Dodgers support Scherzer with three home runs
LOS ANGELES — Trea Turner, Albert Pujols and Chris Taylor each homered, and Max Scherzer won for the third time in four starts since being acquired as the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the slumping New York Mets 4-3 on Saturday.
The surging Dodgers have won nine consecutive games, matching a season-best win streak. Six of those wins have come against the Mets, who have dropped eight of nine overall.
Kenley Jansen pitched a scoreless ninth for his 27th save. He hit Kevin Pillar to lead off the inning, then got Brandon Nimmo to ground out, and struck out Jeff McNeil and Pete Alonso.
“We keep grinding. We keep making pitches,” Jansen said. “If we click, and we are clicking right now, nobody can stop us. We’ve just got to continue to do this and do us, and continue to focus for the big prize.”
The Dodgers had a three-run lead through six innings before Alonso hit a two-run home run, his 28th of the season, off reliever Blake Treinen in the seventh.
New York squandered an opportunity in the fifth when it loaded the bases against Scherzer with two outs. Scherzer struck out J.D. Davis to end the threat, but it was a taxing 34-pitch inning for Scherzer, whose day was done after that big strikeout.
Rich Hill (6-5) allowed three home runs over five innings, including Pujols’ 15th of the season. The 41-year-old Pujols previously homered against the 40-year-old Hill on Aug. 17, 2007.
Scherzer (11-4) has allowed 5 earned runs in 211/3 innings (2.11 ERA) since being acquired along with Turner from the Washington Nationals on July 30. The Dodgers have won all four games in which Scherzer has started, including a pair against the Mets.
BREWERS 9, NATIONALS 6 Christian Yelich homered twice and drove in six runs, powering Milwaukee over Washington.
PIRATES 5, CARDINALS 4 Yoshi Tsutsugo and Kevin Newman homered for Pittsburgh, and Ke’Bryan Hayes added a two-run single in a victory over St. Louis.
PADRES 4, PHILLIES 3 (10) Adam Frazier scored on a wild pitch in the bottom of the 10th inning to lift San Diego over Philadelphia. Jake Cronenworth hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth.
REDS 7, MARLINS 4 Nick Castellanos hit a two-run home run and drove in four runs, and Cincinnati beat Miami.
ROCKIES 5, DIAMONDBACKS 2 Elias Diaz hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the ninth inning after Garrett Hampson hit a game-tying two-run pinch-hit home run in the bottom of the eighth, lifting Colorado past Arizona.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
RAYS 8, WHITE SOX 4 Brandon Lowe, Manuel Margot and Joey Wendle each had two hits and two RBI as Tampa Bay defeated Chicago. YANKEES 7, TWINS 1 Gerrit Cole pitched six scoreless innings, leading New York over Minnesota and to its season-high ninth consecutive win. ASTROS 15, MARINERS 1 Rookie Taylor Jones had four RBI and Yordan Alvarez hit a threerun home run to power Houston over Seattle. INDIANS 5, ANGELS 1 Triston McKenzie struck out Shohei Ohtani three times while pitching two-hit ball into the eighth inning, sending Cleveland over Los Angeles.
BLUE JAYS 3, TIGERS 0 Hyun Jin Ryu cruised through seven innings for Toronto, and Randal Grichuk and Marcus Semien homered in a victory over Detroit.
RANGERS 10, RED SOX 1 Former Boston utilityman Brock Holt hit two RBI singles and Texas snapped a four-game losing streak.
INTERLEAGUE
ROYALS 4, CUBS 2 Kris Bubic carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning, leading Kansas City over Chicago.
GIANTS 6, ATHLETICS 5 Pinch-hitter LaMonte Wade Jr. connected for a two-run home run in the ninth inning, helping San Francisco rally to defeat Oakland.
BRAVES 5, ORIOLES 4 Austin Riley and Joc Pederson hit home runs as Atlanta handed Baltimore its 17th consecutive loss.