MLB roundup: Kyle Tucker's 3 HRs lead Astros past A's

 

[July 22, 2023]  Kyle Tucker became the sixth major-leaguer this season to homer three times in a game, driving in four runs in the process and powering the visiting Houston Astros to a 6-4 victory over the Oakland Athletics on Friday night.

Jeremy Pena, Tucker and Alex Bregman, the Astros' 2-3-4 hitters, combined to score all six runs and drive in all six. They had seven of the team's nine hits, including four homers.

The A's made Framber Valdez (8-6) work for the win, putting up four runs against him in five innings. The right-hander allowed six hits and two walks, striking out four. Pressly notched his 23rd save.

Oakland starter JP Sears (1-7) took the loss, charged with five runs on eight hits in 5 2/3 innings. He walked one and struck out one. Jordan Diaz drove in two runs for the A's.

Dodgers 11, Rangers 5

Los Angeles, playing its first game at the site of its 2020 World Series championship, rallied to beat Texas to open a three-game series in Arlington, Texas.

Freddie Freeman and J.D. Martinez drove in three runs apiece, center fielder Jonny Deluca made a couple dazzling catches, and the Dodgers' bullpen allowed one run over the final four innings. Reliever Ryan Brasier (2-0) earned the win by getting the final two outs of the sixth.

Playing his first game against his former team, Rangers shortstop Corey Seager went 2-for-3 with a solo home run, but he exited in the eighth inning with a sprained right thumb. Seager was hurt diving headfirst into second base on a double.

Rays 3, Orioles 0

Zach Eflin scattered two hits over seven scoreless innings and Isaac Paredes and Jose Siri each belted a solo homer to lift Tampa Bay to a shutout victory over Baltimore in St. Petersburg, Fla.

Harold Ramirez had an RBI single and joined Paredes with two hits as the Rays snapped a five-game skid. Tampa Bay evened its four-game series with Baltimore at one win apiece. Eflin (11-5) struck out eight batters against one walk to avenge a tough loss to the Orioles in his last encounter with them on May 9.

Kyle Bradish (6-5) sustained his second loss in his last six decisions despite permitting only two runs on six hits in six innings. He struck out five with one walk. The Orioles lost for just the third time in their last 13 games.

Mariners 3, Blue Jays 2

Teoscar Hernandez singled home the winning run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning against his former team as Seattle rallied to defeat visiting Toronto in the opener of a three-game series.

Hernandez finished with three hits. The Mariners rallied off Toronto closer Jordan Romano (4-5). Paul Sewald (3-0) pitched a scoreless top of the ninth to earn the victory.

Yusei Kikuchi tossed 5 1/3 scoreless innings in his return to Seattle and Danny Jansen homered for the Blue Jays, who took their third loss in four games. Kikuchi, a left-hander who pitched for the Mariners from 2019-21 before signing with Toronto before last season, allowed five hits, walked one and struck out eight, one shy of his season high.

Yankees 5, Royals 4

Billy McKinney hit a three-run homer to take the lead in the fourth inning and made a pair of highlight-reel catches in center field as host New York defeated Kansas City.

Franchy Cordero homered for the second straight game and Gleyber Torres connected to extend his hitting streak to 11 games as the Yankees stopped a four-game losing streak and won for only the third time in 12 games.

New York starter Clarke Schmidt (6-6) allowed a three-run homer to Michael Massey in the fourth but no other runs in his 5 2/3 innings. In his fourth career start, Kansas City's Alec Marsh (0-4) allowed five runs on five hits in 5 1/3 innings. Massey added a solo shot in the eighth inning.

Angels 8, Pirates 5

Shohei Ohtani struggled on the mound, but Los Angeles hit four homers to beat Pittsburgh in Anaheim, Calif.

Ohtani (8-5) served up a career-high four homers, going 6 1/3 innings while allowing five runs on six hits. He struck out nine and walked one. Mike Moustakas, Trey Cabbage, Zach Neto and Taylor Ward homered for Los Angeles, which earned its fourth win in a row.

Henry Davis hit two home runs and Ji Man Choi and Jack Suwinski also went deep for Pittsburgh, which fell for the 13th time in 16 games.

Padres 5, Tigers 4

Juan Soto hit a pair of homers and drove in three runs and visiting San Diego held off Detroit.

Jake Cronenworth added a two-run triple for San Diego. Winning pitcher Seth Lugo (4-4) gave up two runs and six hits while striking out seven with three walks in six innings. Josh Hader pitched the ninth for his 24th save.

Riley Greene hit a two-run homer for Detroit and Zach McKinstry had a solo shot. Tigers starter Reese Olson (1-4) gave up five runs and seven hits while striking out five in five innings.

Cubs 4, Cardinals 3

Cody Bellinger continued his torrid offensive pace with three hits, including a two-run homer during a four-run third inning, and host Chicago held on to snap St. Louis' six-game winning streak.

Miles Mastrobuoni clubbed his first major league home run for the Cubs, who evened this set with their third win in four games. Chicago's Justin Steele (10-3) was charged with two runs and six hits while fanning nine over 6 1/3 innings.

