LDN - Sports

MLB roundup: Red Sox's Betts belts 3 HRs to beat Yanks

[July 27, 2019] Mookie Betts homered in each of his first three at-bats and had four hits and five RBIs total as the Boston Red Sox once again romped past the visiting New York Yankees, winning 10-5 on Friday.

Betts led off the bottom of the first with a homer before hitting another solo shot in the third and a two-run moonshot in the fourth. The right fielder doubled home a run in the sixth and grounded out in the eighth, settling for his fifth career three-homer game. Four of those have come from the leadoff spot in the order, a major league record.

J.D. Martinez also went deep and drove in three runs, and Rafael Devers had three hits as the Red Sox posted at least eight runs against the Yankees for the fifth straight meeting.

Yankees starter James Paxton (5-6) gave up seven runs on nine hits in four innings, though he struck out nine and walked none. New York starters have failed to pitch past the fourth inning in six straight games.

Cardinals 5, Astros 3

Paul Goldschmidt homered for a fifth consecutive game, his three-run blast in the eighth inning lifting St. Louis over visiting Houston.

The Cardinals won their sixth consecutive game and claimed the opener of a three-game interleague series by parlaying two late-inning homers into four runs against the Houston bullpen.

St. Louis starter Jack Flaherty tossed six innings of two run ball, striking out nine, and Houston starter Jose Urquidy gave up one run in six innings. Neither received a decision. Michael Brantley homered and drove in all three runs for Houston.

Brewers 3, Cubs 2

Ben Gamel's two-out single in the eighth inning scored two runs and lifted Milwaukee over visiting Chicago.

Trailing 2-1, the Brewers loaded the bases with one out in the eighth inning on a walk and two hit batters. Jesus Aguilar popped out, but Gamel lined a 1-0 pitch from Pedro Strop to right, scoring Keston Hiura and Eric Thames. Adrian Houser (4-4) pitched 1 2/3 innings, and Josh Hader worked the ninth for his 23rd save in 25 tries.

Brandon Kintzler (2-1) took the loss in a game in which each team collected only four hits. David Bote hit a two-run homer for Chicago.

Rockies 12, Reds 2

Daniel Murphy belted a three-run homer to highlight his second career six-RBI performance as Colorado cruised to a win at Cincinnati.

Murphy added a bases-clearing double as part of a six-run ninth inning to continue his dominance of the Reds in the season series. The 34-year-old finished 2-for-5 on Friday to improve to 10-for-17 with seven extra-base hits (four doubles, three homers), 11 RBIs and seven runs scored in four games vs. Cincinnati.

Josh VanMeter homered to lead off the second inning for the Reds.

Dodgers 4, Nationals 2

Justin Turner belted a tiebreaking three-run homer in the eighth inning to lift visiting Los Angeles over Washington.

The Nationals retired the first two batters in the eighth before Joc Pederson walked and Alex Verdugo singled off reliever Tony Sipp (1-2). Turner then lifted a 3-1 fastball over the fence in left-center off Kyle Barraclough for a 4-1 lead.

Dodgers left-hander Hyun-Jin Ryu allowed one run and eight hits in 6 2/3 innings, lowering his major-league-leading ERA to 1.74. Washington starter Anibal Sanchez gave up a run in the first before retiring 20 consecutive batters.

Braves 9, Phillies 2

Brian McCann homered and had two hits to lift Atlanta to an easy victory at Philadelphia.

Ronald Acuna Jr. added two hits and three RBIs for the Braves. Sean Newcomb (4-1) earned the win in relief for Atlanta, which had lost six of the previous eight games.

Jean Segura paced the Phillies with three hits, including a homer. Scott Kingery, Cesar Hernandez and Adam Haseley added two hits each for the Phillies, who had won five of six.

Mets 6, Pirates 3

Zack Wheeler, making perhaps his final start with New York, tossed 5 1/3 solid innings in his return from the injured list and earned the win against visiting Pittsburgh.

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St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Paul Goldschmidt (46) hits a three run home run against the Houston Astros during the eighth inning at Busch Stadium. Joe Puetz-USA TODAY Sports

Wheeler (7-6), who was activated prior to the game after missing the previous 18 days due to a right shoulder impingement, allowed three runs on six hits and no walks while striking out seven.

The Mets are 8-5 since the All-Star break and need to win one of the final two games against the Pirates to capture their fourth series in five tries since play resumed. Pittsburgh has lost six straight and has the National League's worst second-half record, 2-12.

Marlins 3, Diamondbacks 2

Harold Ramirez hit a walk-off sacrifice fly in the ninth inning as Miami rallied to beat visiting Arizona.

Arizona reliever Greg Holland (1-2), who has 17 saves, entered the ninth with a 2-1 lead. He gave up a leadoff double to Garrett Cooper, walked Neil Walker and allowed a Starlin Castro single before Jorge Alfaro's sacrifice fly tied the score. Diamondbacks reliever Yoshihisa Hirano served up the game-winning drive on an 0-1 splitter. It was Miami's third sacrifice fly of the game, and it extended the Marlins' win streak to three games.

Arizona starter Zack Greinke, the subject of trade rumors ahead of the July 31 deadline, pitched six strong innings and got a key hit but was left with a no-decision after Miami rallied against his bullpen.

Twins 6, White Sox 2

Max Kepler and Nelson Cruz homered, and Michael Pineda pitched seven strong innings to lift visiting Minnesota over Chicago. Pineda limited the White Sox to two runs on six hits with a walk and five strikeouts.

Minnesota grabbed early control of the game with a five-run second-inning against White Sox rookie Dylan Cease. Byron Buxton's RBI sacrifice fly and a run-scoring single by Cruz bookended the scoring around Kepler's three-run home run.

Kepler's club-leading 27th homer of the season was the team's 200th of 2019 and came in Minnesota's 103rd game. With the blast, the Twins became the fastest team in major league history to reach 200 home runs, eclipsing the 2005 Texas Rangers, who hit their 200th and 201st home runs in the team's 122nd game.

Indians 8, Royals 3

Jose Ramirez's three-run home run in the sixth inning blew open a close game, and visiting Cleveland defeated Kansas City.

Ramirez sent a Jakob Junis slider 428 feet, beyond the Kansas City bullpen in right. He also homered leading off the top of the 14th inning Thursday night to spark the Indians to a 5-4 victory in the series opener. Cleveland's regular third baseman, who served as the designated hitter Friday, has seven home runs and 21 RBIs in July.

Junis (6-9) was making his return after coming off the paternity list prior to the game. He gave up six runs on 10 hits in six-plus innings. He walked two and struck out five.

Rays 3, Blue Jays 1

Travis d'Arnaud hit a go-ahead two-run single, Ryan Yarbrough allowed one run in 5 1/3 innings, and visiting Tampa Bay defeated Toronto.

Diego Castillo pitched a perfect first inning as the Rays' opener. Yarbrough (9-3) replaced Castillo in the second and allowed four hits and a walk while striking out four.

Toronto starter Jacob Waguespack (1-1) allowed three runs, six hits and three walks in five-plus innings. He struck out two.

(Field Level Media)

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