Padres’ Snell stymies Rays in front of record crowd
Blake Snell struck out 12 over six dominant innings in his best outing of the year to lead the Padres past the Rays, 2-0, on Saturday in San Diego.
Juan Soto hit a sacrifice fly in the fifth and Manny Machado drove in a run with an infield single after the Padres opened the inning with three consecutive bunts.
Snell (3-6) mixed his pitches masterfully versus the major league-leading Rays, with whom he won the Cy Young with in 2018. The lefthander gave up just two hits and walked three.
The crowd of 43,180 was a Petco Park record for the Padres.
Steele sharp as Cubs win again
Justin Steele pitched five innings of two-run ball in his return from the injured list, and the Cubs topped the Orioles, 3-2, at Wrigley Field for their season-high fifth straight win. Steele (7-2) allowed five hits, struck out four, and walked one in his first start since May 31. The lefthander was sidelined by a strained forearm. Mike Tauchman delivered a tiebreaking sacrifice fly in the fifth, and the Cubs held on.
Schwarber wins it in 12th
Kyle Schwarber hit a go-ahead single in the 12th inning and the Phillies beat the Athletics, 3-2, in Oakland for their fifth straight win. Cristian Pache began the inning on second base and scored on Schwarber’s first hit of the day, off Ken Waldichuk (1-5). Bryson Stott hit a tying single in the sixth and go-ahead sacrifice fly in the 11th inning, only for the A’s to tie it in the bottom half.
Andrew Vasquez (2-0), Philadelphia’s seventh pitcher, earned the victory as the Phillies won their sixth in seven and 12th of their last 14.
Twins win dueling three-hitters
Minnesota’s bullpen teamed up for a three-hitter, Alex Kirilloff delivered an RBI single in a breakthrough fifth inning against Detroit starter Joey Wentz, and the Twins beat the Tigers, 2-0. José De León started with two perfect innings for the Twins, who opted for an all-reliever game to give their rotation a break during a stretch of 16 games without a day off. Brent Headrick (1-0) claimed his first major league victory. The Twins had only three hits themselves, thanks to Wentz (1-7). The lefthander had a career-high nine strikeouts over six innings.
Royals snap losing streak
Samad Taylor hit a walkoff single in his MLB debut and the Royals snapped a 10-game losing streak, beating the Angels, 10-9, in Kansas City. Aroldis Chapman (2-2) earned the win in relief. Los Angeles wasted a great start by Griffin Canning, who allowed two runs on three hits in six innings. The Angels were up, 8-2, in the seventh inning before the Royals came back. Brandon Drury hit two home runs and drove in three runs and Shohei Ohtani hit his major league-leading 23rd home run for Los Angeles.
Quite an introduction
Zach Remillard’s base hit in the ninth inning scored the tying run, his RBI single with two outs in the 11th gave Chicago the lead, and the White Sox rallied for a 4-3 win over the host Mariners. Remillard, making his major league debut, wasn’t in the lineup for Chicago until Tim Anderson left in the fourth inning with a sore shoulder. But Remillard made his first game memorable with the two biggest hits to help the White Sox win for the second time in seven games.
Freese declines Cardinals’ Hall
Despite his historic run in the 2011 playoffs, former Cardinals third baseman David Freese has declined the team’s invitation to join its Hall of Fame. Freese, who played in St. Louis for five of his 11 major league seasons, said in a statement: “This is something that I have given an extreme amount of thought to, humbly, even before the voting process began. I am aware of the impact I had helping the team bring great memories to the city I grew up in, including the 11th championship.” Freese was named National League Championship Series MVP and World Series MVP, driving in an MLB-record 21 runs in the playoffs. He was the top vote-getter for induction into the Cardinals’ Hall of Fame in online balloting by fans.
Prospects get the call
The Marlins placed infielder Jean Segura on the 10-day injured list with a left hamstring strain and called up prospect Jacob Amaya from Triple A Jacksonville. Amaya is the team’s ninth-ranked prospect, according to MLB Pipeline . . . The Guardians called up catching prospect Bo Naylor and put righthanded pitcher Triston McKenzie on the 15-day injured list. The 23-year-old Naylor, a first-round pick in 2018, was hitting .254 with 13 homers and 48 RBIs at Triple A Columbus . . . The Cubs placed infielder Patrick Wisdom on the 10day injured list with a right wrist sprain. Wisdom leads the Cubs with 14 homers . . . Brewers pitcher Wade Miley and designated hitter/outfielder Jesse Winker were reinstated from the injured list before a 5-0 win over the visiting Pirates. Miley earned the victory with five scoreless innings after missing a month with a lat strain. Winker, who hadn’t played since May 27 because of a cervical strain, was 0 for 4 while batting second.