Yankees’ Cole quiets Donaldson, Twins
Righthander Gerrit Cole pitched six sharp innings and Giancarlo Stanton hit two of the Yankees’ four home runs Wednesday as New York beat the host Minnesota Twins 96.
Cole (73) won for the first time in his past three starts, allowing solo homers to Jorge Polanco and Miguel Sano among five hits without a walk. Polanco hit a tworun shot in a fourrun ninth for the Twins.
Cole twice struck out Josh Donaldson, who recently questioned whether the threetime AllStar righthander and others have unfairly helped their cause with sticky substances on their fingers that cross the lines of even competition.
Aaron Judge and Miguel Andujar also took Minnesota starter Randy Dobnak (16) deep.
Dobnak, the former Uberdriving underdog who pitched in the playoffs at Yankee Stadium two years ago, surrendered career highs for runs (eight), homers (four) and walks (three) over 42 ⁄3 innings. Nationals 9, Rays 7: Starlin Castro drove in the go-ahead run in the 11th, then scored on a sacrifice fly as visiting Washington prepared for a fourgame series with the Giants by winning at Tampa Bay.
Astros 8, Red Sox 3: Jose Altuve and Alex Bregman homered to help visiting Houston’s Jake Odorizzi get his first win since Sept. 24, 2019, when he was with Minnesota.
Mets 14, Orioles 1: Kevin Pillar and Billy McKinney each homered twice as visiting New York beat Matt Harvey decisively for the second time this season.
Phillies 2, Braves 1: Rookie Luke Williams hit his first major-league home run, a two-run shot off Will Smith with two outs in the ninth inning, for host Philadelphia. Cubs 3, Padres 1: Joc Pederson and Sergio Alcantara homered and visiting Chicago beat former teammate Yu Darvish in San Diego. Dodgers 2, Pirates 1: Justin Turner hit two home runs and Los Angeles got 71⁄3 scoreless innings from its bullpen in Pittsburgh.
Reds 7, Brewers 3: Tyler Stephenson drove in three runs as host Cincinnati stopped Milwaukee’s five-game winning streak.
Rockies 4, Marlins 3: Raimel Tapia hit two doubles, singled and scored twice to help Colorado improve to 5-23 on the road.
Mariners 9, Tigers 6: Jake Fraley robbed Isaac Paredes of a game-ending homer in the ninth, then drove in the goahead run in the 11th for visiting Seattle.
Blue Jays 6, White Sox 2: Visiting Toronto took advantage of a season-high four errors by Chicago to beat the AL Central leader.
Cardinals 8, Indians 2: Tyler O’Neill hit two home runs and Adam Wainwright held Cleveland to three hits in seven innings as host St. Louis ended a six-game losing streak. Angels 6, Royals 1: Griffin Canning held Kansas City to one run in 62⁄3 innings for host Los Angeles, which won for the fourth time in five games.