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MLB roundup: White Sox hit four straight HRs, beat Cards

[August 17, 2020] Yoan Moncada, Yasmani Grandal, Jose Abreu and Eloy Jimenez connected on four consecutive home runs in the fifth inning to tie a major league record, and Dallas Keuchel pitched 5 2/3 strong innings to lift the host Chicago White Sox to a 7-2 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday afternoon.

Limited to two hits in four innings against St. Louis starter Dakota Hudson -- including a Jimenez RBI single in the first -- the White Sox erupted for six runs against rookie reliever Roel Ramirez.

Moncada began the long-ball barrage with two on and two out, snapping an 0-for-14 skid with a blast against Ramirez (0-1), who is the first pitcher to give up four consecutive homers in his major league debut. It was the second time in club history that Chicago hit back-to-back-to-back-to-back home runs. The White Sox also accomplished the feat on Aug. 14, 2008.

Keuchel improved to 3-2 and earned his first victory since July 31, giving up two runs and four hits with two walks and one strikeout in 5 2/3 innings.

Diamondbacks 5, Padres 4

Eduardo Escobar's three-run home run with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning rallied Arizona past San Diego in Phoenix.

Escobar, who had hit just one home run and was batting .167 going into Sunday, connected off Emilio Pagan (0-1) with Arizona trailing 4-2. Taylor Clarke (1-0) got the win in relief, and Archie Bradley worked the ninth inning for his sixth save.

The Diamondbacks won their fourth straight game and 10th consecutive home game over the Padres. San Diego has lost five in a row. Kole Calhoun also homered for Arizona, and Eric Hosmer hit a two-run homer shot for the Padres.

Braves 4, Marlins 0

Nick Markakis drove in three runs to lead Atlanta's victory over host Miami, giving the visitors the series win 2-1.

Atlanta scored all four runs against Miami's bullpen. Offensively, the Marlins managed just one walk and two hits -- both singles -- and were shut out for the first time this season. The Marlins -- after a 7-1 start -- have lost five of their past seven games.

On Sunday, the Braves used five pitchers. Starter Robbie Erlin tossed four scoreless innings, striking out five, walking none and allowing just one hit. The Braves also got scoreless relief pitching from Darren O'Day (2-0), A.J. Minter, Shane Greene and Tyler Matzek.

Phillies 6, Mets 2

J.T. Realmuto had three hits, rookie Alec Bohm added two hits and an RBI, and host Philadelphia completed a three-game sweep over New York.

Andrew McCutchen smacked a two-run homer -- his first of the season -- and Bryce Harper and Scott Kingery contributed two hits each for the Phillies, who swept the Mets for the first time since 2015.

Phillies starter Zack Wheeler (3-0) tossed seven strong innings and gave up six hits and two runs in his first outing against his former team. He struck out four and walked one. Luis Guillorme drove in two runs while Robinson Cano and J.D. Davis had two hits apiece for the Mets. Mets starter Rick Porcello (1-3) lasted six innings and allowed 10 hits and four runs while striking out six and walking none.

Athletics 15, Giants 3

Stephen Piscotty homered and drove in five runs as Oakland mauled host San Francisco to complete a three-game sweep of its Bay Area rival.

Chad Pinder and Marcus Semien joined Piscotty in homering during a nine-run fifth-inning uprising. Matt Olson went 3-for-5 with three runs scored and Pinder went 3-for-4 despite not starting as the Athletics racked up 17 hits.

The win is the fourth in a row for Oakland, which owns a major league-best 16-6 record. The Giants have dropped four straight to fall to 8-15. The easy manner of victory on Sunday differed from the Athletics' efforts in the first two games of the series. Oakland scored five runs in the ninth to tie the contest on Friday en route to an 8-7, 10-inning triumph, and tallied four times in the ninth on Saturday to post a 7-6 win.

Rays 3, Blue Jays 2 (completion of Saturday's suspended game)

Brandon Lowe hit a leadoff home run in the ninth inning and visiting Tampa Bay defeated Toronto Blue in the completion of a suspended game in Buffalo, N.Y.

Austin Meadows also hit a solo home run for the Rays, who dropped the opener of the three-game series on Friday and have won seven of their past eight games. Toronto shortstop Bo Bichette, who singled in the third inning Saturday to extend his hit streak to nine games, did not return Sunday because of a sore right knee and was played on the 10-day injured list.

Lowe's seventh homer of the season came against Jordan Romano (1-1). Former Blue Jay Aaron Loup (2-0) pitched two-thirds of an inning to pick up the win. Nick Anderson pitched a perfect ninth to earn his third save of the season.

Rays 7, Jays 5 (8 innings)

Willy Adames hit a tiebreaking two-run home run in the eighth inning as Tampa Bay defeated Toronto in the rubber match of a three-game series in Buffalo, N.Y.

Yoshi Tsutsugo added a three-run homer and a double for the Rays, who tied the game at 5 in the top of the seventh. Austin Meadows singled and scored when right fielder Teoscar Hernandez made an error fielding a two-out single by Yandy Diaz.

The game was scheduled for seven innings as it followed the Rays' 3-2 victory in a nine-inning game that was carried over to Sunday after being suspended because of rain on Saturday. Aaron Loup (3-0) pitched the bottom of the seventh to get his second win of the day. Aaron Slegers pitched a perfect eighth for his first save this season.

Astros 3, Mariners 2

Kyle Tucker delivered his first career walk-off home run and Houston completed a three-game series sweep of visiting Seattle.

