Major League Baseball roundup: Rangers' Minor flirts with perfection

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[June 28, 2018]  Rangers left-hander Mike Minor retired the first 19 hitters he faced Wednesday and allowed no runs on one hit through seven innings, leading Texas to a 5-2 victory over the San Diego Padres in the rubber match of a three-game series at Arlington, Texas.

Eric Hosmer sharply grounded a single to center with one out in the seventh to end Minor's bid for the sixth no-hitter and second perfect game in Rangers history. Kenny Rogers was perfect in Texas' most recent no-hitter on July 28, 1994.

Minor (6-4) had five strikeouts and no walks, getting considerable help from his defense in his bid for history. Keone Kela struck out two in a perfect ninth to pick up his 20th save.

Padres starter Clayton Richard (7-7) gave up four runs on 10 hits and a walk with three strikeouts in seven innings. The result snapped his personal four-decision winning streak.

Astros 7, Blue Jays 6

Alex Bregman crushed a walk-off, two-run home run to cap a five-run comeback and send host Houston past Toronto.

Bregman, who recorded four extra-base hits in the Astros' win on Tuesday, doubled twice before his 14th home run clinched the rubber match of the series for Houston. Bregman smoked his dinger to left off Blue Jays closer Ryan Tepera (5-3), plating Tony Kemp.

The Blue Jays jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first inning against Dallas Keuchel, who allowed six runs on seven hits and three walks with three strikeouts over 5 1/3 innings.

Red Sox 9, Angels 6

Rafael Devers knocked a tiebreaking RBI double in the seventh inning and finished 3-for-4 to lead Boston past visiting Los Angeles.

J.D. Martinez added a three-run blast for his major-league-leading 25th homer, Sandy Leon hit a two-run blast and had three RBIs, and Eduardo Nunez added a solo shot as Boston won for the fifth time in six games.

Martin Maldonado slugged a three-run homer and Ian Kinsler had a solo shot, but the Angels couldn't avoid their season-high-tying fifth straight loss.

Giants 1, Rockies 0

Brandon Crawford smacked a walk-off home run with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning, ending what began as a brilliant pitchers' duel between Madison Bumgarner and Kyle Freeland in a victory for San Francisco over visiting Colorado.

Crawford's ninth homer of the year came on the third pitch of the at-bat from Harrison Musgrave (0-3), giving the Giants a fourth straight victory overall and second in two days over the Rockies.

Bumgarner gave up two hits and two walks in his seven innings, striking out eight, including the 1,500th punchout of his career against the first batter he faced. Freeland allowed four hits and one walk in his seven innings, striking out four.

Phillies 3, Yankees 0

Zach Eflin pitched seven shutout innings, Rhys Hoskins hit a three-run homer, and Philadelphia salvaged the final game of the series with a shutout of visiting New York.

Eflin (6-2) gave up four hits and two walks while striking out six. Cesar Hernandez and Hoskins contributed two hits for the Phillies, who managed eight overall.

Yankees starter Luis Cessa (0-1) lasted only three innings, giving up five hits and three runs. Aaron Hicks had a pair of hits for the Yankees, who played without Aaron Judge (rest) and managed just four hits.

Mariners 8, Orioles 7 (11 innings)

Kyle Seager tied the game with a two-run homer in the ninth inning, and Denard Span delivered a sacrifice fly in the 11th inning as visiting Seattle rallied past Baltimore.

Jean Segura started the winning rally with a double off Mychal Givens (0-5) leading off the 11th. Donnie Hart came on for the Orioles with one out and gave up a single to Seager that moved Segura to third. Span then sent a fly ball to medium-deep center field that brought in Segura with the decisive run.

Chasen Bradford (5-0) earned the win, and Edwin Diaz got his major-league-leading 30th save -- his third in three nights versus Baltimore.

Indians 5, Cardinals 1

Edwin Encarnacion and Lonnie Chisenhall hit back-to-back homers to help Cleveland salvage a three-game set with a victory over host St. Louis.

Rookie right-hander Shane Bieber (3-0) pitched six strong innings and got his first major league hit. He gave up one run and six hits before exiting, striking out five and walking one.

