Trout homers again ● Another Kershaw gem
Los Angeles Angels slugger Mike Trout hit a three-run homer in the sixth inning to help the Angels complete a three-game sweep of the visiting Chicago White Sox with a 12-8 triumph on Wednesday night.
White Sox reliever Anthony Swarzak had not given up a run all season until Trout stepped to the plate in the sixth and launched an 86 mph breaking ball just above the knees over the wall in left-center.
It was Trout’s fifth game out of six in which he homered, taking his season total to 13.
Angels starter Matt Shoemaker, despite a slow start, managed to pitch into the seventh inning and get the win.
Shoemaker (3-2) gave up four runs (three earned) in the first two innings but nothing else, allowing nine hits in all, striking out nine and walking one in 61/3 innings.
Jose Abreu homered and Avisail Garcia had three hits for the White Sox.
Dodgers 6, Giants 1
Clayton Kershaw earned his 20th career win against San Francisco, preventing a three-game sweep with seven innings of shutout ball in Los Angeles’ triumph in the series finale.
Yasmani Grandal and Yasiel Puig had tworun hits for the Dodgers, who completed a 3-4 road trip.
Kershaw once again demonstrated his brilliant form at AT&T Park, winning for the 12th time in 20 career appearances while lowing his ERA there to 1.29.
Yankees 11, Royals 7
Aaron Hicks hit a three-run homer, Starlin Castro had two doubles and a single, and Michael Pineda pitched well into the seventh inning as New York topped Kansas City.
Every Yankees starter had at least one hit, and five had multi-hit games. New York’s 16 hits matched a season high. Castro scored a pair of runs, drove in another and lifted his average to .351. Aaron Judge scored two runs, bringing his total to an American League-leading 32.
Royals left-hander Jason Vargas (5-2) entered the game with a major-league-best 1.01 ERA, but he left it with a 2.03 ERA, giving up more earned runs (six) in four innings than he had in his previous 442/3 innings (five).
Red Sox 5, Cardinals 4 (13)
Pinch hitter Chris Young broke a 4-4 tie with an RBI single in the 13th inning to lift Boston over St. Louis.
The winning rally started with two outs when Mitch Moreland hit a ground-rule double off reliever Sam Tuivailala (2-1). Jackie Bradley Jr. was intentionally walked before Young, batting for Fernando Abad (1-0), lined a single to left to score Moreland.
Abad, the seventh reliever used by the Red Sox in the game, pitched two innings, allowing only one walk. Ben Taylor pitched the bottom of the 13th to earn his first major league save.
Diamondbacks 5, Mets 4 (11)
Chris Herrmann belted a walk-off home run off Rafael Montero in the bottom of the 11th inning to give Arizona the victory and send New York to its seventh straight loss.
For the Mets, Wilmer Flores went 3-for-5 while Jose Reyes went 3-for-6. Michael Comforto gave the Mets an early with a two-run homer in the first. Juan Lagares hit a solo homer.
Mets pitcher Matt Harvey threw 51/3 innings, giving up three runs and six hits. He walked four and struck out six.
For the Diamondbacks, Jake Lamb hit a two-run homer and drew two walks. Relievers Andrew Chafin, J.J. Hoover, Fernando Rodney and Jorge De la Rosa combined for four scoreless innings, while allowing just two hits.
Cubs 7, Reds 5
Right-hander Kyle Hendricks overcame early shakiness with an increasingly strong outing to help lead Chicago to a victory and another series win over Cincinnati.
Hendricks (3-2) allowed two runs on six hits, all over the first three innings. He yielded just one baserunner and no hits over his final three innings.
The Cubs won their second straight over the Reds, while Cincinnati took its season-high fifth loss in a row.
Pirates 6, Nationals 1
Josh Bell hit a three-run homer, and Gerrit Cole and the Pittsburgh bullpen held down Washington en route to a victory.
Cole (2-4) held the Nationals to one run, three hits and two walks over his seven innings. He struck out three and didn’t allow any Nationals player to reach base more than once. Cole extended his streak of quality starts to eight.