MLB roundup: Phils, Mets split after Aaron Nola's strikeout spree

[June 26, 2021]  Dominic Smith's RBI single in the eighth inning lifted the host New York Mets to a 2-1 victory over the Phillies in the opener of Friday's doubleheader, ruining a historic strikeout performance from Philadelphia's Aaron Nola.

The Mets, who were one out away from a 1-0 loss before Francisco Lindor's RBI single in the seventh.

The rally cost Nola the victory on a historic day for the right-hander. He tied Tom Seaver's major league record by striking out 10 consecutive batters and later delivered the Phillies' lone RBI with a fifth-inning double.

After the first two New York batters reached base, Nola struck out the next 10 hitters on 46 pitches to tie the record set on April 22, 1970, when Seaver struck out the final 10 San Diego Padres batters he faced in a Mets 2-1 win.

Phillies 2, Mets 1 (Game 2, 8 innings)

Odubel Herrera's run-scoring groundout in the eighth inning lifted Philadelphia over host to split the teams' twin bill.

The Phillies won for just the third time in 10 games. The Mets have lost seven of 11. Bryce Harper homered to break a scoreless tie in the sixth before the Mets tied the game in the bottom of the seventh on James McCann's sacrifice fly against Archie Bradley (3-1).

In the top of the eighth against Sean Reid-Foley (2-1), automatic runner Rafael Marchan went to third on one groundout and scored on Herrera's sharp shot to third. Luis Guillorme failed to field the grounder cleanly and lost a chance to get Marchan at the plate. Hector Neris threw a perfect bottom of the eighth for his 11th save.

Red Sox 5, Yankees 3

Hunter Renfroe drove in a pair of runs and recorded a key out at the plate on a throw from right field, leading the Boston past visiting New York. The Red Sox snapped a two-game skid in front of their first full-capacity sellout of the year.

Xander Bogaerts also had two RBIs as the Red Sox improved to 4-0 against the Yankees this season. DJ LeMahieu drove in two runs for the Yankees, who lost for just the third time in their last 10 games.

The Red Sox had just gone ahead 4-3 on a Renfroe sacrifice fly in the third inning when Gio Urshela led off the fourth with a double. The next batter, Miguel Andujar (three hits) singled to right, and Urshela was waved home, but Renfroe scooped up the ball and gunned Urshela down at the plate with time to spare, recording his major-league-leading 11th outfield assist.

Brewers 5, Rockies 4 (11 innings)

Willy Adames hit a tying two-run home run in the ninth and Keston Hiura delivered a sacrifice fly in the 11th as Milwaukee overcame a late four-run deficit to beat visiting Colorado.

Adames finished with three hits and Kolten Wong had two for the Brewers. Joshua Fuentes had a two-run, pinch-hit homer for the Rockies.

The teams combined for 31 strikeouts, with the Brewers fanning 16 times.

Braves 3, Reds 2

Guillermo Heredia homered and made a spectacular catch late while Drew Smyly continued his June resurgence with six solid innings as visiting Atlanta held on to beat Cincinnati.

Dansby Swanson added a solo homer for the Braves, who evened the four-game weekend series and leveled their record on their eight-game road trip at 3-3.

Smyly (5-3) won his third straight start, allowing just one run and six hits. He now has a 3-0 mark with a 3.16 ERA over five June starts. Will Smith pitched around a two-out double in the ninth for his 16th save.

Giants 2, A's 0

Curt Casali hit a home run and Johnny Cueto outdueled Sean Manaea as San Francisco opened a three-game home series against Oakland with a win.

Brandon Crawford reached a team-leading 50 RBIs with a run-scoring single, and Jake McGee recorded his 15th save to complete San Francisco's major-league-leading 11th shutout.

Cueto (6-3) blanked the A's on five hits over seven innings. He walked one and struck out six. Manaea (6-4) gave up one run on three hits in six innings. He walked three and struck out seven.

Marlins 11, Nationals 2

Miguel Rojas homered and finished with a season-high four RBIs as Miami snapped a four-game losing streak with a win over the visiting Washington.

Nationals left fielder Kyle Schwarber went 3-for-4 and slugged a solo homer, his 13th dinger in 14 games and his ninth in six contests. His homer was the main highlight for Washington, which had its five-game win streak broken.

Miami got Garrett Cooper off the injured list, and he went 3-for-4 with four runs, two RBIs, a homer, a double and a walk. It was his first game since sustaining a back injury on June 7.

Orioles 6, Blue Jays 5 (10 innings)

Pat Valaika walked with the bases loaded and two outs in the 10th inning to force in the go-ahead run as Baltimore came back to defeat Toronto in Buffalo and end its 20-game road losing streak.

