Verlander shines, helps Mets earn sweep of doubleheader
Justin Verlander outpitched Shane Bieber in a marquee matchup of Cy Young Award winners that lived up to its billing, and the resurgent New York Mets edged the visiting Cleveland Guardians 2-1 on Sunday night for a doubleheader sweep.
Francisco Lindor homered in the sixth and Jeff McNeil knocked in the tiebreaking run with a sacrifice fly off Bieber in the eighth. Brooks Raley (2-2) losed out New York's fifth consecutive comeback victory — all by one run — since a 6-16 slide.
In the opener, Starling Marte hit a go-ahead, tworun homer in the eighth off Trevor Stephan that sent the Mets to a 5-4 win.
José Ramírez hit a tworun shot in the eighth off David Robertson to give the Guardians a 4-3 lead.
Ramírez homered off Verlander in the first inning of Game 2.
Verlander (2-2) gave up three hits and struck out five.
YANKEES 4, REDS 1 >> Harrison Bader and Gleyber Torres homered to spark a comeback, leading New York over Cincinnati for a three-game road sweep and its first four-game winning streak this season.
Luis Severino returned from a strained lat muscle that sidelined him since spring training and allowed one run and four hits in 4 2/3 innings with five strikeouts and one walk.
Hunter Greene (0-4) remained winless in 10 starts this season. He gave up four runs, four hits and three walks with 10 strikeouts in seven innings.
Bader put the Yankees ahead with a two-run homer in the fifth.
BRAVES 3, MARINERS 2 >> Jared Shuster allowed one hit in six innings to earn his first career win and host Atlanta beat Seattle.
Shuster (1-2) had seven strikeouts with only one walk in his fourth major league start. The rookie left-hander made a strong case for getting a longer look in a rotation that has lost Max Fried and Kyle Wright to injuries.
Jarred Kelenic led off the second with his ninth homer for the Mariners' only hit off Shuster. Kelenic struck out in his next three at-bats.
The Braves led 3-1 before Jose Caballero hit his first big league homer, an eighth-inning liner to left field off Nick Anderson.
BREWERS 6, RAYS 4 >> Willy Adames, Rowdy Tellez and William Contreras homered, and Milwaukee avoided a three-game sweep by beating MLB-leading Tampa Bay (34-14), which dropped to 21-4 at Tropicana Field, the second-best 25-game home record since 1901 behind the 1978 Boston Red Sox at 22-3.
Freddy Peralta (5-3) gave up three runs and five hits over six innings as the NL Central-leading Brewers (25-21) stopped a threegame skid.
Josh Lowe had a threerun homer and four RBIs for the Rays, whose 91 home runs lead the majors.
Contreras' two-run homer off Cooper Criswell (0-1) in a three-run fifth put the Brewers ahead 6-3.
ASTROS 2, ATHLETICS 0 >> Framber Valdez pitched a four-hitter to lead Houston over Oakland to complete a three-game home sweep.
Valdez (4-4) struck out seven without a walk, bouncing back after allowing seven hits and four runs in a season-low four innings in his last start.
It's the third time Oakland has been shut out in the last 10 games and seventh time this season.
The victory extends Houston's season-long winning streak to seven games.
Jose Altuve hit an RBI single in the fifth inning and Yordan Alvarez scored on a wild pitch in the sixth.
PADRES 7, RED SOX 0 >> Rougned Odor hit a basesclearing double off struggling Corey Kluber in the first inning, Matt Carpenter homered and San Diego beat visiting Boston for just its third win in 14 games.
Odor finished with two doubles and four RBIs and Michael Wacha (5-1) threw six strong innings as the Padres snapped a fourgame losing streak.
Carpenter drew a basesloaded walk two batters ahead of Odor's three-run double and then greeted reliever Richard Bleier with a two-run homer to right with one out in the third.
Wacha, who took a nohitter into the eighth Monday against Kansas City, allowed five hits, struck out four and walked one.
GIANTS 7, MARLINS 5 >> Patrick Bailey hit his first major league homer and drove in a run with a squeeze bunt, helping host San Francisco beat Miami for its fifth win in six games.
The Giants' J.D. Davis homered in the third, then doubled and scored the goahead run on Mitch Haniger's sixth-inning single.
Jorge Soler had four hits, including a homer, and three RBIs for the Marlins.
ORIOLES 8, BLUE JAYS 3, 11 INNINGS >> Cedric Mullins got five hits, Austin Hays drove in the decisive run in the 11th and Baltimore won at Toronto to complete a three-game sweep.
Mullins had three RBIs and Hays reached base four times for the Orioles, who scored five runs in the 11th to win for the fifth time in six games.
Baltimore took a 3-2 lead in the top of the 10th when Mullins singled off Nate Pearson to score automatic runner Jorge Mateo.
Toronto tied it in the bottom half against Austin Voth when Whit Merrifield's single brought home pinchrunner Daulton Varsho.
Hays broke the tie with a one-out single off Yimi Garcia (1-2) in the 11th, and Terrin Vavra added a tworun single for the Orioles.
Mullins chased Garcia with a two-run double.
Toronto lost for the sixth time in their past seven.
PHILLIES 2, CUBS 1 >> Bryson Stott hit a two-run, pinchhomer in the seventh inning off Albert Alzolay (1-3) that led Philadelphia over visiting Chicago.
After extending their losing streak to five in the series opener, the defending NL champions won the final two games of the set.
Taijuan Walker pitched 5 1/3 scoreless innings on three days' rest and Craig Kimbrell got his 399th save.
Kimbrel gave up Christopher Morel's two-out homer in the ninth and walked Trey Mancini before retiring Patrick Wisdom on a foulout.
Cubs starter Justin Steele allowed four hits in six scoreless innings with six strikeouts and one walk, lowering his ERA to 2.20.
RANGERS 13, ROCKIES 3 >> Corey Seager hit a two-run homer in a five-run second inning and an RBI double in a six-run fifth, helping Texas rout Colorado for a three-game home sweep.