MLB roundup: Phils win in Pittsburgh on Hoskins’ HR; fan walks to plate
PITTSBURGH – A fan casually walked to home plate and approached Philadelphia hitter Brad Miller for a handshake before being apprehended, and the Phillies later beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 2-1 Sunday on Rhys Hoskins’ home run in the 11th inning.
Moments after Bryce Harper argued a called third strike and Hoskins spiked his bat after being hit by a pitch, things turned bizarre in the sixth inning at PNC Park.
That’s when a man carrying a cellphone came out of the crowd and strolled toward Miller in the batter’s box. Miller backed away and the man kept walking, leisurely getting near the Phillies’ dugout on the first base side, where he was handcuffed by security personnel and led away.
Miller then grounded into an inning-ending double play.
Hoskins hit his 21st home run, connecting off Chris Stratton (1-3). The drive came right after Harper again seemed displeased with plate umpire Ben May when striking out looking to start the inning.
Phillies reliever Ranger Suarez (3-0) got Starling Marte to ground out to end the 10th, stranding Adam Frazier at third, and worked around a hit in the 11th.
Orioles 5, Red Sox 0
BALTIMORE – Asher Wojciechowski took an unlikely no-hitter into the seventh inning, Trey Mancini homered twice off Andrew Cashner and Baltimore beat Boston to win its first series from the Red Sox in 11 tries since 2017.
Making his 15th career start, Wojciechowski (1-3) came in with a 6.49 career ERA and was facing the highest-scoring team in the majors. The 30-year-old responded with the best outing of his life, allowing one hit over 7 1/3 innings and finishing with a career-high 10 strikeouts.
Rafael Devers led off the seventh with a double off the right-field wall to break up Wojciechowski’s bid.
Paul Fry got the final two outs in the eighth and Mychal Givens worked the ninth to complete the one-hitter and end Boston’s run of 81 games without being blanked. It was also the first time in 11 games the Red Sox failed to hit a home run.
Dodgers 9, Marlins 0
LOS ANGELES – Walker Buehler struck out 11 over seven innings and the Los Angeles hit a trio of home runs to complete a three-game sweep of Miami.
Max Muncy, Joc Pederson and A.J. Pollock went deep as the first-place Dodgers won for the sixth time in nine games since the All-Star break. Buehler recorded his third double-digit strikeout game this season.
Marlins rookie Jordan Yamamoto not only lost for the first time in seven major league starts, but the home runs by Muncy and Pederson were the first ones he’s allowed in his career. Yamamoto (4-1) had the third-longest winning streak to begin a career in Marlins history.
One day after the Dodgers’ bullpen blew a 6-0 lead before the offense rallied, Buehler (9-1) took the heat off the relievers by giving up just five hits and no walks.
Angels 9, Mariners 3
SEATTLE – Resurgent slugger Albert Pujols and Mike Trout homered, Brian Goodwin connected twice and Los Angeles beat Seattle.
Pujols sliced a second-inning solo drive into the right field seats for his 648th career homer.
The 39-year-old Pujols joined home run champ Barry Bonds and Hall of Famers Eddie Murray and Frank Robinson as the only players to tally at least 15 homers in each of their first 19 seasons.
Pujols drove in two runs and has 14 RBIs in his last eight games. He got two hits and moved past Paul Waner for 16th place on the career list 3,154.
Trout added to his AL-leading totals with his 32nd home run and 79th RBI, hitting a solo shot in the seventh.
Braves 7, Nationals 1
ATLANTA – Kevin Gausman pitched into the eighth inning after missing more than a month, Josh Donaldson and Ronald Acuna Jr. homered, and Atlanta beat Washington to protect its NL East lead.
Nick Markakis hit a two-run single in the first off Joe Ross (0-2). Donaldson added his sixth-inning homer off Ross and a run-scoring single in the seventh. Acuna launched a two-run homer off Kyle McGowin in the eighth.
Following a split of the four-game series, the first-place Braves still lead the Nationals by 6 1/2 games.
Gausman (3-5) made his first start since June 10 after recovering from plantar fasciitis in his right foot. He allowed five hits and one run in seven-plus innings, with eight strikeouts and no walks.
Rockies 8, Yankees 4
NEW YORK – James Paxton allowed a leadoff home run for the second straight outing when Charlie Blackmon shook out of a slump and started Colorado to a win over New York that halted a six-game losing streak.
On the second consecutive day with a 94-degree temperature at game time, DJ LaMahieu homered on the first pitch from German Marquez (9-5) in the bottom half. But Marquez rebounded from his worst big league start and cooled the Yankees’ bats after that. Colorado took a 5-1 lead in the third, knocked out Paxton (5-5) in the fourth and ended New York’s five-game winning streak.
Blackmon went 4 for 5, Nolan Arenado hit a tiebreaking, two-run double and David Dahl added a two-run single in the third, when three runs were unearned because first baseman Luke Voit allowed Tony Wolters’ sacrifice bunt to bounce off his glove for an error.
Cardinals 3, Reds 1
CINCINNATI – Yairo Munoz celebrated a rare start with a home run and a triple to help St. Louis beat Cincinnati.
Munoz, making his 16th start among 55 games, also singled to finish with three of the six hits for the Cardinals, who improved to 7-3 since the All-Star break.
His second homer of the season in the ninth, off Raisel Iglesias, gave St. Louis an insurance run.
