Nunez homers twice, Sox survive in extras
BOSTON — Sandy Leon slid into home plate and avoided catcher Drew Butera’s tag on Eduardo Nunez’s ground out in the 10th inning Saturday night, lifting the Boston Red Sox past Kansas City 9-8 to end the Royals’ nine-game winning streak. Nunez also hit two solo homers over the Green Monster for the Red Sox.
ANGELS 6, BLUE JAYS 5: Cliff Pennington drove in the tiebreaking run with a sacrifice fly in the ninth inning and the visiting Angels beat Toronto.
ORIOLES 4, RANGERS 0: Adrian Beltre singled to get within one hit of
SEATTLE — Travis d’Arnaud heard it and it turned his stomach. The Mets catcher watched Mariners outfielder Mitch Haniger crumble to the dirt in the batter’s box after being hit in the face by Jacob deGrom’s 95-mile an hour fastball in the second inning Saturday. “Yeah, it didn’t sound very good,” d’Arnaud said. “It sounded awful.” Haniger took the ball to his mouth. X-Rays were negative for any broken bones, but he was diagnosed with a contusion on his face and will likely need a trip to the disabled list, according to team reports. It clearly upset deGrom, who came right off the mound and stood a few feet away watching as Mariners trainers turned him over and tended to his face. “Definitely,” deGrom said when asked if he had been rattled by it. “You never want to hit anybody in the face. It’s not easy to do that. I was trying to go inside there and it just sailed on me. I definitely feel bad about it. It was not easy to stay out there and reconcentrate.” DeGrom said he just watched as Haniger was helped off the field but could not say anything to him. He asked 3,000 for his career in Texas’ loss to Baltimore in Arlington.
INDIANS 5, WHITE SOX 4: Pinchhitter Brandon Guyer was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded and two outs in the ninth inning for the go-ahead run and visiting Cleveland won its ninth straight game, beating Chicago.
DIAMONDBACKS 7, CARDINALS 1: Paul Goldschmidt homered and drove in three runs, Zack Greinke pitched seven strong innings and visiting Arizona beat St. Louis.
TIGERS 5, ASTROS 3: Jose Iglesias hit clubhouse attendants
for an update and still seemed a little shaken by the incident after the game. “He settled back down,” d’Arnaud said. “We talked quick about just executing pitches after that. He knew he had to do it.”
Still, that hit-batter loaded the bases and deGrom seemed to stay on the outside against the next hitter, Jarrod Dyson. He hung a slider that the Mariners’ center fielder hit for a two-run single.
DeGrom got through four more innings and pitched well even though he took his first loss since June 6. But it was weighing on his mind.
“I just think, knowing that it wasn’t on purpose. You know I tried to go inside and one got away from me,” deGrom said of trying to refocus. “It’s not easy to forget about. I don’t know.”
Haniger was the second batter deGrom has hit with a pitch this season and just the eighth over 96 starts in his career. two RBI doubles and Matt Boyd pitched into the seventh inning, leading the host Tigers to the victory.
MARLINS 7, REDS 3: Adam Conley won consecutive starts for the first time this season, Christian Yelich hit a threerun homer and host Miami beat reeling Cincinnati.
ROCKIES 4, NATIONALS 2: German Marquez carried a perfect game into the sixth inning, Trevor Story homered and visiting Colorado beat Washington in a matchup of playoff contenders.
PHILLIES 4, BRAVES 3 (11): Ex-Met to score from second on Danny Valencia’s single to left when Conforto fired a bullet to nab him at home plate.
“He worked very, very hard at being a good outfielder. He’s an accurate thrower,” Mets manager Terry Collins said. “He’s got a good arm. He’s worked hard on his routes. He doesn’t go a day where in batting practice he doesn’t take fly balls and work at things. He’s gotten better.”
Conforto said that was a focus last winter, because he knew without a guaranteed spot on the roster, he needed to keep every outfield option open.
“Being able to play center field, right field. Being more flexible,” Conforto said. “I think it just helps me stay out on the field/ I can play all three outfield positions so there is nothing holding me back.”
The Seattle native also drove in a run on Saturday. Ty Kelly singled home the winning run with two outs in the 11th inning to lift host Philadelphia to a comeback victory.
CUBS 2, BREWERS 1: Jason Heyward homered in the 11th inning, and visiting Chicago beat Milwaukee to strengthen their hold on first place in the NL Central.
STEP FORWARD FOR KERSHAW: Clayton Kershaw played catch for the second day in a row Saturday, giving the Los Angeles Dodgers another positive sign that he is closer to pitching again than they originally speculated. —AP