MLB roundup: Rays pull even with O's in AL East with win

 

[September 16, 2023]  Zac Eflin took a no-hitter into the sixth inning, Harold Ramirez smacked a three-run homer and the visiting Tampa Bay Rays moved into a virtual tie for first place in the American League East with a 7-1 win against the Baltimore Orioles Friday night.

Brandon Lowe also homered and Manuel Margot and Randy Arozarena had three hits apiece for the Rays (92-57), who are tied with the Orioles atop the division for the first time since July 21. Eflin (15-8) went seven innings, allowing a run on one hit. He struck out eight and did not walk a batter while becoming the AL's first 15-game winner.

Rookie Heston Kjerstad broke up the no-hitter with his first major league hit, a home run leading off the sixth inning for the Orioles (91-56), who have lost four straight games while scoring a total of six runs.

Baltimore starter Jack Flaherty (8-9) continued to struggle, giving up three runs on six hits over four innings.

Dodgers 6, Mariners 3

Miguel Rojas hit a two-run homer to give Los Angeles the lead en route to defeating host Seattle in the opener of a three-game interleague series.

J.D. Martinez also drove in two runs and James Outman added a solo shot in the ninth inning for the Dodgers, who reduced their magic number to two to clinch the National West League title for the 10th time in the past 11 seasons.

Eugenio Suarez homered for the Mariners, who had a two-game winning streak snapped and missed a chance to make up ground in the American League West after both Houston and Texas lost. Seattle remained a half-game ahead of Toronto for the AL's third and final wild-card playoff berth.

Yankees 7, Pirates 5

A four-run ninth inning, fueled by a crucial error, lifted visiting New York past Pittsburgh.

Ben Rortvedt, DJ LeMahieu and Aaron Judge hit RBI singles for the Yankees. New York won for the fifth time in six games. New York starter Gerrit Cole allowed two runs and six hits in five innings. He walked three and struck out four. Nick Ramirez (1-2) pitched a scoreless 1 1/3 innings, and Clay Holmes handled the ninth for his 20th save. Yankees reliever Anthony Misiewicz was taken off the field on a cart after he took a line drive to the head in the sixth. He was alert at a local hospital, the team announced.

Ke'Bryan Hayes hit a two-run single and Bryan Reynolds and Ji Hwan Bae added RBI singles for the Pirates, whose three-game winning streak ended. Pittsburgh starter Johan Oviedo held the Yankees to one run and four hits in five innings. He issued five walks and fanned seven.

Brewers 5, Nationals 3

William Contreras and Carlos Santana hit back-to-back home runs in the fifth inning as host Milwaukee rallied to beat Washington.

Contreras hit a three-run homer and Santana followed with a solo shot to allow the Brewers to erase a three-run deficit. Santana homered again in the eighth inning. Wade Miley (8-4) tossed 5 2/3 innings of three-run ball, and Devin Williams pitched the ninth for his 35th save.

Nationals starter Jake Irvin (3-6) lasted 4 2/3 innings, allowing four runs. Lane Thomas homered for Washington.

Guardians 12, Rangers 3

Lucas Giolito scattered two hits and struck out 12 over seven scoreless innings to lift host Cleveland to a victory over Texas.

Cleveland's Andres Gimenez and Kole Calhoun each belted a two-run homer and Ramon Laureano went deep to lead off the fifth. Josh Naylor drove in three runs to highlight his four-hit performance, Will Brennan had a two-run double and Jose Ramirez and Gimenez each drove in another run for the Guardians.

Cleveland's 15-hit uprising went a long way toward snapping Texas' six-game winning streak. The Rangers mustered little before Sam Huff's solo homer in the ninth ended the shutout bid.

Blue Jays 3, Red Sox 0

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit a three-run home run, Jose Berrios pitched seven strong innings and Toronto defeated visiting Boston in the opener of a three-game series.

The Blue Jays ended a four-game losing streak and are 4-4 on a 10-game homestand. They were coming off a four-game sweep by the Texas Rangers. Berrios (11-10) allowed five hits and no walks while striking out eight.

The Red Sox were coming off a split of a doubleheader against the visiting New York Yankees on Thursday. Justin Turner hit two doubles to lead the Boston offense. Boston right-hander Brayan Bello (12-9) gave up the three-run homer to Guerrero, along with three other hits and one walk in six innings, He had a career-best 10 strikeouts.

Marlins 9, Braves 6

Luis Arraez homered twice, and Jacob Stallings stroked a go-ahead, three-run double as host Miami rallied past Atlanta.

The Braves, who clinched their sixth straight National League East title on Wednesday, removed star right fielder Ronald Acuna Jr. from the game in the eighth inning due to right calf tightness. Miami beat former Marlins reliever Brad Hand (4-2), who allowed four runs in one-third of an inning. Michael Harris II homered for the Braves, his 17th of the year.

Miami, battling for an NL wild-card playoff berth, got 13 hits and improved to 2-9 against the Braves this season. Arraez, who leads the majors with a .349 batting average, had the first multi-homer game of his career. He went 2-for-5 with two RBIs and two runs.

Diamondbacks 6, Cubs 4

Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Alek Thomas each smacked a three-run homer to lead Arizona to a victory over Chicago in Phoenix.

