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Major League Baseball roundup: Culberson blast lifts Braves past Nats

[June 04, 2018] Atlanta's Charlie Culberson has two home runs this season, both of them for walk-off victories. He delivered his second game-winning shot on a pinch-hit homer with one out in the ninth inning to give the Braves a 4-2 victory over visiting the Washington Nationals on Sunday.

Culberson connected against reliever Tanner Roark (2-6), who was the starting and losing pitcher in the first game of the series on Thursday night.

Culberson's homer scored Dansby Swanson, who reached second on a hustle double by sliding past the tag of Wilmer Difo. Swanson was originally called out, but the verdict was reversed on video review.

The Braves won three of four games in the series and retained first place in the National League East by 1 1/2 games over the Nationals.

Cardinals 5, Pirates 0

St. Louis' Michael Wacha lost a no-hitter in the ninth inning against visiting Pittsburgh when pinch hitter Colin Moran hit a leadoff single to right on an 0-2 pitch.

Wacha (7-1) was up to 111 pitches. He immediately left for reliever Jordan Hicks, who preserved the shutout.

Marcell Ozuna hit a grand slam in the first for all the runs Wacha and the Cardinals needed, and they added another in the eighth. Wacha was bidding to throw the Cardinals' first no-hitter since left-hander Bud Smith accomplished the feat against the San Diego Padres on Sept. 3, 2001.

Mariners 2, Rays 1

Felix Hernandez (6-4) pitched eight innings of one-run ball, and Seattle rallied to overcome a record-equaling start from visiting Tampa Bay's Blake Snell to sweep a three-game series.

The Mariners scored both of their runs in the eighth inning off left-hander Jose Alvarado (0-2). Denard Span and Dee Gordon had RBI hits.

Snell fanned the first seven batters of the game, matching the AL record held by two Chicago White Sox pitchers: Joe Cowley (May 28, 1986) and Carlos Rodon (Sept. 30, 2016). Snell wound up striking out 12 in six shutout innings.

Twins 7, Indians 5

Eddie Rosario slugged his third homer of the game when he hit a two-run blast with no outs in the bottom of the ninth inning off Cody Allen as Minnesota beat visiting Cleveland with his family watching from the stands.

Rosario capped his second career three-homer game by driving a 2-1 fastball from Allen (2-2) 400 feet over the center field fence and into the lower rows of seats above the high scoreboard.

Rosario's 13th homer occurred after Brian Dozier opened the inning with a walk on the ninth pitch. Minnesota emerged with a third straight win over the Indians. It was the third walk-off win for the Twins, who have sustained eight such losses already.

Giants 6, Phillies 1

Buster Posey's go-ahead single in a five-run sixth inning gave Dereck Rodriguez his first major league win as host San Francisco beat Philadelphia to complete a three-game sweep.

Andrew McCutchen followed up Posey's hit with a three-run homer to right field, his fourth of the season, two batters after Joe Panik's RBI single tied the game. Posey added a solo shot in the eighth, his fourth.

Making his first major league start, the 25-year-old Rodriguez (1-0) struck out six over six innings of one-run ball. Phillies starter Jake Arrieta (5-3) knocked a home run and carried a shutout into the sixth on the mound before coughing up five runs.

Diamondbacks 6, Marlins 1

David Peralta homered for the third consecutive game, and Matt Koch struck out six in seven scoreless innings as Arizona completed a three-game sweep of visiting Miami.

Peralta had two hits in the game and homered in a three-run eighth inning, Ketel Marte had two hits and an RBI and Daniel Descalso drove in two as the Diamondbacks finished a 5-1 homestand and regained first place in the NL West.

Brian Anderson had two hits and Justin Bour added an RBI double in the ninth inning for the Marlins, who have lost six in a row.

Cubs 2, Mets 0

Jon Lester carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning and earned the win by allowing two hits over seven scoreless innings as Chicago completed a four-game sweep of host New York.

The Cubs have won eight of 10. The Mets have lost 11 of 14 and 29 of 45 since an 11-1 start.