Bellinger is batting .442 (38-for-86) with six homers and 15 RBIs in his last 23 games.

Reds 9, Diamondbacks 6

Matt McLain drilled a two-strike fastball for his first career grand slam as Cincinnati beat visiting Arizona in the opener of the three-game series.

The rookie star shortstop fell behind hard-throwing reliever Justin Martinez two strikes before driving the third pitch -- a 100.9-mph fastball -- to the seats in right in the fifth inning for his ninth home run of the season. Another rookie -- Spencer Steer -- drove in three runs as the Reds won their third straight after a six-game losing streak.

Ketel Marte homered twice, tripled home another run and finished with four RBIs for the Diamondbacks, who lost for the fifth time in seven games since the All-Star break.

Rockies 6, Marlins 1

Peter Lambert earned his first win as a major league starter since 2019, pitching five scoreless innings to lead Colorado over host Miami.

C.J. Cron, Jurickson Profar and Elias Diaz homered for Colorado, which improved to 4-2 since the All-Star break and won a road game for just the second time in their past 14 tries. Lambert (2-1) allowed just three hits and one walk while striking out three. The 26-year-old right-hander was recalled from Triple-A Albuquerque before the game.

The Marlins have lost seven straight games -- all of them since the All-Star Game. Starter Braxton Garrett (5-3) gave up seven hits and six runs in three innings. He fanned five without issuing a walk. It was his second-worst start of the season, and his ERA increased from 3.90 to 4.32.

Twins 9, White Sox 4

Byron Buxton snapped a slump with two home runs, including a three-run blast to highlight a five-run first inning, as Minnesota beat Chicago in Minneapolis.

Alex Kirilloff homered, doubled and drove in four runs for the Twins. Ryan Jeffers also hit a home run for Minnesota, which improved to 6-2 since the All-Star break. Joe Ryan (9-6) picked up just his second win in his past 10 starts, allowing four runs over six innings while striking out 10, matching his season high.

Andrew Benintendi and Yasmani Grandal homered for Chicago, which took its third loss in four games. Eloy Jimenez and Elvis Andrus each added a double, a single and a run for the White Sox. Lance Lynn (6-9) gave up nine runs, six earned, over 6 2/3 innings, allowing four homers to increase his major-league-leading total to 28.

Nationals 5, Giants 3

Michael Chavis hit a go-ahead double and host Washington blanked San Francisco for the final six innings to open a three-game series on a winning note.

Nationals starter Jake Irvin (3-5) withstood a rough opening stretch and beat the Giants for the second time this season. He struck out nine in 6 2/3 innings while allowing three runs, five hits and one walk. Kyle Finnegan worked the ninth for his 13th save. Lane Thomas and CJ Abrams hit home runs for Washington.

Giants starter Alex Wood (4-4) gave up five runs on five hits and two walks in four innings. He struck out one. J.D. Davis and Joc Pederson went deep for San Francisco.

Guardians 6, Phillies 5

Jose Ramirez had four hits, two runs scored and two stolen bases as Cleveland opened a three-game series by edging visiting Philadelphia.

David Fry had two hits and two RBIs for Cleveland, which led 6-2 before Philadelphia rallied with three runs in the seventh inning on back-to-back homers by J.T. Realmuto and Bryson Stott. Reliever Trevor Stephan (5-4) pitched 1 2/3 innings for the win. Emmanuel Clase retired the Phillies in order in the ninth for his 26th save.

Philadelphia stranded the bases loaded three times and left a total of 10 runners on base. The Phillies have lost three straight following a four-game winning streak. Starter Ranger Suarez (2-5) allowed four runs on eight hits with five strikeouts and two walks in five innings.

Braves 6, Brewers 4

Orlando Arcia and Austin Riley each hit a two-run homer to help Atlanta prevail at Milwaukee.

Marcell Ozuna also had two RBIs as the Braves won their second straight game. Michael Soroka (2-1) gave up four runs and six hits over six innings, and Kirby Yates handled the ninth for his second save.

Willy Adames homered for the Brewers, who lost for just the third time in 11 games. Freddy Peralta (6-8) worked five innings and gave up six runs and six hits.

Mets-Red Sox (suspended)

The game between Boston and visiting New York was suspended because of wet playing conditions with one out in the bottom of the fourth inning and the Mets leading 4-3.

The game was suspended following a two-hour weather delay and will resume Saturday at 2:20 p.m. local time. The Red Sox led 3-0 until the Mets received two-run home runs from Brandon Nimmo and Daniel Vogelbach. Nimmo's home run, his 15th of the season, sliced Boston's lead to 3-2 in the third, and Vogelbach's sixth home run of the season put the Mets in front in the fourth.

Both home runs came against Red Sox starting pitcher Kutter Crawford, who surrendered four hits in four innings. New York starter Kodai Senga gave up three runs and three hits, struck out three and walked one in 3 1/3 innings.

--Field Level Media

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