MLB roundup: Athletics finish off sweep of Yankees
OAKLAND, Calif. — Tanner Roark has been in Oakland long enough already to understand this winning vibe.
Roark is doing his part to keep the Athletics on a roll as the September stretch run approaches, striking out seven without walking a batter over six-plus innings in a 5-3 victory over the New York Yankees on Thursday night for a three-game series sweep.
Mark Canha hit a two-run single as the A’s immediately jumped on Yankees starter Masahiro Tanaka on the way to a seventh victory in eight overall.
In less than a week, the A’s have taken down a pair of AL contenders in impressive fashion.
Oakland is on another of its familiar second-half surges, moving a season-best 21 games over .500 at 74-53 having won three of four against first-place Houston and then three straight over the AL East-leading Yankees.
Dodgers 3, Blue Jays 2
LOS ANGELES — Kiké Hernandez capped a three-run ninth inning by blooping a single to score Corey Seager and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Toronto Blue Jays after being one-hit through eight innings.
After being shut down by rookie Jacob Waguespack, the Dodgers rallied with three straight hits against Derek Law (0-2). Max Muncy led off the ninth with a walk and advanced to third when Cody Bellinger lined a one-out double to the right-field corner. Seager tied it with a double to right, and Hernandez provided the walk-off knock on his bobblehead night. It is Los Angeles’ 12th walk-off victory of the season.
Casey Sadler got the win with a scoreless inning as the Dodgers got the series sweep.
Astros 6, Tigers 3
HOUSTON — A day after failing to back a gem by ace Justin Verlander, Alex Bregman and the Houston Astros were determined to convert on another from Gerrit Cole.
Cole struck out 12 over seven scoreless innings, Bregman homered and the Astros beat the Detroit Tigers. After the Tigers stunned Houston in a 2-1 win Wednesday despite Verlander’s complete-game two-hitter, the Astros gave Cole more than enough run support.
Michael Brantley extended his hitting streak to 15 games with a fourth-inning double, and Bregman followed with a lined shot to the first row of the left field Crawford Boxes for his 31st homer.
Red Sox 5, Royals 4
BOSTON — Brock Holt hit an RBI single with one out in the bottom of the 10th inning as the Red Sox won a weather-suspended game that began Aug. 7.
The original contest was halted after a 1 hour, 49 minute-rain delay early on Aug. 8 with the score tied 4-4 and nobody out in the top of the 10th inning. Royals catcher Meibrys Viloria was facing a 2-1 count against Red Sox reliever Josh Taylor.
Play resumed 14 days, 14 hours and 18 minutes later. Ryan O’Hearn struck out and pinch hitter Bubba Starling grounded out to end the Royals’ inning. Starling took the spot of Billy Hamilton, who went 2 for 4 with a strikeout on Aug. 8 but was designated for assignment on Aug. 16.
Christian Vazquez doubled to center field after Andrew Benintendi struck out looking to lead off Boston’s 10th. Richard Lovelady (0-3) intentionally walked pinch hitter Sam Travis before Holt singled on a line drive to left field to score Chris Owings, who was pinch running for Vazquez.
The official time of game was 3:48, with only 12 minutes being played Thursday.
Cubs 1, Giants 0
CHICAGO — Kyle Hendricks pitched seven sharp innings as the Cubs won their fifth straight despite getting only two hits.
Anthony Rizzo hit an RBI single to help the NL Central leaders complete a three-game sweep. The Giants lost their fourth in a row.
A day after the Cubs won 12-11 in a game with seven home runs, there was a brisk breeze blowing in at Wrigley Field and the teams combined for just six hits.
Hendricks (9-9) allowed three hits, struck out seven and walked none. Relievers Brandon Kintzler, Kyle Ryan and Rowan Wick each got two outs to complete the four-hitter. Wick finished for his second save as Cubs pitchers combined for 10 strikeouts without a walk.
Jeff Samardzija (9-10) gave up one run on two hits in seven innings against his former team.
San Francisco’s best scoring chance came in the eighth. Crawford tripled off the right field wall with two outs against Kintzler. Ryan, a left-hander, then came on to strike out pinch-hitter Austin Slater to end the inning.
Nationals 7, Pirates 1
PITTSBURGH — Max Scherzer pitched four innings in his return from the injured list, giving up one run and four hits.
The three-time Cy Young Award winner, who was put on the IL on July 26 with a strain in his upper back, struck out three and walked one. The Nationals hadn’t set a pitch count for Scherzer but said they would closely monitor him. He threw 71 pitches, 48 for strikes.
Anthony Rendon and Howie Kendrick homered for Washington, which leads the NL wild-card race and won for the ninth time in 11 games. Kendrick singled, doubled and hit his 14th homer, a two-run drive in the eighth that made it 4-1. Rendon hit his 28th home run in the ninth.
