MLB roundup: J.D. Martinez belts four homers as Diamondbacks crush Dodgers
J.D. Martinez tied a major league record by hitting four home runs and the Arizona Diamondbacks routed the National League West Division-leading Los Angeles Dodgers 13-0 on Monday night in Los Angeles for their 11th straight victory.
Martinez became the 18th player in major league history to hit four homers in a game, and the 16th in the modern era. Earlier this year, Scooter Gennett accomplished the feat for Cincinnati.
Martinez hit a two-run shot in the fourth off Dodgers starter Rich Hill (9-7). Martinez added solo homers in the seventh and eighth innings before capping his power show with a two-run drive in the ninth.
Robbie Ray (12-5) struck out a career-high 14 in 7 2/3 innings. The last time Arizona won 11 in a row was June 18-30, 2003.
Indians 5, White Sox 3: In Chicago, Jose Ramirez homered again, Trevor Bauer earned his eighth straight win and Cleveland beat Chicago in Chicago for its 12th victory in a row.
Ramirez connected a day after tying the major league record with five extra-base hits, including two homers.
Bauer (15-8) gave up two runs on three hits, striking out nine in 6 1/3 innings. The A.L. Central leaders moved closer to the team-record 14-game winning streak they posted last season.
James Shields (2-6) kept the White Sox in the game before taking a line drive by Francisco Mejia off the knee in the seventh. Shields limped off the field after his 11th consecutive start without a win, and is considered day-to-day.
Cody Allen worked around two walks to pitch a scoreless ninth for his 24th save in 28 chances.
Pirates 12, Cubs 0: In Pittsburgh, Cubs ace Jake Arrieta exited in the third inning with a hamstring cramp, and Pittsburgh routed the N.L. Central leaders.
Arrieta (14-9) clutched his leg in obvious pain. The 2015 Cy Young Award winner tried to stretch out his right leg during a visit by manager Joe Maddon and the trainers, but a test pitch ended with Arrieta unable to let go of the ball.
Arrieta said he thinks he’ll be able to make his next scheduled start on Saturday against Milwaukee.
Josh Bell broke the N.L. record for most home runs by a rookie switch-hitter with his 24th. He topped the 23 by Chipper Jones for Atlanta in 1995.
Chad Kuhl (7-10) allowed four hits in seven innings. The Pirates have won three in a row.
Blue Jays 10, Red Sox 4: In Boston, Steve Pearce had three hits as Toronto sent Red Sox starter Rick Porcello to his major league-leading 16th loss.
Boston fell for the fourth time in five games. Its lead in the A.L. East was trimmed to 2 1/2 games over the Yankees.
Kendrys Morales hit a three-run shot for Toronto in the first inning. Jose Bautista connected for a solo drive in the third, and Raffy Lopez chased Porcello (9-16) with a two-run homer in the sixth.
Porcello, who had won five of his previous six starts, allowed seven runs and 10 hits in 5 1/3 innings. He won the 2016 A.L. Cy Young Award.
The Blue Jays added three more in the ninth, highlighted by Justin Smoak’s 37th homer and a run-scoring double for Morales.
J.A. Happ (7-10) gave up one earned in 5 2/3 innings.
Rays 11, Twins 4: In St. Petersburg, Florida, Corey Dickerson hit his 26th home run and also doubled twice, powering Tampa Bay past Minnesota.
The Twins’ lead for the second wild-card spot was trimmed to a half-game by the Angels.
Logan Morrison, who got his 36th homer, and Kevin Kiermaier each added three hits for the Rays. Evan Longoria drove in three runs with a pair of singles.
Alex Cobb (10-9) gave up one run on three hits 5 2/3 innings. Jose Berrios (12-7) alllowed five runs on seven hits in five innings.
Nationals 7, Marlins 2: In Miami, Anthony Rendon drove in four runs, Daniel Murphy drove in three more and Washington overcame a camera-denting home run by Giancarlo Stanton to beat Miami.
Rendon and Murphy each homered, doubled and singled.
Stanton hit his major league-leading 53rd home run, with the ball striking a TV camera just over the right-field wall.
A.J. Cole (2-4) allowed one earned run in 5 2/3 innings. Adam Conley (6-7) took the loss.
Rangers 8, Braves 2: In Atlanta, Elvis Andrus, Nomar Mazara and Rougned Odor homered, Andrew Cashner pitched six strong innings and Texas beat Atlanta.
The Rangers lead the majors with 215 homers, matching their total from last season.
Cashner (9-9) is 6-2 with a 2.62 ERA in his last 10 starts. R.A. Dickey (9-9) took the loss.
Angels 11, Athletics 9 (11): In Oakland, California, Los Angeles employed an American League-record 12 pitchers on Labor Day, and Kole Calhoun hit a two-run triple in the 11th inning to beat Oakland.
Fernando Salas (1-0), the ninth Angels pitcher, tossed a perfect 10th for the victory. Keynan Middleton came in as the third pitcher of the 11th and got his third career save as the Angels tried to move up in the wild-card race. The A’s have lost a season-worst seven in a row.
