Twins extend win streak to 12 with a 3-1 win over the Red Sox

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Pablo López struck out eight in six strong innings, Max Kepler homered and the Minnesota Twins extended their winning streak to 12 games with a 3-1 win over the Boston Red Sox on Saturday.

The Twins have the longest winning streak in the majors this season. Minnesota’s run matches the team’s winning streak from the late 1980s, which is the second-longest in Twins history. The club record for consecutive wins in 15, from June 1991, which is the last season Minnesota won the World Series.

Kepler and Willi Castro each had two hits, Carlos Correa had two RBIs and Cole Sands pitched a scoreless final inning for his second save.

Wilyer Abreu and Dominic Smith had two hits apiece for Boston, which has lost three straight games.

Kepler homered off Cam Booser (0-1) in the fourth inning. Booser was the third of five pitchers used in a bullpen game.

YANKEES 5, TIGERS 3

NEW YORK (AP) — Aaron Judge was ejected for the first time in his career in the seventh inning, Anthony Rizzo hit a three-run homer to cap a four-run third and New York beat Detroit.

Judge had two hits, including an RBI double to start New York’s rally in the third before getting ejected by plate umpire Ryan Blakney for arguing a called third strike. Judge thought a full count fastball by Tyler Holton was slightly outside and he was quickly tossed after looking back at Blakney.

Rizzo followed up his game-winning single by hitting a drive off Casey Mize (1-1) that banked off the side facing of the second deck in right field and caromed into the “Judge’s Chambers” to give New York a 5-1 lead.

Giancarlo Stanton hit an RBI single in the first when the Yankees got three straight two-out hits.

The Yankees won their second straight after dropping three of four in Baltimore when they scored six runs.

CUBS 6, BREWERS 5

CHICAGO (AP) — Nico Hoerner hit his first career lead-off home run, Christopher Morel hit his third homer in as many games and Patrick Wisdom sent one into the stands as the Chicago beat Milwaukee.

Chicago tied its first divisional series of the year at one apiece in manager Craig Counsell’s first series against his former team. Brewers manager Pat Murphy also returned to the dugout after serving a two-game suspension for his role in a brawl with Tampa Bay on Tuesday.

Milwaukee came within one twice late in the game. When Chicago’s Keegan Thompson replaced starter Jameson Taillon (3-0), up 4-0 after six strong innings, he walked Rhys Hoskins. Then Oliver Dunn hit a triple that sent Hoskins home. Blake Perkins homered the next at-bat.

Jackson Chourio singled before Counsell brought in Mark Leiter Jr. Sal Frelick then doubled on a ground ball to Mike Tauchman who tossed Dansby Swanson a tough throw he couldn’t collect. Chourio rounded the bases on the error, making the score 4-5.

Leiter cleaned it up in the eighth and Wisdom hit an RBI single in the bottom of the inning that sent Michael Busch home from third.

Héctor Neris came in to pitch the ninth inning and walked Blake Perkins. An RBI single by William Contreras scored Perkins to bring the score within one again. With the winning run on second, Tyler Black grounded into a forceout to end the game, sealing Neris’ sixth save of the season.

PIRATES 1, ROCKIES 0

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pinch-hitter Jack Suwinski singled home Connor Joe with two outs in the ninth inning to lift Pittsburgh to a victory over Colorado.

Joe led off the ninth against Nick Mears (0-3) with a single and eventually moved to third after walks to Jared Triolo and Oneil Cruz. Suwinski followed with a single to left as the Pirates snapped a five-game losing streak.

Jared Jones, Colin Holderman and David Bednar (2-2) combined for a one-hitter as the Pirates won for just the fourth time in their last 18 games. The Rockies managed just one baserunner, a double by Elias Diaz leading off the fifth.

The 22-year-old Jones has been a revelation during the season’s opening weeks, dominating opponents with a fastball that can reach triple digits offset by a slider and change-up that can leave opponents guessing.

The right-hander baffled the Rockies, retiring the first 12 batters he faced before Díaz laced a clean double to the left-field corner. A strikeout and a pair of balls that didn’t leave the infield later, Jones was jogging back to the dugout.

BLUE JAYS 6, NATIONALS 3

WASHINGTON (AP) — Kevin Gausman pitched 5 1/3 scoreless innings, Kevin Kiermaier hit a two-run homer in his return from the injured list and Toronto beat Washington to end a three-game losing streak.

