LAMB HOMERS TWICE AS D-BACKS ROUT REDS 12-2 TO WIN SERIES
CINCINNATI» Jake Lamb hit a pair of threerun homers and Patrick Corbin pitched into the eighth inning during an emergency start Thursday, leading the Diamondbacks to a 12-2 victory over the Reds.
Arizona stabilized itself by taking two of three in the series. The Diamondbacks had dropped eight of nine heading into the set, falling behind Colorado for the second National League wild-card spot.
Lamb homered in the first inning off Luis Castillo (1-3) and again in the ninth for a career-high six RBIs. Gregor Blanco and Ketel Marte added two-run shots as the Diamondbacks concluded a wacky series.
They won the opener 11-2 while getting outfielder J.D. Martinez in a trade with Detroit. A day later, Martinez got hit on the left hand by a pitch in his Diamondbacks debut and left with a bruise. He didn’t play in the finale.
Scheduled starter Taijuan Walker was scratched after his wife, Heather, went into labor Thursday morning. Corbin (7-9) was moved up a day and wound up with his first victory since June 16. The left-hander had gone 0-3 in his last five starts.
THURSDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS
Justin Smoak hit a pair of homers and Steve Pearce drove in two runs when Boston second baseman Brock Holt lost his popup in the sun, and the Blue Jays held on to beat the Red Sox 8-6. The teams split the four-game series. Including the 15-inning game Tuesday with Toronto, the America League East-leading Red Sox played 76 innings in about 144 hours — the equivalent of 8½ games in six days. Dominic Leone (2-0) earned the win. Starter Francisco Liriano got just five outs, allowing three runs in the second, but Toronto came back with four in the third to take a 5-3 lead against Doug Fister (0-4). Roberto Osuna pitched the ninth for his 24th save. Smoak has 26 homers this season. His previous career high was 20, in 2013. … Gregory Polanco homered, Chris Stewart added three hits and the Pirates completed a four-game sweep of the NL Central-leading Brewers with a 4-2 victory. The Pirates have won 11-of-13 and moved within three games of the Brewers. Milwaukee has lost five straight. Polanco hit a solo shot off Jimmy Nelson (8-5) in the fourth inning, his ninth homer. Stewart scored the go-ahead run in the fifth on a single by Josh Harrison. Jameson Taillon (6-3) struck out a season-high eight in 5L innings. … Cardinals pitcher Trevor Rosenthal was late covering first base on a two-out grounder by Jose Reyes that turned into a game-winning single in the ninth inning, lifting the Mets over St. Louis 3-2. A leadoff walk and T.J. Rivera’s single put runners on the corners with two outs. Reyes then hit a grounder up the first-base line, and Matt Carpenter fielded it cleanly well behind the bag. … Jonathan Schoop and Adam Jones both homered and drove in three runs, and the Orioles rallied to beat Cole Hamels and the Rangers 9-7 to complete a four-game sweep. … Brandon Moss drove in four runs, Mike Moustakas had three RBIs and the Royals routed the error-prone Tigers 16-4. Eric Hosmer and Whit Merrifield homered for the Royals, who moved within 1½ games of first-place Cleveland in the AL Central. The 16 runs and 19 hits were season highs for Kansas City.