MLB roundup: A's top Rays on 'reverse boycott' night

 

[June 14, 2023]  Ramon Laureano ran his way into the difference-making score in the eighth inning, rookie Hogan Harris limited the Tampa Bay Rays to one run in seven innings, and the Oakland Athletics thrilled their largest home crowd of the season on a "reverse boycott" night with a 2-1 victory and a seventh straight win Tuesday.

With 27,759 mostly green-and-gold-clad fans -- many donning "SELL" T-shirts as a message to owner John Fisher, who plans on moving the team to Las Vegas -- creating a postseason-type ruckus, the A's rallied from a 1-0 hole with single runs in the seventh and eighth innings to stun the team with the best record in baseball for the second consecutive night.

Laureano singled to open the eighth against Colin Poche (4-2), advanced on a sacrifice bunt, then stole third and scored when pinch-hitter Carlos Perez's grounder bounced off the glove of third baseman Isaac Paredes.

Harris (2-0) replaced opener Shintaro Fujinami after the latter's scoreless first inning and allowed just four hits in seven innings, striking out two without walking a batter.

Astros 6, Nationals 1

Four players slugged solo home runs while rookie right-hander Hunter Brown recorded his second scoreless start of the season as Houston beat visiting Washington.

Mauricio Dubon, Kyle Tucker, Martin Maldonado (100th career homer) and Chas McCormick each went deep for the Astros, who won for just the second time in their last seven games. Brown (6-3) allowed four hits and three walks while recording four strikeouts over seven innings. Jose Abreu notched his 1,500th career hit and became the fourth player in franchise history to score 1,000 runs.

Nationals starter Patrick Corbin (4-7) allowed two runs on four hits in five innings. He walked five and fanned five.

Giants 11, Cardinals 3

Michael Conforto went 4-for-6 with three RBIs as visiting San Francisco defeated St. Louis but lost third baseman J.D. Davis (sprained right ankle) and left fielder Mitch Haniger (broken right forearm) to injuries.

Mike Yastrzemski hit a two-run homer and Patrick Bailey added a solo homer for the Giants, who won for the sixth time in eight games. Giants starter Alex Cobb allowed two runs on five hits and two walks in four innings. Keaton Winn earned a four-inning save in his major league debut.

Jack Flaherty (3-5) allowed six runs on 10 hits and three walks with three strikeouts in 4 1/3 innings for the Cardinals, who lost for the 11th time in 14 games.

Orioles 11, Blue Jays 6

Gunnar Henderson had three hits, including a grand slam, as Baltimore hammered visiting Toronto for the Orioles' fifth straight win.

Henderson, the reigning American League Player of the Week, has homered in three straight games. He is 13-for-24 (.542) with four homers, 10 RBIs and six runs over his past six games. Adam Frazier, Ryan O'Hearn and Aaron Hicks also homered for the Orioles, who pounded out a season-high 17 hits.

With his team staked to a big lead, Baltimore's Dean Kremer (7-3) worked six innings. He gave up two runs on eight hits and struck out six without a walk. Toronto starter Chris Bassitt (7-5), who had given up just two runs over his past two starts spanning 15 2/3 innings, departed after allowing eight runs on 11 hits over three innings.

Dodgers 5, White Sox 1

Will Smith and David Peralta hit first-inning home runs, Tony Gonsolin went six scoreless innings and Los Angeles returned home to top Chicago.

Gonsolin (4-1) gave up two hits with six strikeouts as the Dodgers returned from a disappointing 2-4 road trip to Cincinnati and Philadelphia with the victory in the opener of a three-game series and a six-game homestand.

White Sox starter Lance Lynn (4-7) recovered from a wobbly first inning with four scoreless before he was charged with a run in the sixth. The White Sox dropped their third consecutive game following a 6-1 run and fell in the opener of a six-game road trip that includes a visit to Seattle.

Padres 6, Guardians 3

Gary Sanchez capped a four-run first inning with a three-run homer and Fernando Tatis Jr. added a solo shot an inning later as San Diego doubled-up visiting Cleveland in the opener of a three-game interleague series.

Padres right-hander Joe Musgrove held the Guardians to three runs on seven hits and a walk with five strikeouts over six innings to earn the win and improve to 4-2. Josh Hader picked up his 16th save with a scoreless ninth.

Cleveland starter Tanner Bibee (2-2) immediately put himself in trouble by walking the first two hitters he faced -- Tatis and Juan Soto. Tatis moved to third on Manny Machado's flyout to right and scored on Xander Bogaerts' sacrifice fly. After Jake Cronenworth singled, Sanchez lined the first pitch he saw from Bibee 396 feet to left-center for his sixth homer in 13 games as a Padre to make it 4-0.

Phillies 15, Diamondbacks 3

Bryson Stott went 3-for-5 with a homer and two RBIs and Kyle Schwarber led off the game with a tape-measure blast to help Philadelphia bring Arizona's six-game winning streak to a jarring halt in Phoenix.

Nick Castellanos doubled twice and drove in three runs and Alex Bohm and Bryce Harper knocked in two runs apiece as Philadelphia won for the eighth time in 10 games. The Phillies racked up 20 hits, including eight for extra bases.

