MLB roundup: Matt Olson makes Braves history with 51st homer

 

[September 13, 2023]  Matt Olson collected two hits, including his historic 51st home run, and the Atlanta Braves defeated the host Philadelphia Phillies 7-6 in 10 innings on Tuesday.

In the fourth inning, Olson swatted a solo shot to left, tying the single-season franchise record set by Andruw Jones in 2005. He leads the majors in homers this year.

Atlanta's Marcell Ozuna hit a three-run homer and singled, Ronald Acuna Jr. socked a two-run homer and Eddie Rosario produced a go-ahead RBI single in the 10th inning. Rosario had three hits for the Braves, who would clinch the National League East title with a win over the Phillies on Wednesday.

Brad Hand threw a scoreless 10th and earned his first save of the season. Nick Castellanos reached third base with one out, but Brandon Marsh struck out and Johan Rojas popped out. Trea Turner contributed three hits, including a game-tying homer in the ninth inning, and two RBIs for the Phillies.

Royals 11, White Sox 10 (Game 2)

Maikel Garcia had three hits, including a go-ahead RBI single in the seventh inning, and Michael Massey belted a three-run home run as Kansas City edged host Chicago to earn a split of a doubleheader.

Chicago trailed 9-0 before getting on the scoreboard in the fifth inning, then erupted for eight runs in the sixth to tie the game.

Garcia gave the Royals a 10-9 lead in the seventh with his run-scoring single. Bobby Witt Jr.'s sacrifice fly in the ninth put the Royals ahead 11-9. The team needed that run, as Carlos Hernandez navigated a shaky ninth to earn his fourth save of the season and help Kansas City stop a five-game losing streak.

Yankees 4, Red Sox 1 (Game 2)

Aaron Boone earned his 500th managerial win as New York beat host Boston to complete a sweep of a day-night doubleheader.

Gleyber Torres went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run for the Yankees. New York starter Carlos Rodon (3-5) struck out nine and allowed just one run on four hits through five innings to nab the win.

The Red Sox were 0-for-15 with runners in scoring position and left 12 on base. Ceddanne Rafaela accounted for two of Boston's hits, launching a leadoff home run in the firsth and a double.

Dodgers 11, Padres 2

Freddie Freeman had a home run among his season-high-tying four hits, Will Smith added a three-run blast and Los Angeles earned a victory over visiting San Diego.

Freeman scored a season-high four runs and drove in two. Smith had three runs and two hits and Lance Lynn (11-11) gave up two runs on five hits over seven innings as the Dodgers reduced their magic number for clinching the National League West to five.

Fernando Tatis Jr. hit a home run for the Padres. San Diego starter Michael Wacha (11-4) gave up seven runs on seven hits with three walks in four innings.

Yankees 3, Red Sox 2 (Game 1)

Kyle Higashioka had three hits and Gleyber Torres hit a go-ahead, two-run single to lead New York over host Boston in the opener of a day-night doubleheader.

The Yankees batted around in a three-run sixth inning. Everson Pereira was hit by a pitch, Higashioka followed with his second hit and DJ LeMahieu lined an RBI double to left, making it a 2-1 game. Two batters later, New York took a 3-2 lead as Torres shot a two-run single inside the first base bag.

Rafael Devers hit his 30th home run of the season for the Red Sox, while Triston Casas had three hits.

White Sox 6, Royals 2 (Game 1)

Gavin Sheets delivered a two-run single in a five-run first inning and Elvis Andrus had two hits and two RBIs to lead Chicago past visiting Kansas City in the first game of a doubleheader.

A hot start put the White Sox well on their way to stopping a two-game losing streak. The first five Chicago batters reached base against Royals starter Brady Singer (8-11), who lost for the third time in four starts. He allowed six runs and nine hits in 5 1/3 innings.

Eloy Jimenez and Yoan Moncada hit consecutive RBI singles to open the scoring. Sheets drove home a pair of runs two batters after Moncada, and Andrus capped the rally with a run-scoring forceout.

Cardinals 5, Orioles 2

Richie Palacios came off the bench to hit two solo home runs, helping Adam Wainwright earn career victory No. 199 as St. Louis beat host Baltimore.

Wainwright (4-11), who had been stuck on 198 wins since June 17, allowed two runs on seven hits over five innings. He struck out three and walked three.

The St. Louis veteran bested Baltimore starter John Means, who was making his first appearance since undergoing Tommy John surgery in April 2022. Means (0-1) worked five innings and gave up three runs on four hits, including a pair of solo home runs. He fanned one without issuing a walk.

Pirates 5, Nationals 1

Joshua Palacios hit a two-run homer to help Pittsburgh top visiting Washington and end a brief two-game slide.

Miguel Andujar added an RBI single, Bryan Reynolds had a run-scoring groundout and Ke'Bryan Hayes chipped in with a sacrifice fly for the Pirates. Pittsburgh starter Bailey Falter (2-8) gave up one run and four hits in six innings, with four strikeouts and one walk.

Washington starter Joan Adon (2-2) pitched four-plus innings, allowing four runs and eight hits with four strikeouts and six walks.

