Related items

• MLB: Rockies halt Guardians' win streak

  Charlie Blackmon's three-run homer capped a big fourth inning that propelled the Colorado Rockies to an 8-6 victory over Cleveland on Monday, ending the Guardians' season-high nine-game winning streak.

  The Rockies scored six times in the fourth to erase an early 4-1 deficit and end the American League Central-leading Guardians' longest sequence of consecutive wins since an AL-record 22-game run in 2017.

  Blackmon added a run-scoring double and finished 3 for 4 to lead the Rockies to their fourth win in six games. Elehuris Montero had a two-run single during the fourth-inning outburst, while Sean Bouchard also drove in two runs and scored twice for Colorado.

  Josh Rogers earned the win after allowing two runs over five innings in relief of Anthony Molina, who was pulled after permitting three runs and walking three over the first 1 2/3 innings.

  Colorado loaded the bases with one out in the fourth on a pair of walks issued by Cleveland starter Xzavion Curry and a single by Brendan Rodgers. After a fielding error by Guardians' second baseman Andres Gimenez let in a run, Montero laced a single to center to tie the game at 4-4 before Blackmon drove Curry's pitch over the right field wall to put the Rockies ahead.

  Curry lasted just 3 1/3 innings and surrendered seven runs - six earned - on six hits.

  Blackmon increased the lead to 8-4 with a sixth-inning double that plated Bouchard, who had reached on a walk.

  The Guardians inched closer when Bo Naylor singled in the seventh and scored on Jose Ramirez's two-out double, then further closed the gap against Colorado closer Jalen Beeks in the ninth.

  Tyler Freeman doubled with one out and Gimenez followed with a run-scoring single to cut the lead to 8-6. Beeks settled down and struck out Ramirez, however, before retiring Josh Naylor on a pop-up to notch his fifth save.

  Freeman went 3 for 5 and opened the game with a double before later crossing the plate on a Ramirez groundout for Cleveland's first run. The center fielder put the Guardians up 3-0 with an RBI single in the second, after Cleveland had pushed home a run earlier in the inning without a hit due to two walks issued by Molina and a hit batter.

  Bouchard delivered a run-scoring double in the bottom of the second to get the Rockies on the board, though Cleveland answered in the third when Ramirez doubled and came home on David Fry's single for a 4-1 advantage.

   

  Brewers down Cubs in ex-manager Counsell's return to Milwaukee

  The Milwaukee Brewers scored five times in the eighth inning, highlighted by a three-run homer by Willy Adames, to hand former manager Craig Counsell a loss in his return to American Family Field with Monday's 5-1 win over the Chicago Cubs. 

  Jackson Chourio added two hits, including a run-scoring double, to help the Brewers take the opener of this high-profile three-game series between National League Central foes, a rivalry made more intense by Counsell resigning as Milwaukee's manager in the offseason to take the same position with the Cubs.

  Counsell is the Brewers' all-time leader in wins by a manager with 707 and guided the club to five play-off appearances in nine seasons. The Wisconsin native was greeted by a chorus of boos from the Milwaukee crowd during a video montage put together by the Brewers to honour their ex-skipper before the game.

  Neither team scored over the first seven innings while receiving standout performances from their starting pitchers, but the Brewers broke out against the Chicago bullpen after Counsell removed Justin Steele before the start of the bottom of the eighth.

  Sal Frelick greeted reliever Mark Leiter with a single and Brice Turang drew a walk before Chicago third baseman Nick Madrigal mishandled a ground ball to allow Frelick to score the go-ahead run.

  Adames then walloped Hayden Wesneski's 3-0 pitch over the center field wall to stake the Brewers to a 4-0 lead. Joey Ortiz walked two batters later and Chourio drove him home with a double to increase the margin.

  The Cubs ended the shutout bid in the ninth when Seiya Suzuki walked, advanced to third on a Cody Bellinger single and scored on Patrick Wisdom's sacrifice fly. 

  Steele struck out eight while yielding just three hits over seven innings, while Robert Gasser held the Cubs to three hits and struck out seven through six scoreless innings. 

