Cease’s 12 strikeouts help Padres blank Cubs
Dylan Cease pitched seven shutout innings of one-hit ball and the San Diego Padres got a few timely hits in their 3-0 win against the host Chicago Cubs on Wednesday.
With the win, the Padres took the series over the Cubs, 2-1. They also won a three-game series against Chicago last month.
Cease (5-2) racked up 12 strikeouts and gave up two walks in a masterful effort. The Cubs were retired in order in four of the seven innings Cease pitched, including two instances where he struck out the side.
It marked the fifth time in Cease’s last six outings where he gave up one or fewer earned runs.
Chicago got its lone hit in the third inning, when Yan Gomes got an infield single. Nico Hoerner was hit by a pitch shortly after, giving the Cubs two baserunners for the only time in the game, but Mike Tauchman flied out to end the inning.
Dodgers 3, Marlins 1
Gavin Stone went seven strong innings, Teoscar Hernandez had a home run with three RBIs and Los Angeles extended its winning streak to seven games with a victory over visiting Miami.
The Dodgers pulled off a perfect 6-0 homestand with series sweeps over the Atlanta Braves and Marlins, while also winning for the 14th time in their last 16 games. The visit home was a far cry from Los Angeles’ previous 3-6 homestand that included three consecutive series defeats.
Bryan De La Cruz hit a home run among his two hits and Ryan Weathers gave up three runs over six innings as the Marlins went 1-5 on a six-game road trip that also included a stop at Oakland.
After the Marlins scored first in the opening two games of the series, only to lose each contest, the Dodgers got the scoring started Wednesday. Freddie Freeman had a two-out single in the first inning, went to second on a balk and third on a wild pitch before scoring on a Hernandez single.
The Marlins tied it in the fourth inning on De La Cruz’s home run, his second in four at-bats after also hitting one in Tuesday’s game. It was his eighth of the season.
Blue Jays 5, Phillies 3
Vladimir Guererro Jr. and Kevin Kiermaier each had three hits to lift Toronto past host Philadelphia.
Davis Schneider added two hits and an RBI, while Kiermaier drove in two runs, and Guerrero and Bo Bichette hit RBI singles for the Blue Jays.
Blue Jays starter Chris Bassitt (3-5) gave up three hits and two runs with six strikeouts and two walks in 61⁄3 innings.
Jordan Romano gave up one run in the ninth but earned his fifth save.
The Phillies, who had their 11-game home winning streak snapped, had seven hits. Philadelphia also saw its sevengame overall winning streak come to an end.
Guardians 5, Tigers 4, 10 innings
Brayan Rocchio delivered a gamewinning single in the 10th inning as host Cleveland defeated Detroit.
The Guardians rallied for the win with single runs in each of the last three innings.
After Detroit failed to score in the top of the 10th, Tyler Freeman advanced automatic runner Ramon Laureano to third with a sacrifice. Rocchio then singled to center on the first pitch from Alex Lang for the walk-off win.
David Fry hit a game-tying home run in the ninth as the Guardians took two of three games in the series. Austin Hedges added a two-run single, while Kyle Manzardo singled in the seventh for his first major league hit.
Emmanuel Clase (2-1) picked up the win by pitching a scoreless 10th. Starter Tanner Bibee gave up four runs on five hits in four innings and struck out five.
Athletics 9, Rangers 4, Game 1 Rangers 12, Athletics 11, Game 2
Shea Langeliers and Brent Rooker each homered while combining for six hits and eight RBIs, propelling Oakland over the Texas in the opener of a doubleheader.
Brett Harris also homered and the Oakland bullpen held the Rangers scoreless over the final 52⁄3 innings, helping the A’s snap a three-game losing streak.
Seeking a third straight win in the series and a fifth in a row overall, the Rangers led twice, including 4-2 in the fourth when Leody Taveras smacked his second homer of the season, a two-run shot off Oakland starter JP Sears (3-2).
But the A’s did the rest of the scoring, starting with a game-tying, two-run double by Langeliers in the bottom of the fourth.
The Oakland catcher earlier hit a two-run homer, his eighth, off Rangers starter Michael Lorenzen (2-2) to give the hosts a brief 2-1 lead in the second.
