Velazquez lifts Royals past Rays in the 11th
Nelson Velazquez homered and drove in the go-ahead run with a double as the Kansas City Royals beat the Tampa Bay Rays 7-4 in 11 innings on Saturday afternoon in St. Petersburg, Fla.
The Royals pushed their winning streak to a season-high eight games, while Tampa Bay lost its sixth in a row.
Kansas City scored three runs in the top of the 11th to put the game away after giving away three earlier leads.
In the top of the 11th, Velazquez drove in automatic runner Freddy Fermin with a double to center and scored on Adam Frazier’s infield single. Maikel Garcia added on with an RBI single.
The Royals had gone ahead 4-3 in the top of the 10th on Vinnie Pasquantino’s sacrifice fly to left, but the Rays tied it for a third time in the bottom of the inning when Jonny DeLuca doubled to left to score Harold Ramirez.
Athletics 3, Astros 1
JP Sears combined with four relievers on a four-hitter, Brent Rooker continued his hot month of May with a tworun double and Oakland finally got a win over visiting Houston.
Sears (4-3), who held the Astros to one run in five innings to record a nodecision last week in Houston, allowed just one unearned run over six innings in the rematch. He limited the visitors to two hits and one walk on Saturday, striking out one.
Houston’s only run came in the sixth and was gift-wrapped thanks to an inning-opening, two-base throwing error by A’s shortstop Max Schuemann. Two fly balls – the first a flyout, the second a sacrifice fly to right by Kyle Tucker – brought home Mauricio Dubon to get the Astros within 2-1.
Sears had pitched with a lead ever since the bottom of the first, when Abraham Toro singled on Spencer Arrighetti’s fourth pitch of the game and took second on a walk to JJ Bleday.
Rooker, who entered the game with 19 RBIs in 21 games in May, then ripped his double into the left field corner, sending both baserunners home.
Giants 7, Mets 2, 10 innings
Brett Wisely had three hits, including a tiebreaking RBI single leading off the 10th inning, as visiting San Francisco mounted another late-inning comeback to defeat New York in the middle game of a three-game series.
Patrick Bailey had an RBI single in the sixth and LaMonte Wade Jr. tied the score with a run-scoring single in the ninth for the Giants, who have won four straight, all after trailing in the eighth inning or later.
Wisely’s 10th-inning single against Sean Reid-Foley (1-2) scored automatic runner Curt Casali. Bailey ended up walking with the bases loaded, and Mike Yastrzemski laced a three-run triple two outs later.
Luke Jackson (3-1) earned the win with a hitless ninth.
Starling Marte belted his sixth homer of the season in the second and Brett Baty hit a tiebreaking solo shot in the seventh for the Mets, who have lost five in a row and are 6-16 this month.
Twins 5, Rangers 3
Alex Kirilloff blasted a three-run homer in the bottom of the eighth inning to help Minnesota rally for a win against Texas in the second game of their threegame series Saturday afternoon in Minneapolis, Minn.
Twins starter Chris Paddack allowed two runs and four hits in five innings. He struck out three and did not walk a batter.
Cole Sands (2-0) threw two innings of scoreless relief before Jhoan Duran pitched the ninth for his sixth save for the Twins, who have won four in a row following a seven-game losing streak.
Rangers starter Michael Lorenzen allowed one run and three hits over six innings. He struck out four and walked three.
Ezequiel Duran homered and Leody Taveras had two hits and an RBI for Texas, which has lost six in a row.
Nationals 3, Mariners 1
Four Washington relievers combined for four hitless innings as the Nationals defeated visiting Seattle, sending the Mariners to their season-worst fourth consecutive loss.
Dylan Floro (1-0) got the victory and Kyle Finnegan pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his 14th save.
Keibert Ruiz went 2 for 2 with a double and an RBI and also scored a run for the Nationals.
Washington broke a 1-all tie in the bottom of the seventh inning. With one out, Jesse Winker grounded a single to center field off reliever Gabe Speier (0-2) and stole second.
Ruiz singled on a shallow fly ball to left, advancing Winker to third.