   

  Lodolo returns to lead Reds to a fourth straight win

  Nick Lodolo threw 5 1/3 effective innings in his return from the injured list as the Cincinnati Reds extended their winning streak to a season-high four games with a 3-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals.

  Lodolo (4-2) gave up a solo homer to Paul Golschmidt in the first inning but was nearly spotless thereafter in his first start since missing just over two weeks with a groin strain. The left-hander permitted just four other hits and walked none while recording three strikeouts.

  Jeimer Candelario answered Goldschmidt's third homer in two games with a solo shot of his own in the bottom of the first inning before the Reds moved ahead with two unearned runs off Lance Lynn in the second. 

  Nick Martini opened Cincinnati's half of the inning by reaching on an error by St. Louis third baseman Nolan Arenado. Jonathan India then singled, and Will Benson followed with a base hit of his own to plate Martini for a 2-1 lead.

  Another St. Louis error, a misplay by Goldschmidt on a grounder off the bat of Jacob Hurtubise, allowed India to score the Reds' third run.

  The Cardinals didn't manage another hit after Lodolo exited, as Fernando Cruz and Sam Moll combined for 2 2/3 scoreless innings before Lucas Sims retired the side in order in the ninth for his first save of the season.

  St. Louis had a season-high run of five consecutive wins halted, though shortstop Masyn WInn extended his hitting streak to 16 games with a third-innng single.

  Lynn (2-3) worked six innings and allowed all three Cincinnati runs, though just one was earned due to the Cardinals' two errors in the second. 

   

• MLB: Orioles' Bradish throws seven no-hit innings

  Kyle Bradish struck out 11 over seven no-hit innings in a dominant start that propelled the Baltimore Orioles to a 4-1 win over the Chicago White Sox on Sunday and a sweep of the four-game series.

  Bradish walked four before being removed to start the bottom of the eighth inning after having thrown 103 pitches. The right-hander was making his fifth start since returning from an elbow injury that sidelined him for just over a month to begin the season.

  Danny Coloumbe relieved Bradish and surrendered a lead-off homer to Danny Mendick, Chicago's only hit of the game.

  Adley Rutschman went 2 for 4 for Baltimore and snapped a scoreless tie with a two-run homer off Chicago starter Garrett Crochet in the sixth inning.

  Crochet also recorded 11 strikeouts and had only yielded one hit before Jordan Westburg singled in front of Rutschman's sixth homer of the season.

  Colton Cowser extended the lead to 3-0 with a solo homer in the top of the eighth inning, and the Orioles tacked on another run in the ninth. Anthony Santander drew a walk before being removed for pinch-runner Cedric Mullins, who stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error before crossing the plate on James McCann's sacrifice fly.

  Craig Kimbrel retired the side in order in the bottom of the ninth to earn his 12th save and close out the White Sox's fifth straight loss and ninth in 10 games.

   

  Guardians finish sweep of Angels, run winning streak to nine 

  Ben Lively threw seven solid innings and the Cleveland Guardians held off a late comeback attempt from the Los Angeles Angels to earn a 5-4 victory and extend their winning streak to nine games.

  Johnathan Rodriguez went 2 for 4 with a two-run double to help Cleveland to its longest winning streak since an American League-record 22-game run in 2017. The AL Central-leading Guardians also matched the best 53-game start in franchise history at 36-17, a feat they last accomplished during their last World Series appearance in 1995.

  Lively (4-2) held the Angels to two runs on four hits while striking out five to win his third consecutive start. Emmanuel Clase worked a scoreless ninth to record his 17th save, the most in the majors this season.

  Rodriguez also started a three-run sixth inning with a lead-off single that chased Los Angeles starter Reid Detmers with the game tied at 2-2. Adam Cimber replaced Detmers and issued a pair of walks to load the bases before hitting Tyler Freeman with a pitch to force in the go-ahead run.

  Andres Gimenez followed with a run-scoring single before Jose Ramirez drew a bases-loaded walk against Matt Moore to extend the lead to 5-2.