The Reds avoided their ninth shutout loss of the season on Phillip Ervin’s eighth-inning pinch-hit home run off Andrew Miller.
Indians 5, Royals 4
CLEVELAND – Francisco Lindor homered after originally being scheduled to get the day off, Jose Ramirez hit a tiebreaking home run in the sixth and Cleveland beat Kansas City.
Lindor talked his way into the lineup at designated hitter after manager Terry Francona planned on resting the All-Star shortstop. His two-run homer in the third tied the game at 2-all.
Ramirez’s leadoff homer put Cleveland ahead in the sixth and the Indians went on to their seventh win in eight games. Cleveland has also won 13 of 16.
Rookie Zach Plesac (4-3) allowed two runs in six innings. Brad Hand allowed Bubba Starling’s first major league home run in the ninth, but struck out the next three hitters for his 27th save in 28 opportunities.
Glenn Sparkman (4-5) allowed both homers and gave up five runs – four earned – in 5 2/3 innings.
Tigers 4, Blue Jays 3, 10 Innings
DETROIT – Nicholas Castellanos led off the bottom of the 10th inning with a home run, and Detroit snapped its six-game losing streak.
The Tigers won for only the eighth time in their last 41 games – and this victory didn’t come easily. Closer Shane Greene allowed a tying, two-run homer by Lourdes Gurriel Jr. in the ninth, but Castellanos connected on the first pitch thrown by Tim Mayza (0-1) for his 11th homer of the season.
Nick Ramirez (5-3) pitched a scoreless top of the 10th for Detroit.
Rays 4, White Sox 2
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Blake Snell struck out 10 in six scoreless innings, Travis d’Arnaud hit his first grand slam and Tampa Bay stopped its longest losing streak of the year at five games by beating Chicago.
Snell (6-7) allowed three hits and two walks while throwing a season-high 109 pitches.
D’Arnaud had been hitless in 11 at-bats since a three-homer game Monday night in a 5-4 win over the New York Yankees that preceded his team’s recent skid.
Yolmer Sanchez got his 21st triple since 2017 for the White Sox, who won the first two games of the series and were seeking their first sweep since May 27-29 against Kansas City.
Astros 5, Rangers 3
HOUSTON – Michael Brantley homered twice, Jose Altuve also went deep and Houston beat struggling Texas for its fifth straight victory.
Rogelio Armenteros (1-0) pitched five solid innings in his first major league start, sending Texas to its seventh loss in a row.
Brantley put the AL West leaders on the board with a two-run drive to right-center in the first. He added a solo shot to right field in the eighth.
Lance Lynn (12-6) matched a career high with 12 strikeouts in seven innings. He allowed four runs and seven hits.
Twins 7, Athletics 6
MINNEAPOLIS – Max Kepler drove in four runs, including the game-winner to cap a two-run rally in the ninth inning, and Minnesota beat Oakland.
Ehire Adrianza’s third hit of the game was a triple off Liam Hendriks (2-1) that scored Luis Arraez from first base with one out in the ninth. After Hendriks struck out Jason Castro, Kepler lined the first pitch into left-center for his third hit.
Hendriks had picked up saves in each of the last two games and hadn’t allowed an earned run in 20 2/3 innings.
Reliever Kohl Stewart (2-1) earned the win after pitching a scoreless ninth. The Twins stranded 12 runners through the first eight innings and blew an early 4-0 lead before coming back to earn a split of their four-game series with Oakland.
Padres 5, Cubs 1
CHICAGO – Francisco Mejia homered, Fernando Tatis Jr. drove in three runs and San Diego avoided the sweep in Chicago.
Mejia and Tatis had two hits apiece for the Padres, who scored three runs in the ninth and have won just two of their last nine.
Kyle Hendricks (7-8) allowed two runs in seven innings and Anthony Rizzo had two hits for the NL Central-leading Cubs, who are 7-2 after the All-Star break. Cal Quantrill (3-2) threw 5 2/3 scoreless innings of relief, retiring 14 of his final 15 batters. He struck out six and walked none.
Giants 2, Mets 2, 12 Innings
SAN FRANCISCO – Mike Yastrzemski homered with one out in the bottom of the 12th inning to give San Francisco a 3-2 victory over New York.
The Giants hadn’t had a hit since the fourth when Yastrzemski lofted a full-count pitch from Robert Gsellman (1-2) the other way into the left-center stands. Yastrzemski is the grandson of Hall of Fame slugger Carl Yastrzemski.
Buster Posey had two hits and scored twice to help the surging Giants (50-50) get back to .500 with their 15th win in 18 games. San Francisco took three of four from New York for its first series win over the Mets since 2014. All three wins came in extra innings.
Zach Green added two hits in his major league debut for the Giants.
Brewers 7, Diamondbacks 4
PHOENIX – Tyler Saladino had his first career grand slam, Mike Moustakas hit a go-ahead run-scoring single in the eighth inning and Milwaukee beat Arizona.
Saladino broke out of a season-long slump with his first homer of the year, a grand slam off Alex Young in the fourth inning after Milwaukee fell behind 4-0.
Moustakas hit a go-ahead three-run homer in Saturday night’s 8-3 win and put the Brewers ahead late again, chopping a single through the middle after Keston Hiura led off the eighth inning with a triple against Yoan Lopez (1-4).
Freddy Peralta (4-3) pitched a scoreless seventh inning and Josh Hader worked around a single in the ninth for his 22nd save. The Brewers have won five of six.