Baltimore Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson (2) throws to first base for an out on a ball hit by Houston Astros’ Mauricio Dubón during the sixth inning of a baseball game, Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Terrance Williams)
BALTIMORE (AP) — Anthony Santander hit a grand slam off Bryan Abreu in the eighth inning, carrying the Baltimore Orioles to a 7-5 comeback victory over the Houston Astros on Friday night.
Baltimore managed only three hits and trailed 5-2 before rallying to end Houston’s nine-game road winning streak. Colton Cowser and Adley Rutschman singled before Abreu (2-2) snagged a comebacker but was late trying to get Cowser leaning off third base, loading the bases.
Santander then ripped a 2-1 fastball over the right-field wall for his 38th home run of the season. It was his second slam this season and the fourth of his career.
Ramón Urías tacked on an RBI triple to cap the five-run outburst.
Craig Kimbrel (6-5) worked the eighth and Seranthony Domínguez got three outs for his fourth save since coming to Baltimore in a July trade with Philadelphia and fifth overall.
Jose Altuve and Jeremy Peña homered for Houston, and starter Hunter Brown pitched six innings of three-hit ball.
But all that was undone when Santander went deep in the eighth, saving Baltimore from what would have been its sixth loss in eight games.
PIRATES 6, REDS 5
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Bryan De La Cruz drove in a pair of runs and Pittsburgh rallied past Cincinnati.
The Pirates had dropped nine straight one-run games since the July 30 trade deadline before coming back from five down to beat the skidding Reds for the sixth time in eight meetings so far this season.
Joey Bart and Rowdy Tellez had two hits each for Pittsburgh, which is 5-3 since a 10-game slide dropped them to last place in the NL Central and effectively ended their playoff chances.
Dennis Santana (3-1) worked two scoreless innings in relief. David Bednar earned his 23rd save when left fielder Billy McKinney made a sliding grab on a liner by Elly De La Cruz with two on and two out in the ninth.
Tyler Stephenson hit his 17th home run of the season for Cincinnati. Santiago Espinal had three hits for the Reds but was also thrown out at second base in the seventh while trying to advance on a fly ball to center field.
BLUE JAYS 5, ANGELS 4
TORONTO (AP) — Joey Loperfido and Addison Barger hit back-to-back home runs in the bottom of the ninth inning and Toronto rallied to beat Los Angeles.
Toronto trailed 4-3 heading into the ninth against Los Angeles right-hander Roansy Contreras (2-3), but Loperfido tied it with his fourth home run of the year before Barger won it with his fourth.
It was the fourth time this season the Blue Jays hit consecutive home runs.
The blown save was Contreras’ second in four chances.
Toronto’s Chad Green (4-3) worked one inning for the win as the Blue Jays extended their winning streak over the Angels to five.
Angels right-hander Jack Kochanowicz allowed three runs and seven hits in six-plus innings, leaving after Loperfido doubled to begin the seventh. Kochanowicz walked none and struck out one.
YANKEES 3, ROCKIES 0
NEW YORK (AP) — Aaron Judge hit his MLB-leading 49th home run of the season Friday night, helping New York to a win over Colorado.
Judge homered for the fourth straight game, sending a 388-foot shot to left-center off Kyle Freeland (3-6) in the sixth inning. In earlier at-bats, Judge grounded into a double play and lined out.
With the crowd of 38,910 chanting “M-V-P! M-V-P!” Judge popped out to third base in his final at-bat in the eighth.
Judge has eight homers in his last 11 games and 17 homers in his last 34. He is one home run shy of becoming just the fifth player in history to record three 50-homer seasons. Judge is on pace to match the 62 homers he hit in 2022, when he broke the American League record set in 1961 by by late Yankees slugger Roger Maris.
Judge is hitting .381 with 43 homers and 101 RBIs in 94 games since his average dipped to .197 on May 2.
RANGERS 5, GUARDIANS 3
CLEVELAND (AP) — Corey Seager and Leody Tavares drove in two runs apiece, leading Texas Rangers to a win over Cleveland, who dropped their third straight as they try to hang onto first place in the AL Central.
Adolis García added an RBI double for Texas, which won for the fourth time in five games.
The Rangers may be too far back to make a playoff push, but the defending World Series champions are talented enough to be spoilers.
Cleveland returned from a 1-5 trip to begin a critical 10-game homestand with a two-game division lead over Kansas City and Minnesota. The Guardians open a four-game series against the Royals on Monday.
Nathan Eovaldi (9-7) limited the Guardians to three runs and seven hits in six innings. David Robertson walked two in the eighth before striking out Lane Thomas looking — on a pitch that was way off the plate.
Kirby Yates worked a 1-2-3 ninth for his 23rd save in 24 tries.
BRAVES 3, NATIONALS 2, 10 INNINGS
ATLANTA (AP) — Luke Williams scored from third on CJ Abrams throwing error from shortstop with two outs in the 10th inning and the Atlanta Braves won for the fifth time in six games, beating the Washington Nationals 3-2 on Friday night.
Braves closer Raisel Iglesias (3-1) pitched two innings, struck out three and earned the win. He extended his streak of retiring batters to 38 with a perfect ninth before it ended in the 10th when he hit Jacob Young with a pitch to start the inning. He then retired the next three Nationals.
