Laureano’s slam saves day for A’s
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Ramon Laureano hit his first career grand slam to break an eighth-inning tie and finished with five RBIs and the Oakland Athletics beat the Tampa Bay Rays 6-2 on Wednesday.
Oakland went 6-4, including taking two of three from the Rays, on a season-long 10-game road trip that included some significant travel issues.
The Athletics didn’t arrive in Florida until after 3 a.m. Monday. They spent 3½ hours in the clubhouse following their game at the Texas Rangers on Sunday because of storm-related damage to their plane.
Yandy Diaz and Tommy Pham both had three hits for the Rays, who dropped one-half game behind the idle AL East-leading New York Yankees.
CUBS 10, ROCKIES 1: Cole Hamels struck out nine in seven scoreless innings, singled twice and drove in two runs to lead Chicago past host Colorado in a testy game. Rockies All-Star third-baseman Nolan Arenado left in the fifth with a left forearm contusion after Hamels hit him with a pitch in the third, and three more batters — including Hamels — were hit by pitches later in the game. Chicago’s Kris Bryant was hit by pitches three times in the first two games of the series.
RED SOX 4, RANGERS 3: Mookie Betts drew a basesloaded walk in the ninth inning, giving Boston a win over Texas at Fenway Park. Andrew Benintendi hit a triple and two doubles, driving in two runs for the Red Sox as they ended a three-game skid and avoided falling below .500 for the first time in more than a month.
REDS 7, INDIANS 2: Rookie Nick Senzel and Joey Votto hit back-to-back homers to open the game, and Cincinnati later got deep shots from Eugenio Suarez and Curt Casali, powering the Reds to a victory at Cleveland.
BLUE JAYS 8, ORIOLES 6: Rowdy Tellez hit a grand slam to cap a six-run fifth inning, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. had three hits, and Toronto won at Baltimore to end a five-game losing streak. MARLINS 9, CARDINALS 0: Jordan Yamamoto pitched seven innings to win his major league debut, Garrett Cooper hit a grand slam, and Miami broke a six-game losing streak by beating visiting St. Louis. DIAMONDBACKS 2, PHILLIES 0: Merrill Kelly tossed three-hit ball over 72⁄3 innings, and Arizona beat host Philadelphia. MARINERS 9, TWINS 6: Dee Gordon scored on one of Minnesota’s three errors in the 10th inning, helping Seattle beat the host Twins. TIGERS 3, ROYALS 2: Brandon Dixon broke an eighthinning tie with a sacrifice fly that sent Detroit to a win at Kansas City. GIANTS 4, PADRES 2: Evan Longoria drove in the go-ahead run with an infield single in the fifth inning, and San Francisco held off visiting San Diego. BRAVES 8, PIRATES 7: Ozzie Albies drove in Austin Riley with an RBI double in the 11th inning as Atlanta beat visiting Pittsburgh.