The Times Herald (Norristown, PA)
Surging Nationals too much for O’s
Gonzalez breaks skid against Baltimore
BALTIMORE » Anthony Rendon hit a three-run homer to back a sharp pitching performance by Gio Gonzalez, and the surging Washington Nationals beat the Baltimore Orioles 6-0 Monday.
Gonzalez (6-2) allowed six hits over 7 2/3 innings to end a six-game losing streak against Baltimore. The lefthander 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 right-field wall in the fifth inning robbed Andrew Susac of a potential extra-base 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. BRAVES 4, METS 3 » Charlie Culberson’s pinch-hit, tworun 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.
Atlanta improved to 3121, second best in the NL, and has won 44 games in its last at-bat since manager Brian Snitker took charge on May 16, 2016, most in the majors over that span.
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 NLleading 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 » Jonathan Villar and Christian Yelich homered, while Ryan Braun had three hits to lead the Brewers.
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.
The Brewers were shut out 5-0 by the Mets on Thursday. Since then, they’ve scored 37 runs in four games, all victories.
Milwaukee broke open the game in the seventh inning. With two outs and Yelich on second, the Cardinals intentionally walked Braun to face Villar. The second baseman hit the second pitch from Brent Cecil into the Milwaukee bullpen for an 8-3 lead.
Yelich hit his sixth homer, singled, stole two bases and scored twice. CUBS 7, PIRATES 0 » Mike Montgomery pitched twohit ball into the sixth inning, Anthony Rizzo went 3 for 4 with a home run and three RBIs, and the sleepdeprived Cubs beat the slumping Pirates.
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 pinchhit home run of his career, a shot to the bleachers in left off reliever Steven Brault that stayed just inside the foul pole.
Kuhl gave up just one run in six innings, but fell to 1-5 in his career against the Cubs. Dickerson’s single and Sean Rodriguez’s infield hit leading off the sixth were the only two base runners for Pittsburgh. The Pirates have dropped eight of 10.
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 » Andrew Benintendi hit a three-run homer to cap a five-run 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.
Red Sox star Mookie Betts missed his second straight game because of tightness he felt in his left side during batting practice on Sunday. The outfielder entered the day with a major league-leading .359 batting average.
David Price (5-4) labored through five innings, allowing two runs and four hits with four strikeouts and four walks. ASTROS 5, YANKEES 1 » Justin Verlander tamed the Yankees again, slowing down the highest-scoring team in the majors.
Verlander exited in the seventh inning with a major league-best 1.11 ERA. J.D. Davis hit an early threerun homer and Jose Altuve had a solo drive, helping Houston win for the sixth time in eight games.
Closer Ken Giles, tagged Sunday as the Astros blew a five-run lead in the ninth at Cleveland, pitched the final inning and worked around a leadoff single.
Facing the only club in baseball that hasn’t been shut out this season, Verlander (7-2) blanked the Yankees until Greg Bird hit a leadoff home run in the seventh.
As he left, Verlander took off his cap and waved it toward a solid contingent of Astros fans wearing bright orange behind the dugout.
Verlander has done this before against the Yankees, especially lately. He was the MVP of the AL Championship Series last October, going 2-0 and limiting New York to one run in 16 innings while striking out 21.
Earlier this month, Verlander pitched eight shutout innings against the Yankees and fanned 14. This time, Verlander allowed five hits in 6 2/3 innings, fanning five without a walk.
In 12 starts this year, the big righty has permitted only 10 earned runs. TIGERS 9, ANGELS 3 » James McCann hit a grand slam in the third inning as the Tigers routed the Angels.
Matthew Boyd (3-4) allowed two hits in five-plus innings for the Tigers. His first scoreless outing of the season came on a hot day in which Detroit outfielder Niko Goodrum had to leave the game because of heat exhaustion. The temperature was around 90 degrees when Goodrum was removed for a defensive replacement in the fourth.
Leonys Martin also homered for the Tigers, and Mike Trout went deep in the ninth for the Angels, his 18th home run of the season.
Before leaving, Goodrum made a contribution in the second inning, beating out an infield hit and going to third on a single by John Hicks. JaCoby Jones grounded into a double play, but the run came home to put the Tigers up 1-0.
McCann broke the game open an inning later with a drive to left for his third career grand slam. Martin added a solo homer in the seventh.
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