MLB round-up: Texas Rangers avoid Houston Astros series sweep
The Rangers extended their lead in the American League West to two games over the Astros by inflicting massive two-out damage in the fourth and fifth innings, first against Houston ace Framber Valdez (8-7), and then off reliever Seth Martinez.
Garcia's slam led to a bench-clearing incident as Semien and Astros catcher Martin Maldonado got in an argument. Semien had been hit by a pitch in the third inning, apparently in retaliation for Houston's Yordan Alvarez getting plunked in the first.
Nathaniel Lowe homered and drove in three runs for Texas, and Sam Huff also went deep. Andrew Heaney (7-6) worked five innings of three-run ball for the win. Alex Bregman and Yainer Diaz homered for Houston, which had won six of its previous seven games.
Brewers 3, Reds 0
Right-hander Freddy Peralta struck out 13 and Tyrone Taylor hit a two-run home run to lead Milwaukee past visiting Cincinnati in the deciding game of a three-game series and complete a dominant season series between the National League Central rivals.
Peralta went six innings, giving up four hits with no walks and tied his career high for strikeouts in a mark he previously set in his major league debut at Colorado in 2018. He struck out the first five batters he faced. Elvis Peguero (2-3) picked up the win for the Brewers, following Peralta by pitching a scoreless seventh inning with two strikeouts.
Ben Lively (4-6) went six shutout innings before allowing a two-run home run to Taylor in the bottom of the seventh. He gave up two runs on eight hits over 6 2/3 innings with no walks and three strikeouts. The Brewers won 10 of 13 from the Reds, winning four by shutout.
Yankees 3, Mets 1
Carlos Rodon pitched 5 2/3 effective innings and the Yankees beat the visiting Mets in the final game of the season between the New York rivals.
Oswald Peraza and Isiah Kiner-Falefa drove in the first two Yankee runs without hits and rookie Anthony Volpe added an RBI single as the Yankees won for the sixth time in 16 games and earned a split of the current two-game series and the four-game season series with the Mets.
Rodon (1-3) allowed one run on four hits while working out of trouble at times. The left-hander got his first win as a Yankee after losing his first three starts since returning earlier this month from back and forearm injuries. Jose Quintana (0-2) allowed three runs (two earned) on six hits in six innings during his second start with the Mets since returning last week from a rib fracture. He struck out five and walked three.
Cubs 10, White Sox 7
Nico Hoerner and Ian Happ each had two hits and two RBIs and the bullpen delivered 5 2/3 innings of one-hit, scoreless relief to boost the visiting Cubs past the White Sox to sweep the two-game series between Chicago teams.
The Cubs closed with eight unanswered runs on the way to their fifth consecutive victory. Happ and Cody Bellinger connected for back-to-back home runs in the eighth inning to cap the spurt. A 7-2 lead after four innings didn't hold up for the White Sox, who have lost five in a row and seven of eight.
Javier Assad (1-2) was the winner with 1 2/3 innings out of the bullpen. Adbert Alzolay earned his 11th save, his second in the two-game set against the White Sox, with a perfect ninth. Joe Kelly (1-5) took the loss after failing to record an out against four batters, surrendering one charged run and allowing two inherited runners to score.
Cardinals 11, Diamondbacks 7
Three high fastballs in the seventh inning doomed Arizona as St. Louis rallied late and cruised to victory in Phoenix.
With the game tied 3-3 after six innings, St. Louis scored three runs in the seventh and added five in the eighth as the Cardinals took the rubber game of a three-game series. Nolan Gorman homered twice among his three hits for the Cardinals, and teammate Lars Nootbaar also had three hits and a home run. Paul Goldschmidt and Andrew Knizner also went deep for St. Louis.
Christian Walker and Emmanuel Rivera homered for the Diamondbacks, while Walker, Jake McCarthy and Corbin Carroll had three hits apiece.
Phillies 6, Orioles 4
Edmundo Sosa hit a tiebreaking solo home run, J.T. Realmuto added a two-run double and Philadelphia won to take two out of three from visiting Baltimore.
Jake Cave contributed two hits and an RBI while Nick Castellanos and Bryce Harper each chipped in with an RBI single as the Phillies have won two in a row after losing five of their previous six. Seranthony Dominguez (2-2), who had missed the last five weeks with an oblique injury, earned the win in relief.
Adley Rutschman homered and knocked in three runs and Austin Hays had two hits and an RBI for the Orioles, who have dropped two straight after winning five of their previous six. Baltimore starter Kyle Bradish (6-6) gave up seven hits and five runs with three strikeouts and two walks in 6 2/3 innings.
Mariners 8, Twins 7
Dylan Moore hit two home runs and Julio Rodriguez added a home run and two doubles to lead Seattle past Minnesota in the deciding game of a three-game series in Minneapolis.
Bryce Miller (7-3) picked up the win despite allowing six runs on eight hits, including four home runs, over 5 2/3 innings. Miller didn't walk a batter and struck out seven. Andres Munoz pitched around a leadoff single by Christian Vazquez in the bottom of the ninth to earn his second save.
Matt Wallner hit two home runs while Edouard Julien and Vazquez also went deep for Minnesota. Vazquez finished with three hits and two RBIs while Wallner, Trevor Larnach and Kyle Farmer each added two hits. Joe Ryan (9-7) absorbed the loss in allowing four runs on seven hits over 3 2/3 innings. He walked two and struck out seven.
