MLB roundup: Bobby Witt Jr. flirts with cycle in Royals' win

 

[July 23, 2024]  Bobby Witt Jr. collected three hits for the fourth consecutive game, leading the Kansas City Royals to a 10-4 win over the visiting Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday.

Witt tripled in the first inning, doubled in the third and blasted a three-run homer in the fourth.

Attempting Kansas City's first cycle since George Brett in 1990, Witt was hit by a pitch and flied out in his final plate appearances. His fourth consecutive game of at least three hits matches Johnny Damon (2000) for the Royals' second-longest such streak. Brett had six straight games with three or more hits in 1976.

Witt has five extra-base hits in four games since appearing in the All-Star Game. He leads the majors in home-game batting average at .411.

Arizona's Yilber Diaz (1-1) pitched three-plus innings, allowing seven runs on nine hits and a walk. He didn't strike out a batter.

Tigers 8, Guardians 2

Tarik Skubal surrendered a career-high 10 hits but only one run over seven innings, rookie Justyn-Henry Malloy clubbed an early two-run homer and surging Detroit defeated host Cleveland.

Matt Vierling and Mark Canha each added three hits and Colt Keith homered in the ninth for the Tigers, who have won 11 of 14. Skubal (11-3) yielded one walk and struck out six.

Tyler Freeman had three hits for the Guardians, who have totaled three runs during a three-game skid that has come at home. Carlos Carrasco (3-8) allowed six runs and nine hits over 5 1/3 innings.

Yankees 9, Rays 1

Carlos Rodon pitched seven dominating innings and New York tied a season high by hitting five home runs to beat visiting Tampa Bay for a split of the four-game series.

Austin Wells and Anthony Volpe hit back-to-back homers for the Yankees off Zack Littell (3-7). DJ LeMahieu also homered to snap an 0-for-18 slump, and Juan Soto (3-for-5, four RBIs) went deep in the seventh and eighth innings. Oswaldo Cabrera added a two-run single for the Yankees, who collected 15 hits.

Rodon allowed two hits and two walks and struck out 10 while matching his longest outing of the season. He did not allow a hit until Jose Siri homered into the right field seats with one out in the fifth.

Pirates 2, Cardinals 1

Nick Gonzales hit a go-ahead single in the eighth inning and starting pitcher Mitch Keller allowed one run through seven to help Pittsburgh defeat visiting St. Louis.

Gonzales knocked a one-out sinker from reliever John King (3-2) into right field to drive in Bryan Reynolds, who hit a leadoff single and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Aroldis Chapman (2-4) tossed a perfect eighth, and David Bednar gave up one hit in the ninth while logging his 18th save. Oneil Cruz hit an RBI single and Rowdy Tellez produced two hits as the Pirates won for the seventh time in eight games.

Nolan Gorman homered and Paul Goldschmidt had two hits for the Cardinals, whose two-game winning streak ended.

Rangers 4, White Sox 3 (10 innings)

After back-to-back intentional walks loaded the bases, Wyatt Langford lined a walk-off single to left in the bottom of the 10th inning to give Texas a victory over Chicago in Arlington, Texas.

Langford also stepped up for Texas in the ninth, doubling with one out, stealing third and scoring on Jonah Heim's two-out single to forge a 3-3 tie. Paul DeJong had put Chicago up 3-2 in the top of the ninth, blasting a solo homer.

Jonathan Hernandez (3-0) got the win. Steven Wilson (1-6) took the loss as the White Sox fell for the eighth consecutive game.

Mets 6, Marlins 4

Francisco Lindor homered twice and Jeff McNeil also went deep while driving in three runs as New York salvaged a split of a four-game series at Miami.

New York starter David Peterson (5-0) scattered six hits and two runs in five innings. Edwin Diaz bagged his 12th save of the season despite allowing a run in the ninth.

Josh Bell and Bryan De La Cruz went deep for the Marlins. Yonny Chirinos (0-2) yielded five runs on nine hits in five innings.

Reds 4, Braves 1

Hunter Greene received some rare run support and pitched visiting Cincinnati to a win over Atlanta in the opener of their three-game series.

