MLB roundup: Michael King, Padres baffle Guardians

 

[July 22, 2024]  Michael King took a no-hitter into the seventh inning of his latest stellar start and Kyle Higashioka hit a two-run double as the San Diego Padres sent the Cleveland Guardians to a rare home-series loss with Sunday's 2-1 victory.

Angel Martinez tallied Cleveland's first hit against King (8-6) when he dumped a single into shallow center field to lead off the seventh with San Diego ahead 2-0. Martinez later scored on Josh Naylor's groundout.

King allowed two hits along with a walk while striking out six over seven innings. The right-hander recorded his fourth consecutive start in which he allowed one earned run.

The Guardians have totaled three hits in their past two games after posting 11 in Friday's 7-0 series-opening win. Mired in an 8-13 rut, American League Central-leading Cleveland has scored 17 runs while losing six of its past eight games.

Mariners 6, Astros 4

Jorge Polanco and Luke Raley hit home runs and Seattle snapped a five-game skid and moved into a virtual tie for first place in the AL West with a victory over visiting Houston.

Right-hander Bryan Woo (4-1) pitched 5 2/3 innings for the victory. He allowed two runs on four hits, with no walks and five strikeouts. Andres Munoz struck out the side in the ninth for his 16th save of the season.

Yordan Alvarez hit for the cycle and Jeremy Pena also homered for the Astros. Alvarez became just the second player in the 25-year history of T-Mobile Park to accomplish the feat after the Oakland Athletics' Miguel Tejada did so in 2001.

Cubs 2, Diamondbacks 1 (10 innings)

Nico Hoerner scored the tying run in the ninth and drove in the winning run in the 10th to give host Chicago a win against Arizona, avoiding a sweep in a three-game series.

Cubs starter Shota Imanaga carried a no-hitter into the sixth before departing after seven innings. The All-Star left-hander allowed one run and two hits, struck out a career-high 10 and walked one.

Eugenio Suarez homered to break a scoreless tie in the seventh inning for the Diamondbacks, who had won six of their past seven games.

Brewers 8, Twins 7

Rhys Hoskins hit a tiebreaking, two-run home run in the top of the eighth inning, Eric Haase blasted two home runs and Milwaukee held on for a win over Minnesota in Minneapolis.

Byron Buxton hit a pair of solo home runs to lead the Twins at the plate. Trevor Larnach went 1-for-3 with a home run and two RBIs. Minnesota reliever Griffin Jax (3-4) allowed two runs in one inning.

Brewers left-hander Jared Koenig (8-1) earned the victory with one scoreless inning of relief. Trevor Megill picked up his 19th save for Milwaukee despite giving up two runs in the ninth.

Rays 6, Yankees 4

Randy Arozarena homered again and Richie Palacios hit his first career home run to lead off a game as Tampa Bay went deep four times for the second straight day in a victory over host New York.

Jose Siri added a two-run homer in the seventh and Jose Caballero contributed a solo shot in the ninth for the Rays, who have hit 41 of their 95 homers this season in the past 28 games.

Aaron Judge hit a three-run blast in the bottom of the seventh for the Yankees. He leads the majors with 35 homers. Juan Soto hit an RBI double in the ninth as New York lost for the 20th time in 29 games.

Cardinals 6, Braves 2

Visiting St. Louis hit four solo home runs to back a solid effort from starting pitcher Miles Mikolas in a victory over Atlanta in the rubber match of a three-game series.

Paul Goldschmidt, Alec Burleson, Lars Nootbaar and Willson Contreras all went deep for the Cardinals. Mikolas (8-8) pitched six innings and allowed two runs on seven hits.

Braves rookie Spencer Schwellenbach (3-5) pitched six innings and gave up four runs on seven hits -- three of them home runs. Ozzie Albies suffered a fractured left wrist while trying to apply a tag in the ninth inning.

Nationals 5, Reds 2

Rookie James Wood's three-run homer in the eighth inning broke a tie and lifted Washington to a win and a three-game sweep of visiting Cincinnati.

Keibert Ruiz grounded a single into right field with two outs in the eighth against right-hander Lucas Sims (1-4), and Ildemaro Vargas followed with a bunt single. The Reds brought in left-hander Justin Wilson to face the lefty-swinging Wood, who hammered Wilson's first pitch 404 feet to left field.

Nationals reliever Robert Garcia (2-3) tossed a scoreless eighth to earn the win, while Kyle Finnegan retired the Reds in order on five pitches in the ninth for his 28th save. Cincinnati has dropped four in a row.

Phillies 6, Pirates 0

Tyler Phillips pitched six shutout innings and Nick Castellanos homered to help Philadelphia notch a victory over host Pittsburgh.

