Dodgers set for giant series in San Francisco
Phillies rally from 6-0 deficit, top Nats
A look at what’s happening around the majors Friday:
CALIFORNIA DREAMIN’: The Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers are tied for first in the NL West heading into their weekend series in San Francisco. The rivals split their first 16 games this year, with each team scoring 68 times. The Giants took two of three in their previous series from July 27-29, led by Johnny Cueto’s 5⅔ innings of four-hit ball in a 5-0 victory in the rubber game.
Los Angeles has won 23 of 29 to erase San Francisco’s lead in the division. David Price (4-2, 3.88 ERA) pitches Friday for the World Series champions, followed by Julio Urías (15-3, 3.17 ERA) and Walker Buehler (13-2, 2.05 ERA). Anthony DeSclafani (11-6, 3.38 ERA) takes the mound for the Giants in the series opener, but they haven’t announced their starters for the rest of the weekend.
MOVING ON: The New York Mets hit the road without acting general manager Zack Scott, who was placed on administrative leave following his arrest on charges of driving while intoxicated.
Electronic court records show Scott was released without bail after pleading not guilty Thursday to driving while intoxicated and three traffic violations. His driving privileges in New York were suspended, and he is due back in White Plains City Court on Oct. 7.
In a statement Thursday afternoon, the Mets said they placed
Scott on administrative leave “until further notice,” and team president Sandy Alderson will assume Scott’s GM responsibilities running baseball operations.
SHOWING SOME FIGHT: Bryce Harper and the Phillies’ big-name lineup have produced at least seven runs in seven straight games, a first for the franchise since June 1933. They carry a six-game winning streak into a series at Miami and trail the NL East-leading Braves by two games.
Harper has multiple hits in six of his past eight games and is hitting .330 with 10 homers and 25 RBIs since Aug. 1.
Philadelphia right-hander Kyle Gibson (10-5, 2.94 ERA) is 2-0 with a 0.64 ERA in his past two starts. He’ll oppose Marlins youngster Jesus Luzardo (3-3, 7.62 ERA) to open a three-game set.
Thursday games
PHILLIES 7, NATIONALS 6: In Washington, Andrew McCutchen drove in four runs and Philadelphia erased a six-run deficit on its way to the three-game series sweep.
The Phillies overcame a disappointing start from Aaron Nola and rallied against the Nationals’ bullpen for their sixth consecutive win. Philadelphia is two games behind NL East leader Atlanta and two games of idle Cincinnati in the race for the second NL wild card.
Juan Soto homered and drove in four runs for Washington, which has dropped five in a row and 21 of 27. Andres Machado (1-1) got the loss.
Sam Coonrod (2-2) pitched a scoreless seventh for the win, and Ian Kennedy worked the ninth for his 22nd save.
GIANTS 5, BREWERS 1: In
San Francisco, Thairo Estrada hit a three-run homer during San Francisco’s four-run eighth inning, and the Giants beat the Brewers to avoid a four-game sweep.
A day after falling out of first place for the first time since May 30, the Giants (85-49) moved into a tie atop the NL West with the idle Los Angeles Dodgers. Austin Slater also connected, and Logan Webb pitched seven sparkling innings.
San Francisco had dropped four in a row.
Milwaukee (82-53) wasted a terrific performance by Eric Lauer, who tossed seven innings of threehit ball. The NL Central leaders had won four in a row.
Darin Ruf put the Giants ahead to stay with a two-out RBI double off Devin Williams (7-2) in the eighth. Estrada followed with a
drive to left for his fourth homer.
ATHLETICS 8, TIGERS 6: In Detroit, Jed Lowrie hit a threerun homer in the first inning for the first of Oakland’s eight twoout runs against Matt Manning.
Mark Canha followed Lowrie’s shot with another homer for 4-0 lead. It was the 14th homer of the season for Lowrie and Canha.
Khris Davis’ RBI double in the fourth made it 8-0 before the Tigers battled back by scoring six runs.
RED SOX 4, RAYS 0: In St. Petersburg, Fla., Eduardo Rodriguez pitched four-hit ball into the seventh inning as Boston earned a split in their four-game series against Tampa Bay.
Garrett Richards replaced Rodriguez (11-7) with two on and no outs in the seventh, and the right-hander escaped the jam with a pair of strikeouts and a fly ball. Richards earned his second save, finishing a five-hitter.
Rays rookie Wander Franco extended his on-base streak to 33 games with a seventh-inning walk, but he left after the at-bat with a headache.
BRAVES 6, ROCKIES 5: In Denver, Adam Duvall hit a two-run homer in Atlanta’s three-run fifth inning, and the Braves overcame a grand slam by Charlie Blackmon to beat Colorado.
Jorge Soler also homered and Austin Riley had a two-run double for Atlanta, which took the opener of a four-game series after losing three straight to the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Braves also stayed two games ahead of Philadelphia in the NL East.
METS 4, MARLINS 3: In New York, Dominic Smith broke a seventh-inning tie with a pinch-hit RBI single and New York earned their fifth straight victory.
Marlins leadoff batter Miguel Rojas and Mets counterpart Jonathan Villar each homered on the first pitch they saw, the first time that’s happened in a major league game since at least 1985, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
INDIANS 4, ROYALS 2: In Kansas City, Mo., Triston McKenzie (4-5) pitched six effective innings in his return from the injured list, leading Cleveland to the victory.
Cleveland has won 11 straight games against the Royals, the longest winning streak over Kansas City in club history. Owen Miller hit a three-run homer for the Indians, and Yu Chang singled home José Ramírez.
CUBS 6, PIRATES 5 (11): In Chicago, Sergio Alcántara scampered home when second baseman Wilmer Difo mishandled a popup in the 11th inning as Chicago beat Pittsburgh.