Baseball
Yanks blow out Blue Jays 20-6, move into 2nd place in AL East
BALTIMORE, Sept 16, (AP): Adam Duvall tied a Braves record with his 10th homer in September, and Atlanta used the collective work of six pitchers to beat the Baltimore Orioles 5-1 Tuesday night.
Freddie Freeman had three hits, including a pair of RBI doubles, to help the Braves bounce back from a 14-1 drubbing by Baltimore one night earlier.
The victory, combined with Miami’s loss to Boston, left Atlanta with a 3½-game lead in the NL East as the abbreviated 60-game schedule nears its conclusion. The Braves have 11 games left and Miami has 14 to go.
Duvall hit a solo shot off Thomas Eshelman (3-1) to make it 2-0 in the fourth inning. It was his 15th home run of the season and 10th in 15 games this month, matching the Braves mark for September shared by sluggers Dale Murphy (1983) and Chipper Jones (1999).
The score stayed that way until Freeman doubled and scored in a three-run ninth.
José Iglesias had two hits and a ninth-inning RBI for the Orioles, who have lost six of seven.
Manager Brandon Hyde was ejected in the fourth after he emerged from the dugout to argue the ruling that Ronald Acuña Jr did not swing on a 3-1 pitch.
Yankees 20, Blue Jays 6
In New York, Luke Voit and Aaron Hicks homered to key a seven-run second-inning burst made possible when right fielder Derek Fisher misplayed a pair of flyballs, and the New York Yankees rocketed past the Toronto Blue Jays into second place in the AL East with a 20-6 blowout that extended their winning streak to six.
Voit homered twice, raising his major league-leading total to 18, and had five RBIs for the Yankees, who have rebounded following a 5-15 stretch and put themselves back on track to reach the expanded playoffs. New York (27-21) and Toronto (2621) started a stretch of seven games against each other in the final two weeks of the season.
Diamondbacks 9, Angels 8
In Anaheim, California, David Peralta hit a tie-breaking homer in the eighth inning, and the Arizona
Diamondbacks blew a seven-run lead before rallying for a 9-8 victory over the Los Angeles Angels.
Longtime Angels outfielder Kole Calhoun had two homers, three hits and a career-high five RBIs in his return to Angel Stadium with the Diamondbacks, who hung on for their third win in 10 games after leading 8-1 in the fifth.
Justin Upton and Jared Walsh homered for the Angels, whose playoff hopes are increasingly dim after this loss in the opener of their final homestand.
Dodgers 3, Padres 1
In San Diego, Tony Gonsolin quieted San Diego’s bats for seven innings, Edwin Rios homered and the Los Angeles Dodgers won 3-1 to snap the Padres’ eight-game winning streak and regain a 2½-game lead in the NL West.
The seven-time NL West champions Dodgers, being pushed by a Padres team that haven’t been to the playoffs since winning the division in 2006, bounced back from a 7-2 loss in the opener of the series between the NL’s two best teams.
The Padres, cruising toward a berth in the expanded playoffs, lost for just the third time in 15 games.
Rockies 3, Athletics 1
In Denver, Antonio Senzatela pitched the first complete game of his career and Elias Díaz hit a two-run homer to lead the Colorado Rockies over the Oakland Athletics 3-1.
Senzatela allowed six hits and retired the last eight batters he faced against the AL West leaders for Colorado’s first complete game since German Marquez went the distance in April 2019. The right-hander fanned Mark Canha with a 97 mph fastball and got Jake Lamb on a grounder to end it.
Senzatela (4-2) struck out three and walked one. He threw 74 of his 109 pitches for strikes in a rare pitching gem at Coors Field.
Cubs 6, Indians 5
In Chicago, Willson Contreras and Cameron Maybin were plunked by consecutive pitches from Cleveland reliever Nick Wittgren in the ninth inning, forcing home the winning run as the Chicago Cubs beat the Indians 6-5.
After Cleveland tied the game at 5 with two runs in the top of the ninth, left-hander Oliver Pérez (1-1) allowed a one-out walk to Kris Bryant in the bottom of the inning. Anthony Rizzo followed with a single that advanced Bryant to third. Wittgren drilled Contreras with a 1-1 fastball, then hit Maybin with a bases-loaded changeup.
Brewers 18, Cardinals 3
In Milwaukee, Christian Yelich broke out of his slump with a home run and three hits, Ryan Braun also went deep and the Milwaukee Brewers romped to an 18-3 win over the St Louis Cardinals.
Keston Hiura and Daniel Vogelbach also homered for the Brewers.
Well after the game was out of hand, both managers were ejected following a catcher’s interference call on Yadier Molina that led to a tense confrontation in front of the Brewers’ dugout.
White Sox 6, Twins 2
In Chicago, Dane Dunning pitched seven effective innings, Luis Robert had a key two-run single and the Chicago White Sox strengthened their hold on the AL Central by topping the Minnesota Twins 6-2.
Dunning (2-0) permitted one earned run and three hits in by far the biggest of his five major league starts. Looking poised and confident, the 25-year-old right-hander struck out seven and walked two in the longest outing of his career.
Astros 4, Rangers 1
In Houston, George Springer and Martín Maldonado homered, Alex Bregman hit a go-ahead two-run single in the seventh inning and the Houston Astros got a needed 4-1 win over the Texas Rangers.
The Astros, who are in second place in the AL West with the top two teams ensured a postseason spot, opened a six-game homestand after dropping 9 of 11 games on their recent road trip.
Tigers 6, Royals 0
In Detroit, Miguel Cabrera hit a homer and a double to help the Detroit Tigers beat the Kansas City Royals 6-0.
Matthew Boyd (2-6) bounced back from a rough outing with a strong performance, throwing five-plus scoreless innings and giving up just two hits. Boyd allowed seven runs over threeplus innings in his previous start as Milwaukee beat Detroit 19-0 last week.
Jakob Junis (0-2) started in place of Danny Duffy, who missed the team’s flight to Detroit. Junis gave up five runs and seven hits over 2-1-3 innings.
Phillies 4, Mets 1
In Philadelphia, Jake Arrieta pitched effectively into the sixth inning before leaving with an injury, Didi Gregorius hit a two-run homer and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the New York Mets 4-1.
The scuffling Mets played their first game since billionaire hedge fund manager Steve Cohen agreed to buy the team from the Wilpon and Katz families.
The agreement was announced Monday and the deal is subject to the approval of Major League Baseball owners.
Red Sox 2, Marlins 0
In Miami, Tanner Houck gave up just two singles over five innings to win his major league debut, pitching the Boston Red Sox past the Miami Marlins 2-0.
Houck, the first-round draft pick of the Red Sox in 2017, struck out seven and walked three on 86 pitches.
The 24-year-old righty became Boston’s 15th starting pitcher this season.
Reds 4, Pirates 1
In Cincinnati, Tucker Barnhart hit a home run and Brian Goodwin prevented one with a leaping catch as the Cincinnati Reds extended their winning streak to a season-high four games with a 4-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Michael Lorenzen (2-1) looked sharp in a spot start, helping Cincinnati inch closer to a playoff spot.
The third-place Reds went into the game higher than fourth in the NL Central for the first time since they were tied with Milwaukee for third on Aug 23.
Rays 6, Nationals 1
In St Petersburg, Florida, Ryan Yarbrough stopped a personal 16-game winless streak, Nate Lowe homered and the AL East-leading Tampa Bay Rays beat the Washington Nationals 6-1.
Yarbrough (1-3) followed opener John Curtiss in the second inning and gave up one run and five hits over 5-2/3 innings for his first win since Aug 11, 2019 at Seattle.