Tucker lofted a 2-2 fastball from right-hander Erik Swanson (0-2) into the seats in right field -- his second home run of the season -- and improved the Astros' record against the Mariners to 24-2 since the start of the 2019 campaign. Astros closer Ryan Pressly (1-1) earned the win with a perfect ninth inning.

Mariners rookie left-hander Justus Sheffield delivered his strongest start of the season, limiting the Astros to two runs -- one earned -- on six hits and one walk with four strikeouts over six innings.

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White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu (79) hits a home run against the St. Louis Cardinals during the fifth inning at Guaranteed Rate Field. Mandatory Credit: Mike Dinovo-USA TODAY Sports

Twins 4, Royals 2

Max Kepler hit a two-run homer and had two hits, and Randy Dobnak picked up his fourth win of the season as Minnesota defeated Kansas City in Minneapolis.

Luis Arraez had two hits, Jorge Polanco had two RBIs, and Alex Avila doubled, walked twice and scored two runs for the Twins. Kepler put Minnesota ahead 3-2 in the fifth inning with his sixth home run of the season, driving in Avila, who had walked.

Dobnak (4-1), who entered the game leading the majors with a 0.90 ERA, allowed solo home runs to Hunter Dozier and Alex Gordon, the first two homers he has allowed in 10 major league starts and only the second and third homers allowed in 53 2/3 innings in his career. He left after 5 1/3 innings after allowing three hits and a walk and two runs while striking out three.

Brewers 6, Cubs 5

Orlando Arcia had three hits and scored three times, including the go-ahead run in the seventh inning, as visiting Milwaukee won its third in a row at Chicago.

Arcia and Keston Hiura hit home runs, while Ryan Braun drove in the game-winning run with a single in his second career game in the leadoff spot. Luis Urias also had three hits and scored two runs for Milwaukee. Right-hander Eric Yardley (1-0) pitched a scoreless inning to earn the victory, while Josh Hader pitched a scoreless ninth for his fifth save.

Steven Souza had a two-run double, and Jason Kipnis added a two-run single for the Cubs, who had not lost consecutive games all season before this weekend. Reliever Jason Adam (0-1) took the loss, and starter Jon Lester gave up five runs on nine hits over six innings.

Yankees 4, Red Sox 2

J.A. Happ pitched effectively into the sixth inning, Mike Ford drove in three runs and New York continued its domination of visiting Boston.

In his first start since issuing six walks in the first game of a doubleheader at Philadelphia on Aug. 5, Happ (1-1) allowed one run on three hits in 5 2/3 innings, lowering his ERA from 10.29 to 6.39.

Ford hit an RBI single in the first inning off Chris Mazza (0-1), and then hit a two-run homer in the third to give New York a 4-1 lead. The Yankees improved to 6-0 in the season series against Boston and are on their first nine-game winning streak in the rivalry since the 1952-1953 seasons.

Indians 8, Tigers 5

Franmil Reyes belted two of Cleveland's five home runs in defeating host Detroit.

Francisco Lindor, Jose Ramirez and Sandy Leon also went deep as the Indians swept the three-game series and extended their winning streak over the Tigers to 20 games, a streak that extends to April of 2019. Oliver Perez (1-0), the Indians' fourth pitcher, picked up the win.

Harold Castro went 3-for-4 with a walk to flank Miguel Cabrera's three-RBI performance for the Tigers, who have lost five straight. Reliever John Schreiber (0-1) took the loss, allowing three runs and three hits in just two-thirds of an inning.

Nationals 6, Orioles 5

Juan Soto scored the tiebreaking run on a throwing error in the eighth inning and Washington beat host Baltimore to close out their series.

When factoring in the completion of a game suspended last weekend, Washington split the four-game series at Camden Yards. Baltimore won both games that were completed at Nationals Park last weekend.

The Nationals jumped ahead early Sunday, and ace Max Scherzer (2-1) shut down the Orioles most of the way -- until a three-run homer from Pedro Severino in the sixth cut the deficit to 5-4. Anthony Santander hit two solo home runs off Scherzer, including one that tied the game in the seventh.

Rockies 10, Rangers 6

Ryan McMahon homered, Raimel Tapia had three hits, and Colorado beat Texas in Denver.

Matt Kemp, Trevor Story, Charlie Blackmon and Garrett Hampson had two hits each and Jon Gray (1-2) struck out seven over seven innings for Colorado, which ended a three-game skid. Carlos Estevez threw one pitch in the ninth to get his first save.

Joey Gallo and Rougned Odor homered and Todd Frazier had two doubles for the Rangers. Rangers starter Kolby Allard (0-1) took the loss. He allowed six runs on eight hits and struck out four in three innings.

Dodgers 8, Angels 3

The Dodgers hit four home runs and got a serviceable start from pitcher Dustin May as they completed a three-game sweep over the host Angels in Anaheim, Calif.

Matt Beaty, Corey Seager, Max Muncy and Keibert Ruiz each homered for the Dodgers. Ruiz became the seventh Dodger to hit a home run in his first major league plate appearance.

Mookie Betts had two hits as the Dodgers finished with 10 hits Sunday and 30 hits in the three-game series. May gave up two runs on seven hits in 4 1/3 innings. He struck out two, did not walk a batter and made a season-high 88 pitches. Scott Alexander (1-0) earned the win for the Dodgers in relief.

--Field Level Media

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