MLB roundup: Dodgers complete season sweep of Nationals

[July 05, 2021]  Matt Beaty homered and Max Muncy had two doubles and three RBIs as the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers completed a four-game series sweep of the Washington Nationals with a 5-1 victory on Sunday.

David Price (4-0) pitched two scoreless innings of relief for the Dodgers, who extended their winning streak to a season-high nine games.

Alcides Escobar had three hits for Washington, which lost all seven meetings against the Dodgers this season.

The Dodgers broke a 1-1 deadlock with two runs in the seventh. Gavin Lux, who had three hits, lined a leadoff double and scored on pinch-hitter Albert Pujols' one-out single to left field off Joe Ross (5-8).

Tony Gonsolin entered the game as a pinch-runner for Pujols and came around to score on Muncy's double off Brad Hand, who replaced Ross with two outs.

Giants 5, Diamondbacks 2

Despite losing Buster Posey to a thumb injury, the Giants earned a win against the struggling D-Backs, thanks to a solid 8 2/3 innings from Anthony DeSclafani. Arizona has lost 50 of its past 58 games.

DeSclafani earned his ninth win of the season by striking out seven, surrendering two runs and six hits, and walking just two batters.
 

Posey was shaken up when a foul ball glanced off of his left thumb, taking him out of the game. The team later announced it was a contusion and X-rays were negative. Before going out, Posey scored twice and drove in a run.

Tigers 6, White Sox 5

Akil Baddoo drove in two runs during a three-run second inning, Jeimer Candelario had three hits and scored two runs, and host Detroit held off Chicago.

Eric Haase, who hit two three-run homers on Saturday, added two hits, one run scored and an RBI as the Tigers took two of three games to win the weekend series. Harold Castro chipped in two hits and an RBI.

Jose Abreu hit a three-run homer in the ninth inning for the White Sox, but the Chicago rally fell short. He led the White Sox offense with three hits, two runs scored and four RBIs. Tim Anderson supplied three hits and scored two runs.

Padres 11, Phillies 1

Manny Machado homered twice, drove in five runs and walked three times to lift San Diego past host Philadelphia.

Webster Rivas hit a three-run home run and Eric Hosmer ripped a three-run double off Hector Neris in the ninth inning.

Jurickson Profar set a season high with four hits while Fernando Tatis Jr. and Jake Cronenworth added two hits each for the Padres, who had lost three in a row before this game.

Pirates 2, Brewers 0

Kevin Newman homered and left-hander Tyler Anderson pitched seven shutout innings as Pittsburgh not only snapped a six-game losing streak but halted Milwaukee's 11-game winning streak.

Anderson (4-8), who often has been the victim of poor run support, got enough this time as he held Milwaukee to three hits, with two walks and six strikeouts.
 

He combined with David Bednar, who pitched the eighth, and Richard Rodriguez, who allowed one hit in pitching the ninth for his 11th save, on a four-hit shutout.

Reds 3, Cubs 2

A trio of three pitchers combined for 2 1/3 innings of scoreless relief and Jesse Winker drove in the go-ahead run during a two-run rally in the seventh inning as Cincinnati completed a three-game weekend sweep of visiting Chicago.

Willson Contreras grounded into a 5-4-3 double play with the tying and go-ahead runs on first and second in the ninth inning to end the game. Amir Garrett, who missed badly with his first six pitches in the ninth, rebounded to earn his sixth save. Reds reliever Art Warren (2-0) earned the win by recording the final out of the seventh.

The Cubs' ninth straight loss dropped them to .500 on the season (42-42), as they finished their nightmarish 10-game road trip through Los Angeles, Milwaukee and Cincinnati with a 1-9 mark.

Rays 5, Blue Jays 1

Rookie Wander Franco hit a home run and a double, Austin Meadows had three doubles and two RBIs and visiting Tampa Bay defeated Toronto.

The Rays ended a five-game losing streak as they avoided being swept in the three-game series. They also stopped a 10-game road losing streak.

The Blue Jays, who completed a 6-4 homestand, had a solo homer by Randal Grichuk.

Astros 4, Indians 3 (10 innings)

Chas McCormick homered and drove in three runs and Houston capitalized on a pair of 10th-inning miscues by Cleveland to complete a four-game road sweep.

The Astros earned their first series sweep ever against Cleveland while posting their fourth sweep of a four-game series this season. Houston took the lead in the 10th when Indians reliever Emmanuel Clase (3-3) dropped a relay throw that enabled Jason Castro to reach and Yuli Gurriel to score the go-ahead run on what would have been an inning-ending double play.
 

In the bottom of the frame, Astros left-hander Brooks Raley snagged a pop bunt from Indians catcher Roberto Perez before doubling off Harold Ramirez at second with a throw to shortstop Carlos Correa. Raley notched his second save with a strikeout of pinch hitter Oscar Mercado.

