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MLB roundup: Rizzo belts 2 HRs in Cubs victory

[May 25, 2017] The Sports Xchange

CHICAGO -- Anthony Rizzo went 3-for-3 with two home runs and starter Kyle Hendricks confined the San Francisco Giants to two runs and five hits as the Chicago Cubs held on for a 5-4 victory Wednesday night.

The win was the second straight for the Cubs as they go for the series victory Thursday while the Giants have dropped three of their last four games. Hendricks (4-2) worked seven innings and also struck out five for his second straight victory.

Cubs closer Wade Davis gave up a two-run homer with one out in the ninth to Mac Williamson to trim the margin to one. It was the first homer Davis has allowed in relief since Sept. 24, 2015.

Davis then walked Michael Morse but got Denard Span to pop out and Joe Panik on a called third strike to post his 10th save.

Red Sox 9, Rangers 4

BOSTON -- Boston scored seven runs in the seventh inning to rally past Texas, giving Chris Sale his fourth straight victory.

Sale (5-2), unbeaten since April 27, struck out six in 7 1/3 innings, failing to strike out at least 10 for the first time in his last nine starts. However, he became the fifth pitcher since 1900 with at least 100 strikeouts in his first 10 starts of the season.

The outburst, mostly against reliever Sam Dyson (1-5), was highlighted by a two-run single by Dustin Pedroia. The victory was the third straight for the Red Sox, who have scored 32 runs in the last three games after losing three straight at Oakland.

Pirates 12, Braves 5 (10 innings)

ATLANTA -- Gift Ngoepe slashed an opposite-field double to drive in the go-ahead run in the 10th inning and begin a seven-run outburst that carried Pittsburgh past Atlanta.

The Pirates came from two runs down with two outs in the ninth to tie the game on Jose Osuna's two-run single to force extra innings. Pittsburgh unloaded in the 10th against Josh Collmenter (0-2), the only available reliever in the Braves' bullpen, for seven hits -- three of them on consecutive home runs from David Freese, Jose Osuna and Jordy Mercer.

The winning pitcher was Felipe Rivero (2-1), who pitched a scoreless ninth inning. Osuna and Adam Frazier led the Pirates' 14-hit attack with two hits and three RBIs apiece.

Twins 4, Orioles 3

BALTIMORE -- Jose Berrios picked up his third straight win with a solid performance and Minnesota completed a three-game sweep of Baltimore.

The Twins improved to 14-5 on the road and are in first place in the American League Central.

Chris Davis and Jonathan Schoop hit solo home runs in the seventh for the Orioles to end the day for Berrios. Kennys Vargas, Eduardo Escobar, Brian Dozier and Byron Buxton each had two hits for the Twins, who stranded nine runners.

Cardinals 6, Dodgers 1

LOS ANGELES -- Mike Leake allowed four hits over eight innings and Yadier Molina homered to lead St. Louis over Los Angeles.

Molina, who went 1-for-5, extended his hitting streak to 13 games with a solo blast off reliever Sergio Romo in the seventh inning as the Cardinals won for the second time in their past seven games. It was the fourth homer for Molina this season.

Leake (5-2) gave up a run with five strikeouts and no walks in eight innings. He threw 98 pitches, 60 for strikes. Reliever Tyler Lyons pitched a 1-2-3 ninth. Kolten Wong drove in two runs for St. Louis.

Nationals 5, Mariners 1

WASHINGTON -- Tanner Roark benefited from strong defense while allowing one run in seven innings as Washington defeated Seattle.

Trea Turner drove in a run, scored a run and had two steals for the Nationals. Roark (4-2), looking like the pinpoint pitcher from 2016, allowed eight hits with no walks and eight strikeouts.

Washington's Enny Romero allowed a hit but got two outs in the eighth and Shawn Kelley got the last out with a runner on base. Koda Glover pitched a perfect ninth for the Nationals, who handed the Mariners their fifth straight loss.

Yankees 3, Royals 0

NEW YORK -- Luis Severino tied a career high by pitching eight innings and led New York to victory over Kansas City.

Severino (3-2) retired the first nine hitters and allowed four hits while becoming the first Yankees starter to complete at least seven innings since Masahiro Tanaka on May 8 in Cincinnati. Severino pitched eight innings for the second time in his career and completed at least seven for the fifth time this season.

Didi Gregorius homered in the third inning off Jason Hammel (1-6), and New York added runs in the sixth and seventh. Dellin Betances completed the four-hitter by notching his fourth save.

Reds 4, Indians 3

CLEVELAND -- Zack Cozart's two-out, two-run single in the ninth inning, after a video review overturned what initially appeared to be a game-ending double play, lifted Cincinnati over Cleveland.

