Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Gallo homers, leaves with injury in Rangers’ win over Royals
ARLINGTON, Texas — Joey Gallo hit a tie-breaking home run for the second straight game before leaving in the fifth inning due to injury as the Texas Rangers beat the Kansas City Royals 6-2 Saturday.
Gallo was removed because of tightness in his left oblique while batting. He initially felt the injury while in the outfield and then again on a check swing during a plate appearance. He will undergo treatment and further evaluation.
Lance Lynn (7-4) allowed both runs. He yielded six hits and a hit batter, striking out seven for his fifth straight quality start.
The Rangers have won four of five, improved to 19-9 at home and moved two games over .500 at 29-27.
Gallo broke a scoreless tie in the fourth inning, hitting a 1-0 pitch from Homer Bailey (4-6) over the home bullpen in right-center for his 17th homer of the season, good enough for a tie with four others for the American League lead. On Friday night, Gallo hit a grand slam in the sixth inning in a 6-2 win over the Royals.
Bailey gave up four runs on six hits and two walks in 32/3 innings for his fourth straight start without a victory. He allowed only a first-inning single to Nomar Mazara before Hunter Pence led off the fourth with an opposite-field ground single to right ahead of Gallo’s homer.
The Royals have lost five of their last six games and have the worst road record in the majors at 8-22. Kansas City left seven runners on base and was 2 for 11 with runners in scoring position.
Martin Maldonado and Cam Gallagher, who replaced Maldonado behind the plate in the sixth inning, had RBI doubles. Maldonado was pulled as a precaution with right forearm tightness.
Pence and Kansas City’s Whit Merrifield each had two hits for the second straight game.
TWINS 6, RAYS 2 Marwin Gonzalez and Byron Buxton both homered and drove in two runs as the Minnesota Twins kept scoring, beating the Tampa Bay Rays. Minnesota, which owns the best record in the majors at 39-18, has scored at least three runs in 25 straight games, setting a single-season franchise record.
INDIANS 5, WHITE SOX 2 Carlos Santana and Leonys Martin homered and the Cleveland Indians took advantage of a White Sox blunder on the bases to end Chicago’s five-game streak with a victory. The Indians climbed back to .500 and prevented the White Sox from reaching the break-even mark for the first time since April 5.
YANKEES 5, RED SOX 3 Gary Sánchez hit a tiebreaking, two-run homer in the fifth inning, Aroldis Chapman escaped trouble in the ninth and the New York Yankees bullpen held tight again to beat the Boston Red Sox. After starter Domingo Germán was chased early, six Yankee relievers combined for 51/3 scoreless innings to lock down another victory over the rival Red Sox — New York is 4-0 to start the season series, a first since 2012. ANGELS 6, MARINERS 3 Kole Calhoun and Mike Trout homered late, Andrew Heaney struck out 10 and the Los Angeles Angels overcame two home runs by Edwin Encarnacion and beat the Seattle Mariners. Calhoun’s second home run of the series broke a 3-3 tie and helped overcome Encarnacion’s 34th multi-home run game. The Mariners’ designated hitter tied the game in the sixth inning with a two-run shot, his second of the game and 15th this season.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
NATIONALS 5, REDS 2 Gerardo Parra hit a three-run homer that ended Tanner Roark’s streak of keeping the ball in the park and Matt Adams added a solo shot, leading the Washington Nationals to a victory over the Cincinnati Reds in a stadium where they’ve dominated. Washington has won nine of its last 10 at Great American Ball Park. Overall, the Nationals are 17-5 against the Reds since 2016. BREWERS 12, PIRATES 10, 13 INNINGS Orlando Arcia hit his second homer of the game, a two-run drive in the 13th inning that sent the Milwaukee Brewers over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Both teams blew late leads before Arcia connected with two outs off Alex McRae (0-1) for his first multi-homer game in the majors. Hours earlier, Arcia hit a two-run homer in the second.
INTERLEAGUE
GIANTS 8, ORIOLES 2 Brandon Belt drove in four runs, Buster Posey homered and the San Francisco Giants used a rare offensive outburst to breeze past the Baltimore Orioles. San Francisco built a 7-1 lead in the fifth inning and cruised to only its second win in 10 games. The Giants came in ranked last in the NL with a .221 batting average and had scored as many as seven runs only once in their previous 19 games.
BRAVES 10, TIGERS 5 Mike Soroka won his sixth straight decision and showed some baserunning flair, Freddie Freeman and Austin Riley each hit a two-run homer, and the Atlanta Braves snapped a three-game skid with a victory over the Detroit Tigers. Soroka (6-1) scuffled a bit, at least compared to the high standard he set this season, allowing season highs of three runs and seven hits and striking out five in 62/3 innings. He began the game with a 1.07 ERA that, according to the Elias Sports Bureau, was the third-best since 1913 by a pitcher 21 or younger in his first eight starts.