Rodon, White Sox get split in Toronto
Luis Robert hit a two-run home run, Carlos Rodón won in his return from the injured list and the Chicago White Sox beat the Toronto Blue Jays 10-7 Thursday.
Jose Abreu, Cesar Hernandez and Eloy Jimenez each hit solo shots as the White Sox earned a split in the four-game series.
Rodon allowed two runs and five hits in five innings for his 10th win. Activated off the injured list before the game, Rodon hadn’t pitched since Aug. 7 because of a sore shoulder.
Tim Anderson had three hits and two RBIs and Leury Garcia had two RBI and scored twice as the White Sox held on after building a 9-2 lead.
Marcus Semien hit two home runs for the Blue Jays, a solo shot off Rodon in the first inning and a two-run blast off Michael Kopech as Toronto closed the gap with a fiverun sixth inning. The homers were his 31st and 32nd.
Ryan Tepera and Garrett Crochet each pitched one scoreless inning of relief and Craig Kimbrel finished for his first save with the White Sox, his 24th in 27 chances this season.
Indians 10, Rangers 6 — Bradley Zimmer hit a two-run homer into the second deck in right field to highlight a four-run first inning and the Cleveland Indians beat the Texas Rangers.
Zimmer’s 465-foot blast off Jordan Lyles (6-11) hooked toward the foul pole and landed several rows back in the second deck at Progressive Field before bounding into the lower deck.
Zimmer, who drove in three runs, has the two longest home runs hit by a Cleveland player this season. He hit a 471-foot homer to center field on Aug. 9 against Cincinnati in Cleveland.
Texas tied the game with two runs in the second and two in the third, but Cleveland put together another four-run inning in the fourth.
Orioles13,Angels1— A day after ending a 19game losing streak, major league-worst Baltimore got a grand slam and six RBI from Pedro Severino to rout Los Angeles.
Shohei Ohtani led off the game with a homer, his MLB-leading 41st, but that was the only highlight for the Angels, who have lost five of six.
Baltimore won two games in a row for the first time since July 30-31 and took its first series since a three-game sweep of Washington from July 23-25. The Orioles hit three homers off Ohtani a night earlier, although the two-way star left the mound with the lead.
Keegan Akin picked up his second career win, allowing one run and three hits with six strikeouts and two walks over season-high seven innings.
Baltimore had lost its last 12 games when Akin appeared as a starter or out of the bullpen.
National League
Reds 5, Brewers 1 — Jonathan India hit a three-run homer, Nick Castellanos also went deep and Cincinnati avoided a three-game sweep by NL Central-leading Milwaukee.
Sonny Gray allowed three hits in six scoreless innings for the Reds, who still trail the Brewers by 8 1/2 games. Cincinnati does hold the second NL wild card spot.
Gray struck out six while walking only two batters and didn’t give up his first hit until Avisail Garcia’s two-out single in the fourth. In the sixth, he loaded the bases with two outs but got Rowdy Tellez to ground out to first.
It was the second consecutive scoreless outing for Gray, who hasn’t allowed a run in his last 13 innings.
Pirates 11, Cardinals 6 — Gregory Polanco turned boos into cheers with the decisive two-run double during an eight-run seventh inning and the Pittsburgh Pirates rallied for an 11-7 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals.
Polanco’s double put the Pirates ahead for good at 9-7 and was one of six straight hits off reliever Genesis Cabrera.
Down 7-3 going into the seventh, the Pirates tied it with two-run singles by Bryan Reynolds and Wilmer Difo. Polanco then one-hopped the left-center field wall with his double before pinch-hitter Yoshi Tsutsugo capped the outburst with a two-run home run.
It was Tsutsugo’s third pinch-homer since joining the Pirates as a free agent Aug. 16 following his release by the Dodgers.
The Cardinals led 7-1 midway through the third inning.
Polanco has been booed regularly at PNC Park recently. He entered Thursday hitting .205 and made a pivotal error in a loss to Arizona on Wednesday night.