Michael Harris II, who led off the game with a home run, hit the hard grounder to short in the 10th. Abrams fielded the ball, but made a bad throw to first, allowing Williams to score and ending the game.
Eduardo Salazar (0-1) took the loss.
Atlanta’s Chris Sale pitched seven innings and gave up two runs on nine hits with one walk. His four strikeouts matched a season low.
Nationals starter MacKenzie Gore gave up just one run on seven hits over six innings. He struck out four and did not walk a batter in 88 pitches.
CUBS 6, MARLINS 3
MIAMI (AP) — Pete Crow-Armstrong hit an inside-the-park home run and Chicago beat Miami.
Ian Happ and Miguel Amaya also homered for the Cubs (64-65), who began a nine-game road trip.
Crow-Armstrong’s 14.08 seconds home to home is the fastest in the major leagues since Byron Buxton’s 13.85 on Aug. 18, 2017.
Isaac Paredes’ run-scoring double against Marlins reliever Brett de Geus (0-2) in the eighth snapped a 3-all tie. Amaya then connected with a two-run drive off Kent Emanuel in the ninth.
Porter Hodge (2-1) worked 1 1/3 innings of relief for the win before Jorge López pitched the ninth for his fourth save.
The Marlins dropped to an NL-worst 46-82 and will end with their 24th losing season in the franchise’s 32-year history.
DIAMONDBACKS 12, RED SOX 2
BOSTON (AP) — Eugenio Suárez hit a grand slam as part of a three-hit, five-RBI game, Ryne Nelson pitched six strong innings as Arizona beat Boston.
Suárez’s 19th home run was also the ninth grand slam of the season by the Diamondbacks, who continue to sit atop the NL wild-card standings. Arizona finished with 16 hits with Josh Bell and Geraldo Perdomo getting three hits apiece.
Nelson (9-6) gave up two runs and five hits while striking out seven and walking one to help Arizona win its fourth straight — all on the road. During one stretch, the right-hander retired eight straight and escaped a bases-loaded jam in the third inning.
Bryan Bello (11-6) took the loss for Boston, which entered the game trailing by 3 1/2 games for the final AL wild-card playoff berth. The right-hander was charged with five runs and seven hits. He walked three and struck out two.
Rob Refsnyder, a late addition to Boston’s starting lineup, hit a solo home run. Wilyer Abreu drove in the other run with a double.
ROYALS 7, PHILLIES 4
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Salvador Perez and Hunter Renfroe hit two-run homers during a five-run third inning Friday night, and Kansas City went on to beat Philadelphia in the opener of an interleague series between playoff contenders.
Perez parlayed his success in a Wiffle ball game against neighborhood kids a day earlier into a three-RBI night. Paul DeJong and Vinnie Pasquantino also drove in runs, helping the Royals close within a game of first-place Cleveland in the AL Central.
Michael Wacha (11-6) ran his winning streak to seven straight decisions, allowing two runs on six hits in six innings while striking out five. He hasn’t lost since June 22, and he hasn’t allowed more than three earned runs in a start since June 4.
Lucas Erceg worked around a leadoff double in the ninth for his 10th save and fourth since his trade to Kansas City.
The troubles continued for the Phillies’ Taijuan Walker (3-5), who allowed six runs on eight hits and a walk in three innings. The veteran right-hander has surrendered 30 runs on 43 hits and 18 walks over 38 innings spanning his last eight starts.
Nick Castellanos, Bryson Stott and Brandon Marsh drove in the runs for Philadelphia.
CARDINALS 7, TWINS 1
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Andre Pallante retired 17 of the last 18 batters he faced over seven strong innings and Lars Nootbaar hit a tiebreaking two-run double in the fourth inning, leading St. Louis past Minnesota.
Brendan Donovan homered, Masyn Wynn had two RBIs and Luken Baker drew three of nine walks by the Cardinals, who won their third straight game after falling 12 games behind NL Central leader Milwaukee on Tuesday.
Pallante (6-6) completed seven innings for the second consecutive start, a career first for the 25-year-old. He left the bases loaded after one run scored with one out in the second inning and never let another runner reach scoring position to send the Twins to their fourth loss in their last five games.
Minnesota began a nine-game homestand tied with Kansas City in second place in the AL Central, two games behind leader Cleveland. The Twins hold the final wild-card spot, 3 1/2 games ahead of Boston.
Pallante, with his unorthodox windup featuring a hitch and a leg kick before a deliberate and reared-back delivery, gave up five hits and two walks with five strikeouts. Trevor Larnach fanned in all three at-bats and Royce Lewis went 0 for 3 with three broken bats.
Twins starter David Festa (2-3) lasted only 3 2/3 innings and left trailing 3-1.
TIGERS 4, WHITE SOX 2
CHICAGO (AP) — Matt Vierling had an RBI double in the first inning and a tiebreaking single in the seventh to help Detroit Tigers to a win over Chicago.
Vierling’s single off White Sox reliever Justin Anderson in the seventh scored Parker Meadows. One out later, Colt Keith drove in Riley Greene from second with a single to extend Detroit’s lead to 4-2.