Zack Wheeler (5-4) gave up one run and four hits over six innings for Philadelphia. Wheeler struck out seven and walked one. Corbin Carroll homered and Christian Walker went 4-for-4 for the Diamondbacks. Arizona starter Zach Davies (1-2) allowed six runs (four earned) and six hits in three innings.

Jun 12, 2023; Oakland, California, USA; Oakland Athletics right fielder Ramon Laureano (22) fields the ball against the Tampa Bay Rays in the third inning at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

Twins 7, Brewers 5

Carlos Correa hit a walk-off, two-run home run to complete a four-run, ninth-inning rally as Minnesota beat Milwaukee in Minneapolis.

Michael A. Taylor homered to lead off the ninth against Devin Williams, pulling Minnesota within 5-4. Edouard Julien walked and was replaced by pinch runner Willi Castro, who stole second and scored the tying run on Donovan Solano's single to center. Correa then connected on a 1-1 changeup, sending it 408 feet to left, giving the Twins their third win in four games.

Williams (3-1) had allowed one earned run all season in 21 appearances, 21 2/3 innings, before Monday. He blew a save for the first time in 11 chances this year as Milwaukee lost its fifth game in a row.

Rockies 7, Red Sox 6 (10 innings)

Randal Grichuk collected two hits, including a two-run double in the top of the 10th inning, to help Colorado pick up a road victory against Boston.

Grichuk's double came against Justin Garza (0-1) and broke a 4-4 tie. Coco Montes and Nolan Jones scored on the play. The Rockies extended their lead to 7-4 when Jurickson Profar drove in Grichuk with a sacrifice fly.

Rafael Devers hit his second two-run home run of the game to make it 7-6 in the bottom of the 10th, but the Red Sox stranded the tying run on second base. Daniel Bard (3-0) picked up the win by pitching a scoreless ninth inning. Pierce Johnson recorded the final two outs to earn his 12th save.

Yankees 7, Mets 6

Josh Donaldson delivered a tiebreaking pinch-hit sacrifice fly in the sixth inning for the visiting Yankees, who came back to beat the Mets in an eventful first meeting of the season between the Big Apple rivals.

DJ LeMahieu hit a two-run homer as part of a five-run fourth that the Yankees used to overcome a 5-1 deficit. Brandon Nimmo went deep for the Mets, while Jeff McNeil added two RBIs.

Mets reliever Drew Smith was ejected due to having a sticky substance on his hand before he threw a pitch in the seventh inning. Ron Marinaccio (3-3) earned the win, while Josh Walker (0-1) took the loss.

Angels 7, Rangers 3

Hunter Renfroe snapped a 3-for-27 slump with a go-ahead home run, the Angels' bullpen delivered 4 2/3 scoreless innings and Los Angeles rallied for a win in Arlington, Texas.

Zach Neto homered and Shohei Ohtani had two hits and two runs for the Angels. Jimmy Herget (1-2) earned the win after throwing 1 1/3 scoreless innings. Carlos Estevez got the final two outs for his 18th save of the season.

Nathaniel Lowe and Corey Seager each had three hits including a homer for the Rangers, who couldn't hold onto a 3-1 lead. Reliever Owen White (0-1) took the loss in his major league debut.

Reds 5, Royals 4

The Cincinnati Reds scored big early then held on for a win against host Kansas City.

The Reds sent 10 batters to the plate in a five-run second inning, highlighted by three stolen bases. Elly De La Cruz sparked the rally, walking to lead off the inning, then stealing second and advancing to third on an error before scoring on Spencer Steer's single to left field.

Kevin Newman's RBI double put the Reds ahead to stay. Stuart Fairchild and TJ Friedl then added RBI singles to help build a 5-1 lead. Jordan Lyles (0-11) retired the final 14 batters he faced to finish six innings, allowing five runs on five hits and striking out four. Lyles' 11 straight losses are a career high.

Cubs 11, Pirates 3

Ian Happ hit a three-run drive for his first homer in over a month and had four RBIs, while Jameson Taillon lasted a season-high six innings for his first home victory as host Chicago rolled over Pittsburgh.

Happ erased a 1-0 Pittsburgh lead in the first inning with a shot into the right field seats off Luis L. Ortiz (1-3) for his first homer since May 5. Meanwhile, Taillon (2-4) yielded a pair of solo homers to Jack Suwinski, plus one other run and six total hits.

The Cubs also got an eighth-inning, three-run homer from Christopher Morel as they won for the third time in four games. Ortiz was charged with four runs and also allowed six hits over 5 1/3 innings for the Pirates.

Mariners 9, Marlins 3

George Kirby pitched six strong innings and Mike Ford hit two home runs as Seattle defeated visiting Miami.

Cal Raleigh also went deep for Seattle. The Nos. 7-9 batters in Seattle's order -- Raleigh, Ford and Jose Caballero -- went a combined 6-for-10 with a triple, three homers and nine RBIs.

Kirby (6-5) allowed one unearned run on three hits. The right-hander didn't walk a batter and had a career-high 10 strikeouts. The Marlins' Garrett Cooper hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning off Chris Flexen.

--Field Level Media

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