Category: Baseball

Seth Brown hit a game-altering three-run homer in the fourth inning and Brent Rooker followed with a solo shot as the Oakland Athletics ran their winning streak to five games by beating the host Milwaukee Brewers 8-6 on Sunday.

Esteury Ruiz doubled in two important insurance runs in the ninth as Oakland swept the three-game series, their first sweep of the season and their first five-game winning streak since 2021.

Trailing 8-3 with two outs and nobody on base in the ninth, the Brewers got a hit and three walks against Oakland closer Trevor May. Left-hander Sam Long came on to give up a bloop single for two runs to Abraham Toro, but he got Blake Perkins on a slow grounder for his second save of the season.

Left-hander JP Sears (1-3) picked up his first win since last Sept. 20. In five innings, he allowed two runs on six hits and a hit batter and struck out five.

Christian Yelich homered in the second inning for the Brewers and Owen Miller doubled in a run in the third, but the Athletics took the lead against Milwaukee starter Freddy Peralta on two swings of the bat.

Ryan Noda singled to open the fourth and Peralta (5-6) hit the next batter. Brown then won an 11-pitch at-bat with Peralta, hammering a line-drive homer to right field, his fourth of the season. Rooker followed with his 13th, a 413-foot shot to left field.

In five innings, Peralta surrendered four runs on three hits, two walks and a hit batter. He fanned five.

The Brewers trimmed their deficit to 4-3 in the sixth on Perkins’ RBI single off reliever Sam Moll, but Oakland got the run back in the seventh on Kevin Smith’s home run to left field, his fourth of the season, against Bryse Wilson.

Trailing 5-3 in the eighth, the Brewers had runners on first and second with one out against right-hander Shintaro Fujinami, but lefty Richard Lovelady came on to get a popout and Rowdy Tellez’s long flyout to center field.

After Ruiz’s two-run double in the ninth, Noda followed with his second hit, an RBI single.

Willy Adames, Yelich, Miller and Perkins each had two of Milwaukee’s 10 hits, and Luis Urias reached base three times on a walk and two hit-by-pitches. The Brewers were 3-for-12 with runners in scoring position and lost their fourth straight game.

The Athletics had only six hits, four for extra bases.

Brewers manager Craig Counsell was away for his son’s high school graduation. Bench coach Pat Murphy led the team.

–Field Level Media

Wander Franco ripped a three-run homer and Shane McClanahan became the first pitcher in the majors to reach 10 wins as the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Texas Rangers 7-3 in St. Petersburg, Fla., on Sunday afternoon in the rubber match of a three-game series.

Franco went 2-for-4 while Harold Ramirez added three hits for the Rays, who have won eight of their last nine.

McClanahan (10-1) recorded his 10th quality start of the season by allowing three runs on four hits in seven innings. He walked one and struck out five.

After Texas pulled within 4-3 in the third, Franco gave the Rays some breathing room an inning later with his eighth home run of the season and first since May 9. The Rangers never seriously threatened the rest of the way en route to their third loss in the last four games.

Texas struck for all three of its runs in the third, getting a solo shot from Robbie Grossman before Marcus Semien added an RBI double and Corey Seager followed with a run-scoring single.

But McClanahan settled down from there, tossing four perfect frames to close his outing.

Colin Poche pitched a 1-2-3 eighth to set the stage for Jason Adam, who issued two walks and surrendered Josh Jung’s double as the Rangers loaded the bases in the ninth.

However, Adam escaped unscathed, getting Ezequiel Duran to ground into a game-ending double play.

Grossman, Semien and Jung provided the only extra-base hits for the Rangers, who also got a single from Nathaniel Lowe in addition to Seager’s to account for their five total hits.

Texas starter Martin Perez (6-2) was shelled for seven runs on a season-high 10 hits in 3 1/3 innings. He walked three and fanned two.

Tampa Bay wasted little time jumping out in front, taking a 2-0 lead in the first inning. After the Rays loaded the bases before recording an out, Randy Arozarena lined a run-scoring single to right and Isaac Paredes followed with an RBI fielder’s choice.

An inning later, Taylor Walls pulled an RBI double down the third base line and eventually scored on Ramirez’s single to extend Tampa Bay’s lead to 4-0.

–Field Level Media

Cavan Biggio hit the go-ahead three-run home run in the eighth inning and the Toronto Blue Jays defeated the visiting Minnesota Twins 7-6 on Sunday afternoon.

Matt Chapman hit a two-run homer for the Blue Jays, who overcame a 6-1 deficit to salvage the final game of the three-game series after dropping the first two.

Donovan Solano hit a solo home run for Minnesota.

Toronto right-hander Kevin Gausman allowed six runs, seven hits and four walks in 4 2/3 innings before the bullpen locked down the victory.

Minnesota right-hander Louie Varland allowed four runs, six hits and two walks in 4 2/3 innings. He struck out six.

Minnesota scored four runs in the first inning. Edouard Julien led off with a double, Solano walked and Alex Kirilloff hit an RBI double to right. Carlos Correa walked to load the bases and Trevor Larnach hit a two-run single off the right-field wall for a 3-0 lead. Another run scored on a Royce Lewis infield hit to shortstop.

Toronto scored once in the first inning. George Springer and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. singled and Chapman hit a sacrifice fly.

Home plate umpire Hunter Wendelstedt left the game in the bottom of the fourth after being hit on the arm by Daulton Varsho’s foul ball. Brian Walsh moved from first base to home plate in a three-man crew.

