A's drop second in a row to start long trip
Max Schuemann blasted a game-tying home run in the top of the fifth inning for his first career MLB hit, but the Cleveland Guardians ralled in the bottom half of the inning and held on to hand the A's a 6-3 loss on Saturday at Progressive Field. Schuemann, a 26-year-old rookie, also stole a base as the A's lost for the second straight game to begin a 10-game road trip.
Ryan Noda had a solo homer in the fifth for Oakland.
Josh Naylor hit a go-ahead two-run homer in the bottom of the fifth and celebrated by striking himself on the helmet with his bat. Naylor's drive in the fifth off Alex Wood drove in Fremont's Steven Kwan, giving Cleveland a 4-2 lead. The animated slugger delivered a two-handed smack to his head as the ball cleared the fence in right-center, then spiked the lumber onto the grass.
“I always just try to be your best self in any situation,” a much calmer Naylor said after the game. “It was a cool moment, but it was for the boys and that's all I really play for. When we get punched, we punch back.”
Two innings later, Naylor again drove in Kwan, with an RBI single off Austin Adams.
“In moments like that, he becomes Josh Naylor,” Kwan said. “That's the inner competitor. And off the field, he's the stereotypical Canadian, the nicest guy ever who takes care of his people.”
Kwan doubled twice and had two singles — his MLB-high sixth three-hit game — for the Guardians, who have the best record in the American League at 15-6.
PHILLIES 9, WHITE SOX 5 >> Zack Wheeler pitched no-hit ball for 7 1/3 innings, Brandon Marsh homered and host Philadelphia extended its winning streak to five by beating Chicago.
Wheeler (1-3) didn't give up a hit until Korey Lee's one-out single on a hard grounder into right field that just eluded diving first baseman Bryce Harper. The right-hander struck out eight, walked two and allowed no runs while throwing 75 of 106 pitches for strikes.
Manager Rob Thomson had Seranthony Dominguez relieve after Lee's hit.
BRAVES 5, RANGERS 2 >> Charlie Morton combined with three relievers on a five-hitter and Atlanta beat visiting Texas for its sixth straight victory.
Travis d'Arnaud, who drove in six runs with three homers, in the Braves' 8-3 win on Friday night, hit a two-run homer off right-hander Austin Pruitt in the eighth.
Morton (2-0) allowed two runs and four hits with two walks in six innings.
METS 6, DODGERS 4 >> Starling Marte hit a goahead, three-run home run in the sixth for New York, which beat struggling Los Angeles at Dodger Stadium to extend its winning streak to six games.
The Mets won their fifth straight series and have gone 12-3 after an 0-5 start.
The Dodgers lost for the seventh time in nine games. They went 2 for 12 with runners in scoring position and stranded 13.