AROUND THE HORN
Astros: Yuli Gurriel went 3-for-4 with a homer, Justin Verlander pitched five scoreless innings and the Astros beat the Nationals 8-0 on Sunday in Washington. Jose Altuve, Martin Maldonado and Chas McCormick also homered for the Astros. Gurriel finished the series 8-for-12 with two homers and four RBIs. A day after allowing 13 runs as the Astros’ 11-game winning streak ended, Astros pitchers returned to form, tossing their fourth shutout in seven games, a four-hitter kicked off by Verlander. After taking a no-hitter into the eighth inning in his last start, Verlander (5-1) didn’t allow a hit Sunday until surrendering back-toback singles with one out in the fifth and his team up 2-0. Manager Dusty Baker opted to leave the two-time AL Cy Young Award winner in, and Verlander retired César Hernández on a popup before getting Juan Soto to ground out with his 107th pitch. The 39-year-old Verlander struck out five and walked three in his in his seventh start since returning from Tommy John surgery.
Angels: Shohei Ohtani homered for the second consecutive game, leading the Angels to a 5-1 road victory over the A’s. A day after becoming the third Japanese-born player to reach 100 HRs in the major leagues, the AL MVP belted No. 101. His eighth HR this season was a 425-foot drive deep into the rightfield stands off a first-inning sinker from Frankie Montas. Mike Trout, who singled ahead of Ohtani, scored. The Angels (24-13) moved 11 games above .500 for the first time since July 28, 2015. Patrick Sandoval (2-1) allowed one run and four hits, lowering his ERA to 1.91 and overcoming a season-high four walks. Jimmy Herget retired eight batters to complete the five-hitter and earn his first career save.
Padres: Ha-Seong Kim had a run-scoring double to give his team the lead in a four-run 11th inning and the Padres beat the host Braves 7-3 to win the three-game series. Kim’s double to left off Jackson Stephens (0-1) drove in Jake Cronenworth, who opened the inning as the automatic runner on second. Kim moved to third on a throwing error by SS Dansby Swanson and scored on Jurickson Profar’s grounder to second, beating Ozzie Albies’ throw to the plate. The Braves committed three errors, leading to four unearned runs.
Extra innings: Gavin Lux atoned for an early fielding mistake with a walkoff, two-run double in the ninth, and the host Dodgers avoided a four-game series sweep with a 5-4 win over the Phillies. Cody Bellinger got a two-out triple off Corey Knebel (0-3) and Chris Taylor walked before Lux drove them both home. Lux made a two-out error on a routine grounder in the second, allowing the Phillies to score four unearned runs. Mookie Betts had a HR and an RBI double for the Dodgers, who avoided their first fivegame skid since April 2019 . ... Miguel Cabrera blasted his 505th career HR, Tarik Skubal equaled his career high with 11 strikeouts, and the Tigers beat the visiting Orioles 5-1 for their first series sweep this season. The 39-year-old Cabrera had two hits, scored two runs and knocked in two more for the Tigers. Skubal (3-2) lasted six innings, limiting the Orioles to three hits and two walks . ... The NL East-leading Mets placed RHP Tylor Megill (4-2, 4.41 ERA) on the 15-day IL because of right biceps tendinitis.