The Pirates fell to 8-30 since the All-Star break. Steven Brault (3-3) allowed two runs in six innings.
Scherzer is 7-0 in his past 11 starts. Hunter Strickland (2-1) allowed one hit in two innings for the win.
Cardinals 6, Rockies 5
ST. LOUIS — Marcell Ozuna, Paul DeJong and Dexter Fowler each hit two-run homers to pace the Cardinals.
Fowler’s 15th home run of the season, off of a 97 mph fastball from Yency Almonte (0-1) in the seventh, capped the comeback. Matt Carpenter set it up by working a walk in an eight-pitch, pinch hitting appearance to lead off the frame.
Dominic Leone (1-0), who was recalled from Triple-A Memphis before the game, got the win. Giovanny Gallegos and Andrew Miller pitched a scoreless eighth and Carlos Martínez picked up his 15th save in 18 opportunities.
Ozuna’s blast into the upper deck in left field in the fourth came after Paul Goldschmidt singled to tie the game 2-2. Ozuna has hit safely in 13 of his last 16 games.
DeJong drilled a German Márquez curve 423 feet into the left-center bleachers in the sixth to cut it to 5-4. DeJong’s two-run homer extended his RBI streak to four games, one shy of his career high.
Márquez allowed four runs in six innings, on six hits, a pair of walks and four strikeouts.
Braves 3, Marlins 2
ATLANTA — Ronald Acuña Jr. hit an RBI single with two outs in the ninth inning as the Atlanta Braves won their fifth straight.
Freddie Freeman hit a tying homer in the eighth and the Braves sent Miami to its 12th road loss in a row, the longest streak in the majors this year.
The NL East-leading Braves went 15-4 against the Marlins this year.
Adeiny Hechavarría opened the Atlanta ninth with a double and later scored on Acuña’s single off Ryne Stanek (0-3).
Freeman’s 34th homer, an opposite-field drive to left, came off Stanek, who lost his first decision since being acquired from Tampa Bay.
Mark Melancon (5-2) faced four batters in the ninth to earn the win.
Braves starter Mike Soroka hasn’t won a decision in seven straight starts. Soroka, tied for the second-best ERA in the majors at 2.41, allowed no walks and struck out five in seven innings.
Marlins starter Sandy Alcantara gave up Hechavarría’s RBI single in the second and allowed three hits in seven innings. He held the top four batters in Atlanta’s lineup — Acuña Jr., Ozzie Albies, Freeman and Josh Donaldson — to a collective 0 for 12.
White Sox 6, Rangers 1
CHICAGO — Yoán Moncada lined a two-run homer on his return from the injured list, Ross Detwiler struck out a career-high eight and the Chicago White Sox beat the Texas Rangers.
James McCann hit a solo shot and doubled, and Jose Abreu, Tim Anderson and Matt Skole each had an RBI as Chicago won for the third time in four games.
Out since July 31 with a strained right hamstring, Moncada batted cleanup and made an immediate impact with his 21st homer as the White Sox jumped to an early five-run lead. He also doubled in the fifth and gave his team a scare when he fell awkwardly exiting the batter’s box as he grounded out to end the seventh. He was tended to by a trainer and remained in the game.
Elvis Andrus’ solo homer accounted for the only run against Detwiler (2-3) and was one of only three hits off the left-hander, who walked none over six innings. The 33-year-old earned his second win this season — and only his second in the majors over nearly three years.
Jimmy Cordero followed with two scoreless relief innings, and Kelvin Herrera tossed the ninth to complete a three-hitter.
Ariel Jurado (6-10) allowed six runs and 10 hits in eight innings as he lost his fourth straight start.
Rays 5, Orioles 2
BALTIMORE — The Baltimore Orioles set the major league record for home runs allowed in a season, giving up drives to Austin Meadows and Willy Adames in a rain-delayed loss to Tampa Bay that ended shortly before 1 a.m. Friday.
About 200 fans were left at Camden Yards when the Rays closed out the win.
Meadows hit the record-setting 259th home run off Baltimore this year — the last-place Orioles began the day tied with the 2016 Cincinnati Reds for the dubious mark.
Adames, who finished with three hits, later connected for No. 260 against the O’s. Baltimore still has 34 more games remaining.
Mets 2, Indians 0
NEW YORK — Noah Syndergaard retired the first 16 hitters and allowed two hits over six dominant innings before a heavy storm interrupted him, and the New York Mets beat the Cleveland Indians in a rain-shortened game for their fifth straight win.
The game was called with New York batting in the eighth inning after a second rain delay.
The Mets completed a three-game sweep. They’ve won 13 of their last 14 home games, helping them get into the NL wild-card mix.