baseball
Nola’s 7-inning shutout helps Phillies split DH with Marlins
WASHINGTON, Sept 12, (AP): Michael A. Taylor hit a game-ending single in the 12th inning, and the Washington Nationals beat the Atlanta Braves 8-7 on Friday night after blowing a five-run lead for the second straight game.
Nationals relievers Kyle Finnegan and James Borque (1-0) worked out of bases-loaded jams in the 11th and 12th innings, respectively, and the NL Eastleading Braves couldn’t score in three extra frames with a runner starting at second base.
Adam Eaton began the 12th on second for Washington and advanced to third on Trea Turner’s lineout. Juan Soto was walked intentionally before Grant Dayton (2-1) allowed Taylor’s single.
Phillies 11, Marlins 0, 7 Innings,
Game 1 Marlins 5, Phillies 3, 7 Innings,
Game 2
In Miami, Aaron Nola gives his seven-inning complete game victory an asterisk.
As for the doubleheader nightcap, the Philadelphia Phillies’ bullpen remains a big question mark.
Nola struck out 10 and went the distance for the first time in his career
as Philadelphia handed the Miami Marlins their worst drubbing in two days, winning Friday’s opener 11-0.
The Phillies went with a bullpen game in the nightcap, and their struggling relief corps had another rocky night in a 5-3 loss. Jorge Alfaro had his fourth consecutive two-RBI game for the Marlins, who scored on three relievers.
Diamondbacks 4, Mariners 3 In Phoenix, Caleb Smith threw three solid innings in his first outing with Arizona, long reliever Alex Young worked into the ninth and the Diamondbacks beat the Seattle Mariners 4-3.
Smith gave up one hit – Dylan Moore’s solo homer in the third – in his first start since the Diamondbacks acquired him in a trade with the Marlins. The left-hander struck out three and walked one.
Young (2-3) gave up two runs on two hits over 5-1/3 innings and got the first out of the ninth by striking out Kyle Seager. Stefan Crichton retired the last two batters to finish the threehitter for his first career save.
Rockies 8, Angels 4
In Denver, Charlie Blackmon hit a two-out grand slam that capped a fiverun rally in the ninth inning and lifted the Colorado Rockies over the Los Angeles Angels 8-4.
Blackmon hammered Jose Quijada’s fastball down the middle of the plate on a 3-1 count over the wall in right center for his second grand slam of the season and third of his career. It was the fourth walk-off hit overall, three of them homers.
Ryan McMahon’s solo home run with one out in the Rockies ninth off Ty Buttrey (1-3) made it 4-all. Josh Fuentes then doubled to right-center and Daniel Murphy was intentionally walked, bringing on Quijada.
Twins 3, Indians 1
In Minneapolis, Byron Buxton hit a two-run homer and Kenta Maeda pitched seven shutout innings for Minnesota, as the Twins handed Shane Bieber his first loss of the season with a 3-1 victory over the Cleveland Indians.
Bieber (7-1) yielded five hits and two walks with eight strikeouts in seven innings, matching a season-most three runs allowed on the homers by Buxton and rookie Ryan Jeffers. This was the first time the right-hander was taken deep in six starts.
Sergio Romo pitched a perfect eighth for the Twins, adding some spice to the night when he finished the inning with a flyout by Francisco Lindor.
Taylor Rogers gave up a homer to José Ramírez in the ninth, then got his ninth save. The Twins (28-18) improved to 8-2 in September and 19-5 at their empty home ballpark.
Royals 4, Pirates 3
In Kansas City, Mo, Kris Bubic worked hard through five innings to earn his first major league win as the Kansas City Royals defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-3 for their fourth straight victory.
Bubic (1-5), the second of four pitchers from the first round of the 2018 draft to debut for Kansas City in 2020, faced base-runners in every inning, but only allowed one run on six hits in five innings.
Greg Holland pitched a perfect ninth for his fourth save.
Athletics 10, Rangers 6
In Arlington, Texas, cleanup hitter Matt Olson connected for a grand slam off Luís Garcia after the Texas opener walked the bases loaded to start the game, and the Oakland Athletics beat the Rangers 10-6.
Mike Fiers (5-2) won for the third time in three starts against the Rangers with six solid innings as the AL Westleading A’s moved a season-high 13 games over .500 and reduced their magic number for reaching the playoffs to single digits.
