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MLB roundup: Astros hit 5 homers, Verlander wins No. 200

[August 20, 2018] Martin Maldonado finished a single shy of hitting for the cycle, and the visiting Houston Astros slugged five home runs to salvage the finale of their showdown series with the Oakland Athletics with a 9-4 victory on Sunday.

The Astros moved back ahead of Oakland by one game in the American League West after the Athletics pulled even by claiming the opening two games of the three-game weekend set.

Houston rallied from an early two-run deficit with a four-run third inning. After Oakland pulled even in the bottom of the third, the Astros moved back on top in the fourth. Yuli Gurriel, Evan Gattis, Maldonado, Alex Bregman and Marwin Gonzalez went deep for Houston.

Justin Verlander (12-8) was the beneficiary of the power surge, recording his 200th career victory. Verlander allowed three home runs, two to Khris Davis, and gave up four runs in 5 1/3 innings, but the run support he received was ample.

Mets 8, Phillies 2

Amed Rosario had three RBIs, including a two-run single that capped a four-run second inning and catapulted the New York to a win over Philadelphia in the Little League Classic at Williamsport, Pa.

Winning the annual game at the site of the Little League World Series gave the Mets a series win in an unusual five-game set between the teams, who played the first four games at Philadelphia. The Mets have won eight of 12. The Phillies have lost six of 10.

Jason Vargas (3-8) gave up two runs in 5 1/3 innings for the win.

Dodgers 12, Mariners 1

Clayton Kershaw pitched seven strong innings to earn the 150th win of his career as visiting Los Angeles defeated Seattle.

Enrique Hernandez and Justin Turner hit home runs for the resurgent Dodgers, who took two of three games in the interleague series.

Kershaw (6-5), the three-time National League Cy Young Award winner who has struggled with injuries this season, allowed one run on four hits. He walked one and struck out seven.

Pirates 2, Cubs 1 (11 innings)

Adam Frazier hit a two-out, walk-off homer in the 11th inning to give Pittsburgh a split of its four-game series against visiting Chicago.

Frazier's third career walk-off hit and fifth homer of this season came against Cubs reliever Brandon Kintzler (1-3).

In each game of the series, the Cubs scored one run -- on solo homers by Ian Happ, Ben Zobrist and Kyle Schwarber, who got his second of the series Sunday. They won the first two games 1-0 before dropping the last two by scores of 3-1 and 2-1.

Indians 8, Orioles 0

Melky Cabrera hit a grand slam during a six-run fourth inning that broke the game open for Cleveland against visiting Baltimore.

The Indians won two of three in the series and finished the season with a 5-2 record versus the slumping Orioles, who fell back to 50 games under .500 at 37-87.

Cleveland starter Mike Clevinger (9-7) continued to be a riddle that the Baltimore offense couldn't solve. He threw six shutout innings, extending his streak of scoreless frames against the Orioles to 24, dating back to 2017.

Diamondbacks 4, Padres 3

A.J. Pollock homered with one out in the top of the ninth as Arizona rallied to defeat host San Diego and take three of four games in the series.

Daniel Descalso had tied the game at 3 with his career-best, 11th homer of the season in the top of the eighth inning against Padres rookie reliever Trey Wingenter. Descalso's drive to right just cleared the leap of Padres right fielder Travis Jankowski.

The win kept the Diamondbacks a half-game ahead of the Colorado Rockies in the National League West. Arizona completed a nine-game road trip with a 5-4 record.

Rangers 4, Angels 2

Rougned Odor had four RBIs, including a three-run home run through a driving rain shower in the seventh inning, to rally Texas over visiting Los Angeles.

Matt Moore (3-6) pitched an inning of scoreless relief to pick up the victory in a game twice delayed by rain. Rangers starter Yovani Gallardo gave up two runs on six hits over six innings with a walk and six strikeouts.

Shin-Soo Choo had three hits for the Rangers, who won three of four games in the series and are 14-8 since July 27.

Brewers 2, Cardinals 1

Jhoulys Chacin went six innings to defeat St. Louis for the first time in eight career decisions as visiting Milwaukee held on for a narrow victory.

Mike Moustakas, whom the Brewers acquired near the trade deadline, hit a two-run double in the third inning to supply the offense, as Milwaukee ended a three-game losing streak.

