Mets blank Reds behind Stroman’s 1-hitter, Smith’s slam
Marcus Stroman pitched one-hit ball for eight innings, Dominic Smith launched a grand slam and the New York Mets cruised to a 7-0 win over the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday.
Stroman (7-8) gave up a leadoff single to Aristides Aquino in the third inning and little else. He struck out seven and walked one while giving New York’s beleaguered bullpen precious rest going into Thursday’s day off. Jeurys Familia struck out three in a hitless ninth.
Luis Guillorme hit his first homer of the season and Jonathan Villar also connected for the NL East leaders. Mets manager Luis Rojas returned to the dugout after serving a twogame suspension for excessive arguing on Sunday.
Jeff Hoffman (3-5) came off the 10-day injured list to make his first start since May 26 and lasted four innings, allowing seven hits — including Smith’s slam — and five runs with three walks.
PADRES 3, BRAVES 2 (1ST
GAME); PADRES 5, BRAVES 4 (2ND GAME, 4 1⁄2 INNINGS, SUSP.) » Fernando Tatis Jr. hit a two-run homer, starter Chris Paddack reversed his recent struggles and San Diego bat Atlanta in the first game of a scheduled doubleheader.
The second game was suspended by rain in the middle of the fifth inning with the Padres leading 5-4. It was called after a 3-hour, 3-minute delay and will resume at a date yet to be determined.
In the early game, Tatis made it 3-0 in the fifth inning against reliever Shane Greene when his NL-leading 29th homer landed in the left-field seats. The AllStar shortstop has eight hits, seven runs scored and six RBIs in his last five games.
RAYS 5, ORIOLES 4 » Austin Meadows hit a two-out, two-run single in the ninth inning and Tampa Bay rallied past Baltimore.
Randy Arozarena hit two home runs and also had a key single as the Rays won for the 10th time in 13 games. He stopped a 21-game home run drought in Tuesday night’s 9-3 win over Baltimore.
Tampa Bay trailed when Francisco Mejía led off the ninth with a single against Tanner Scott (3-4) and pinch-hitter Mike Zunino drew a oneout walk. Arozarena then hit a flare to right field, with first baseman Ryan Mountcastle and second baseman Pat Valaika colliding in pursuit, for a single that loaded the bases. After Vidal Bruján struck out, Meadows lined an 0-2 pitch to center.
Collin McHugh (3-1) worked two scoreless innings for the win.
Mountcastle and Valaika each hit solo homers for Baltimore, which placed scheduled starting pitching Keegan Akin and outfielder Anthony Santander on the COVID-19 injured list before the game. ROYALS 6, BREWERS 3 » Nicky Lopez hit a basesloaded, tiebreaking double, Brad Keller earned his first win in over six weeks and Kansas City completed a season sweep of Milwaukee.
On an afternoon when the Brewers made a pair of errors that caused Kansas City’s first five runs to be unearned, two of the loudest ovations at the stadium came when the scoreboard showed video clips of Milwaukee Bucks players asking fans to get loud. The Bucks won their first NBA championship since 1971 on Tuesday night, beating the Phoenix Suns in Game 6 in the downtown arena about three miles away. ROCKIES 6, MARINERS 3 » Austin Gomber pitched effectively for six innings after spending a month on the injured list, Dom Nunez hit a bases-loaded double in a five-run first and Colorado beat Seattle. DIAMONDBACKS 6, PIRATES 4 » Pavin Smith and Daulton Varsho hit consecutive homers in the seventh inning for the goahead runs and Arizona completed a three-game sweep of Pittsburgh.
RED SOX 7, BLUE JAYS 4 » J.D. Martinez and Hunter Renfroe connected back-to-back as Boston won a home run derby, beating Toronto in the Blue Jays’ final game at their temporary Buffalo home. MARLINS 3, NATIONALS 1 (10 INNINGS) » Pinch-hitter Jorge Alfaro drove in the goahead run with a double in the 10th and Miami snapped a four-game losing streak. TIGERS 4, RANGERS 2 » Matt Manning pitched six strong innings to lead Detroit to its sixth straight victory.
Robbie Grossman, Zack Short and Akil Baddoo hit home runs as the Tigers matched their longest winning streak since an eightgame run in 2016. Detroit has allowed a total of seven runs during this success string. YANKEES 6, PHILLIES 5 » Pinch-hitter Ryan LaMarre singled home the winning run in the 10th inning and New York recovered to beat the Philadelphia after blowing a late three-run lead. INDIANS 5, ASTROS 4 » Rookie Ernie Clement had a season-high three RBIs and Cesar Hernandez hit a tiebreaking home run in the seventh inning to lift Cleveland to a win over Houston to avoid a sweep. TWINS 7, WHITE SOX 2 » Max Kepler homered in his second straight game, Jorge Polanco also went deep, and Minnesota beat Chicago.