Boston’s Sale quickest ever to 1,500 Ks
Chris Sale struck out 11 in seven-plus scoreless innings and became the fastest pitcher to reach 1,500 strikeouts when the Boston Red Sox defeated the Toronto Blue Jays 3-0 on Tuesday night.
Sale (15-6) held Toronto to three hits and did not issue a walk. He reached 1,500 strikeouts in 1,290 innings. Kerry Wood was the fastest to 1,500 Ks previously, accomplishing it in 1,303 innings.
Royals 6, Rays 2
Eric Hosmer hit a three-run shot, and Whit Merrifield and Jorge Bonifacio contributed solo home runs as Kansas City topped Tampa Bay to snap a five-game losing streak and a 45-inning scoreless drought.
The Royals’ Jake Junis (6-2) allowed one run and struck out a career-high eight in 52/3 innings while striking out a careerbest eight with no walks. Kansas City’s scoreless streak was three shy of the major league record.
Nationals 8, Marlins 3
Edwin Jackson allowed three runs (two earned) in six innings against his former team, and Daniel Murphy was 2-for-3 with two RBIs as Washington defeated Miami.
Jackson (5-3), in his eighth start for the Nationals this year, defeated the Marlins for the second time in his career. Jackson, now with his 12th team, began the 2016 season with Miami and entered with a 5.87 ERA against the Marlins in his career.
Giancarlo Stanton hit his 51st home run of the season for the Marlins in defeat.
Orioles 4, Mariners 0
Dylan Bundy threw a one-hitter and struck out a career-high 12 batters, and Manny Machado led a four-homer attack with two solo shots as Baltimore won its sixth straight.
Bundy (13-8), who returned from the bereavement list, allowed a fourth-inning bunt single from Kyle Seager and walked two – both in the third inning. It was the 33rd individual one-hitter in team history and first since Jason Hammel threw one in 2012.
Diamondbacks 7, Dodgers 6
Paul Goldschmidt and A.J. Pollock homered, and Arizona jumped on Rich Hill early and held off Los Angeles.
Pollock’s two-run homer ignited a fiverun first inning off Hill (9-6), who took a perfect game into the ninth inning and a no-hitter into the 10th inning of his previous start before losing 1-0 at Pittsburgh on Josh Harrison’s leadoff home run.
Rangers 12, Astros 2
Playing 780 miles from home, where extensive flooding from Hurricane Harvey put much of Houston underwater, the Astros lost to Texas.
The Rangers halted a three-game skid, getting three hits from Shin-Soo Choo, including a three-run homer in the fifth inning to make it 11-2. Texas’ Martin Perez (10-10) scattered eight hits and limited the Astros to two runs in seven innings.
Twins 6, White Sox 4
Jorge Polanco continued his assault on Chicago pitching with two home runs as Minnesota prevailed.
Polanco has hit nine home runs this season with seven coming against the White Sox. Byron Buxton continued his hot August with an early RBI, and Eduardo Escobar drove in two runs to back a strong start from Ervin Santana.
Angels 8, Athletics 2
C.J. Cron homered twice, including a three-run blast that capped a five-run first inning and propelled Los Angeles past Oakland.
Cron’s first homer followed an RBI single by Ben Revere and a sacrifice fly by Andrelton Simmons off Oakland starter Chris Smith, who was looking for his second career victory and first since 2008. Smith (0-4) gave up seven runs (six earned) in 32/3 innings.
Rockies 7, Tigers 3
Nolan Arenado hit a three-run homer in a four-run seventh inning as Colorado defeated Detroit.
Arenado’s blast capped a rally that included two singles, a walk and a sacrifice fly. He had three hits in his previous 23 at-bats and had gone hitless in 10 consecutive at-bats with runners in scoring position before he went deep and broke up the game.
Cubs 4, Pirates 1
Jake Arrieta tossed six scoreless innings and Ben Zobrist broke a scoreless tie with a solo homer to help lift Chicago over Pittsburgh.
Arrieta (14-8) allowed two hits and two walks with four strikeouts. He closed August with a 4-1 record and one no-decision. Wade Davis, the fifth Cubs pitcher of the night, worked the ninth for his 27th save.
Cardinals 10, Brewers 2
Luke Weaver struck out 10 batters and Matt Carpenter hit his 18th home run of the season as St. Louis routed Milwaukee.
Luke Voit knocked in four runs and Paul DeJong had three RBIs for the Cardinals, who had 11 hits. Weaver (3-1) worked 52/3 innings, holding the Brewers to two runs, eight hits and a walk.
Reds 14, Mets 4
Scott Schebler hit a grand slam and tied a career high with five RBIs, and Adam Duvall added a three-run shot in the ninth inning to lift Cincinnati past New York.
The Reds snapped a 14-game losing streak to New York dating to 2014 and an eight-game head-to-head skid at Great American Ball Park. Eugenio Suarez went 3-for-4 with a double and a RBI, and rookie Sal Romano (4-5) allowed three runs and six hits in six innings. (Reuters)