The Brewers also climbed back over St. Louis for second place in the National League Central standings. It was only the second loss in the Cardinals' last 12 games.

Yankees 10, Blue Jays 2

Greg Bird capped a six-run first inning with his second career grand slam as New York completed a three-game sweep of visiting Toronto.

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Astros catcher Martin Maldonado (15) hits a solo home run during the seventh inning against the Oakland Athletics at Oakland Coliseum. Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

The Yankees lost shortstop Didi Gregorius to a bruised left heel that could send him to the disabled list. Gregorius was injured when he collided with Toronto first baseman Kendry Morales after hitting an RBI single in the first inning.

Blue Jays manager John Gibbons was ejected for arguing a play at first base. Toronto has lost four in a row and 10 of 14.

Marlins 12, Nationals 1

Jose Urena, pitching while appealing a suspension issued by Major League Baseball, tossed a two-hitter as Miami defeated host Washington.

Urena hit red-hot Atlanta Braves left fielder Ronald Acuna Jr. with the first pitch of Wednesday's game, drawing a six-game ban from MLB. However, while on appeal, Urena held Washington to a pair of doubles and two walks while pitching the first complete game of his career.

Miami's Starlin Castro went 5-for-6 with three runs for the first five-hit game of his career. Teammate J.T. Realmuto went 2-for-5 with a homer and three RBIs, and 28-year-old rookie Isaac Galloway went 3-for-5 with a single, double and his first major league homer.

Rays 2, Red Sox 0

Joey Wendle and C.J. Cron hit home runs, and five Tampa Bay pitchers combined for a two-hitter against host Boston.

It was just the fifth time the Red Sox were shut out this season and the first time since being blanked 5-0 at Detroit on July 21. The loss snapped a 13-game win streak in day games for Boston and also was just the second loss in 12 games at Fenway Park for the Red Sox.

Rays rookie Jalen Beeks (2-1) took over with two outs in the second for fellow rookie reliever Diego Castillo, who was making his first career start. Beeks pitched four innings of one-hit shutout relief to pick up the win, walking two and striking out three. Castillo became Tampa Bay's 16th starting pitcher this season, extending the team's single-season record.

Rockies 4, Braves 2

DJ LeMahieu homered for the second consecutive game, and visiting Colorado beat Atlanta to complete a four-game series sweep.

The second baseman, who delivered what turned out to be the winning homer in the 10th inning on Saturday, started a decisive two-run rally in the third inning with another solo shot, his 11th, into left-center field. The Rockies tacked on another run on Nolan Arenado's RBI single for a 3-1 lead.

The win gave Colorado its first four-game sweep in Atlanta and its first four-game sweep over the Braves since 2016 at Coors Field.

Twins 5, Tigers 4

Eddie Rosario blasted a go-ahead solo homer in the eighth, Max Kepler and Jake Cave also homered as host Minnesota edged Detroit.

Rosario drove in two runs for the Twins, who took three of four in the series. Tyler Austin had two hits and scored a run.

Rosario jumped on a high 0-2 fastball from Alex Wilson (1-4) leading off the inning. His 22nd long ball of the year made a winner out of Trevor Hildenberger (3-3), who recorded the last four outs.

Reds 11, Giants 4

Cincinnati completed a winning homestand with a three-game sweep of San Francisco.

Eugenio Suarez and Jose Peraza belted home runs while Billy Hamilton smacked two triples, helping the Reds win the season series 4-2 over the Giants and wrap up a 5-4 homestand.

The Giants, meanwhile, saw their hopes of making a late run at a National League wild-card berth dim a bit with a fourth consecutive loss. San Francisco infielder Chase D'Arnaud made his major league pitching debut in the eighth inning, allowing no runs and one hit.

White Sox 7, Royals 6

Omar Narvaez delivered the tiebreaking single and also hit a solo homer to help Chicago edge visiting Kansas City and take two of three games in the series.

Avisail Garcia belted a three-run homer and Tim Anderson added a two-run blast as the White Sox won for the fourth time in their past five games.

Whit Merrifield hit a three-run shot, Ryan O'Hearn smacked a two-run blast and Alex Gordon hit a solo homer for the Royals. Jorge Bonifacio went 3-for-4 but Salvador Perez struck out in all five at-bats -- the last time to end the game.

--Field Level Media

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