All-Star Yandy Diaz went 3 for 4 with a home run and four RBIs to help the Tampa Bay Rays end a season-high seven-game losing streak with a 10-4 win over the Atlanta Braves on Sunday.
Isaac Paredes added a two-run homer as the Rays roughed up Braves All-Star Bryce Elder to prevent a sweep of the three-game series between teams with the two best records in the major leagues. The loss was just Atlanta's third in 23 games since June 14.
Elder entered the contest leading the majors with a 2.45 ERA but lasted only 3 1/3 innings in his shortest start of the season. The young right-hander allowed a career-high seven runs on six hits and walked four without striking out a batter.
Rays starter Zach Eflin issued five walks in five innings, but limited the damage by holding Atlanta to two runs to earn his 10th win of the season, one shy of teammate Shane McClanahan for the American League lead.
Former Rays catcher Travis d'Arnaud had a solo homer to extend Atlanta's streak of consecutive games with at least one home run to a franchise-record 26 games.
Red-hot Orioles blast six home runs to finish sweep of Twins
Anthony Santander had two of six Baltimore home runs as the hot-hitting Orioles rolled to a 15-2 rout of the Minnesota Twins to complete a three-game series sweep.
All-Stars Adley Rutschman and Austin Hays also went deep while knocking in two runs each in Baltimore's fifth consecutive victory. The Orioles also got a three-run homer from Aaron Hicks and a two-run shot from Ramon Urias, who finished 2 for 5 with three RBIs.
Baltimore collected 17 hits for the afternoon and has averaged 8.8 runs per game during the winning streak while batting .309 as a team.
The Orioles also received a strong pitching effort from Kyle Gibson, who tied a season high with 11 strikeouts while holding the Twins to two runs and three hits over seven innings.
Joe Ryan fanned 10 in 4 1/3 innings for Minnesota, but served up Hays and Urias' homers and was tagged for five runs.
In search of their first winning season and playoff appearance since 2016, the Orioles enter the All-Star break with the AL's second-best record at 54-35 and are two games behind Tampa Bay for first place in the AL East.
The Twins dropped to 45-46 and missed out on a chance to regain the top spot in the AL Central after Cleveland lost to the Kansas City Royals on Sunday. The Guardians maintained a half-game edge on Minnesota.
Miley silences Reds' bats as Brewers gain ground in NL Central
Wade Miley allowed just four hits in six splendid innings as the Milwaukee Brewers closed the gap on the first-place Cincinnati Reds in the NL Central with a 1-0 win.
The Brewers took two of three games from their division rivals and will enter the All-Star break one game back of Cincinnati in the standings.
Milwaukee got the only run it needed in the first inning when Christian Yelich stroked a leadoff double off Ben Lively and scored on Jesse Winker's two-out single.
Miley made the lead stand by tying a season high with eight strikeouts and working around three walks. After Elvis Peguero and Joel Payamps each tossed a scoreless inning in relief, All-Star closer Devin Williams fanned two in a perfect ninth to register his 20th save.
Lively yielded four hits and two walks while striking out five over 5 2/3 innings in a hard-luck loss.
MLB: Braves lose combined no-hit bid on homer with 2 outs in 9th
Max Fried and two relievers combined on a no-hitter for 8 2/3 innings before J.D. Martinez homered to spoil the bid and the Atlanta Braves defeated the New York Mets 4-1 on Saturday.
Fried pitched seven no-hit innings but was pulled after throwing 109 pitches. Joe Jimenez walked two in a hitless eighth and Raisel Iglesias retired the first two batters in the ninth.
Martinez then homered just over the wall in right field on the next pitch off Iglesias, who walked Jeff McNeil and allowed Harrison Bader’s infield single before getting Brett Baty to fly to center.
The Braves fell just shy of their first no-hitter since Kent Mercker against the Dodgers on April 8, 1994. The no-hitter drought is the fourth-longest in the majors.
Orlando Arcia hit a two-run homer and Michael Harris II added three hits for the Braves, who won their fourth straight following a three-game skid.
Skenes debuts as Pirates outslug Cubs
Paul Skenes struck out 7 over four-plus innings in his major league debut and Yasmani Grandal hit a go-ahead three-run homer to give the Pittsburgh Pirates a 10-9 win over the Chicago Cubs.
Skenes, the first overall pick in the 2023 draft, reached 100 mph on 17 of his 84 pitches. He allowed at least one runner in every inning and was pulled after yielding a pair of hits to open the fourth. He was charged with three runs on six hits with two walks and a hit batter.
Pirates relievers Kyle Nicolas, Josh Fleming and Colin Holderman threw 26 balls in a span of 31 pitches sandwiched around a 2 hour, 20-minute rain delay in the top of the fifth.
The Cubs drew six bases-loaded walks in the fifth, the most by a major league team in a single inning since the Chicago White Sox had eight in the seventh on April 22, 1959.
Connor Joe, Oneil Cruz, Andrew McCutchen and Michael A. Taylor homered as Pittsburgh snapped a three-game skid.
Blue Jays rally to cool Twins
Ernie Clement snapped a seventh-inning tie with an RBI single and the Toronto Blue Jays erased a six-run deficit in a 10-8 win over the Minnesota Twins.