Gausman (2-3) allowed three hits while striking out eight. He walked two batters in the first inning, but settled in and later retired 10 straight — seven by strikeout — before leaving after Luis García Jr.’s one-out single in the sixth.

Gausman has given up two earned runs in 24 innings while striking out 21 with five walks over his last four starts.

Danny Jansen and Daulton Varsho each had two hits for the Blue Jays, who had lost eight of 11. Kiermaier returned after missing nine games with left hip flexor inflammation and connected off Derek Law in the eighth inning for his first homer of the season.

CJ Abrams and García had two hits each for the Nationals, who had won six of eight and missed a chance to for a winning record for the first time since July 1, 2021 when they were 40-39.

Washington starter Jake Irvin (2-3) allowed four unearned runs on five hits over five innings.

GUARDIANS 7, ANGELS 1

CLEVELAND ( AP) — Bo Naylor hit his first career grand slam, Austin Hedges had his first homer since June 14 and Cleveland beat Los Angeles.

Naylor’s two-out blast in the sixth inning came off Angels starter Reid Detmers (3-3), who had loaded the bases on three walks. The four RBIs were a career high for the third-year catcher.

Hedges, batting .111 on the season, hit a two-run homer in the second. Ramón Laureano added a solo shot in the fourth for the Guardians, who have the second-best record in the American League at 21-12.

Cleveland left fielder Steven Kwan, who leads the AL with a .353 batting average, left the game after the third inning because of left hamstring tightness.

Ben Lively (1-1) went six innings, giving up one run on four hits while striking out five. The right-hander ended a nine-start winless streak that included four losses since beating Kansas City while pitching for Cincinnati on June 14.

WHITE SOX 6, CARDINALS 5, 10 INNINGS

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Tanner Banks came on after a three-hour rain delay to strike out pinch-hitter Iván Herrera in the bottom of the 10th inning, and Chicago beat St. Louis to snap a four-game losing streak.

Tommy Pham drove in the go-ahead run with a single in the top of the 10th and the White Sox were an out away in the bottom half when crew chief Dan Iassogna stopped play and called out the grounds crew after John Brebbia threw his first pitch to Nolan Gorman.

After the delay of 3 hours, 3 minutes, Banks came on and threw four pitches to get Herrera for his first save of the season.

Nolan Arenado singled to first to lead off the bottom of the 10th, and Alec Burleson reached first base on a fielder’s choice to load the bases. Brebbia then struck out Lars Nootbaar and Masyn Winn, who was batting when the downpour began.

Pham singled to left field off Ryan Fernandez (0-1) to drive in automatic runner Rafael Ortega in the top of the 10th.

ORIOLES 2, REDS 1

CINCINNATI (AP) — John Means pitched seven shutout innings in his season debut and Baltimore beat Cincinnati.

Means (1-0) underwent season-ending Tommy John surgery on April 27, 2022. He returned to make four starts last September before landing back on the IL with a left forearm strain to begin this season. Means made six rehab starts for Triple-A Norfolk before being reinstated on May 1.

The Orioles have won five of their past six games.

Like Cole Irvin the night before, Means kept Reds batters off balance with no walks and eight strikeouts.

A pair of solo home runs off Reds starter Andrew Abbott (1-4) gave the Orioles a 2-0 lead.

Jorge Mateo’s second homer of the season came in the fourth. Adley Rutschman, who had three hits, clubbed his fifth home run in the next inning.

The homers accounted for two of the seven hits Abbott allowed in five innings. He struck out eight with no walks.

MARINERS 5, ASTROS 0

HOUSTON (AP) — Logan Gilbert threw eight dominant innings, Luis Urías and Cal Raleigh homered and Seattle beat Houston.

Gilbert (3-0) allowed two hits and four walks and struck out six. He has allowed two runs or fewer in six of his seven starts The right-hander retired 16 of 17 at one point.

Urías hit a solo home run to center to lead off the fifth, and Raleigh added a two-run shot to left center in the sixth. Mitch Garver had an RBI double in the fourth, and Ty France scored on Raleigh’s double-play groundout in the second.

Astros starter Framber Valdez (1-1) allowed five runs on nine hits with three strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings. Hehad allowed three runs or fewer in each of his previous three starts.

