Braves slug 4 homers, defeat Pirates to run winning streak to 11
Adam Duvall homered twice off Jose Quintana, William Contreras and Matt Olson also connected, and the Atlanta Braves won their 11th straight game, 5-3 over the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday.
The defending World Series champion Braves began the day having trimmed five games off the New York Mets’ division lead since the winning streak started June 1. They are 5½ games back in the NL East.
This stretch is Atlanta’s best since it won 14 in a row from July 26 to Aug. 9, 2013. During the streak, Atlanta has outscored opponents 74-30 with 22 homers. The pitching staff has a 2.32 ERA over the same span.
It’s been equally fun for Duvall, who has mostly scuffled this season with a .206 batting average, six homers and a .614 OPS. Last year, Duvall led the NL with 113 RBIs and was second with 38 homers.
He has seven extra-base hits over his past four games.
“We’re playing good baseball and getting some timely hits is key, so it feels good,“he said.
Pittsburgh has lost a seasonhigh six straight games, including four against the Braves. The Pirates were swept for the fifth time this season.
Diamondbacks 13, Phillies 1:
Christian Walker had three hits and three RBIs, Jake McCarthy homered and Arizona ended host Philadelphia’s ninegame winning streak, giving interim manager Rob Thomson his first loss.
Yankees 18, Cubs 4: Matt Carpenter homered twice and tied his career high with seven RBIs, powering New York to complete a weekend sweep of visiting Chicago for its 11th win in 12 games.
Brewers 4, Nationals 1: Willy Adames homered and drove in three runs, helping visiting Milwaukee snap an eight-game losing streak.
Milwaukee’s Craig Counsell tied Phil Garner for the most managerial victories in franchise history with 563.
Astros 9, Marlins 4: Justin Verlander earned his majorsleading eighth win, Jeremy Peña and Jose Altuve homered and host Houston snapped its three-game losing streak.
Rangers 8, White Sox 6: Jonah Heim hit a two-run single in the 12th and visiting Texas turned a double play on a ball hit to the warning track to end a win over Chicago.
Red Sox 2, Mariners 0: Rafael Devers hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning, spot starter Kutter Crawford and five relievers combined on a onehitter and Boston edged host Seattle.
Blue Jays 6, Tigers 0: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. homered, Ross Stripling pitched one-hit ball for six innings and visiting Toronto beat Detroit.
Reds 7, Cardinals 6: TJ Friedl hit a tie-breaking triple in the seventh inning and Tommy Pham added a solo homer as Cincinnati beat host St. Louis to snap a four-game losing streak.
Rays 6, Twins 0: Jeffrey Springs threw two-hit ball into the sixth inning, Randy Arozarena stole two bases after twice getting hit by pitches and visiting Tampa Bay beat Minnesota.
Rockies 4, Padres 2: Ryan McMahon hit a go-ahead, tworun double with two outs in the eighth and German Marquez pitched seven strong innings to lead visiting Colorado.
Orioles 10, Royals 7: Anthony Santander, Ryan Mountcastle and Rougned Odor hit solo home runs, leading visiting Baltimore past Kansas City.
Mets 4, Angels 1: Taijuan Walker struck out 10 over six innings and visiting New York beat Los Angeles.