Danny Jansen hit a two-run homer and Bo Bichette and Davis Schneider added solo shots for the Blue Jays, who set season highs in runs and hits (16) to send the Twins to just their third loss in 19 games.
Carlos Santana had a three-run home run and Ryan Jeffers also went deep as Minnesota’s seven-game road winning streak was snapped one win shy of matching the team record.
The Twins opened a 7-1 lead headed to the bottom of the third, but the Blue Jays got two runs back in the bottom half and scored three more in the fifth on homers by Schneider and Jansen. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. had a two-run single in the sixth to tie it and Clement and Schneider had RBIs in the seventh.
MLB: Phillies' Suarez becomes majors' first 7-game winner
Ranger Suarez continued his stellar start with seven scoreless innings and was backed by home runs from Nick Castellanos and Johan Rojas in the Philadelphia Phillies’ 8-2 win over the Miami Marlins on Friday.
Suarez allowed three hits with nine strikeouts and two walks to become the first seven-game winner in the majors. His 1.50 ERA is the second lowest in MLB.
Rojas and J.T. Realmuto each had three of Philadelphia’s 15 hits, while Bryce Harper had two with an RBI double.
The major league-leading Phillies have won 12 of their last 14 games.
Castellanos took Trevor Rogers deep in the second inning and Rojas added an RBI single later in the inning. He homered off reliever Eli Villalobos in the seventh to make it 7-0.
The Marlins dropped to 10-30 on the season and 1-6 since trading second baseman Luis Arraez to San Diego.
Arraez lifts Padres with walk-off hit
Luis Arraez singled home the winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the San Diego Padres a 2-1 victory, ending the Los Angeles Dodgers’ seven-game winning streak.
Playing his first home game since he was acquired from Miami last Saturday, Arraez lined a single to center to score pinch-runner Tyler Wade with one out.
Padres starter Michael King struck out 11 and held the Dodgers to just two hits in seven scoreless innings.
Counterpart Tyler Glasnow was nearly as good, yielding his only hit over seven innings on Luis Campusano’s third-inning home run and striking out 10 for the third time in four outings.
The Padres have won seven of nine to move back over .500 (21-20).
Twins defeat Blue Jays to stay hot
Carlos Santana homered to snap a fifth-inning tie and Joe Ryan pitched one-run ball over seven innings to lead the surging Minnesota Twins to a 3-2 win over the Toronto Blue Jays.
Carlos Correa had two hits and two runs to help the Twins win for the 16th time in 18 games.
Ryan limited the Blue Jays to one hit without a walk and struck out seven for his first victory in three starts. Jhoan Duran worked the eighth and Griffin Jax pitched the ninth for his fifth save.
Santan’s home run off Yusei Kikuchi gave Minnesota at least one in 18 consecutive games in Toronto, extending the second-longest such streak in team history.
Isaiah Kiner-Falefa had a home run among his three hits as Toronto lost for the sixth time in eight games.
MLB: Diamondbacks finish sweep of reeling Reds
Corbin Carroll had a tiebreaking single in the eighth inning and Slade Cecconi pitched 5 1/3 innings of one-run ball as the Arizona Diamondbacks won their fourth straight, 5-4 over the reeling Cincinnati Reds.
Joc Pederson homered in the first inning and finished with three hits for Arizona, which got RBIs from five different players.
Spencer Steer’s two-run single in the seventh completed Cincinnati’s comeback from a 4-1 deficit, but the Reds lost their eighth in a row, a stretch during which they scored just 17 runs.
Cincinnati has lost 11 of 13 to drop a season-high five games under .500 (16-21).
Cecconi gave up three hits with two strikeouts before Logan Allen allowed three runs over the next 1 1/3 innings. Paul Seward struck out two in the ninth for his first save of the season.
Twins rough up Gilbert in rout of Mariners
Manny Margot highlighted a five-run first inning with a three-run double off Mariners ace Logan Gilbert and the Minnesota Twins rolled to an 11-1 win over Seattle.
Pablo Lopez struck out 10 and allowed one run over 6 1/3 innings to win his third straight start.
Ryan Jeffers and Max Kepler each homered and knocked in two runs for the Twins, who have won 15 of 17 to move a season-best seven games over .500 (22-15).
Minnesota has averaged 6.6 runs and 10.1 hits over that 17-game span.
Gilbert failed to pitch into the sixth for the first time in eight starts this season and surrendered eight runs on nine hits with two walks in five innings. His AL-leading 1.69 ERA increased to 2.94.
Astros avoid season sweep to Yankees
Yordan Alvarez and Jon Singleton homered in the first inning and the Houston Astros held on for a 4-3 victory over the New York Yankees.
Alvarez hit a two-out shot off Marcus Stroman and Singleton followed Jeremy Pena’s walk for a 3-0 lead.
Pena added a fifth-inning RBI single for the Astros, who were outscored 40-18 in the first six games this season – all losses – against the Yankees.
Ronel Blanco allowed two runs on four hits over 5 2/3 innings and Josh Hader got the final four outs for his fourth save.
Anthony Volpe had a two-run homer and Aaron Judge belted a 473-foot shot in the eighth, but New York had a five-game winning streak snapped.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