Yordan Alvarez had two infield singles, and Jeremy Peña singled for Houston’s only hits.

RAYS 3, METS 1

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Pinch hitter Austin Shenton’s bases-loaded walk scored a tiebreaking run in the eighth inning and Tampa Bay beat New York.

Adam Ottavino (1-1) was on the verge of getting out of a bases-loaded jam with one out in the eighth after shortstop Francisco Lindor made a leaping throw to home for a force-out at the plate on Randy Arozarena’s high hopper.

However, Shenton walked to complete a nine-pitch plate appearance before José Caballero drew a free pass from Sean Reid-Foley to make it 3-1.

Jason Adam (2-0) worked out of a two-on, two-out jam in the eighth before Phil Maton worked the ninth for his first save.

Rays manager Kevin Cash won his 755th game, moving past Joe Maddon for the most wins in team history.

Mets right-hander Christian Scott sparkled in his major league debut, allowing one run and five hits in 6 2/3 innings. The Coconut Creek, Florida, native struck out six and walked one.

RANGERS 15, ROYALS 4

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Nathaniel Lowe had four hits and two RBIs, and Texas beat Kansas City.

Lowe went 4 for 6 one night after going hitless in four at bats in Texas’ 7-1 loss on Friday. It was his first four-hit game since last July 14.

Adolis García, Evan Carter and Travis Jankowski also drove in two runs each. Carter scored on a wild pitch after a two-run triple in the third inning. Garcia extended his hitting streak to six games, and Carter had two hits to extend his hit streak to five games.

The Rangers totaled a season-high 17 hits and set a season-high in runs against the team entering the game with the highest run differential in the majors.

Texas had three three-run innings and a five-run ninth to hand Kansas City its worst loss of the season. Two-runs scored on a wild pitch by Colin Selby and a throwing error to third base on the same play to cap a three-run seventh. Joe Smith, Jankowski, Marcus Semien, Leody Taveras and Ezequiel Duran had RBIs in the ninth.

Dane Dunning pitched 4 2/3 innings, giving up two runs and four hits. Dunning had limited the Royals to just one hit through the first four innings.

ATHLETICS 20, MARLINS 4

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Brent Rooker became the first Oakland player in nearly 30 years to homer twice in an inning, accomplishing the feat in the third inning to help them pound Miami for their sixth consecutive victory.

The Athletics only All-Star a year ago, Rooker drilled a two-run drive off Marlins starter Trevor Rogers (0-5), then added a three-run shot off Darren McCaughan in the 10-run inning. Oakland set season highs for runs and hits with 21.

Rooker, who also singled in the sixth, is the 60th player in major league history to homer twice in an inning. Trea Turner of Philadelphia was the most recent to do it, reaching the milestone Aug. 19. The last A’s player to do it was Mark McGwire against Seattle in 1996.

Brett Harris also homered twice for Oakland, a day after making his major league debut. The home runs were Harris’ first hits in the majors. JJ Bleday and Shea Langeliers added three-run home runs in the game delayed nearly 3 1/2 hours by rain.

Paul Blackburn (3-1) benefited from all the offense, though he hardly needed it. He retired the first 10 batters and allowed one run and four hits over seven innings.

PHILLIES 14, GIANTS 3

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Ranger Suárez pitched six strong innings, Whit Merrifield homered and streaking Philadelphia routed San Francisco.

Kyle Schwarber, Johan Rojas and Bryson Stott each drove in two runs, and every starter had at least one hit for Philadelphia. The Phillies have won 15 of 18, and their 23 victories are the most in the majors.

The win was dampened a bit by news prior to the contest that shortstop Trea Turner will miss at least six weeks with a left hamstring strain. And third baseman Alec Bohm departed in the third inning due to left hip tightness that occurred during his second-inning at-bat when he extended his hitting streak to 17 consecutive games with a single.

Wilmer Flores homered for the Giants, who have lost five of seven.

The game was delayed at the start by 1 hour, 10 minutes due to rain and played in a persistent drizzle on a cool, raw night in Philadelphia, where most of the announced sellout crowd of 42,610 took cover in dry areas.

Suárez (6-0) won his sixth consecutive start, allowing three runs on seven hits with six strikeouts and a walk. The lefty has a 1.72 ERA.