Bogaerts, Betts help Red Sox rally past Yankees 6-5
Xander Bogaerts hit a two-run homer and drove in three runs and the Boston Red Sox beat the Yankees 6-5 Saturday to move closer to the division title. Hanley Ramirez and Bogaerts each had three hits for the AL Eastleading Red Sox who moved three games ahead of Toronto and Baltimore, which both lost ground after losses Saturday. New York wasted 3-0 and 5-2 leads and lost for the sixth time in seven games. The Yankees, already four games back for the AL’s second wild card coming in, dropped seven games behind the Red Sox in the AL East. Bogaerts homered off a billboard above the left-field wall in the fifth, slicing the deficit to 5-4, and the Red Sox took a 6-5 lead in the seventh with two well-placed bounces. Mookie Betts’ high-chop grounder bounced over drawn-in shortstop Didi Gregorius to score Bogaerts, and Betts scored when Adam Warren (3-2) bounced a wild pitch that caromed to the right of Sanchez.
BRAVES 7, NATIONALS 3
Trea Turner hit two home runs for Washington, but Atlanta’s leadoff hitter had a highly productive day as well. Ender Inciarte was 3-for-4 with a double and a walk, scoring three times, as the Braves got to Nationals starter Gio Gonzalez for the victory. It was just the third win of the season for the Braves over the National League East-leading Nationals in 18 games.
PIRATES 10, REDS 4 (GAME 1)
Sean Rodriguez and Josh Bell helped lift Pittsburgh over Cincinnati in the first game of a day-night doubleheader. Rodriguez homered and Bell went 3-for-5 with two doubles and an RBI. The game made up a rainout on May 10. Jameson Taillon (4-4) allowed three runs on eight hits in five innings to help the Pirates win their third straight game.
PIRATES 7, REDS 3 (GAME 2)
Sean Rodriguez homered in the fourth inning and Andrew McCutchen had a two-run single during a four-run second inning, lifting Pittsburgh to a victory and a doubleheader sweep of Cincinnati at Great American Ball Park. The Pirates won the first game of the day-night doubleheader 10-4, to make up a May 10 rainout. They’ve now won four straight and five of six to keep their fading postseason hopes alive. Right-hander Juan Nicasio (10-6) pitched two scoreless innings to earn the win. Tony Watson earned his 14th save.
INDIANS 1, TIGERS 0 (10 INNINGS)
Jose Ramirez’s bases-loaded single in the bottom of the 10th inning gave Cleveland a win over Detroit at Progressive Field. Nine Cleveland pitchers combined on a four-hit shutout. Andrew Miller (8-1), the last of them, pitched two scoreless innings to get the win. The American League Central-leading Indians increased their lead over the second-place Tigers to eight games. Cleveland is 13-1 against Detroit this year, outscoring the Tigers 91-40.
BREWERS 11, CUBS 3
After clinching the National League Central, Chicago continued to rest many of their regulars. And Milwaukee took advantage. Ryan Braun hit two home runs, Chris Carter crushed a grand slam and Domingo Santana added a solo shot as the Brewers routed the Cubs.
ROYALS 3, WHITE SOX 2
Ned Yost posted his 1,000th career victory as manager and Kansas City topped Chicago. Yost picked up the win in his sixth attempt as the Royals ended a five-game losing streak with him stuck on 999. Yost has a 543-542 record as manager of the Royals. Catcher Salvador Perez doused Yost with Gatorade during his on-the-field postgame interview.
PHILLIES 8, MARLINS 0
Behind a seven-run onslaught in the first two innings, Philadelphia cruised past Miami. It’s the most runs the Phillies have scored since winning 10-6 over Colorado on Aug. 12. The Phillies reeled off seven hits through two frames. A.J. Ellis delivered the biggest blow with his threeRBI double to cap a five-run first inning. In the second, Tommy Joseph launched a two-run homer just a few feet away from the 409-foot sign in center field.
CARDINALS 3, GIANTS 2
Kolten Wong’s sacrifice fly capped a two-run rally in the top of the ninth inning as St. Louis overtook San Francisco for a victory. Trailing 2-1 and two outs away from a third consecutive loss in the series, the Cardinals now will go for a split when a pair of rookie right-handers, St. Louis’ Alex Reyes and the Giants’ Albert Suarez, square off yesterday afternoon. The loss dropped the Giants five games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League West and into a tie with the New York Mets in the NL wild-card race.