Cozart's hit came off Indians closer Cody Allen (0-2), who was 13-for-13 in save opportunities this year, and 22-for-22 going back to last year. The win went to reliever Michael Lorenzen (3-0), who pitched a scoreless eighth inning. while Raisel Iglesias pitched the ninth to pick up his eighth save.

Carlos Santana provided most of Cleveland's offense, going 3-for-4, with two doubles, a home run and three RBIs.

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Rockies 7, Phillies 2

PHILADELPHIA -- Trevor Story returned to the Colorado lineup, doubling in his first at-bat and scoring the opening run of what became a seven-run third inning to help the Rockies rout Philadelphia.

Colorado, which improved to an National League-best 31-17, goes for the four-game sweep Thursday. Story, who hit .272 with 27 home runs and 72 RBIs in 97 games last year in his rookie season, hit .180 through his first 111 at-bats this season before going on the disabled list with a strained left shoulder earlier this month.

Rockies starter Tyler Chatwood (4-6) held the Phillies hitless until an Andrew Knapp single with two outs in the fifth inning. The Phillies' only runs came in the eighth on a two-run homer by Michael Saunders.

Tigers 6, Astros 3

HOUSTON -- Jose Iglesias went 3-for-5 with three runs scored and two RBIs as Detroit snapped a three-game slide.

Iglesias and Ian Kinsler (2-for-5, two runs) sparked an eighth-inning rally against Chris Devenski (3-3) by leading off the frame with a double and single. Iglesias added a two-run homer with two outs in the ninth off right-hander Jordan Jankowski, who was making his major league debut.

The Tigers' Shane Greene (1-0) earned the win in relief of southpaw Daniel Norris by retiring all five batters he faced. The Astros' Charlie Morton produced his best outing of the season, surrendering two runs on four hits and three walks with six strikeouts over seven innings.

Rays 5, Angels 2

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Steven Souza had two of Tampa Bay's three home runs as the Rays ended a three-game losing streak.

Souza tied the game with a two-run home run in the second, and Colby Rasmus and Souza went back-to-back in the seventh off Ricky Nolasco (2-4), who is tied for the American League lead with 16 home runs allowed in 2017. The Rays got six strong innings from starter Erasmo Ramirez (3-0).

Tampa Bay's bullpen pitched well in relief of Ramirez -- Jose Alvarado pitched a 1-2-3 seventh, Ryne Stanek a scoreless eighth, striking out Mike Trout and Albert Pujols with a runner on, and Alex Colome pitched a perfect ninth for his 12th save.

Padres 6, Mets 5

NEW YORK -- Hunter Renfroe hit a tiebreaking homer leading off the eighth inning to cap a big comeback as San Diego held off New York.

The Padres trailed 5-1 after four innings before chipping away against Mets starter Robert Gsellman in the fifth, when Yangervis Solarte laced a two-run single, and completing the comeback against a quartet of relievers in the seventh and eighth.

The four-run comeback tied the biggest of the season for San Diego, which trailed 4-0 in an 8-5 victory over Arizona on April 26. Brad Hand got into and worked out of a bases-loaded, none-out jam in the ninth to notch his first save.

Diamondbacks 8, White Sox 6

PHOENIX -- Jake Lamb hit his 13th homer of the season and Arizona patched together just enough pitching to get past Chicago.

In completing a three-game sweep, the Diamondbacks (29-19) moved to 10 games over .500 for the first time since they concluded the 2011 season at 94-68. Andrew Chafin (1-0) got the win in relief as five relievers followed Randall Delgado to the mound with Fernando Rodney picking up the save.

White Sox starter Jose Quintana (2-6) sailed through three scoreless innings before Arizona exploded for two runs in the fourth and six runs in the fifth. He was charged with eight runs in 4 1/3 innings.

Athletics 4, Marlins 1

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Sonny Gray allowed one run and struck out a season-high 11 over seven innings to lead Oakland over Miami.

Gray (2-1) allowed three hits, walked one and won back-to-back games for the first time since April 16 and 22 last season.

Jed Lowrie went 4-for-4 with two doubles, two RBIs and a run for the A's. He matched his career high for hits, accomplishing the feat for the seventh time. Khris Davis hit a two-run homer in the first inning, his team-high 14th of the season.

Blue Jays 8, Brewers 4

MILWAUKEE -- Kevin Pillar, Jose Bautista and Devon Travis all hit solo home runs and Ryan Goins belted a grand slam as Toronto finished off a two-game sweep of Milwaukee.

Brewers starter Matt Garza (2-1) allowed the three solo home runs and was charged with six runs as he allowed seven hits with five strikeouts over 5 1/3 innings.

The Blue Jays' offense made things relatively easy for Marcus Stroman (5-2). The right-hander allowed four runs on four hits with four walks and five strikeouts over 5 2/3 innings.

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