Tigers reliever Will Vest (3-4) got one out in the sixth and pitched a scoreless seventh to earn the victory.
Starter Chris Flexen and the White Sox matched the record for consecutive losses by a team in games in which Flexen started, falling for the 19th time. The Brewers and Chris Capuano had a run of 19 losses from May 13, 2007, to June 3, 2010.
The White Sox are 4-27 in the second half of the season and have the worst record in the MLB at 31-98.
Fraser Ellard (1-2) worked a third of an inning and took the loss. He allowed a hit, a walk and two earned runs.
PADRES 7, METS 0
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Joe Musgrove allowed just one hit in seven brilliant innings and made a terrific defensive play to lead San Diego to a win against New York on that evened a four-game series between teams in playoff contention.
Musgrove (4-4) faced just one over the minimum as he matched his season high with nine strikeouts and walked none. It was his third start back after missing 2 1/2 months with right elbow inflammation.
With two outs in the sixth, Francisco Lindor hit a bouncer to the right side of the infield. Musgrove bounded off the mound, made a sliding stab at the ball and scooped it with his glove to first baseman Jake Cronenworth for the out. Musgrove and Cronenworth slapped five while smiling.
Musgrove didn’t allow a baserunner until Starling Marte doubled over the head of right fielder David Peralta with one out in the fifth. Musgrove, who grew up in suburban El Cajon, threw the first no-hitter in Padres history on April 9, 2021, at Texas in his second start with his hometown team. Dylan Cease threw the club’s second no-no on July 25 at Washington.
The Mets finished with just two hits while the Padres had 16 hits, including three each by Luis Arraez and Manny Machado.
BREWERS 11, ATHLETICS 3
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Rhys Hoskins and Joey Ortiz hit back-to-back home runs as part of a five-run second inning, and Milwaukee beat Oakland.
The Brewers, who have won seven of nine, sent nine batters to the plate in the second to take a 5-1 lead. Hoskins, who entered the game hitless in his last 21 at-bats, put Milwaukee in front with a three-run blast after Willy Adames and Gary Sánchez led off the inning with singles. On the next pitch, Ortiz homered to left-center. Andruw Monasterio later added the fifth run, scoring from first on a single by Jackson Chourio that went under the glove of A’s left fielder Miguel Andujar.
Chourio and Blake Perkins knocked in runs in the fourth, extending the lead to 7-1. Sánchez cleared the bases with a triple and scored on a sacrifice fly by Hoskins in the ninth.
Neither starter lasted five innings. The Brewers’ Aaron Civale allowed three runs in four innings, and the A’s JP Sears (10-9) left with two outs in the third after giving up five earned runs. Sears had entered the game 3-0 with a 1.57 ERA over his last four starts.
Ross Stripling pitched 4 1/3 scoreless innings in relief of Sears. Bryan Hudson (6-1) got the win with two scoreless innings after Civale exited.
DODGERS 7, RAYS 3
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Shohei Ohtani hit a two-out, game-winning grand slam in the ninth inning for his 40th home run after earlier stealing his 40th base, lifting Los Angeles to a victory over Tampa Bay.
Ohtani became the fastest player in major league history and sixth ever to hit 40 homers and steal 40 bases in a season. He’s also the first Dodger to do so.
He broke the record held by Alfonso Soriano, who reached the mark in Game 148 for the Washington Nationals in 2006. Ohtani did it in the Dodgers’ 129th game.
The Japanese superstar came out of the dugout to wave at 45,556 fans who gave him a standing ovation. His teammates showered Ohtani with water on the field.
Will Smith was hit by Manuel Rodriguez leading off the ninth and Tommy Edman followed with a single. Smith and Edman moved up on Miguel Rojas’ sacrifice. Colin Poche came in and walked Muncy to set up Ohtani’s 389-foot slam to center.
MARINERS 6, GIANTS 5, 10 INNINGS
SEATTLE (AP) — Leo Rivas lined a game-ending single that scored Dylan Moore in the bottom of the 10th inning, and Seattle rallied late for a win over San Francisco.
The first game under new manager Dan Wilson was memorable even if it took the Mariners until the eighth inning before their bats warmed up. Seattle scored four times in the eighth inning to pull even at 5-5, then saw Rivas come through in the 10th.
Pinch-runner Moore stole third base with one out and Rivas lined a 2-2 pitch from Erik Miller (3-5) into center field to set off a celebration as Seattle won for just the second time in the 10 games.
Luke Raley homered for Seattle, but it was a big eighth-inning rally that gave the Mariners a chance. Seattle sent nine batters to the plate and scored four times on the strength of six consecutive singles off San Francisco reliever Tyler Rogers. Justin Turner, Josh Rojas, Rivas and Raley all had RBI singles that helped pull Seattle even at 5-5.
Julio Rodriguez made a terrific sliding catch to rob Tyler Fitzgerald of a hit leading off the top of the 10th and Collin Snider (3-2) struck out Heliot Ramos and Michael Conforto to keep the game tied. Rodriguez played his first game in the field since injuring his ankle in mid-July.