Gurriel's blast came in the first inning, and Thomas went deep in the sixth. Gabriel Moreno went 4-for-4 for the Diamondbacks, who are tied with the Cincinnati Reds for the National League's third wild-card berth. The Cubs are 1 1/2 games ahead of both teams.

Brandon Pfaadt (2-8) gave up four hits in 5 1/3 scoreless innings for the win. Ian Happ, Seiya Suzuki and Christopher Morel all homered in the ninth for the Cubs, who have lost three straight games.

Reds 5, Mets 3

Jonathan India snapped a seventh-inning tie with a two-run homer for visiting Cincinnati, which earned a pivotal win over New York in the opener of a three-game series.

The Reds have won four of five. Cincinnati began the day in a virtual three-way tie for the last National League wild card berth. Spencer Steer also hit a two-run homer for the Reds, while Noelvi Marte had three hits and scored on a wild pitch.

Pete Alonso hit a three-run homer for the Mets, who had their three-game winning streak snapped. DJ Stewart had a pair of singles. Lucas Sims (6-3), the first of three Reds relievers, got the final out of the sixth. Alexis Diaz notched his 37th save with 1 2/3 perfect innings.

Rockies 3, Giants 2

Colorado scored two runs in the bottom of the ninth inning and extended their winning streak to three games by beating visiting San Francisco.

The Giants, who are one game out of the third National League wild-card spot, led 1-0 entering the bottom of the eighth despite having no hits to that point. Elehuris Montero came up with an RBI single to tie the game in the ninth, and Nolan Jones scored the game-winning run on the play when Mike Yastrzemski's throw from left field hit Blackmon in the back and rolled past catcher Patrick Bailey.

J.D. Davis gave the Giants a 2-1 lead in the top of the ninth by scoring when pinch-hitter Wilmer Flores drew a bases-loaded walk with two outs. The Giants didn't have a hit until Davis led off the ninth with a double against Nick Mears, who surrendered two hits and walked two in the inning. Chase Anderson pitched seven no-hit innings for the Rockies.

Twins 10, White Sox 2

Royce Lewis belted his fourth grand slam of the season and Alex Kirilloff had three hits to lift visiting Minnesota to a victory against Chicago.

American League Central-leading Minnesota (78-70) won for the third time in four games while sending Chicago to its 11th loss in 14 games. Minnesota's magic number to clinch the division is down to seven. With two outs and the bases loaded in the second, Lewis drove a 3-1 pitch from White Sox rookie right-hander Jesse Scholtens into the left field bleachers.

Lewis notched his fifth career grand slam overall in his 66th career game, the fastest any player has achieved that milestone, according to ESPN Stats & Info. Twins right-hander Bailey Ober benefited from the blast to pick up his first win since July 18, a span of eight starts.

Phillies 5, Cardinals 4

Nick Castellanos hit a three-run homer in the first inning and visiting Philadelphia held on to edge St. Louis.

J.T. Realmuto went 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI for the Phillies, who snapped a two-game losing streak. Matt Strahm (9-4) retired one batter to earn the victory and Jose Alvarado notched his eighth save.

Nolan Arenado had two hits and an RBI for the Cardinals, who had won their previous two games. Zack Thompson (5-6) allowed four runs on five hits in five innings.

Tigers 11, Angels 2

Javier Baez homered and drove in four runs, Tarik Skubal struck out nine in seven innings and visiting Detroit pounded Los Angeles.

Skubal (6-3) limited the Angels to one run on three hits and no walks. Jake Rogers had three hits, including a solo homer, and scored three runs, while Spencer Torkelson and Kerry Carpenter each contributed two hits and two RBIs.

Angels starter Griffin Canning (7-7) gave up four runs and eight hits in six innings. He fanned seven and walked one. David Fletcher and Jared Walsh hit solo homers for Los Angeles.

Royals 4, Astros 2

Nelson Velazquez, Bobby Witt Jr. and Michael Massey homered to help Kansas City turn back visiting Houston in the opener of their three-game series.

Kansas City starter Zack Greinke pitched two scoreless innings before departing. Angel Zerpa (2-3) allowed one run and two hits in four innings of relief to record the win. He fanned five and walked one. Taylor Clarke yielded a run in the ninth but still earned his first save of the season.

Astros starter Cristian Javier (9-4) allowed three runs (two earned) and five hits in five innings. He struck out six and walked one. Houston was unable to take advantage of a loss earlier in the day by the Texas Rangers and remains a half-game ahead of the second-place Rangers in the AL West.

Padres 8, Athletics 3

Fernando Tatis Jr. homered and drove in three runs, and visiting San Diego never trailed in delivering manager Bob Melvin a happy homecoming with an interleague victory over Oakland.

After having spent 11 seasons as manager of the A's before taking the San Diego job last year, Melvin made his first return to Oakland a successful one, recording career win No. 1,505. More than half of the wins (853) came in an Oakland uniform. Seth Lugo (7-7) allowed all three Oakland runs in six innings. He gave up five hits and one walk, striking out seven.

The A's chipped away behind solo home runs by Shea Langeliers, his 20th, in the second and Brent Rooker, his 25th, in the sixth. Sean Newcomb (1-1) took the loss, charged with four runs on five hits in three innings.

--Field Level Media

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