Cortes takes no-hit bid into 8th, Yanks beat Rangers 1-0

NEW YORK » Nestor Cortes took a no-hit bid into the eighth inning before Eli White singled, and Anthony Rizzo doubled in a run in the bottom half to lift the New York Yankees over the Texas Rangers 1-0 Monday for their sixth straight series win.

A 27-year-old left-hander making his 22nd big league start and sixth this season, Cortes pitched a career-high 7 1/3 innings, walked four and struck out 11, one shy of his high. He threw 68 of 103 pitches for strikes.

White, the Rangers’ No. 9 batter lofted a 2-2 fastball into short center field for a clean hit on Cortes’ final pitch. Clay Holmes (40) relieved and got Marcus Semien to ground into a double play.

ORIOLES 6, ROYALS 1 » Tyler Wells pitched six strong innings to earn his first victory of the season and the Baltimore Orioles used a six-run fifth inning Monday afternoon to surge past the Kansas City Royals 6-1.

Baltimore has won four of five for the first time this season and finished its homestand 5-4. Kansas City has lost seven of its past nine to fall a season-high eight games under .500.

The game was a makeup of Saturday’s postponed game to cap a rain-altered series. Friday’s game was washed out and made up as part of a doubleheader the teams split Sunday.

Wells (1-2) allowed Ryan O’Hearn’s RBI single in the first, but cruised through the rest of his start. He retired 15 of the last 18 batters he faced and struck out three in the longest outing of his career.

PIRATES 5, DODGERS 1 » Jose Quintana pitched six scoreless innings for his first win since 2019 and the first victory by a Pittsburgh starting pitcher this season as the Pirates beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-1 on Monday night.

The Pirates also ended a 16-game losing streak against the Dodgers dating to 2018 and snapped Los Angeles’ six-game winning streak.

Quintana (1-1) allowed four hits and four walks while striking out five. His previous win came on Sept. 5, 2019 at Milwaukee while pitching for the Chicago Cubs.

The veteran left-hander has been plagued by injuries and ineffectiveness in recent seasons, going 20 starts and 42 appearances between victories.

The Pirates finally got their first win from a starter in their 28th game, a major league record to begin a season. The old mark was set by the Baltimore Orioles in 1989 when they started 0-21.