No fourth leadoff homer; a brawl for Acuna instead
ATLANTA Slugging rookie Ronald Acuna Jr. was hit by a pitch before he could take the Marlins deep again, but Dansby Swanson filled the power void for Atlanta, hitting a two-run homer that led the Braves to a 52 win over Miami on Wednesday night.
Acuna, who had hit leadoff homers in the last three games and homered in five straight overall, didn’t get a chance to extend the streak. Jose Urena plunked him on the left elbow with a fastball on his first pitch of the day, triggering a melee. Benches and bullpens for both teams emptied onto the field twice after the pitch. No punches were thrown. Urena and Braves manager Brian Snitker were ejected.
Acuna instead became the 11th batter to be hit by a pitch from Urena this season, tied for the most in the National League.
The NL East-leading Braves, who began the night two games ahead of Philadelphia, have won five straight. The last-place Marlins have lost five straight and eight of nine.
MARINERS 2, ATHLETICS 0, 12 INNINGS
PHILADELPHIA — Wilson Ramos had three extra-base hits and three RBIs, helping Philadelphia beat Boston in his first game with his new team.
Ramos, the two-time All-Star catcher acquired from Tampa Bay on July 31, made a big impact after missing a month because of a strained hamstring.
CUBS 8, BREWERS 4
CHICAGO — Anthony Rizzo homered, drove in three runs and stole two bases in his return to the cleanup spot, and Chicago beat Milwaukee to restore a three-game lead in the NL Central.
METS 16, ORIOLES 5
BALTIMORE — Kevin Plawecki hit his first career grand slam during a nine-run sixth inning, Brandon Nimmo went 5 for 5 with three RBIs and New York pounded Baltimore.
RAYS 6, YANKEES 1
NEW YORK — Mallex Smith hit a tworun homer, rookie Brandon Lowe got his first two major league hits and Tampa Bay beat New York.
ASTROS 12, ROCKIES 1
HOUSTON — Evan Gattis and Tyler White hit two homers each, Yuli Gurriel added a two-run shot and Houston routed Colorado to snap a five-game skid.
BLUE JAYS 6, ROYALS 5
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Curtis Granderson hit a grand slam, Marco Estrada pitched effectively into the seventh inning and Toronto beat Kansas City.
Jorge Lopez (0-2), who was making his Royals debut after being acquired July 27 from Milwaukee as part of the Mike Moustakas trade, threw a 2-0 fastball that Granderson drove over the Royals’ rightfield bullpen gate with two outs in the fourth inning.
It was Granderson’s 10th career grand slam and his second this year, both against the Royals. The first was April 18 in Toronto. He has 19 home runs and 50 RBIs in 106 games against Kansas City. Royals pitchers have yielded a major league-leading 10 grand slams.
Estrada (6-9) gave up four runs on six hits over 6 2/3 innings to pick up his first career victory at Kauffman Stadium. Salvador Perez homered twice for Kansas City.
CARDINALS 4, NATIONALS 2
ST. LOUIS — Marcell Ozuna homered and Austin Gomber tossed six shutout innings to lead St. Louis past Washington for its season-high eighth straight victory.
TWINS 6, PIRATES 4
MINNEAPOLIS — Logan Forsythe had three RBIs, the Minnesota bullpen tossed 5 1/3 shutout innings and the Twins beat Pittsburgh.
WHITE SOX 6, TIGERS 5
DETROIT — Jose Abreu and Matt Davidson each hit two-run home runs to lift Chicago past Detroit.
INDIANS 4, REDS 3
CINCINNATI — Melky Cabrera lofted a go-ahead two-run homer into the leftfield seats in the sixth inning, and Cleveland beat Cincinnati for its fifth straight victory.