Brewers 6, Red Sox 3
Milwaukee received a solo home run from Brice Turang and scored five runs in the third inning en route to a road victory in Boston.
Turang’s homer, his third of the season, came against Zack Kelly and increased Milwaukee’s lead to 6-2 in the eighth.
The five-run third featured two doubles, three singles and a walk.
After Christian Yelich doubled and Willy Adames drew a walk, the Brewers received RBI singles from Jake Bauers, Gary Sanchez and Sal Frelick to build a 3-0 lead. Joey Ortiz followed with a tworun double that drove in Sanchez and Frelick to increase the lead to 5-0.
Six consecutive batters reached base with two outs.
All five runs were scored against Boston starting pitcher Nick Pivetta (2-3), who exited the mound with one out in the fourth. He gave up seven hits, struck out three and walked three.
Pirates 4, Braves 1
Mitch Keller was effective through 62⁄3 innings and Nick Gonzales extended his hitting streak to six games with an RBI double to help Pittsburgh to a win against visiting Atlanta.
Keller (6-3) allowed one run on six hits to go along with no walks and four strikeouts to earn his first career win against Atlanta, improving to 1-3. David Bednar tossed a scoreless ninth for his 11th save of the year.
Braves starter Reynaldo Lopez (2-2) went 42⁄3 innings, allowing three runs (two earned) and five hits. He walked one and fanned three. Lopez’s night came to an end when the game went into a rain delay that lasted nearly 30 minutes in the bottom of the fifth.
Atlanta has lost two in a row and seven of its past 10 games.
After the Braves tied things at 1 in the top of the fourth, the Pirates quickly regained the lead.
Tigers 2, Blue Jays 1
Kerry Carpenter hit a two-run homer, Reese Olson recorded his first win this season in his 10th start, and host Detroit topped Toronto.
Carpenter also blasted a two-run homer in Detroit’s win over the Blue Jays on Friday, which snapped a fivegame losing streak.
Olson (1-5) was forced to leave his previous start at Kansas City with a right hip contusion after being struck by a line drive. He limited the Blue Jays to one unearned run and three hits in 61⁄3 innings.
Tyler Holton pitched the ninth for his first save this season and second of his career.
Blue Jays starter Jose Berrios (5-4) allowed two runs and seven hits while striking out five in seven innings. Davis Schneider drove in their lone run with a double.
Orioles 5, White Sox 3
Baltimore’s Ryan O’Hearn, Anthony Santander and Jordan Westburg homered in the eighth inning as the Orioles rallied for a victory against host Chicago.
The three-homer barrage across a five-batter stretch created a stunning turnaround after the Orioles had only three singles entering the eighth.
Chicago starter Erick Fedde pitched 61⁄3 shutout innings and Gavin Sheets smacked a two-out, bases-loaded triple in the fifth inning for the team’s only runs. The White Sox lost for the eighth time in nine games and will try to avoid getting swept in the four-game series Sunday.
Starting pitcher Albert Suarez pitched four shutout innings in his longest Baltimore stint since April.
Orioles reliever Keegan Akin gave up the runs in the fifth in his only inning of work, while Dillon Tate (2-0) was the winner by going 21⁄3 shutout innings.
Reds 3, Dodgers 1
Spencer Steer hit a first-inning home run for the second consecutive day and Hunter Greene worked six strong innings as Cincinnati earned a victory over visiting Los Angeles.
Will Benson also hit a home run as the Reds won consecutive games for the first time since April 23-24 against the Philadelphia Phillies. Cincinnati evened the season series with Los Angeles 3-3 with the finale Sunday.
Greene (3-2), a Los Angeles-area native, gave up one run on five hits over six innings with one walk and five strikeouts. He worked out of multiple jams, including a bases-loaded situation with nobody out in the second inning while only giving up one run.
Shohei Ohtani tripled for the Dodgers with one out in the sixth inning against Greene but was left stranded. Ohtani also struck out three times for the second time this season as Los Angeles dropped four consecutive games for the first time.
Los Angeles right-hander Walker Buehler (1-2) gave up three runs on six hits over 52⁄3 innings with one walk and four strikeouts.