Castellanos, Alec Bohm and Garrett Stubbs each had two hits, one RBI and one run for Philadelphia, which halted a three-game losing streak. Phillips (2-0) allowed four hits and one walk while striking out three to help the Phillies avoid being swept in a three-game series.

Pittsburgh starter Marco Gonzales (1-1) allowed two runs and six hits over 4 2/3 innings. The Pirates had just six hits while seeing their season-best six-game winning streak come to an end.

Jul 21, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; San Diego Padres starting pitcher Michael King (34) throws a pitch during the first inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

Blue Jays 5, Tigers 4

George Springer had two home runs, a double and three RBIs and Toronto defeated visiting Detroit.

Ernie Clement hit a go-ahead RBI single in the sixth as the Blue Jays avoided a three-game series sweep. Toronto right-hander Kevin Gausman (8-8) allowed four runs on five hits in 6 2/3 innings.

Justyn-Henry Malloy hit a grand slam for the Tigers, whose four-game winning streak ended. Detroit right-hander Keider Montero (1-3) yielded five runs and eight hits in 5 1/3 innings.

Marlins 4, Mets 2

Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Jake Burger each homered while the Miami bullpen recorded nine strikeouts in 4 1/3 scoreless innings during a win over visiting New York.

Declan Cronin (2-2), the first of four relievers, got the win after working 1 1/3 innings in relief of starter Trevor Rogers. A.J. Puk and Calvin Faucher took care of the seventh and eighth, respectively, before Tanner Scott pitched the ninth to garner his 16th save in 18 chances.

J.D. Martinez lined an RBI single to left in the fifth inning that pulled New York within a run. But Burger added insurance for the Marlins in the seventh by clubbing a homer to left-center off Adrian Houser.

Royals 4, White Sox 1

Nine-year major league veteran Seth Lugo threw his first career complete game, Bobby Witt Jr. tallied three hits and Kansas City secured a three-game sweep over visiting Chicago.

Hunter Renfroe, Maikel Garcia and Dairon Blanco each had an RBI single for the Royals during a three-run eighth, which broke a 1-1 tie. Lugo (12-4) allowed one run on three hits while striking out six and walking none.

Tommy Pham delivered an RBI single for the White Sox, who have lost nine of their 10 games against Kansas City this season.

Rangers 3, Orioles 2

Jonah Heim hit a three-run homer and four Texas pitchers cooled off Baltimore's bats as the Rangers salvaged the finale of a three-game series in Arlington, Texas.

Heim's fourth-inning blast provided enough support for Rangers starter Andrew Heaney (4-10), Josh Sborz, David Robertson and Kirby Yates, who limited Baltimore to its fewest runs and hits (five) in a game this series.

Anthony Santander hit a two-run homer in the eighth for the Orioles, who had their three-game winning streak snapped.

Giants 3, Rockies 2

Jorge Soler homered among his two hits, Tyler Fitzgerald also went deep and San Francisco beat Colorado in Denver.

Hayden Birdsong (2-0) struck out a career-high 12 batters in just his fifth major league start. He kept Colorado hitless until the fourth inning and finished the day allowing just two hits in six innings. Giants manager Bob Melvin was ejected before first pitch, saying he "talked too much" to the plate umpire when delivering the lineup card.

Brendan Rodgers homered for Colorado, which had its three-game winning streak come to an end.

Angels 8, Athletics 5

Kevin Pillar capped a five-run eighth inning with a tiebreaking two-run double and Los Angeles secured its first victory at Oakland this season.

With Athletics All-Star closer Mason Miller never warming up, the Angels unloaded on Oakland relievers Lucas Erceg and Scott Alexander. Six of the first seven Los Angeles batters of the eighth reached base without making an out on four hits, a walk and a hit by pitch.

Relievers Luis Garcia (4-1) and Carlos Estevez took it from there, with Estevez picking up his 18th save. Lawrence Butler doubled, singled and scored twice for the A's, who entered Sunday on a three-game winning streak.

Dodgers 9, Red Sox 6

Shohei Ohtani hit a 473-foot home run to highlight a six-homer performance from Los Angeles, which completed a three-game series sweep of visiting Boston.

Freddie Freeman, Teoscar Hernandez, Gavin Lux, Austin Barnes and Jason Heyward each added a home run for the Dodgers. Lux led Los Angeles with three hits, while left-hander James Paxton (8-2) limited the Red Sox to three runs on four hits over five-plus innings.

Jarren Duran hit a two-run homer off of Paxton and finished with four RBIs for Boston. Red Sox starter Kutter Crawford (6-8) surrendered six runs on seven hits -- five of which were homers -- in five innings.

--Field Level Media

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