Pujols hits 697th career home run, a game-winner
Albert Pujols hit his 697th home run, moving past Alex Rodriguez into fourth place on the career list and doing it in dramatic fashion with a ninth-inning drive that pushed the St. Louis Cardinals over the Pirates 4-3 Sunday in Pittsburgh.
The NL Central-leading Cardinals trailed 2-1 when Pujols connected for a tworun shot. He trails Barry Bonds (762), Hank Aaron (755) and Babe Ruth (714) on the all-time homer chart. Pujols, 42, has 21 games left in his 22nd and final season in the big leagues.
The Cardinals went to the ninth inning trailing 2-0 but scored four runs off Long Beach Wilson product Chase DeJong (4-2). Tommy Edman and Corey Dickerson led off with doubles to produce the first run. One out after Pujols connected, Tyler O’Neil hit a solo shot to cap the rally. DIAMONDBACKS 12, ROCKIES 6» Zac Gallen retired the first nine batters he faced to extend his scoreless innings streak to 44 1/3 innings, seventh longest in MLB history, for Arizona in Denver. Gallen (12-2) struck out 11 in six innings to win for the seventh time in his last eight starts. He passed Brandon Webb with a scoreless first inning to set the franchise record at 42 1/3 innings; Webb’s mark came in 2007. Gallen retired the next six batters but three straight singles by Colorado to open the fourth, the last an RBI single by C.J. Cron, ended his streak.
METS 9, MARLINS 3» Brandon Nimmo homered, doubled and walked twice to help New York top host Miami and maintain its slim lead atop the NL East. Tómas Nido had three hits and drove in three runs for the Mets. Taijuan Walker (114) won his fourth decision against the Marlins this season, throwing seven innings of one-run ball.
YANKEES 10, RAYS 4» Gleyber Torres homered twice and Giancarlo Stanton and Oswaldo Cabrera once each during a 10-run barrage in the first two innings, and host New York reopened a 5½-game AL East lead. BREWERS 7, REDS 6» Rowdy Tellez homered twice, doubled and drove in four runs as the Brewers withstood a ninth-inning rally attempt by Cincinnati in Milwaukee. GUARDIANS 4, TWINS 1» Andrés Giménez and Steven Kwan hit solo homers, Shane Bieber (10-8) had another strong start and Cleveland finished off a series sweep in Minneapolis. RANGERS 4, BLUE JAYS 1 » Martin Perez allowed one run in six innings, and Adolis Garcia homered for the second consecutive game for host Texas.
MARINERS 8, BRAVES 7» Julio Rodriguez and Eugenio Suarez each hit their second home run of the game, connecting in the ninth inning and rallying Seattle at home. ATHLETICS 10, WHITE SOX 3» Ramón Laureano hit a two-run homer and Vimael
Machin hit a two-run double in the decisive fifth inning in Oakland.
ROYALS 4, TIGERS 0» Brady Singer threw seven shutout innings to lead host Kansas City.
PHILLIES
5» Alec Bohm hit the goahead, two-run homer in the seventh inning to lead the Phillies in Philadelphia. RED SOX 1, ORIOLES 0» Rich Hill (7-6) pitched five scoreless innings for visiting Boston.
GIANTS 4, CUBS 2 » Thairo Estrada homered in the seventh and Wilmer Flores connected in the eighth for the Giants in Chicago.
LA RUSSA GETS PACEMAKER» Chicago White Sox manager Tony La Russa says he is recovering well from having a pacemaker inserted for his heart, and is uncertain when he will be medically cleared to run the club again. FORMER MLB RELIEVER KILLED IN CRASH» Anthony Varvaro, a former Major League Baseball pitcher who retired in 2016 to become a police officer in the New York City area, was killed in a car accident Sunday morning on his way to work at the Sept. 11 memorial ceremony in Manhattan, according to police officials and his former teams. Varvaro, 37, was an officer for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. He played baseball at St. John’s University in New York City before a sixyear career in the majors as a relief pitcher with Seattle, Atlanta and Boston.