Reds 6, Tigers 5 (10 innings)

Tyler Stephenson knocked in the go-ahead run in the 10th inning, Jonathan India and Harrison Bader drove in two runs apiece and visiting Cincinnati topped Detroit.

Alexis Diaz (9-4) picked up the win with a scoreless inning of relief for the Reds. Buck Farmer handled the 10th inning and earned his third save.

Andy Ibanez homered and drove in two runs for the Tigers, who had won three of their previous four games. Kerry Carpenter also knocked in two runs.

Rangers 6, Blue Jays 3

Robbie Grossman hit a two-run home run and visiting Texas defeated Toronto.

Corey Seager added three hits to pass 1,000 for his career and had an RBI for Texas. Davis Schneider hit a solo homer for Toronto.

The Rangers have won the first two games of the four-game series to move a half-game ahead of the Blue Jays in the American League wild-card race. Texas currently holds the second wild card.

Mets 7, Diamondbacks 4

Rookie Jose Butto combined with four relievers on a six-hitter and recorded his first career win for host New York, which beat Arizona in the second game of a four-game series.

Fellow rookie Ronny Mauricio homered for the first time while Pete Alonso hit a two-run shot and Francisco Alvarez homered in the eighth for the Mets, who improved to 5-5 this month.

Ketel Marte (triple) and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. (single) each had RBI hits for the Diamondbacks, who lost for the third time in nine games. Arizona entered Tuesday 1 1/2 games ahead of the Miami Marlins and San Francisco Giants in the race for the third and final National League wild-card spot.

Brewers 3, Marlins 1

Freddy Peralta threw 6 1/3 scoreless innings after allowing a homer to open the game and veteran Josh Donaldson belted his first home run with Milwaukee to pace the Brewers over visiting Miami.

Peralta (12-8) gave up just a second-inning single after the leadoff homer by Luis Arraez to improve to 6-0 over his last nine starts. Peralta, who did not walk a batter, struck out Josh Bell to end the sixth inning, giving him nine for the game and 200 for the season.

Donaldson, signed Aug. 31 and promoted Monday after being released by the Yankees, put Milwaukee up 2-1 with his 11th homer of the season, a 426-foot solo shot to left with one out in the fourth off Edward Cabrera (6-7).

Twins 3, Rays 2

Willi Castro hit a two-run home run in the seventh inning to rally Minnesota to a win over Tampa Bay in Minneapolis.

Castro blasted his decisive drive to center off Rays starter Zack Littell (3-6), who pitched seven innings. Edouard Julien also homered for the Twins.

The Rays' Louie Varland (4-3) tossed 2 1/3 innings of scoreless relief, and Jhoan Duran pitched a perfect ninth for his 26th save. Rene Pinto homered for Tampa Bay, which saw Yandy Diaz exit due to a testicular contusion. Diaz is day-to-day.

Athletics 6, Astros 2

Shea Langeliers clubbed a two-run home run in the first inning and visiting Oakland claimed a surprising series victory over Houston.

Oakland entered the series having lost nine of 10 games against the Astros this season. The Athletics jumped out to a 3-0 lead against Houston right-hander Justin Verlander (11-8) and casually pulled away to set the stage for a possible three-game sweep on Wednesday.

A's left-hander JP Sears (5-11) produced a quality start, limiting the Astros to two runs on five hits over six innings. He surrendered a run-scoring groundout to Kyle Tucker in the bottom of the first and an RBI double to Jeremy Pena in the fifth, but otherwise he was sharp.

Rockies 6, Cubs 4

Kris Bryant homered among his two hits, Elias Diaz contributed three hits and Colorado beat Chicago in Denver.

Brenton Doyle added two hits, Jake Bird (3-3) got the win in relief and Justin Lawrence put two on with two outs in the ninth before striking out Nico Hoerner to earn his 11th save of the season for Colorado.

Seiya Suzuki homered and finished with three hits and Dansby Swanson and Hoerner each had two hits for Chicago. The Cubs missed a chance to get within a half-game of Philadelphia for the first National League wild card and fell four games behind first-place Milwaukee in the NL Central.

Mariners 8, Angels 0

Rookie Bryan Woo pitched 5 2/3 scoreless innings and Eugenio Suarez homered as Seattle snapped a four-game losing streak with a victory against visiting Los Angeles.

Woo (3-4) allowed four hits, didn't walk a batter and struck out eight, one shy of his career high. Relievers Eduard Bazardo and Dominic Leone combined for 3 1/3 perfect innings.

Angels left-hander Patrick Sandoval (7-13) remained winless -- 0-5 -- in nine career starts against Seattle. He allowed eight runs (five earned) on 10 hits in five innings.

Guardians 3, Giants 1

Tyler Freeman broke a tie with a two-out, two-run single in the sixth inning, Cal Quantrill limited San Francisco to one run through six frames and visiting Cleveland evened a three-game interleague series.

Quantrill, a former Stanford star making his first start in San Francisco, combined with three relievers on a six-hitter while ending the Giants' four-game winning streak.

After a solo home run from the Giants' Blake Sabol -- his 13th long ball of the season -- offset Kole Calhoun's first-inning RBI groundout, the Guardians pushed across the difference-making runs in the sixth.

--Field Level Media

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