In the nightcap, Adolis Garcia, Josh Smith and Jonah Heim had consecutive RBI hits in a three-run eighth inning that helped the Rangers outlast the Athletics and salvage a split of their doubleheader.
Getting home runs from Langeliers, his second of the day, and Tyler Soderstrom, the A’s hung within 7-6 in the nightcap before Texas jumped on Oakland’s fourth pitcher, Kyle Muller, in the decisive eighth.
A pair of walks put two on with one out before Garcia doubled in a run, Smith singled in a second and Heim singled in a third, helping the Rangers extend the lead to 10-6.
Evan Carter and Nathaniel Lowe produced insurance runs in the ninth with RBI singles, allowing the Rangers to survive a four-run uprising by the A’s in the last of the inning that had the potential tying and winning runs aboard when Kirby Yates got Tyler Nevin to fly out.
Royals 6, Brewers 4
Bobby Witt Jr. homered to lead Kansas City past visiting Milwaukee in the rubber game of their three-game set.
Witt led off the eighth inning with his fifth homer – and first since April 11. He scored three times and leads the majors with 36 runs scored.
After Milwaukee opened the game with back-to-back doubles by Brice Turang and William Contreras for an early 1-0 lead, Kansas City also began its half of the frame with a pair of doubles.
Maikel Garcia doubled to left leading off the first, then center fielder Blake Perkins slipped and fell while chasing Witt’s double to right-center. Garcia and Witt scored on sacrifice flies by Vinnie Pasquantino and Michael Massey for a 2-1 lead.
The Royals managed just one additional hit against Joe Ross (1-4) over the next four innings. He exited after opening the sixth with a walk to Witt, who scored on Massey’s second sacrifice fly, increasing the Royals’ advantage to 3-1.
Angels 5, Pirates 4
Willie Calhoun hit a sacrifice fly to cap a three-run rally in the sixth that lifted Los Angeles over host Pittsburgh.
Calhoun plated Logan O’Hoppe, whose run-scoring single preceded Brandon Drury’s RBI double.
Los Angeles’ bullpen took care of the rest, with Adam Cimber (3-0) striking out the side in the sixth, Matt Moore fanning two in 11⁄3 clean innings, and Luis Garcia getting the last two outs of the eighth.
Carlos Estevez proceeded to work a 12-3 ninth for his sixth save as the Angels captured the rubber match of the threegame series. Angels pitchers struck out 13.
Pittsburgh failed to hang on to a 4-2 edge that it generated in the home half of the fifth.
Diamondbacks 4, Reds 3
Jordan Montgomery allowed just two runs over seven innings and Gabriel Moreno drove in the go-ahead run to lead visiting Arizona past Cincinnati.
Eugenio Suarez homered against his former team and collected two hits while Moreno also added two hits for the Diamondbacks, who won their third straight.
Montgomery (2-2) scattered seven hits, striking out two and walking two, to end a personal two-game skid.
Facing Arizona closer Kevin Ginkel in the ninth, pinch-hitter Jake Fraley worked a leadoff walk. Jeimer Candelario singled before TJ Friedl drove home Fraley to make it 4-3. Left-hander Joe Mantiply was called on to record the final two outs.
The third pinch hitter of the inning, Will Benson, was called out on a checkswing third strike before Jonathan India flied out to deep right to end the game, giving Mantiply his first save in two chances this year and his third career save.
Yankees 9, Astros 4
Juan Soto hit a two-run homer two batters into the bottom of the first inning and finished with five RBIs as host New York continued its recent success against Houston.
Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton added solo shots as the Yankees won their fifth straight and beat the Astros for the ninth consecutive time. New York is 6-0 in the season series that ends Thursday and is 11-2 against Houston since the start of last season.
Soto hit a 440-foot homer into the back off the Houston bullpen beyond the left field fence when he connected against Houston rookie Spencer Arrighetti’s first-pitch fastball to give the Yankees a 2-1 lead. It was his ninth home run of the season.
Judge lined a 404-foot drive into the right-center-field seats to open the third for a 4-1 lead, his eighth long ball of the year. Two batters later, Stanton lifted a 1-2 curveball into the second deck in left field for a 447-foot drive to left, also his eighth homer.
It was the first time this season the trio homered in the same game.
