Judge’s 53rd helps Yankees top Rays

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Aaron Judge led off the game with his major league-leading 53rd homer and the New York Yankees stopped the Tampa Bay Rays 2-1 Sunday to avoid a three-game sweep.

Judge set a career high for homers, topping the 52 he hit as a rookie in 2017. He also doubled, singled and scored both New York runs.

Cardinals 2, Cubs 0: Albert Pujols collected home run No. 695 in the eighth inning and Miles Mikolas tossed eight shutout innings to lead St. Louis to a win over Chicago Cubs at home.

Red Sox 5, Rangers 2: Trevor Story hit a three-run homer over the Green Monster, Xander Bogaerts had his eighth straight multi-hit game and Boston completed a four-game sweep over Texas.

Braves 7, Marlins 1: Max Fried allowed no hits in five scoreless innings, Marcell Ozuna homered and Atlanta won its fifth straight in a rain-delayed game, beating Miami at home.

Nationals 7, Mets 1: — Cesar Hernandez hit his first homer in more than a year, delivering visiting Washington a win over New York.

Twins 5, White Sox 1: Former Astro Carlos Correa homered for Minnesota and Dylan Bundy shut down Chicago once again.

Blue Jays 4, Pirates 3: Teoscar Hernandez delivered the go-ahead RBI single in the seventh inning and visiting Toronto edged Pittsburgh to complete a three-game sweep.

Athletics 5, Orioles 0: Seth Brown hit a pair of solo homers, rookie Adrian Martinez threw six innings of three-hit ball and visiting Oakland stalled Baltimore’s playoff surge.

Royals 3: Tigers 2: Bobby Witt Jr.’s eighth-inning double drove in the go-ahead run and visiting Kansas City edged Detroit.

Rockies 8, Reds 4, Game 1: Charlie Blackmon’s pinch-hit two-run single highlighted a four-run seventh, and C.J. Cron hit a two-run homer in the ninth to give visiting Colorado a win over Cincinnati.

Reds 10, Rockies 0, Game 2: Aristides Aquino hit his first career grand slam an inning and Cincinnati beat Colorado to split a doubleheader.

Diamondbacks 5, Brewers 1: Zac Gallen tied the major-league record with his sixth consecutive scoreless start, leading Arizona to a win over Milwaukee.

Giants 5, Phillies 3: Wilmer Flores hit a two-run homer with two outs in the ninth inning and host San Francisco beat Philadelphia for a three-game sweep.

Mariners 6, Guardians 3, 11 innings: J.P. Crawford singled in the go-ahead run in the 11th inning and Seattle beat slumping Cleveland.

Dodgers 9, Padres 4: Will Smith homered for the second consecutive game and Trayce Thompson added a pinch-hit home run as Los Angeles used two big innings to beat San Diego Padres.