MLB roundup: Chris Sale strikes out 10, leading Red Sox past Orioles 7-2

Chris Sale struck out 10 over six sharp innings, J.D. Martinez homered in a third straight game and the surging Boston Red Sox beat the Baltimore Orioles 7-2 on Saturday in Baltimore.

Sale (3-7) gave up two runs, six hits and a walk. Both runs came in the sixth, after the left-hander extended his streak of innings without allowing an earned run to 22.

Sale ended his outing by blowing a third strike past Keon Broxton with runners on the corners and Boston nursing a 3-2 lead.

Martinez hit his 16th home run, the fourth in three games, to provide the Red Sox with a two-run cushion in the seventh.

The defending World Series champions (38-34) have won four straight and can move five games over .500 for the first time by completing a three-game sweep Sunday.

Baltimore got an RBI double from Renato Nunez and sacrifice fly from Jonathan Villar. The Orioles have gone winless in 15 straight series (0-14-1) since taking two of three from the White Sox on April 22-24.

Angels 5, Rays 2

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Charlie Morton lost for the first time in 22 starts and Los Angeles hit three homers in a win over Tampa Bay.

Morton (8-1) struck out nine in six innings, giving up four runs on five hits in his first loss since Aug. 11.

David Fletcher, Justin Bour and Kevan Smith homered for the Angels, who won for the fourth time in five games.

Hansel Robles picked up his 10th save in 12 opportunities.

Yandy Diaz hit a three-run homer, his 11th, for the Rays.

Jose Suarez (2-1) gave up three runs on five hits in 5 2/3 innings.

Phillies 6, Braves 5

ATLANTA – Cesar Hernandez singled in two runs off closer Luke Jackson in the ninth inning, and Philadelphia rallied from a one-run deficit to snap Atlanta’s eight-game winning streak.

It was a big comeback for the Phillies, who looked poised to lose for the fifth time in six games and fall 3 1/2 games behind their rivals in NL East race.

Braves starter Sean Newcomb had a scary moment in the third inning when he was struck on the back of the head by J.T. Realmuto’s ground-rule double. He walked off the field under his own power.

Hernandez hit his seventh homer in the fourth.

Hector Neris earned his 15th save in 16 chances. Edubray Ramos (1-0) earned the win.

Josh Donaldson hit a three-run homer for Atlanta. Jackson (3-2) blew his sixth save in 16 chances.

Astros 7, Blue Jays 2

HOUSTON – Yordan Alvarez homered and Jack Mayfield hit three doubles as Houston’s rookies led the way in a win over Toronto.

Alvarez became the fourth player in major league history to hit four home runs in his first five games. He sent a solo drive into the upper deck in right field and finished with three hits.

Josh Reddick also homered for the AL West-leading Astros.

Framber Valdez (3-2), another rookie, struck out eight in six innings, allowing two runs and four hits.

Clayton Richard (0-3) yielded five runs and seven hits in five innings.

Rangers 4, Reds 3

CINCINNATI – Jeff Mathis had a pair of hits and drove in a run, Mike Minor pitched into the seventh inning for his first win in nearly a month, and Texas won its second straight over Cincinnati.

The Rangers took advantage of three Reds errors and finally got some runs for Minor (6-4).

The lefty gave up Yasiel Puig’s two-run homer and Curt Casali’s solo shot in 6 1/3 innings for his first win since May 20. Shawn Kelley pitched the ninth for his eighth save in 12 chances.

Tanner Roark (4-6) has lost all of his three starts in June.

The Reds also lost rookie center fielder Nick Senzel, who fouled a pitch off his left eye in the fifth inning.

Giants 8, Brewers 7

SAN FRANCISCO – Catcher Steven Vogt hit two triples and left fielder Mike Yastrzemski made a nifty catch for the final out to help San Francisco beat Milwaukee.

The Giants rallied from a 5-1 deficit for their fourth straight win.

Christian Yelich hit his major league-leading 26th homer for the Brewers, who have lost three of four. Yelich extended his hitting streak to 12 games and Manny Pina also homered for the Brewers.

Giants reliever Trevor Gott (3-0) pitched an inning and got the win. Will Smith picked up his 18th save in 18 tries. Starter Madison Bumgarner gave up three earned in six innings.

Vogt became the first Giants catcher to triple twice in a game since Steve Nicosia did it in July 18, 1984. Vogt hadn’t hit a triple since May 4, 2017.

Diamondbacks 10, Nationals 3

WASHINGTON – Ketel Marte hit two of Arizona’s four solo homers off Stephen Strasburg in a victory over Washington.

Strasburg (7-4) allowed four homers in a game for the second time in his career, the first since August 8, 2014, at Atlanta. Strasburg gave up a season-high nine hits and tied a season-high by allowing six earned runs.

Adam Jones and Christian Walker also homered off Strasburg. Kevin Cron hit a pinch-hit homer.

The Nationals scored all their runs un the bottom half of the first. Trea Turner scored on Adam Eaton’s sacrifice fly before Juan Soto and Matt Adams hit solo homers.

Yoshihisa Hirano (3-3) allowed two hits while striking out two in 1 2/3 innings.

Indians 4, Tigers 2

DETROIT – Shane Bieber pitched impressively into the eighth inning, and Leonys Martin stole home to lift Cleveland past Detroit.

Bieber (6-2) allowed four hits and struck out 12 in 7 2/3 innings. Detroit managed only one baserunner through the first six innings before scoring twice in the seventh.