Oakland improved to 6-1 against the last-place Rangers, clinching the season series for the fourth consecutive year.
Olson’s 426-foot drive about 15 rows up in right field on a 3-2 pitch was his 13th homer and second grand
slam this season. The other was a game-ender against the Los Angeles Angels on opening day. Olson added an RBI single in the second inning.
Brewers 1, Cubs 0
In Milwaukee, Christian Yelich scored on Ryan Braun’s ninth-inning sacrifice fly, Brandon Woodruff pitched seven innings of one-hit ball and the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Chicago Cubs 1-0 as they tried to
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climb back into playoff contention.
Woodruff, Devin Williams and Josh Hader (1-1) combined on a two-hitter with 16 strikeouts. Coming off a 19-0 rout of Detroit, Milwaukee pitchers extended their scoreless streak to 19 innings. The Brewers have pitched consecutive shutouts for the first time since Aug 31 and Sept 1 last year Wrigley Field.
Milwaukee is third in the NL Central at 20-22, four games back of the division-leading Cubs and also trailing St Louis. The Brewers have not been above .500 all season.
White Sox 4, Tigers 3
In Chicago, Eloy Jiménez hit a three-run homer in Chicago’s four-run sixth inning, and the White Sox beat Detroit 4-3 for their seventh straight win against the Tigers.
The AL Central-leading White Sox won for the sixth time in seven games overall, breaking through at the plate after they went hitless in the first five innings against Casey Mize. Evan Marshall (2-1), Codi Heuer and Alex Colomé combined for 3-1/3 scoreless innings in relief of Lucas Giolito.
Going for its first division title since 2008, Chicago improved to 7-1 against Detroit this season. It’s the longest win streak for the White Sox against the Tigers since a seven-game run that overlapped the 2005-06 seasons.
Reds 3, Cardinals 1
In St Louis, Luis Castillo pitched a two-hitter for his first complete game in the majors, Joey Votto homered and the Cincinnati Reds beat the St Louis Cardinals 3-1.
Castillo (2-5) struck out six and walked three in winning his second straight start. An All-Star last year, the right-hander made his 87th career start in the big leagues.
Castillo out-pitched Adam Wainwright (4-1), who allowed three runs in six innings. The Cardinals lost for the fourth time in six games.
Only twice did St Louis get a runner to third against Castillo, who has given up just three earned runs in his past 15 innings.
Mets 18, Blue Jays 1
In Buffalo, New York, Jacob deGrom, wearing an NYPD cap in honor of first responders on the 19th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, pitched six strong innings and the New York Mets backed him in a big way, beating the Toronto Blue Jays 18-1.
In addition to the police department, caps for the fire department, Port Authority police, Department of Sanitation and Office of Emergency Management were worn by the Mets.
DeGrom (4-1) struck out nine and held the Blue Jays to three hits, two walks and a first-inning run, his 13th straight start allowing no more than two earned runs, the most by a Mets pitcher since Johan Santana in 2008-09.
Rays 11, Red Sox 1
In St Petersburg, Florida, Nate Lowe hit two homers and drove in four runs as Tampa Bay fielded a lineup of all lefties, Blake Snell worked 5-1/3 scoreless innings and the AL Eastleading Rays routed the cellar-dwelling Boston Red Sox 11-1.
Tampa Bay became the first major league team since at least 1900 to use a batting order with only left-handed batters, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
Snell (4-1) gave up five hits and two walks. He struck out five.
Yoshi Tsutsugo also homered for the Rays, who stopped a three-game skid. Tampa Bay entered the game trailing Oakland by percentage points for the AL’s best record.
Yankees 6, Orioles 0, 7 Innings,
Game 1 Yankees 10, Orioles 1, 7 Innings,
Game 2
In New York, Luke Voit hit a pair of three-run home runs, Masahiro Tanaka and two relievers combined for a fourhitter and the New York Yankees beat the Baltimore Orioles 10-1to complete a doubleheader sweep.
Gerrit Cole pitched a seven-inning two-hitter in the opener as the Yankees beat Baltimore 6-0 behind homers from DJ LeMahieu, Brett Gardner and Kyle Higashioka.
New York moved 3-1/2 games ahead of the Orioles for the AL’s final postseason spot as the teams began a four-game series. The Yankees had lost 15 of 21 coming in amid a rash of injuries, dropping to third place in the AL East behind Tampa Bay and Toronto.