Braves 5, Red Sox 0
Chris Sale threw six shutout innings and Marcell Ozuna hit two home runs to lead Atlanta over visiting Boston and sweep their two-game series.
Sale (5-1) scattered six hits, walked one and struck out a season-high 10 batters against his former team. The Red Sox were 0-for-6 with runners on base and left seven runners on base against Sale, whose scoreless outing was saved in the sixth when left fielder Jarred Kelenic reached over the wall to take away a homer from Garrett Cooper.
Ozuna was 2-for-3 with a walk, scored two runs and hit his 11th and 12th home runs of the season, most in the majors. Ozuna drove in four runs and leads the majors with 38 RBIs. It was Ozuna’s second multi-homer game of the season.
Atlanta got two scoreless innings from Dylan Lee. Ray Kerr threw a perfect ninth inning in his Atlanta debut.
Boston starter Nick Pivetta (1-2) was not sharp in his return from the injured list with an elbow flexor strain. In his first start since April 3, Pivetta pitched four innings and gave up five runs on seven hits, walking one and striking out one.
Twins 6, Mariners 3
Willi Castro went 2-for-3 with a triple, a homer and two RBIs, and Minnesota pulled away for a win over Seattle in Minneapolis.
Carlos Correa and Trevor Larnach each added solo home runs for the Twins. Minnesota has won two of its first three games against Seattle entering Thursday afternoon’s series finale.
Mitch Garver went 2-for-3 with a solo homer for the Mariners. Cal Raleigh finished 1-for-4 with a double and two RBIs.
Twins right-hander Chris Paddack (4-1) held the Mariners to one run on eight hits in 5 1/3 innings. He walked one and struck out 10, which matched his season high.
Mariners right-hander George Kirby (3-3) allowed four runs on four hits, including three home runs, in five innings. He walked one and struck out four.
White Sox 4, Rays 1
Paul DeJong hit his second home run in as many games as Chicago salvaged a game in its three-game series, beating Tampa Bay in St. Petersburg, Fla.
In a 2-for-4 outing, the shortstop socked a two-run homer in the fifth off Rays starter Aaron Civale (2-3), and the White Sox tacked on two more in the sixth to snap their two-game losing skid.
Chicago’s Bryan Ramos (double) and Tommy Pham had two hits and an RBI apiece. Andrew Vaughn and Andrew Benintendi each had two hits with a double.
Chris Flexen (2-3) allowed one run on three hits in six innings to beat the Rays for the second time in two weeks. He fanned eight and walked one.
White Sox closer Michael Kopech allowed a single in the ninth but got a double play to end it for his third save in four chances.
Orioles 7, Nationals 6, 12 innings
Jorge Mateo singled home the goahead run in the 12th inning and visiting Baltimore beat Washington after blowing two-run leads in the ninth and 11th innings.
Mateo led off with a single against Jordan Weems (1-1) that scored Jordan Westburg. Mateo ended up on third via two Washington throwing errors on the play and scored on a wild pitch to make it 7-5.
Albert Suarez (2-0) pitched two innings for the win and Jacob Webb picked up his second save of the season despite allowing Luis Garcia, Jr.’s runscoring double in the 12th.
Ryan Mountcastle hit a two-run homer off Hunter Harvey in the top of the 11th to give the Orioles a 5-3 lead.
In the bottom half, Eddie Rosario walked with one out. Ildemaro Vargas smacked a ground-rule double, scoring automatic runner Joey Meneses but forcing Rosario to stop at third. Jacob Young flied to medium right and Rosario beat the throw home to tie it 5-5.
Giants 8, Rockies 6
Michael Conforto homered among his three hits, Blake Sabol also had three hits, and San Francisco beat Colorado in Denver.
Matt Chapman and Mike Yastrzemski had two hits each for San Francisco, which has won two straight after dropping four in a row.
Elias Diaz homered and singled, Sean Bouchard had three hits and Charlie Blackmon and Jordan Beck had two hits apiece for the Rockies, who have lost four in a row.
The Giants jumped on Colorado starter Peter Lambert in the second. Conforto hit the first pitch of the inning over the scoreboard in right field to start the rally. It was his sixth homer of the season.
Chapman, Yastrzemski and Heliot Ramos followed with singles to bring home another run and put runners on first and third.