  The Angels put forth a two-out rally with Lively out of the game in the eighth, however. Nolan Schanuel began the comeback try with a double off Sam Hentges and scored on Luis Rengifo's single to cut the lead to 5-3. Taylor Ward then greeted reliever Scott Barlow with a single that brought in Rengifo and trimmed the margin to a run.

  Barlow prevented further damage, though, before Clase protected the lead in the ninth to finish off the Guardians' sweep of the three-game series.

  Rodriguez gave Cleveland a 2-0 edge with a two-out double off Detmers in the third inning. The Guardians had put two runners on when Detmers hit Gimenez with a pitch and walked Ramirez.

  Detmers (3-5) was charged with three runs in five-plus innings and finished with eight strikeouts.

   

  Rays rally to halt Royals' eight-game winning streak

  Pinch-hitter Brandon Lowe came through with a go-ahead three-run triple in the seventh inning as the Tampa Bay Rays rallied for a 4-1 victory over Kansas City that stopped the Royals' eight-game winning streak.

  The Rays trailed 1-0 before scoring four times in the seventh to end a six-game skid and prevent the up-and-coming Royals from sweeping the three-game series.

  Tampa Bay appeared on its way to another defeat when former Ray Michael Wacha retired the game's first 15 hitters before having his perfect-game bid broken up in the sixth.

  Wacha (4-5) ran into trouble in the seventh, though, as Harold Ramirez opened the Rays' half of the inning with a single and Isaac Paredes followed with a double to chase the Kansas City starter.

  John Schreiber relieved Wacha and hit Randy Arozarena with a pitch to load the bases. Two batters later, Lowe drove a pitch into the right field corner to drive in all three runners and put the Rays ahead.

  Lowe later scored Tampa Bay's final run on a Jose Siri single. 

  Bobby Witt went 2 for 5 and accounted for the Royals' lone run with a solo homer in the sixth inning. The star shortstop was thrown out at the plate by Arozarena when trying to score on a Salvador Perez single, however, to help halt a Kansas City rally attempt in the eighth.

  The Royals also threatened in the ninth by loading the bases with two out, but Pete Fairbanks retired Witt on a groundout to end the game and pick up his fifth save.

  Wacha was charged with two runs on three hits over six-plus innings. Rays starter Taj Bradley allowed just one hit and struck out six over five scoreless innings.

   

   

• Atlanta Braves star Acuna tears ACL

  The Atlanta Braves announced that star outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. will miss the remainder of the season after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in Sunday's win over the Pittsburgh Pirates.

  Acuna, the 2023 National League MVP, was injured attempting to steal third base in the first inning of Atlanta's 8-1 victory. Though he was able to walk off the field under his own power and the Braves initially termed the injury as left knee soreness, subsequent tests revealed a complete tear of the ACL that will require surgery at a yet-to-determined date.

  The four-time All-Star previously tore the ACL in his right knee on July 20, 2021 and missed the remainder of that season, as well as the Braves' first 19 games of the 2022 season.

  “I saw the catcher throwing the ball back to the pitcher very slow,” Acuña told reporters afterward. “I was timing that so I could steal third. But in that moment, he threw it hard. So I had to come back, and that’s when I felt (his knee buckle).

  Acuna unanimously won the NL's MVP award with a monster 2023 campaign in which he became the first player in Major League Baseball history to record 40 home runs and 60 stolen bases in a season. The 26-year-old led the majors in stolen bases (73) and runs scored (149), ranked second with a .337 batting average, and produced 41 homers and 106 RBIs in 159 games.

  Though Acuna's numbers were down so far in 2024, he still entered Sunday's game tied for fourth in the majors with 16 stolen bases. The 2018 NL Rookie of the Year was hitting .250 with four homers and 15 RBIs in 49 games at the time of the injury.

  Atlanta, which has won the last six NL East titles, is already dealing with another season-ending injury to a top player with ace pitcher Spencer Strider undergoing surgery in April to repair a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow. 

  The Braves are currently six games behind the first-place Philadelphia Phillies in the division standings.