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MLB roundup: Marlins' Pablo Lopez fans MLB-record first 9 batters

[July 12, 2021] Pablo Lopez set an MLB record by striking out the first nine batters of the game, leading the host Miami Marlins to a 7-4 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Sunday.

Lopez (5-5), who did not record another strikeout after the third inning, lasted six innings and allowed five hits, with two walks and three runs.

The previous record of eight straight strikeouts to start a game was shared by German Marquez of the Colorado Rockies in 2018, Jacob deGrom of the New York Mets in 2014 and Jim Deshaies of the Houston Astros in 1986.

Dansby Swanson hit a pair of solo homers for the Braves in the defeat.

Jesus Aguilar had a home run and four RBIs for Miami, which ended a three-game losing streak. It was Aguilar's 15th homer of the season, but just his second at home.

Astros 8, Yankees 7

Jose Altuve crushed a walk-off three-run home run and host Houston scored six runs in the ninth inning to complete a stunning victory over New York.

Altuve drove home Abraham Toro and pinch-runner Myles Straw with his 20th home run, capping an unexpected comeback that started against Yankees right-hander Domingo German and ended with right-hander Chad Green (3-5) allowing the decisive blast.

Martin Maldonado and Kyle Tucker also homered for Houston, and Gary Sanchez hit a three-run blast for the Yankees. The Astros' Ralph Garza Jr. (1-2) pitched 1 2/3 hitless innings, with three walks and three strikeouts to pick up the win.

Reds 3, Brewers 1

Nick Castellanos hit a two-run single with two outs in the ninth off closer Josh Hader as visiting Cincinnati inched closer to first-place Milwaukee in the National League Central.

The Reds enter the All-Star break four games behind Milwaukee after getting their ninth win in 11 games. They took three of four in the series, with the last two wins decided in the ninth or later.

Jackie Bradley Jr.'s RBI single in the sixth accounted for the Brewers' only run, as they lost for the sixth time in eight games following an 11-game winning streak that vaulted them into first place.

Giants 3, Nationals 1

Right-hander Kevin Gausman pitched like an All-Star and Curt Casali provided a three-run home run, sending host San Francisco to a three-game sweep of Washington.

The National League West-leading Giants finished the first half at 57-32, giving them the most wins in the majors and the highest winning percentage (.640). The 57 wins equals the third-most in franchise history at the All-Star break, trailing only the 59 wins in 1993.

Gausman (9-3) snapped a personal two-game losing streak, allowing one run on four hits over six-plus innings with three walks and nine strikeouts. Nationals right-hander Erick Fedde (4-6) worked five innings and allowed eight hits and three walks. He struck out seven.

Athletics 4, Rangers 1

Matt Olson ripped two solo home runs and Chris Bassitt scattered four hits over seven innings to record his 10th straight win as Oakland powered past Texas in Arlington, Texas.

The Athletics won for the second straight game and captured the weekend series with their division rivals. The Athletics managed just six hits, but four of them were solo home runs, with Jed Lowrie and Sean Murphy hitting back-to-back shots off Rangers' starter Kolby Allard (2-6) in the top of the second inning.

Bassitt (10-2), who is on the A.L. All-Star Game roster, gave up one run while striking out three and walking one. He won his 10th straight decision over a stretch of 17 starts; he hasn't lost since April 6. Allard allowing all four homers and five hits in six innings.

Angels 7, Mariners 1

David Fletcher extended his hitting streak to 24 games in style, going 4-for-5 with a home run and four RBIs as Los Angeles defeated Seattle.

Fletcher hit a solo homer with two outs in the top of the third to tie the score at 1 and extend the third-longest hitting streak in franchise history. He later grounded a two-run single into right field to break a tie in the fifth and lined a one-out single to center to make it 4-1 in the seventh.

Left-hander Jose Suarez (4-2) and three relievers combined on a four-hitter as the Angels salvaged the finale of the three-game series. Right-hander Raisel Iglesias pitched 1 1/3 innings for his 19th save.

White Sox 7, Orioles 5 (10)

Adam Engel hit a three-run home run with two outs in the top of the 10th inning that gave visiting Chicago a victory over Baltimore.