Three Angels pitchers didn’t record an out. The 12 pitchers overall topped the previous A.L. mark of 11 done four times, most recently by Tampa Bay in 2013. The Colorado Rockies set a major league record by using 13 pitchers in 2015 during a 16-inning game.
Angels star Mike Trout fouled a ball off his lower right leg in the 11th but stayed in the game after being checked by manager Mike Scioscia and a trainer.
Matt Olson homered twice for Oakland, including a tying, two-run drive with two outs in the ninth against Blake Parker.
Blake Treinen (1-3) gave up Calhoun’s go-ahead hit.
Astros 6, Mariners 2: In Seattle, Dallas Keuchel pitched effectively into the eighth inning as Houston won its fifth in a row, beating Seattle.
Alex Bregman hit a tiebreaking, two-run double in the seventh inning for the A.L. West leaders.
Keuchel (12-3) allowed two runs and seven hits in 7 2/3 innings. He struck out five and walked two in his longest outing since April 5. The left-hander started the season 9-0, but was 2-3 with a 5.35 ERA in his seven previous starts since coming off the disabled list on July 28.
Yuli Gurriel and Brian McCann homered for Houston. Marc Rzepcynski (2-1) took the loss.
Yankees 7, Orioles 4: In Baltimore, Starlin Castro homered and drove in three runs, Didi Gregorius also went deep and New York fueled its playoff push with a win over Baltimore.
After spotting the Orioles an early lead, New York bounced back for its fourth win in five games. The Yankees enhanced their position atop the A.L. wild-card race – they’re 2 1/2 games behind A.L. East-leading Boston.
Aaron Judge drew a career-high four walks, singled and scored a run to help the Yankees extend their wild-card lead over Baltimore to 4 1/2 games.
The Yankees played without catcher Gary Sanchez, who began serving a suspension that was reduced to three games from four. The MLB suspension stemmed from an Aug. 24 brawl during a game against Detroit.
Tim Beckham, Chris Davis and Welington Castillo homered for the Orioles, who have lost three of five following a seven-game winning streak.
Chad Green (3-0) struck out four in 2 1/3 innings after starter Jordan Montgomery got two outs in the fifth.
Dylan Bundy (13-9) gave up five runs, five hits and four walks in four-plus innings.
Rockies 4, Giants 3: In Denver, Carlos Gonzalez drew a two-out, bases-loaded walk in the ninth inning, and Colorado halted a four-game skid with a win over San Francisco.
The game at Coors Field was played in hazy conditions because of smoke from the Western wildfires.
San Francisco reliever Steven Okert (1-1) gave the Rockies their walkoff walk. Greg Holland (3-5) pitched a perfect ninth.
Charlie Blackmon hit his 33rd homer as the Rockies increased their lead to 1 1/2 games over Milwaukee for the second wild-card spot. Colorado is 8-0 at home against the Giants this season.
Reds 5, Brewers 4: In Cincinnati, Billy Hamilton hit a solo home run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, lifting Cincinnati over Milwaukee.
Hamilton, who leads the majors with 58 stolen bases, sent a drive into the left-field seats for his fourth homer of the season. He connected off Josh Hader (1-3).
The last-place Reds opened a three-game series by stopping the playoff-contending Brewers. Raisel Iglesias (3-2) pitched a perfect ninth for the win.
Cardinals 2, Padres 0: In San Diego, Carlos Martinez threw a three-hitter and struck out 10, Yadier Molina hit a two-run single and St. Louis beat San Diego for its fourth victory in five games.
The Cardinals remained three games behind Colorado in the race for the N.L.’s second wild card.
It was the second career shutout and complete game for Martinez (11-10). Luis Perdomo (7-9) took the loss.
Mets 11, Phillies 7: In New York, Jose Reyes and Asdrubal Cabrera each homered and the Mets built a big lead, beating Philadelphia to end a four-game losing streak.
The Mets were up 10-0 by the fourth inning.
Rafael Montero (4-9) won his second straight start. New York chased Mark Leiter Jr. (2-5) with a six-run fourth.
Royals 7, Tigers 6: In Detroit, Eric Hosmer, Salvador Perez and Alcides Escobar homered for Kansas City, which denied Detroit with its defense.
Alex Gordon reached well over the left-field fence to rob Mikie Mahtook of a three-run homer, while Lorenzo Cain’s sliding catch took two RBIs away from Jose Iglesias.
Since trading Justin Verlander and Justin Upton on Thursday, the Tigers are 0-5 and have been outscored 36-11.
The Tigers trailed 7-3 going into the ninth, but Nicholas Castellanos hit a three-run homer off Brandon Maurer with one out. Maurer struck out Efren Navarro before James McCann and Jeimer Candelario singled to put the potential winning run on base. Scott Alexander replaced Maurer and retired Mahtook for his third save in five chances.
Jake Junis (7-2) improved to 5-0 in his last seven starts, giving up three runs on seven hits in five innings. Artie Lewicki (0-1) pitched five innings in his major league debut, allowing five runs on 11 hits and a walk.