AROUNDTHE HORN
Rays: Drew Rasmussen took a perfect game into the ninth inning, and the Rays expanded their lead over the Orioles for the final AL wild card to 1 ½ games with a 4-1 victory over the Orioles on Sunday in St. Petersburg, Florida. Rasmussen allowed his first baserunner when Jorge Mateo doubled down the left-field line on the first pitch of the ninth. Mateo, who went 5-for-5 on Friday night, later scored on a Rasmussen wild pitch. The right-hander struck out seven in the longest outing of his career. He threw 62 of 87 pitches for strikes. Jason Adam got two outs for his sixth save, finishing a one-hitter. Rasmussen (7-4) struck out Rougned Odor on a 2-2 pitch to end an eightpitch at-bat for the second out in the eighth. Rasmussen was coming off three no-hit innings in his previous start Aug. 7 against the Tigers, an abbreviated outing to manage his workload for the season. There hasn’t been a perfect game in the majors since the Mariners’ Felix Hernandez accomplished the feat at home against the Rays on Aug. 15, 2012.
Royals: Brady Singer pitched six dominant innings and the Royals ended the Dodgers’ 12-game winning streak with a 4-0 victory. A day after hitting six HRS in a romp, the Dodgers were held to just two hits. The Dodgers were trying to match their longest winning streak since moving to Los Angeles, having won 13 straight in both 1962 and 1965. The franchise record is 15 in a row set in 1924 while the team played in Brooklyn — the club moved to West Coast for the 1958 season. Singer (6-4) pitched one-hit ball against the team with the best record in the majors. He struck out seven and walked three. Royals relievers Amir Garrett and Dylan Coleman kept the Dodgers scoreless and Scott Barlow got four outs for his 19th save. Tyler Anderson (12-2) gave up three runs in six innings.
Mets: Chris Bassitt hurled five scoreless innings, Francisco Lindor set the franchise record for RBIS by a shortstop with his 82nd and the Mets defeated the visiting Phillies 6-0 for their 17th win in 20 games. Burly slugger Daniel Vogelbach homered and Mark Canha had two hits for the Mets, who posted their second straight shutout and kept 5 ½ games ahead of the Braves atop the NL East. The Mets and Braves open a four-game series Monday in Atlanta. Bassitt (10-7) scattered four hits and struck out five. He’s gone 24 straight innings without allowing an earned run.
Extra innings: Rookie Michael Harris II hit a tying HR in the ninth, William Contreras had a go-ahead single and the Braves rallied to beat the host Marlins 3-1 for a sweep of their fourgame series. The Braves wontheir sixth straight after losing four of five against the NL East-leading Mets. ... Albert Pujols homered twice and Miles Mikolas tossed eight effective innings, helping the Cardinals beat the visiting Brewers 6-3. The Cards pushed their NL Central lead over the second-place Brewers to 1 ½ games. Pujols hit a solo shot in the second and a three-run drive in the eighth to give him 689 career HRS. It was his 63rd career multihomer game, trying him with Willie Mays for fifth all-time. The 42-year-old Pujols ranks fourth on the career homer list behind Barry Bonds (762), Hank Aaron (755), Babe Ruth (714) and Alex Rodriguez (696).