Marlins 7, Rays 1
Sandy Alcantara recorded his second complete game of the season, lifting Miami to a win over Tampa Bay in St. Petersburg, Fla.
Showing the form that made him the National League Cy Young Award winner, Alcantara (4-9) allowed one run on five hits and struck out seven to help snap Miami's 10-game road losing streak. Luis Arraez had two hits and two RBIs, raising his MLB-leading batting average to .376. Jacob Stallings added two hits and drove in two runs.
Tampa Bay's Zach Eflin (11-6) was tagged for five runs on seven hits in four innings. The Rays announced he was taken out due to left knee discomfort. Tampa Bay is 2-8 in its last 10 games.
Giants 8, A's 3
Pinch hitter Austin Slater broke a tie with a two-run, sixth-inning homer and San Francisco completed a two-game home sweep of rivals Oakland. J.D. Davis also homered for the Giants, who saw an early 3-0 advantage disappear before rallying, thanks to five innings of dominant relief.
After Oakland's Jace Peterson and Shea Langeliers contributed RBI singles to a three-run fourth inning that tied the score, Alex Wood (5-4) took over in the fifth - the fourth Giants pitcher - and threw three shutout innings, allowing one hit.
In that time, one out after Wilmer Flores led off the last of the sixth with a double, Slater was called upon to hit for Michael Conforto. Slater drilled his fifth homer of the season to left-centre field off bulk-inning A's reliever Hogan Harris (2-5). Wood handed the ball to Tyler Rogers for a scoreless eighth before Luke Jackson, pitching with a five-run lead, threw a one-hit ninth. In all, Wood, Rogers and Jackson combined to get the final 15 outs in a 17-batter span.
Nationals 5, Rockies 4
CJ Abrams capped a four-run, ninth-inning rally with a walk-off RBI single as host Washington pulled off a victory over Colorado in the rubber match of a three-game series.
The Nationals trailed 4-1 entering the bottom of the ninth. Colorado closer Daniel Bard (4-2) loaded the bases with no outs and wound up charged with four runs on one hit with four walks in 2/3 innings. Matt Koch came on for Bard and served up Abrams' game-winning hit. The rally spoiled a strong start from Rockies starter Peter Lambert, who allowed one unearned run on three hits in six innings.
Andres Machado (1-0) earned the win after striking out two while tossing a perfect top of the ninth. Elehuris Montero, Ryan McMahon and Michael Toglia each went deep for the Rockies, who are 6-5 since the All-Star break.
Blue Jays 8, Dodgers 1
Whit Merrifield hit a three-run home run and Yusei Kikuchi pitched six strong innings as visiting Toronto beat Los Angeles in the deciding game of a three-game series.
Merrifield drove in four runs, while Danny Jansen added a home run and Bo Bichette had four hits for the Blue Jays. Kikuchi (8-3) allowed one run on seven hits.
Dodgers starter Tony Gonsolin (5-4) gave up five runs on seven hits in five innings. Enrique Hernandez, reacquired in a Tuesday trade, started at second base in his return to Los Angeles and had two hits.
Pirates 3, Padres 2
Johan Oviedo gave up one run on three hits over six innings as visiting Pittsburgh defeated San Diego in the rubber match of a three-game series.
Oviedo (4-11) had lost eight straight decisions entering the game. David Bednar allowed a run in the ninth but got his 20th save. Inning-opening home runs by Ji Man Choi, Bryan Reynolds and Carlos Santana provided the Pirates' offence.
Seth Lugo (4-5) allowed two runs on three hits in seven innings for the Padres, who finished 1-5 vs. the Pirates this season.
Red Sox 5, Braves 3
A barrage of three home runs in the late innings helped Boston top visiting Atlanta to complete a two-game series sweep.
Rafael Devers, Triston Casas and Adam Duvall all homered for Boston, who have won four straight. Justin Turner hit a two-run double that flipped the score for good in the seventh. Turner, Casas and Connor Wong all had multi-hit games to support Brayan Bello, who allowed three runs on four hits over his six innings. Joe Jacques (2-1) followed with a scoreless inning to earn the win.
Ozzie Albies ripped a three-run homer into the right-centre field bullpen for the Braves. Albies was 2-for-4 to lead the six-hit offence for the Braves, who have lost three of their last four games.
Guardians 8, Royals 3
Jose Ramirez homered twice to help Cleveland beat visiting Kansas City in the rubber match of their three-game series.
David Fry also homered and Gabriel Arias had two hits and a run scored for the Guardians, who have won two in a row to get back to .500, where they sat at the All-Star break. Cleveland starter Gavin Williams threw four shutout innings, allowing three hits. striking out five and walking two. The rookie right-hander was lifted after throwing 87 pitches. Nick Sandlin (5-3) replaced Williams and got the win.
Royals rookie right-hander Alec Marsh dropped his fifth straight start to begin his major league career. Marsh (0-5) allowed four runs and five hits in 2 2/3 innings, striking out three and walking four. MJ Melendez had two hits, including a solo homer in the ninth, and Salvador Perez, Freddy Fermin and Michael Massey also had two hits apiece for the Royals, who have lost seven of eight.
