MLB roundup: Rays nip Red Sox, claim three-game sweep

[August 02, 2021]  Brandon Lowe hit a two-run home run, Shane McClanahan worked six quality innings and the Tampa Bay Rays edged the Boston Red Sox 3-2 Sunday night to complete a key three-game sweep at St. Petersburg, Fla.

Manuel Margot added an RBI as the Rays expanded their newfound lead in the American League East to 1 1/2 games over the Red Sox.

The rookie McClanahan (5-4) matched a season high in innings, allowing one run on four hits and two walks while striking out seven.

Hunter Renfroe homered for Boston, which has dropped a season-high four straight. Pivetta (8-5) surrendered three runs on three hits and a walk over 4 2/3 innings. He struck out six.

Blue Jays 5, Royals 1

Right-hander Jose Berrios struck out seven in six scoreless innings in his debut with Toronto, who completed a three-game sweep of visiting Kansas City on Sunday afternoon.

Berrios (8-5) allowed five hits and one walk and hit three batters in his first start after he was obtained in a trade with the Minnesota Twins on Friday.
 

Marcus Semien hit a two-run home run and Santiago Espinal hit a solo shot for the Blue Jays, who have won four in a row. The Blue Jays were playing a series at the Rogers Centre for the first time since Sept. 29, 2019, because of COVID-19 restrictions.

Giants 5, Astros 3

Kris Bryant homered in his debut and Darin Ruf had three RBIs to pace host San Francisco to a 5-3 victory over Houston. The win was the second straight for the Giants after a series-opening loss to the Astros.

Acquired at the trade deadline from the Chicago Cubs, Bryant struck out in his first at-bat against Astros starter Luis Garcia (7-6). He enjoyed better fortune in the third after clearing the left-field fence for a solo homer.

Yuli Gurriel had three hits and Chas McCormick two for the Astros, who fell to 3-3 on their eight-game road trip. They'll head to Los Angeles to face the Dodgers.

Yankees 3, Marlins 1

Anthony Rizzo stroked a score-tying RBI single and Aaron Judge drove in the go-ahead run, leading New York to a big eighth inning and a three-game sweep over host Miami.

Marlins starter Sandy Alcantara was brilliant, pitching seven scoreless innings and matching his career high with 10 strikeouts. But New York's Brett Gardner greeted reliever Anthony Bass (1-6) with a leadoff single in the eighth. With one out, Giancarlo Stanton reached on Brian Anderson's throwing error.

The Marlins then brought in reliever Richard Bleier for a lefty-on-lefty matchup with Rizzo, who spoiled the strategy by slicing an opposite-field RBI single. Judge followed with his RBI single, putting New York ahead for good. The Yankees improved to 3-0 with Rizzo on the roster.

Reds 7, Mets 1
 

Max Schrock homered to highlight a 5-for-5 performance as visiting Cincinnati cruised to a victory over New York.

The Reds won the rubber match of the series for their seventh victory in the last 10 games. Rookie Vladimir Gutierrez (6-3) allowed one run on three hits while working seven innings for the second time in 12 big league starts.

The Mets have lost six of their last 10 games. Jeff McNeil homered for the Mets, and Marcus Stroman (7-10) allowed four runs on eight hits and one walk while striking out four over 5 2/3 innings.

Brewers 2, Braves 1

Willy Adames belted a solo homer and four relievers produced scoreless efforts as visiting Milwaukee recorded a win over Atlanta.

The Brewers won two of three games in the weekend series and concluded the season with a 3-3 mark against Atlanta. Milwaukee was 5-1 on the road trip and have won nine of its last 10 games away from home.

It was the 17th consecutive game in which the Braves have alternated wins and losses. Atlanta starter Charlie Morton (10-4) saw his five-game winning streak end. He worked six innings and allowed two runs on three hits and six strikeouts in his first appearance against Milwaukee since 2016.

Phillies 15, Pirates 4

J.T. Realmuto matched a career high with five hits and added four RBIs as Kyle Gibson had a strong start in his team debut, and visiting Philadelphia avoided a series sweep with a romp over Pittsburgh.

Jean Segura and Didi Gregorius each drove in three runs as Philadelphia totaled 20 hits, including three doubles for Bryce Harper. Gibson (7-3) gave up two runs and five hits in 6 2/3 innings, with two walks and five strikeouts in his first start since the Phillies acquired him at the trade deadline.

Michael Perez homered and Wilmer Difo drove in a run and had two hits for the Pirates. Pittsburgh starter Mitch Keller (3-8) pitched five innings, giving up four runs and eight hits.
 

Nationals 6, Cubs 5

Yadiel Hernandez led off the bottom of the ninth with his second home run of the game and Washington defeated visiting Chicago.

