Nats rally 3 times, shut door on Phils
A slugfest came down to a 34yearold pitcher trying to shut down the middle of the order for his first career save.
No problem for Paolo Espino.
Starlin Castro hit a goahead, tworun single off closer Hector Neris in the ninth inning, Espino got the final three outs and the visiting Washington Nationals rallied three times to beat the Philadelphia Phillies 1312 Wednesday.
Espino has 21 strikeouts and only three walks in 282⁄3 innings.
“I’ve been blessed my entire career with good command,” Espino said. “I throw strikes, attack hitters. That’s what I try to do.”
“Espino is pretty much our secret weapon,” Nationals manager Dave Martinez said. “He’s the one guy I know will go out there and pump strikes.”
It was the first majorleague game that featured a grand slam and threerun homer for each team.
Josh Bell answered Andrew McCutchen’s slam with his own as the Nats overcame deficits of 50, 95 and 1211.
Kyle Schwarber hit Washington’s threerun homer and Travis Jankowski had one for Philadelphia. The Phils’ Bryce Harper also went deep.
Astros 13, Orioles 0: Jose Altuve silenced the booing fans at Camden Yards with a two-run homer, Jose Urquidy pitched seven innings of threehit ball and Houston stretched its winning streak to 10 games, two short of the club record. Yordan Alvarez, Abraham Toro and Chas McCormick also homered for the Astros.
Yankees 6, Royals 5: Gary Sanchez homered off Greg Holland in the ninth inning, Luke Voit hit a winning double and host New York survived another blown save by Aroldis Chapman.
Rays 8, Red Sox 2: Austin Meadows, Mike Zunino and Brandon Lowe homered as host Tampa Bay ended a seven-game skid.
Mets 7, Braves 3: Francisco Lindor homered and drove in three runs, Michael Conforto jolted New York’s stagnant offense in his return from injury and the host Mets beat Atlanta. Braves right fielder Ronald Acuna Jr. was scratched because of a stiff lower back.
Blue Jays 3, Marlins 1: Robbie Ray tossed six innings of one-run ball as visiting Toronto won its fourth straight.
White Sox 4, Pirates 3: Yasmani Grandal hit a two-run double as visiting Chicago ended a five-game slide.
Tigers 6, Cardinals 2: Jonathan Schoop hit a solo homer and a two-run double to help host Detroit beat St. Louis. Rookie Matt Manning got his first major-league victory. The Cardinals have lost five of six.
Brewers 3, D’backs 2: Brandon Woodruff threw seven dominant innings and also had an RBI single at the plate to lead visiting Milwaukee.
Rockies 5, Mariners 2: Trevor Story homered twice, German Marquez took a perfect game into the sixth inning and Colorado beat Seattle for its sixth road victory this season.