Braves 8, Marlins 7 (10 innings)

Pitcher Max Fried delivered a pinch-hit single to drive in the game-winning run with two outs in the 10th inning to give Atlanta an improbable victory over visiting Miami.

The Braves loaded the bases in the 10th with one out against Anthony Bass (1-4), and Austin Riley appeared to have scored the winning run on a wild pitch. But the play was overturned when video showed Riley never touched home.

Fried, called on to bat because the Braves were out of position players, worked the count to 3-1 before singling to center field.

San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Anthony DeSclafani (26) pitches against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the sixth inning at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

Mets 10, Yankees 5 (Game 1)

Pete Alonso hit a game-tying homer off a struggling Aroldis Chapman to open the seventh inning and pinch hitter Jose Peraza hit a tiebreaking two-run double five batters later as the Mets beat the Yankees in the opener of a seven-inning, day-night doubleheader at Yankee Stadium.

It was the fourth blown save for Chapman, who posted an 11.42 ERA in 11 June appearances. As Alonso hit his 14th homer, Chapman turned around, grimaced and put his hands over his head in disbelief.

The loss sent the Yankees to the .500 mark at 41-41 and handed them their seventh loss in eight games since June 24. Gerrit Cole was charged with four runs on six hits in 3 1/3 innings in the third-shortest outing of his career.

Yankees 4, Mets 2 (Game 2)

Gio Urshela hit a three-run homer in the second inning and three pitchers combined on a three-hitter as the Yankees salvaged a split of their day-night doubleheader with a victory over the Mets at Yankee Stadium.

In their final home game before the All-Star break, the Yankees won for only the second time in nine games and stayed above .500 at 42-41. The Yankees blew a one-run lead in the opener when the Mets rallied for six runs in the seventh to get a 10-5 victory.

Pete Alonso sparked the Mets' six-run seventh when he hit a game-tying home run off Aroldis Chapman in the opener and then hit a two-run homer in the fourth off Darren O'Day. It was the 30th time a Met homered in both ends of a doubleheader and first instance since Shawn Green in 2006.

Angels 6, Orioles 5

Juan Lagares hit a walk-off, two-run double in the ninth inning to lift Los Angeles to a win against visiting Baltimore to complete the three-game sweep.

Cedric Mullins slammed a solo homer in the top of the ninth to give the Orioles a 5-4 lead, the only base runner allowed by Angels closer Raisel Iglesias (6-3) in his past seven appearances.
 

Shohei Ohtani slammed his major league-leading 31st home run of the season, Anthony Rendon homered and Phil Gosselin had two hits for the Angels, who have won six of seven.

Twins 6, Royals 2

Kenta Maeda struck out a season-high 10 batters and allowed just a pair of singles over six shutout innings as visiting Minnesota snapped a five-game losing streak with a win over Kansas City.

Jorge Polanco, Max Kepler and Alex Kirilloff each homered and Luis Arraez went 3-for-4 with a walk and scored three times to lead the Twins offensively. Polanco and Trevor Larnach each had two hits and two RBIs.

It marked the seventh time in his career that Maeda (4-3) struck out double-digit batters in a game but was the first time this season. Nine of the 10 strikeouts were by swinging.

Red Sox 1, Athletics 0

Right-hander Nick Pivetta was part of combined shutout for the second time this season and Alex Verdugo scored the day's only run after a leadoff double in the sixth inning as visiting Boston held off Oakland.

After the teams had traded one-run, extra-inning wins on Friday and Saturday, Pivetta (7-3) limited the A's to two singles in seven innings. He walked two and struck out a season-best 10.
 

Boston completed its 16th one-run win of the year and third shutout when Garrett Whitlock worked a scoreless eighth before closer Matt Barnes wriggled out of a two-on, one-out jam in the ninth for his 19th save.
 

Mariners 4, Rangers 1

Luis Torrens and Shed Long Jr. hit home runs and Chris Flexen pitched six strong innings as Seattle defeated visiting Texas, taking two of three games in the series.

Flexen (7-3) allowed one run on four hits. The right-hander didn't walk a batter and struck out five to improve to 5-2 at home.

Right-handers Drew Steckenrider, Paul Sewald and Kendall Graveman combined for three scoreless innings of one-hit relief. Graveman worked a 1-2-3 ninth for his eighth save of the season.

Rockies 3, Cardinals 2

Elias Diaz delivered his second walk-off hit in four days as Colorado edged visiting St. Louis.

Diaz hit the game-winning RBI single off Cardinals closer Alex Reyes (5-3). He drove in Joshua Fuentes, who hit a two-out single and took second on a wild pitch. Justin Lawrence (1-0) worked the ninth inning and earned his first big-league victory.

Cardinals starting pitcher Carlos Martinez left the game after 3 1/3 innings with a bruised right thumb. He allowed one run on one hit, Trevor Story's homer.

--Field Level Media

[© 2021 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2021 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.  Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.