Greene (7-4) pitched seven scoreless innings and allowed only two hits and three walks while recording seven strikeouts. He entered the game receiving only 3.63 runs per game in his 19 starts, tied for the fourth-lowest mark among all qualified starters in the National League.

Cincinnati's Alexis Diaz allowed a run in the ninth inning on Eddie Rosario's sacrifice fly. Braves starter Reynaldo Lopez (7-4) pitched six innings and allowed a season-high four runs on seven hits. Atlanta's Marcell Ozuna went 2-for-3 with a walk and extended his hitting streak to 10 games.

Jul 22, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. (7) is doused with water by catcher Salvador Perez (13) after defeating the Arizona Diamondbacks at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports

Cubs 3, Brewers 1

Ian Happ homered to help Chicago beat visiting Milwaukee in the opener of a three-game series.

Michael Busch had two hits and an RBI and Dansby Swanson also had two hits for the Cubs, who are 2-2 since the All-Star break. Drew Smyly (3-5) got the win in relief, and Hector Neris pitched the ninth for his 14th save.

Willy Adames homered and Garrett Mitchell had two hits for Milwaukee, which had won three in a row. Tobias Myers (6-4) allowed three runs (two earned) in 5 1/3 innings.

Rockies 9, Red Sox 8 (12 innings)

Ezequiel Tovar singled with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 12th inning, Sam Hilliard hit a two-run homer in the 10th and Colorado beat Boston in Denver.

Tovar finished with three singles, his sixth straight multi-hit game, to give Colorado its fourth win in five games. Charlie Blackmon homered among his two hits, and Justin Lawrence (3-3) tossed two innings of relief for the win.

Jamie Westbrook and Connor Wong homered and Tyler O'Neill had three hits for the Red Sox, who have dropped four straight. Bailey Horn (0-1) took the loss.

Dodgers 3, Giants 2

Teoscar Hernandez drove in all three Dodgers runs, including a go-ahead RBI single in the eighth inning, as Los Angeles increased its winning streak to four games with a victory over visiting San Francisco.

Hernandez socked a solo home run while Dodgers right-hander River Ryan pitched into the sixth inning in his major league debut. Blake Treinen (4-2) earned the win, and Daniel Hudson pitched a scoreless ninth for his seventh save.

Tyler Fitzgerald extended his home run streak to four consecutive games for the Giants. Erik Miller (3-3) took the loss after Randy Rodriguez yielded Hernandez's decisive hit.

Athletics 4, Astros 0

Hogan Harris matched his career high with seven strikeouts, Miguel Andujar and JJ Bleday stroked consecutive RBI doubles during a three-run third inning and host Oakland won the opener of a three-game series against Houston.

A second-year major-leaguer making his 15th career start, Harris (2-3) shut out the Astros on seven hits over a season-best 6 2/3 innings. He walked two.

Austin Adams, Lucas Erceg and Mason Miller completed the shutout by combining for 2 1/3 innings of one-hit relief, with Miller working a 1-2-3 ninth. Houston starter Spencer Arrighetti (4-8) allowed four runs on seven hits in six innings.

Twins 7, Phillies 2

Manuel Margot went 2-for-5 with two RBIs and Minnesota pulled away to beat Philadelphia in Minneapolis.

Carlos Santana finished 2-for-4 with an RBI double for the Twins, who won the series opener after losing two straight games. Bryce Harper socked a two-run homer to lead the Philadelphia offense, which was limited to four hits.

Twins right-hander Bailey Ober (9-5) limited Phillies hitters to two runs on four hits in seven innings. Phillies left-hander Ranger Suarez (10-5) gave up three runs on seven hits in 5 1/3 innings.

Angels 3, Mariners 1

Jo Adell's run-scoring single with two outs in the top of the ninth inning broke a tie as Los Angeles rallied for a victory against host Seattle.

Taylor Ward went 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI for the Angels. Reliever Luis Garcia (5-1) got the victory, and Carlos Estevez worked a perfect ninth for his 19th save of the season.

The Mariners scored their lone run in the first inning, getting an RBI single from Cal Raleigh. Seattle wasted a strong start by Bryce Miller, who pitched seven scoreless innings.

--Field Level Media

[© 2024 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]
 This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.  Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.