Cardinals 7, Cubs 6
Brendan Donovan hit a go-ahead two-run single in the eighth as St. Louis edged visiting Chicago for its ninth victory in 11 games.
Lars Nootbaar went 3-for-5 with an RBI triple for St. Louis. Masyn Winn went 2-for-4 with an RBI to extend his hitting streak to 14 games.
Cardinals starting pitcher Miles Mikolas allowed three runs on four hits in six innings. He struck out six and walked two.
Reliever JoJo Romero (2-0) earned the victory, and Ryan Helsley notched his 16th save despite giving up two runs and four hits in the ninth.
Nico Hoerner smacked a two-run double for the Cubs, who lost for the eighth time in 11 games.
Yankees 4, San Diego 1
Aaron Judge crushed his 17th home run and Marcus Stroman pitched six scoreless innings as visiting New York ran its winning streak to five games, knocking off San Diego.
Judge, who has 11 homers in May, pulled into a tie for the major league lead with his two-run shot in the first inning. He also doubled and scored twice as the Yankees won for the 11th time in 13 games.
Stroman (4-2), fresh off his longest start of the season at 71⁄3 innings, lowered his ERA to 2.76. He surrendered three hits and walked one with five strikeouts.
Fernando Tatis Jr. broke up the shutout bid with one out in the eighth with a home run to center field, just out of the reach of Judge. It came against righthander Luke Weaver, who walked the next batter but got two groundouts to end the inning. Weaver walked two in his two innings.
Clay Holmes pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his 15th save in 17 chances.
Phillies 8, Rockies 4
Bryce Harper homered in a six-run ninth inning as Philadelphia rallied to beat Colorado in Denver.
Harper, who was ejected from Friday night’s game in the first inning, responded Saturday with two hits and four RBIs as Philadelphia avoided losing consecutive games for the third time this season.
The Phillies are 18-4 in May and 30-7 since mid-April.
Kyle Schwarber had three hits, Garrett Stubbs and Alec Bohm had two hits each and Jose Ruiz (1-0) picked up the win in relief for Philadelphia.
Colorado led 3-2 after eight innings but Jalen Beeks walked Brandon Marsh leading off the ninth. Edmundo Sosa greeted reliever Justin Lawrence (1-3) with a triple to right to tie it and Stubbs singled to put Philadelphia ahead.
Guardians 4, Angels 3
Cleveland got another home run from Jose Ramirez and a steady performance on the mound from Tanner Bibee to win their eighth game in a row, beating Los Angeles in Anaheim, Calif.
Ramirez, who homered twice on Friday, hit a two-run homer in the third to cap a four-run frame on Saturday. That was all the Guardians would need to win for the 11th time in their past 12 games.
Bibee gave up a three-run homer to Angels left fielder Taylor Ward in the bottom of the third, but he shut Los Angeles out for the rest of his outing. Bibee (3-1) got through six innings, allowing the three runs on six hits and one walk. He struck out six.
Cade Smith (seventh inning), Hunter Gaddis (eighth) and Emmanuel Clase (ninth) held the Angels in check the rest of the way. Clase recorded his 16th save of 2024.
Ramirez finished 2-for-4 and has now hit safely in 10 of his past 11 games.
Diamondbacks 3, Marlins 2
Christian Walker went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI and a run and Eugenio Suarez also had two hits and scored a run to lead Arizona over Miami in Phoenix.
Jordan Montgomery (3-2) picked up the win allowing two runs on nine hits in six innings. He walked one and struck out four. Paul Sewald pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to notch his fourth save for the Diamondbacks, who won for the third time in the last four games.
Jake Burger went 3-for-4 with a double and a run and Jazz Chisholm Jr. had a double and an RBI for Miami. Sixto Sanchez (0-3) picked up the loss, allowing three runs on five hits and two walks over five innings. He struck out two.
Miami jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Dane Myers led off with a double into the right field corner and scored one out later on a single by Josh Bell.
Arizona answered with two runs in the bottom of the first. Corbin Carroll led off with a walk, stole second and scored two outs later on a double by Walker. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. then then drove in Walker with a line-drive double off the fence in center field.