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MLB roundup: Nationals blast 8 HRs, rout Brewers

[July 28, 2017] The Sports Xchange

WASHINGTON -- The Washington Nationals tied a franchise record Thursday with eight home runs in one game -- including four in a row in the third inning -- as they hammered the Milwaukee Brewers 15-2.

Brian Goodwin, Wilmer Difo, Bryce Harper and Ryan Zimmerman hit consecutive homers in the third inning off Milwaukee's Michael Blazek (0-1), making Washington the first team to accomplish the feat since Arizona in 2010.

Anthony Rendon later homered in the same inning as the Nationals became the sixth team in major league history to rack up five in one frame -- the first since Milwaukee in 2006. Harper and Zimmerman each finished with two home runs and Jose Lobaton also went deep as Washington equaled Montreal's eight-homer output of July 30, 1978, against Atlanta.

Blazek, making a spot start in place of the injured Matt Garza, was roughed up, barely recording more outs (seven) than home runs allowed (six) in his 2 1/3 innings. The beleaguered Brewers bullpen was forced to turn to left fielder Hernan Perez to record the final three outs.

Blue Jays 8, Athletics 4 (10 innings)

TORONTO -- Steve Pearce hit a game-ending grand slam off Liam Hendriks with two outs in the bottom of the 10th inning as Toronto completed a four-game sweep of Oakland.

Blue Jays manager John Gibbons, pitcher Marcus Stroman and catcher Russell Martin were ejected during the fifth inning in two separate arguments with plate umpire Will Little about calls on balls and strikes.

Kendrys Morales tied the game in the ninth with his second solo homer of the game for the Blue Jays. Josh Donaldson added a solo shot for Toronto.

Yankees 6, Rays 5 (11 innings)

NEW YORK -- Brett Gardner led off the bottom of the 11th inning with the game-winning homer as New York outlasted Tampa Bay.

Gardner gave the Yankees a fourth straight win when he slugged a 1-1 pitch from Andrew Kittredge (0-1) over the right field fence. It was his career-high 18th homer and his third career walk-off homer.

The late heroics were made possible when New York's Gary Sanchez hit the game-tying single with two outs in the ninth. His ground ball got in between second baseman Tim Beckham and shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria after Beckham hesitated for a second, scoring Gardner.

Cubs 6, White Sox 3

CHICAGO -- Kyle Schwarber went 3-for-4 with a triple, two home runs and four RBIs, and the Chicago Cubs cruised past the Chicago White Sox.

Anthony Rizzo also homered as the Cubs won their ninth consecutive road game. The Cubs climbed a season-high seven games above .500 and took three out of four games from the White Sox to win the annual crosstown series for the first time since 2013.

Jose Abreu homered twice and Willy Garcia also hit a solo home run for the White Sox, who lost for the 12th time in the past 13 games. The Cubs' Jon Lester (8-6) allowed two runs on four hits in seven innings.

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Diamondbacks 4, Cardinals 0

ST. LOUIS -- Zach Godley tossed seven shutout innings, and J.D. Martinez belted a grand slam as Arizona blanked St. Louis.

Godley (4-4) gave up only four hits and two walks while striking out seven. He threw 66 of his 105 pitches for strikes, obtaining a dozen outs via grounders. None of the 21 outs he recorded left the infield.

Archie Bradley and Fernando Rodney polished off the shutout for the Diamondbacks, who upped their lead for the National League's first wild-card spot over the Colorado Rockies to 1 1/2 games.

Indians 2, Angels 1

CLEVELAND -- Francisco Lindor's two-out RBI single in the seventh inning snapped a tie and lifted Cleveland over Los Angeles.

The Indians swept the three-game series to extend their winning streak to seven games.

Trevor Bauer (9-8) pitched eight innings, allowing one run on seven hits, with six strikeouts and one walk.

Padres 7, Mets 5

SAN DIEGO -- Dusty Coleman hit a three-run homer, and Manuel Margot had a leadoff blast and a two-run double as San Diego gained a four-game split with New York.

Luis Perdomo (5-5) allowed four runs, nine hits and two walks with three strikeouts in 6 2/3 innings. Left-hander Brad Hand got his second save in as many nights and fifth of the season.

The Padres chased Mets right-hander Chris Flexen three innings into his major league debut. Flexen took the loss, allowing four runs (three earned) on five hits, four walks and a hit batter with two strikeouts.

Marlins 4, Reds 1

MIAMI -- Derek Dietrich hit a solo homer and drove in three runs, and rookie left-hander Chris O'Grady pitched seven scoreless innings to lead Miami over Cincinnati.

Dietrich has eight RBIs in the past two games after driving in a career-high five Wednesday when the Marlins set a franchise record with 22 runs in a blowout of the Rangers at Texas. Miami won for the fifth time in its last seven games.

O'Grady (2-1) allowed five hits, including four singles, and two walks, lowering his ERA from 5.40 to 3.68. He struck out five while earning his second major league win and his first at home.

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