The Orioles tied the game with four runs in the eighth and got the win in the 10th when Toronto reliever Trent Thornton (1-3) walked three batters. That forced home Trey Mancini, who started the inning at second base.

Paul Fry (1-2) threw a perfect bottom of the ninth for Baltimore. Cole Sulser earned his second save despite walking Bo Bichette to start the bottom of the 10th with Marcus Semien at second. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. then grounded into a double play, and Teoscar Hernandez struck out swinging.

New York Mets left fielder Dominic Smith (2) hits a single in the fourth inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

Rays 4, Angels 3

Austin Meadows and Kevin Kiermaier each went 3-for-4 to lead Tampa Bay to a victory over Los Angeles in St. Petersburg, Fla.

The Rays won their third straight after dropping their previous seven, and Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash picked up his 500th career victory.

First-inning solo homers by Shohei Ohtani and Anthony Rendon weren't enough for the Angels, whose losing streak reached four games.

Mariners 9, White Sox 3

Luis Torrens smacked a pair of two-run home runs and Jake Fraley also hit a two-run shot to back 5 2/3 strong innings from Yusei Kikuchi and lift visiting Seattle over Chicago.

Seattle out-hit Chicago 14-6 en route to its ninth win in 11 games. The White Sox have been outscored 45-18 while losing six of seven.

Kikuchi (5-3) retired 10 of the first 11 batters he faced, with Yasmani Grandal's solo home run in the second marking the lone early blemish against him. White Sox left-hander Carlos Rodon (6-3) scattered three runs and five hits in five innings with four walks and eight strikeouts.

Rangers 9, Royals 4

Texas scored four runs in the fourth and five in the sixth to beat Kansas City in the opener of a three-game series at Arlington, Texas.

Down 1-0 coming into the fourth, Texas put up four against starter Mike Minor (6-5) who had only surrendered two hits up to that point. He got hit hard again to open the sixth and ultimately gave up all nine runs on 11 hits and two walks in five-plus innings.

Dane Dunning (3-6) went five innings and got his first win in his past five decisions. Dunning allowed two runs on five hits with four strikeouts.

Twins 8, Indians 7

Luis Arraez went 3-for-4 with two triples, a double and three RBIs and Alex Kirilloff homered as Minnesota defeated Cleveland in Minneapolis.

Andrelton Simmons went 2-for-3 with three runs, Josh Donaldson drove in two runs and Nick Gordon added two hits for Minnesota, which won for the sixth time in eight games.

Amed Rosario, Bobby Bradley, Eddie Rosario and Josh Naylor each homered for Cleveland. Nick Wittgren (2-2) gave up two runs in his lone inning to take the loss.

Pirates 5, Cardinals 4

Jacob Stallings and Phillip Evans drove in two runs each and Wil Crowe (1-4) earned his first major league victory as Pittsburgh edged host St. Louis.

The Pirates won for the fifth time in seven games, while the reeling Cardinals lost their fifth consecutive game and their seventh in eight tries. Crowe (1-4) allowed four runs on eight hits and two walks in five innings. Richard Rodriguez closed out the game for his 10th save.

Cardinals reliever Jake Woodford (1-1) took the loss after allowing the tiebreaking run in the fifth inning. Nolan Arenado hit the 250th homer of his career, and Dylan Carlson also went deep for St. Louis.

Padres 11, Diamondbacks 5

Fernando Tatis Jr. hit three of host San Diego's five home runs, helping extend Arizona's major league record for consecutive road losses to 24 games.

The win was the Padres' eighth straight to open a 10-game homestand. The Diamondbacks have dropped 20 of their past 21 games overall.

Tatis' first two homers were both part of back-to-back sets as the Padres jumped out to 4-0 and 6-3 leads. Tommy Pham and Jake Cronenworth also went deep for San Diego, and Tatis finished 4-for-5 with four RBIs and four runs. He also tied Vladimir Guerrero Jr. for first in the majors with 25 home runs this season.

Dodgers 6, Cubs 2

AJ Pollock and Max Muncy hit two-run homers in the eighth inning to lift Los Angeles to a win against visiting Chicago.

Six relievers combined to give up just one run over the final five innings and help the Dodgers end a four-game losing streak. Blake Treinen (2-3) allowed one hit and struck out two in 1 2/3 innings of shutout relief to earn the win.

Chicago starter Jake Arrieta allowed two runs and five hits in five innings. He struck out four and walked three. Kris Bryant homered for the Cubs, who used four pitchers to no-hit the Dodgers in Thursday's series opener.

--Field Level Media

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