Chicago put two on with two outs against Tyler Wells (2-1) in the 10th before Engel crushed his homer to left -- the team's third homer of the day -- for a 7-4 lead. Andrew Vaughn added a solo homer in the fourth and a three-run shot in the sixth.

The White Sox went 7-0 versus Baltimore this season. They scored 27 runs in this weekend's three-game series.

Pirates 6, Mets 5

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Miami Marlins starting pitcher Pablo Lopez (49) delivers a pitch during the first inning against the Atlanta Braves at loanDepot Park. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports

Wilmer Difo and John Nogowski delivered RBI singles in the ninth inning to lift visiting Pittsburgh over New York in the finale of their four-game series.

Nogowski collected the tying hit and Difo had the go-ahead hit off Edwin Diaz (3-3) after two were out to help the Pirates earn a split of the series.

Rodolfo Castro homered twice, Michael Perez also went deep, and Difo and Adam Frazier each had three hits for the Pirates.

Blue Jays 3, Rays 1

Robbie Ray had a no-hitter going into the seventh inning and ended up tossing seven shutout innings as Toronto beat Tampa Bay.

Ray (7-4) pitched 6 1/3 hitless innings and retired 17 consecutive batters to start. Overall, Ray gave up one hit, walked one and struck out 11 -- the second-most strikeouts for Ray this season after he struck out 13 against the White Sox on June 8.

The Jays took a 1-0 lead in the third on a home run to left from Danny Jansen. In the fourth, Santiago Espinal (3-for-4) singled in a run and Cavan Biggio made it 3-0 on a sacrifice fly to center that scored Lourdes Gurriel Jr.

Dodgers 7, Diamondbacks 4

Max Muncy's last swing before heading to the All-Star Game was a game-ending three-run homer in the ninth inning as host Los Angeles rallied to defeat Arizona.

After Albert Pujols led off the ninth inning with a single and Mookie Betts was intentionally walked, Muncy clubbed a no-doubt home run off Arizona's J.B. Bukauskas (1-2) into the right-field bleachers for his third hit of the game. It was his 19th home run of the season.

Betts, who also had three hits, led the game off with a home run and also had three hits as Los Angeles won its final two games before the All-Star break. Josh Rojas had a double among his three hits for the Diamondbacks. Kenley Jansen (1-2) pitched a scoreless top of the ninth to get the win.

Phillies 5, Red Sox 4

Ronald Torreyes hit a three-run home run, and Philadelphia used six pitchers to make a victory over host Boston stick.

Torreyes' shot gave the Phillies a 5-1 lead in the top of the fourth, and the pitching protected the lead the rest of the way. Torreyes finished three-for-four and scored twice.

Cristopher Sanchez (1-0) gave up one run over three innings with two strikeouts to earn the win. Ranger Suarez pitched the final 2 1/3 innings and struck out four to record his second save. Four other pitchers tossed at least two thirds of an inning to contribute.

Twins 12, Tigers 9 (10)

Jorge Polanco lined a three-run home run with one out in the bottom of the 10th inning to give Minnesota a wild victory over visiting Detroit.

It was the first career walk-off homer for Polanco, who finished 3-for-6 with five RBIs. Polanco hit a 3-2 sinker from Tigers reliever Derek Holland (1-2) 395 feet into the left field bleachers for his 12th homer of the season. He drove in Trevor Larnach, who began the inning as the designated runner, and Nelson Cruz, who had been intentionally walked.

Max Kepler went 2-for-4 with a homer and two RBIs and Alex Kirilloff had two hits and two RBIs for Minnesota, which completed a four-game series sweep of the Tigers. Josh Donaldson doubled and scored twice and Cruz added a single, three walks and three runs for the Twins. Tyler Duffey (1-2) picked up the win.

Rockies 3, Padres 1

Chris Owings hit the first pinch-hit home run of his career, and his first home run of the season, to break a seventh-inning tie and lead visiting Colorado past San Diego.

The victory came in Bud Black's 2,000th game as an MLB manager and put the Rockies on top for a second consecutive game. They won a road series for the first time this season and are now 9-34 away from Denver.

Owings had an 0-1 count when he drove a curveball from Craig Stammen into the seats in right-center field.

--Field Level Media

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