Fried, Braves shut out red-hot Cubs
Rays rout Tigers, Astros top Yankees
CHICAGO — Max Fried dominated through six innings in his return from the injured list, and the Atlanta Braves cooled off the Chicago Cubs 8-0 on Friday.
Sean Murphy and Marcell Ozuna homered on back-to-back pitches in Atlanta’s seven-run fourth inning. Austin Riley connected in the seventh, and Ronald Acuña Jr. finished with three hits.
Major league-leading Atlanta earned its third straight win and sixth in seven games overall.
Fried allowed three baserunners, all on singles, in his first start since May 5. He had been sidelined by a left forearm strain.
RAYS 8, TIGERS 0: In Detroit, Jose Siri homered and drove in three runs, Zack Littell won his second straight start and Tampa Bay routed the Tigers.
Littell (2-2) have up three hits and a walk in six innings.
Harold Ramírez had three hits and scored twice, and former Tiger Isaac Paredes had two hits and two RBIs. The Rays won for the fourth time in five games.
GUARDIANS 4, WHITE SOX 2:
In Cleveland, Andrés Giménez hit a two-run homer among his career-high three extra-base hits, Logan Allen earned his first home victory in more than three months, and the Guardians beat Chicago.
Giménez fouled off the first two pitches of his at-bat in the fifth inning, attempting to lay down a bunt and move Steven Kwan to second base. He then swung away, sending a fastball from Mike Clevinger (4-5) into the right field stands to break a 2-all tie.
ORIOLES 10, METS 3: In Baltimore, James McCann had three hits and five RBIs and Jordan Westburg hit a three-run homer to help Baltimore rout the Mets in New York manager Buck Showalter’s return to Camden Yards.
Showalter received a video tribute and a standing ovation from the fans in Baltimore, where he managed from 20102018 and guided the Orioles to three postseason appearances. Then the AL East leaders won for the sixth time in eight games to stay two ahead of Tampa Bay.
Ryan O’Hearn hit an RBI single off Phil Bickford (2-4) to break a 2-all tie in the sixth — Westburg, who was running on the pitch, scored all the way from first. McCann added a two-run double later in the inning, and Adley Rutschman hit a sacrifice fly.
ASTROS 7, YANKEES 3: In New York, Yainer Diaz hit a threerun homer in the first inning off a struggling Luis Severino, Yordan Alvarez homered in the fifth to knock out the right-hander and Houston beat New York.
Rookie Hunter Brown (8-7) won consecutive starts for the first time since April, allowing two runs and five hits in six innings. Brown struck out four, walked one and got eight groundouts — three on the first pitch.
Kyle Tucker added a two-out two-run RBI double in the sixth and stole two bases.
Alex Bregman had the other RBI for the Astros when he was hit in the back by Severino’s fastball with the bases loaded in the second.
Including last year’s sweep in the ALCS, the Astros are 10-3 against the Yankees since the start of last season.
ROYALS 7, PHILLIES 5: In Philadelphia, Bobby Witt Jr. homered and stole a base, Michael Massey also went deep and Kansas City won its seventh straight game.
Witt became the first player in MLB history with at least 20 home runs and 30 stolen bases in each of his first two seasons.
TWINS 3, DIAMONDBACKS 2: In
Minneapolis, Michael A. Taylor homered to lead off the seventh inning, the third solo shot of the game for the Minnesota in a victory over Arizona.
Jorge Polanco and Max Kepler went deep against Diamondbacks starter Merrill Kelly, who otherwise cruised through six innings with nine strikeouts against the club that leads the major leagues in whiffs.
ROCKIES 9, CARDINALS 4: In St. Louis, Nolan Jones had four hits and three RBIs, and the Colorado Rockies beat the St. Louis Cardinals 9-4 on Friday night in a matchup of last-place clubs.
Elias Díaz had two hits and drove in two runs as Colorado won for just the third time in nine games.
PIRATES 8, BREWERS 4: In Milwaukee, Alfonso Rivas had a three-run homer and a triple among his three hits, leading the Pittsburgh Pirates to an 8-4 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday night.
Rivas was playing his second game for the Pirates since being acquired from San Diego on Tuesday.
Bryan Reynolds also went 3 for 5 with a homer, and Henry Davis and Josh Palacios also went deep for the Pirates.
RANGERS 6, MARLINS 2: In Arlington, Texas, Adolis García hit two drastically different solo homers, Corey Seager also went deep and newly acquired lefthander Jordan Montgomery worked into the seventh inning to help Texas beat Miami.
García put the Rangers ahead to stay when he went the opposite way with a high-arching 334-foot homer just inside the right-field pole for a 3-2 lead in the third. In the sixth, the All-Star slugger known as “El Bombi” hit a 433-foot drive that landed in the second deck of seats above the visitors bullpen in left-center.
HAMELS RETIRES: Former World Series MVP Cole Hamels has retired after his attempt at a comeback with his hometown San Diego Padres fell short.
The Padres, who signed Hamels to a minor league contract in February, announced Hamels’ retirement Friday. The left-hander’s agent, John Boggs, confirmed that the 15-year veteran was calling it quits.
Hamels, 39, made one start for the Atlanta Braves in 2020 and hasn’t pitched since then. The four-time All-Star had shoulder surgery in 2021.
Hamels, who went to Rancho Bernardo High, was a first-round draft pick by Philadelphia in 2002 and was the MVP of the 2008 World Series with the Phillies. He pitched for the Phillies for 10 seasons and also was with Texas and the Chicago Cubs. He was 163-122 with a 3.43 ERA and 2,560 strikeouts in 15 seasons.