Lester (6-2) walked three and struck out seven. The Cubs rewarded Lester in the top of the seventh by scoring in unique fashion. Javier Baez led off the inning with a single and went to third on a single by Willson Contreras. When Mets starter Steven Matz (2-4) made a casual pickoff throw to first, Baez broke for home and crossed the plate easily with what was scored a stolen base.

Dodgers 10, Rockies 7

Justin Turner's slow roller in the ninth drove in the go-ahead run, Yasmani Grandal added two more with a homer, and Los Angeles rallied to beat Colorado in Denver. Max Muncy homered twice and Tony Cingrani (1-2) pitched 1 1/3 innings in relief for the win.

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Braves pinch hitter Charlie Culberson (16) is dunked by relief pitcher Peter Moylan (30) after he hit a two run game ending home run against the Washington Nationals during the ninth inning at SunTrust Park. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

Ian Desmond homered for the Rockies, who lost catcher Chris Iannetta to an undisclosed injury in the top of the ninth. The Dodgers scored three times off Rockies closer Wade Davis (0-1) in the ninth.

Turner's groundout to Davis drove in Logan Forsythe and Grandal followed with a two-run shot to center. Kenley Jansen got the last three outs for his 14th save.

Angels 3, Rangers 1

Tyler Skaggs gave up four hits over six scoreless innings and got just enough offensive support to lead Los Angeles to a win over visiting Texas in the rubber game of a three-game series in Anaheim, Calif.

The Angels had only four hits, but one of them was a two-run double by Luis Valbuena and another was a solo homer by Justin Upton.

Skaggs allowed two doubles to Shin-Soo Choo and also walked three batters but was able to make pitches when the Rangers threatened to score. Texas was 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position when Skaggs (4-4) was in the game.

A's 5, Royals 1

Matt Olson continued his hot streak with a three-run home run in a four-run eighth inning, and Oakland beat host Kansas City.

The A's took two of three from the Royals. Olson has four home runs and nine RBIs in his past four games.

With the score tied 1-1, Oakland's Dustin Fowler led off the eighth inning with a single and then stole second. Jed Lowrie brought Fowler home with a single up the middle to give the A's a 2-1 lead and knock Kansas City starter Jakob Junis out of the game. Reliever Burch Smith walked the first batter he faced, Khris Davis, and Olson followed with his three-run shot.

Blue Jays 8, Tigers 4

Justin Smoak and Randal Grichuk each hit a two-run home run and drove in three runs, Aaron Sanchez allowed one run in six innings and visiting Toronto defeated Detroit to avoid a three-game sweep.

The Blue Jays ended a five-game losing streak with the victory. They completed a nine-game road trip at 3-6. Leonys Martin hit a solo homer for the Tigers, who had their four-game winning streak ended.

Sanchez (3-5) held the Tigers to two hits and three walks while striking out seven. He recorded his first win since April 30, a span of five winless starts.

White Sox 6, Brewers 1

Back-to-back homers from pinch hitter Daniel Palka and Adam Engel in the sixth inning powered host Chicago past Milwaukee in the rubber match of a three-game series.

With one out in the sixth, Palka delivered a tiebreaking, two-run shot, his sixth of the season, to right field. Engel followed with a solo blast, his second, to center.

The White Sox had lost seven of their previous nine games. Milwaukee scored its only run when an error by Chicago third baseman Yolmer Sanchez allowed Christian Yelich to reach on a force attempt and Manny Pina to score with one out in the top of the fifth.

Padres 6, Reds 3

Hunter Renfroe hit a pinch-hit grand slam in the fifth inning to power San Diego past visiting Cincinnati. The Padres took the final two games in the three-game series.

The Padres trailed 2-0 going into the bottom of the fifth, and Reds starter Luis Castillo was working on a two-hit shutout.

San Diego starter Tyson Ross (5-3) allowed two runs on seven hits and two walks with three strikeouts. Kirby Yates picked up his first save of the season, getting Joey Votto to ground out to end the game with two on.

Orioles-Yankees, ppd.

New York and host Baltimore had their series finale postponed due to inclement weather. They will make it up as part of a split admission doubleheader on Aug. 25.

The Yankees have been especially hard-hit by weather concerns this season, having already had seven games postponed. They travel to Detroit on Monday for a doubleheader against the Tigers to make up for two of those rainouts.

--Field Level Media

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