ANGELS 6, BLUE JAYS 1
Ricky Nolasco pitched six shutout innings to lead Los Angeles to a victory over Toronto at Angel Stadium. Nolasco (6-14) earned his second victory since July 9. The right-hander amassed seven strikeouts, scattered five hits, issued two walks and hit one batter. Albert Pujols hit his 30th home run this season and the 590th of his career. Mike Trout added two hits, stole his 26th base, scored one run and drove in another as the Angels used four unearned runs to break a five-game losing streak.
ASTROS 2, MARINERS 1
Houston’s Mike Fiers bounced back from his worst outing of the season to throw six scoreless innings, and Yuli Gurriel delivered a two-run single in the sixth inning as the Astros beat Seattle to move further into the crowded American League wild-card race. Houston moved into a tie with the Mariners in the American League wild-card standings, three games behind Baltimore. Seattle has lost two in a row after entering the series on an eight-game losing streak.
METS 3, TWINS 2 (12 INNINGS)
Curtis Granderson’s second extra-inning homer of the game, a solo shot with two outs in the 12th inning, lifted New York to a win over Minnesota at Citi Field. The Twins took a 2-1 lead in the top of the 11th on a leadoff homer by Bryon Buxton, but Granderson homered leading off the bottom of the inning. The Mets loaded the bases with two outs before Jose Reyes struck out.
DODGERS 6, DIAMONDBACKS 2
Brock Stewart saw his opportunity and seized it. Los Angeles’ rookie pitcher, replacing Bud Norris as the starting pitcher, threw five solid innings and got a boost from a two-run homer by Joc Pederson as the Dodgers rolled to a win over Arizona. Stewart has had a meteoric rise in the Dodgers’ ranks this season, starting at Class A Ranch Cucamonga. In fact, he is the first Dodger since Hideo Nomo in 1995 to start in Class A and start an MLB game in the same season.
ATHLETICS 11, RANGERS 2
Joey Wendle opened the game against Texas with his first career homer, which helped pave the way for the first career win for right-hander Raul Alcantara as Oakland blasted the Rangers. Texas was able to drop its number at clinching the American League West at to five thanks to Houston’s 2-1 win over Seattle. The Athletics have now won five of their last six. Wendle’s homer started a night in which the A’s tagged Texas starter Yu Darvish (5-5) for a career high seven earned runs as the Athletics homered three times and had 12 hits.
RAYS 5, ORIOLES 2
Tampa Bay started this road trip with three losses to the Yankees in New York, but played much better since. Richie Shaffer hit a tie-breaking double in the sixth inning, Mikie Mahtook added a two-run single and Evan Longoria homered for the third time in three nights as the Rays defeated Baltimore. The loss dropped the Orioles three games behind Boston in the American League East as the Red Sox beat the Yankees 6-5 earlier in the day. Baltimore, though, is tied for first with Toronto in the wild-card race-three games clear of Detroit, Houston and Seattle.
ROCKIES 8, PADRES 0
Jon Gray rediscovered his slider and punctuated his first career complete game by striking out a franchise-record 16 in Colorado’s romp over San Diego. Gray’s strikeouts-four more than his previous high- were the most ever at Coors Field. Arizona’s Randy Johnson had 14 strikeouts on April 13, 2001. The previous franchise record of 14 was set by Darryl Kile in Montreal on Aug. 20, 1998. Gray, who gave up four singles, didn’t issue a walk or allow a runner to reach second base as he pitched more than 7 1/3 innings for the first time in his career. He threw 113 pitches, including 78 strikes. —Agencies Boston Toronto NY Yankees Tampa Bay
Cleveland Kansas City Chicago White Sox Minnesota
Texas Seattle Oakland LA Angels
86 78 75 72 55
88 78 78 65 64
62 70 73 76 94
Western Division
61 70 70 83 84
.581 .527 .507 .486 .369
.591 .527 .527 .439 .432
Detroit 8 11 14 31.5
Houston 9.5 9.5 22.5 23.5
Chicago Cubs Louis Pittsburgh Milwaukee Cincinnati
LA Dodgers Francisco Colorado Arizona San Diego