Jose Martinez had two hits and one RBI for St. Louis, which had a four-game winning streak halted.

Diamondbacks 2, Marlins 1

Robbie Ray allowed just two hits over six scoreless innings in his first major league start in nearly two months, and Daniel Descalso's solo home run in the eighth proved to be the winning run as Arizona won at Miami.

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Texas Rangers starting pitcher Mike Minor (36) throws a pitch in the first inning against the San Diego Padres at Globe Life Park in Arlington. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

The Diamondbacks have won two in a row and six of their past seven games. Arizona is 10-2 in its last 12 road games.

Ray (3-0) issued two walks -- back-to-back to open the fourth inning -- and struck out six to improve his ERA from 4.88 to 4.01. Brad Boxberger allowed a solo home run to Starlin Castro in the ninth but held on for his 19th save of the season.

Reds 6, Braves 5

Adam Duvall's two-run single capped a three-run rally in the seventh inning and lifted Cincinnati to a victory at Atlanta.

The Reds mounted the comeback against Sam Freeman (2-4) and scored all three runs with two outs. Scooter Gennett drove in the first run with a single and Duvall, after Dan Winkler replaced Freeman, put Cincinnati ahead with a two-run single to right field.

Cincinnati won two of three in the series and has won nine of its last 10 games. The Reds improved to 31-31 since Jim Riggleman became interim manager on April 19.

Royals 5, Brewers 4

Mike Moustakas homered and Danny Duffy threw six strong innings to lead Kansas City to a win at Milwaukee.

Brad Miller hit a three-run home run in the ninth inning to get the Brewers within one with no outs. Royals reliever Wily Peralta came in, recorded a strikeout, and after a pinch-hit single by Erik Kratz, got Ryan Braun to ground into a game-ending double play.

Duffy (4-7) allowed one run on five hits with seven strikeouts and two walks.

Athletics 3, Tigers 0

Jed Lowrie continued his rampage against Detroit, Chris Bassitt collected his first win of the season, and Oakland claimed a shutout win at Detroit.

Lowrie had a pair of doubles and drove in the first run of the game. He had the go-ahead hit in each of the previous two games of the four-game series and has seven hits, including two homers, over the past three games.

Bassitt (1-3) was recalled from Triple-A Nashville to make the start. He gave up just two hits while overcoming five walks and striking out five. The Tigers have lost eight in a row.

Pirates 5, Mets 3

Pittsburgh scored four runs in the top of the ninth, including David Freese's go-ahead two-run single, for a comeback win at New York.

The Mets entered the ninth with a 3-1 lead. Against reliever Jeurys Familia (3-4), Elias Diaz, Corey Dickerson and Gregory Polanco opened with singles, scoring Diaz to make it 3-2. Familia walked Jordy Mercer to load the bases and was lifted.

Anthony Swarzak gave up Freese's base hit on his first pitch, giving Pittsburgh a 4-3 lead. After Austin Meadows struck out, Josh Bell followed with a sacrifice fly to make it 5-3.

White Sox 6, Twins 1

James Shields scattered four hits while pitching seven shutout innings, and Jose Abreu and Avisail Garcia each homered as host Chicago won its third straight game in beating slumping Minnesota.

It was just the second win since Opening Day for Shields (3-9). He walked two and struck out five while allowing three earned runs or fewer for the eighth time in his past nine starts.

Abreu had two hits, including his 12th homer of the year in the fifth inning, and scored two runs. Leury Garcia, Tim Anderson and Charlie Tilson each added two hits and an RBI for Chicago.

Dodgers 7, Cubs 5

Max Muncy, Joc Pederson and Cody Bellinger hit home runs, and Alex Wood went seven innings for the first time since his season debut as Los Angeles defeated visiting Chicago.

The Dodgers increased their major-league-leading home run total in June to 51, the second most in a single month in franchise history and two off the club's all-time high. Pederson has 11 home runs on the season, with 10 of those in June alone. Muncy hit his ninth in the month, and Bellinger hit his eighth. Both have 16 total.

Willson Contreras drove in four runs for the Cubs, who saw starter Kyle Hendricks give up six earned runs in a start for the first time since June 19, 2015.

--Field Level Media

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