. Turner got two hits and reached on an error.
Gonzalez struck out six and walked three in the 10th straight quality start by Washington pitchers. He worked around a pair of walks in the first, then retired
13 batters in a row until walking pinch hitter Jose Reyes to begin the sixth.
Juan Lagares followed with a sharp single up the middle for the Mets’ first hit. It was his 15th career hit off Gonzalez, more than anyone’s gotten against the lefty.
Asdrubal Cabrera made it 3-1 with an RBI single, but Gonzalez escaped further trouble by striking out Jay Bruce and Neil Walker.
Matt Wieters put Washington ahead with a single in the fourth that scored Bryce Harper. Daniel Murphy also tried to scoot home, but the throw beat him by a lot and he did a brief tango on the dirt around the plate before catcher Rene Rivera tagged him.
Murphy singled twice and ended his 0-for-14 skid. Harper, who began the day with a major league-leading .407 average, walked three times and struck out twice.
Cubs 12, Reds 8
CINCINNATI — Wilson Contreras hit his first career grand slam and Anthony Rizzo and Jason Heyward added three-run shots, powering the Chicago Cubs over the Cincinnati Reds.
Jake Arrieta (3-0) returned to the mound where he threw his second career no-hitter last April 21 and struggled mightily at the outset, giving up two homers in the first inning. Chicago’s offense pulled him through with another homer-heavy game at Great American Ball Park. Arrieta helped with an RBI triple.
In the series opener, Rizzo’s three-run homer tied it with two outs in the ninth and set up a 6-5 win in 11 innings. He connected in the first inning on Saturday against left-hander Cody Reed (11), who was moved into the Reds’ injury-depleted rotation. Contreras hit his grand slam in the second, which was Reed’s final inning.
Tigers 5, Twins 4
MINNEAPOLIS — Twins slugger Miguel Sano punched Tigers catcher James McCann in the mask during a bench-clearing scrap in the fifth inning.
Two innings after Tigers outfielder JaCoby Jones was hit in the face by a pitch, Detroit starter Matthew Boyd threw behind Sano, who pointed his bat toward Boyd and yelled out at the mound. McCann intervened and appeared to put his mitt in the face of Sano, who reacted immediately with a right hand.
There was plenty of pushing and shoving as both benches and bullpens emptied, but there did not appear to be any other punches thrown. Sano and Boyd were both ejected.
Nicholas Castellanos and Justin Upton each hit a solo home run for the Tigers, who put star slugger Miguel Cabrera on the disabled list before the game and used five relievers after Boyd was tossed. Blaine Hardy (1-0) won in relief, and Francisco Rodriguez earned his sixth save in eight chances this season.
Michael Tonkin (0-1) took the loss. Tonkin walked Mikie Mahtook leading off the sixth inning, and Castellanos followed with an RBI double to put Detroit on top 4-3. McCann added a sacrifice fly later in the inning.
Pinch-hitter Jason Castro hit a solo homer in the ninth, but Rodriguez closed it out by striking out Joe Mauer with a runner at first base.
Yankees 11, Pirates 5
PITTSBURGH — Pinch-hitter Chris Carter drilled a three-run homer in the eighth inning off reliever Felipe Rivero to lift the Yankees over Pittsburgh.
Carter sent the first pitch he saw from Rivero (1-1) into the bullpen beyond the center field fence for his first homer with the Yankees. Starlin Castro added a threerun shot of his own and Aaron Judge hit his team-high sixth home run for New York. Ronald Torreyes had four hits and two RBIs.
Dellin Betances (2-1) earned the win in relief.
Andrew McCutchen hit his third home run and had a sacrifice fly for Pittsburgh. David Freese added a solo home run, but the Pirates fell apart late.
Athletics 4, Mariners 3
OAKLAND, Calif. — Adam Rosales and Ryon Healey each homered in the first inning, Jharel Cotton pitched six innings of two-run ball and the Oakland Athletics won their fifth straight game.
The A’s two hottest hitters quickly got to Ariel Miranda (1-2). Rosales led off with his second homer, and two batters later, Healy hit a two-run shot, his third this season and first since April 6.
Cotton (2-2) gave up two runs, six hits, two walks and hit a batter. Ryan Madson got four outs for his first save.
Miranda allowed four runs and seven hits in three-plus inning in his worst start of the season, failing to pitch at least five innings for the first time in three starts.