Martin provided the highlight of the game in the eighth, taking off from third while reliever Victor Alcantara was preparing to make a pitch. Alcantara stepped off and threw to the plate, and although the ball arrived at the same time as Martin, the Cleveland runner’s hand knocked the ball away as he reached for home.

Brad Hand earned his 20th save in 20 chances.

Detroit manager Ron Gardenhire was ejected in the sixth.

The first three Cleveland runs came in the fifth off reliever Nick Ramirez (3-1).

Marlins 4, Pirates 3

MIAMI – Pablo Lopez pitched seven strong innings and allowed three runs tas Miami edged Pittsburgh.

Garrett Cooper and Harold Ramirez each had three hits for the Marlins while Starlin Castro knocked in the go-ahead run in the fifth.

The Pirates have lost eight of nine.

Lopez (5-5) gave up seven hits and one walk. He struck out four.

Sergio Romo earned his 12th save in 13 opportunities.

Pirates’ 24-year old right-hander Dario Agrazal, a native of Panama, made his debut. He pitched four innings and allowed six hits and three runs, two earned, while striking out three.

Geoff Hartlieb (0-1) took the loss.

Mets 8, Cardinals 7

NEW YORK – Second baseman Jeff McNeil made a game-saving throw from right field to home plate for the final out, and New York held off St. Louis after starter Noah Syndergaard exited with a strained right hamstring.

Pete Alonso smashed a mammoth three-run homer for the Mets off the facing of the third deck in a five-run first inning against Michael Wacha (4-3). J.D. Davis homered and had four hits, finishing a triple short of the cycle. And this time, New York’s beleaguered bullpen finally held on.

Syndergaard (5-4) reached for his right hamstring after throwing a pitch in the seventh. He threw 102 pitches and was charged with five runs, four earned, and six hits in six-plus innings.

Dexter Fowler homered early and had three RBIs for the Cardinals, who stole six bases – their most in 20 years.

Yankees 8, White Sox 4

CHICAGO – Gleyber Torres hit a two-run homer and New York Yankees stayed perfect when using an opener.

Torres capped New York’s four-run fourth with his 15th homer. He also had a sacrifice fly in the sixth.

Gary Sanchez added three RBIs as New York leapfrogged Tampa Bay for the AL East lead. Cameron Maybin connected for his second homer, and Didi Gregorius had two hits.

Reynaldo Lopez (4-7) permitted five runs and six hits in six innings after the start of the game was delayed 32 minutes by rain.

Nestor Cortes Jr. (1-0) pitched five-plus innings for his first major league win. He allowed two runs and six hits, struck out seven and walked none.

Twins 5, Royals 4

MINNEAPOLIS – C.J. Cron drove in the go-ahead run for Minnesota with a sixth-inning double, making Jake Odorizzi the second 10-game winner in the majors this season and capping a comeback victory.

Jorge Soler sent Odorizzi (10-2) and the Twins to an immediate deficit with a towering two-run homer in the first, and Whit Merrifield’s solo shot started a two-run fifth inning that ended with a 4-1 lead for the Royals.

The Twins they surged back against Royals starter Glenn Sparkman (1-3) with a solo drive by Max Kepler and a two-run smash from Marwin Gonzalez.

The teams played in front of Minnesota’s fifth sellout crowd of the season, thanks to the pregame ceremony for Joe Mauer’s uniform retirement.

Athletics 11, Mariners 2

OAKLAND, Calif. – Frankie Montas struck out nine in six innings for his team-leading ninth win, and Oakland beat Seattle. After the game ended, the Mariners announced they had traded AL home run leader Edwin Encarnacion to the New York Yankees.

Marcus Semien homered and scored three runs for the A’s, extending his career-high hitting streak to 12 games. Jurickson Profar had three hits and drove in four runs.

Domingo Santana singled twice for Seattle, which lost for the third time in five games.

Trading Encarnacion was the latest indication the last-place Mariners are looking toward the future after beginning the season 13-2. Seattle traded Jay Bruce to Philadelphia on June 2 and may be in line to make additional moves before next month’s deadline.

Montas (9-2) won his fifth straight, allowing two runs, six hits and walked one.

The A’s scored three runs in the first against opener Gerson Bautista (0-1), then got to Wade LeBlanc for one in the second and five in the fourth.

Rockies 14, Padres 8

DENVER – Charlie Blackmon finished with four hits for the third straight game, Ian Desmond hit a grand slam and drove in five runs, and Colorado beat San Diego in another wild Coors Field game.

Blackmon became the first Rockies player to have three straight four-hit games.

San Diego third baseman Manny Machado had two hits and scored twice before being ejected by plate umpire Bill Welke in the fifth inning after a called third strike.

Ian Kinsler had three hits and three RBIs for the Padres, who nearly rallied from a six-run deficit for the second straight night.

Cubs 2, Dodgers 1

LOS ANGELES – Anthony Rizzo hit a go-ahead, two-run homer off closer Kenley Jansen in the ninth, lifting Chicago over NL West-leading Los Angeles.

Jansen hit Kris Bryant in the arm leading off the ninth. Rizzo followed with his 19th homer.

Jansen (2-2) retired the next three batters, including two on strikeouts, to end the inning.

Kyle Ryan (2-1) got the victory with one-third inning of relief.

Jansen spoiled a gem by Walker Buehler, who outdueled Yu Darvish with seven scoreless innings.

Buehler struck out six and walked none.

Alex Verdugo homered leading off the fourth to give the Dodgers a 1-0 lead.

Darvish gave up one run and two hits in seven innings. He struck out 10 and walked one.