Hernandez, who homered on a 2-2 pitch from Manuel Rodriguez (0-1), finished with four hits and three RBIs. Josh Bell had a pair of run-scoring singles as Washington won the rubber game of the series.

Washington overcame a three-homer, five-RBI performance from Chicago's Rafael Ortega, who had four homers over two games. He had four of the Cubs' five hits on Sunday.

Rangers 4, Mariners 3

Tampa Bay Rays center fielder Kevin Kiermaier (39) and second baseman Brandon Lowe (8) and teammates celebrate after defeating the Boston Red Sox at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Andy Ibanez and Jonah Heim hit back-to-back home runs in the ninth inning to rally Texas past Seattle in Arlington, Texas.

Heim's solo shot was his second walk-off homer in as many games. Heim also homered in the opener of the series, giving him four in the three games. The Rangers hadn't taken consecutive games since late June and had lost 13 of 14 entering the weekend,

Erik Swanson (0-1), who had a 0.47 ERA in 15 previous appearances this season took the loss as newly acquired closer Diego Castillo wasn't used as he had worked the previous two games. Seattle's Abraham Toro went 3-for-4 with two doubles.

Dodgers 13, Diamondbacks 0

Albert Pujols had an early three-run double and Julio Urias pitched five scoreless innings as Los Angeles celebrated Mookie Betts' return from the injured list with an easy 13-0 victory over host Arizona.

Betts had a home run among his two hits, Justin Turner had a three-run home run and AJ Pollock had four hits to extend his on-base streak to 20 games as the Dodgers won a series immediately following a series loss to the National League West-leading San Francisco Giants.

Betts, who has been out since July 19 with right hip inflammation, received a rare start at second base as manager Dave Roberts elected to keep his All-Star off the outfield's artificial surface. It was his 18th career game at second and 16th start.

Padres 8, Rockies 1

Jake Cronenworth and Ha-Seong Kim hit a pair of first-inning, two-run doubles off Austin Gomber and Kim later hit a solo homer as San Diego defeated visiting Colorado to gain a split of a four-game series.
 

The three RBIs were a career-high for Kim, who played shortstop in place of the injured Fernando Tatis Jr. Tatis is on the 10-day injured list with a partial dislocation of his left shoulder.

It was the shortest career start for Gomber (8-6), who departed after giving up four runs on four hits and two walks with three strikeouts in the first inning. Going into Sunday, the Rockies had won two straight games in the series and four of their last five in San Diego. They are 13-40 on the road this season.

Tigers 6, Orioles 2

Eric Haase drove in two runs and Detroit's pitchers held Baltimore scoreless in the last eight innings as the Tigers defeated the Orioles.

Jeimer Candelario had two hits, a run scored and an RBI, while Robbie Grossman tripled, scored twice and knocked in a run. Miguel Cabrera walked twice, scored a run and knocked in another as the teams split the four-game series.

Baltimore starter Spenser Watkins (2-2) allowed four runs on three hits in 5 2/3 innings. Ryan Mountcastle led the offense with two hits, a run scored and an RBI. The last five batters in the lineup went a combined 0-for-16.

White Sox 2, Indians 1

Brian Goodwin blasted a solo home run with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning to lift host Chicago to a victory against Cleveland.

Goodwin lined a 3-1 fastball from Nick Wittgren (2-4) into the right-field bleachers as the White Sox earned a series victory in the three-game weekend set.

A White Sox bullpen relay of four pitchers combined for six innings of two-hit relief with eight strikeouts. That included a perfect eighth inning for recently acquired Craig Kimbrel, who lowered his season ERA to 0.47.

Cardinals 7, Twins 3
 

Edmundo Sosa and Paul Goldschmidt drove in two runs each to lift St. Louis past visiting Minnesota.

The Cardinals won two of three games in their interleague series. They have won nine of their last 14 games while the Twins have lost 12 of 17.

Cardinals starting pitcher Adam Wainwright (9-6) allowed three runs on six hits and a walk in seven innings. This was his 11th start of seven or more innings this season.

Athletics 8, Angels 3

Matt Olson and Yan Gomes homered, and starting pitcher Daulton Jeffries got through some early-inning struggles to lift Oakland to a victory over Los Angeles in Anaheim.

Olson hit a three-run blast for his 28th of the season, while Gomes went 2-for-5 with three RBIs in his Oakland debut after being acquired from the Washington Nationals.

The game featured starting pitchers with little to no major league experience. Angels left-hander Reid Detmers was making his major league debut, while the right-handed Jeffries was making his first major league start of the season and second of his career.

--Field Level Media


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