Solano hit his first home run of the season with one out in the fifth, on a shot to center that just eluded Varsho’s leap. Correa doubled and Larnach walked as the Blue Jays’ Thomas Hatch replaced Gausman and allowed an RBI single to Lewis, who improved to 7-for-7 in the series.

Toronto scored three in the fifth as Biggio singled, Springer walked and a run scored on Guerrero’s fielder’s-choice grounder. Chapman followed with his ninth homer of the season.

Nate Pearson (4-0) pitched the seventh and eighth innings for Toronto, allowing only a double.

Emilio Pagan (3-1) allowed singles to Alejandro Kirk and Santiago Espinal and Biggio’s fifth home run of the season in the bottom of the eighth.

Jordan Romano pitched around a walk and a stolen base in the ninth to earn his 18th save.

–Field Level Media

Gunnar Henderson went 3-for-5 with a three-run home run and two runs Sunday to lead the Baltimore Orioles to an 11-3 victory and a three-game sweep of the visiting Kansas City Royals.

Ramon Urias went 4-for-5 with two doubles, two RBIs and two runs, while Ryan O’Hearn went 3-for-3 with a solo homer and four runs.

Josh Lester went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and Aaron Hicks went 2-for-4 with two runs for Baltimore, which has won four straight games.

Kyle Gibson (8-3) overcame a shaky start to pick up the win after allowing three runs on seven hits with four strikeouts and no walks over 6 1/3 innings before being relieved by Keegan Akin.

Salvador Perez went 2-for-4 with a two-run homer, a double and two runs for the Royals, who have dropped nine of their past 10 games, including six straight.

After the Royals took a 1-0 first-inning edge on Bobby Witt Jr.’s RBI double, Baltimore took the lead in the bottom of the inning against Carlos Hernandez, a reliever making just his fourth start of the season.

Henderson led off with a double before moving to third on Anthony Santander’s groundout and crossing the plate on Austin Hays’ sacrifice fly to right. After O’Hearn walked and advanced to third on Hicks’ double to right, Urias’ double to center cleared the bases for a 3-1 lead.

Hernandez went one inning, with Mike Mayers relieving him to open the second. Kansas City tied the game 3-3 in the third on Perez’s two-run homer.

The Orioles took the lead for good in the bottom of the inning. After they loaded the bases with no outs, Lester’s one-out single to center scored Hicks and O’Hearn, with James McCann following with a sacrifice fly that scored Urias for a 6-3 advantage.

The Orioles pushed their lead to 7-3 in the fourth on Hicks’ two-out double that scored O’Hearn.

Mayers (1-2) was tagged with the loss after allowing four runs on seven hits with a strikeout and three walks in five innings.

Henderson blasted a 462-foot, three-run homer off reliever Jackson Kowar over the right-field wall and onto Eutaw Street for a 10-3 lead in the seventh before O’Hearn hit a solo homer in the eighth.

–Field Level Media

Tucupita Marcano hit a go-ahead RBI single in the fourth inning and Andrew McCutchen reached 2,000 career hits as the Pittsburgh Pirates topped the visiting New York Mets 2-1 on Sunday.

Jack Suwinski added a solo homer for the Pirates, who entered play having lost three of their last four games.

Pittsburgh starter Mitch Keller (8-2) pitched seven innings, allowing one run and a season-low two hits, with seven strikeouts and two walks. He has won five of his past seven starts.

David Bednar pitched the ninth for his 14th save despite giving up a one-out double to Tommy Pham.

Jeff McNeil hit a solo homer for the Mets, who have lost eight of their past nine games.

New York starter Carlos Carrasco (2-3) gave up two runs and six hits in 4 2/3 innings, with one strikeout and three walks.

McCutchen, who returned to his original team this year in his 15th season, led off the bottom of the first with a line-drive single to left for his 2,000th hit.

He is the 291st major-leaguer to reach that milestone, and it came in the final game of a nine-game homestand. He was 1 for 3 with a walk in the game, while recording his 52nd hit of the season. He has 1,515 hits as a member of the Pirates.

“It’s cool to have the opportunity to do it, to sustain the career I’ve had,” McCutchen said on the AT&T Sportsnet broadcast. “It’s nice to get it out of the way in that first at-bat.”

After his milestone hit, the Pirates went down in order in the first, stranding McCutchen at first.

In the fourth, McNeil led off with his third homer, to right, for a 1-0 Mets lead.

Suwinski answered in the bottom of the fourth, leading off with his 13th homer, also to right, for a 1-1 tie. An out later, Ji Hwan Bae doubled to right-center, moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on Marcano’s single to right to give Pittsburgh a 2-1 lead.

–Field Level Media

Nick Castellanos homered, singled and drove in two runs, Bryson Stott hit a triple, single and knocked in two runs and the host Philadelphia Phillies defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 7-3 on Sunday.

Trea Turner ripped three hits and scored three runs while Bryce Harper added two hits, two walks and an RBI. Brandon Marsh also had two hits for the Phillies, who have won seven of eight.

Phillies starter Taijuan Walker (6-3) tossed five shutout innings and allowed two hits with five strikeouts and two walks.

While it wasn’t a save situation, Craig Kimbrel retired the Dodgers in order in the ninth inning.

Freddie Freeman hit a home run and singled for the Dodgers. Jason Heyward also homered as Los Angeles lost for the sixth time in eight games.

The Dodgers threw a bullpen game and Caleb Ferguson (3-3) gave up three hits and one run in the first inning.

Manager Dave Roberts used eight pitchers.

The Dodgers loaded the bases with no outs in the eighth inning. Max Muncy drove in a run with a fielder’s choice to pull his team within 7-3. J.D. Martinez struck out and pinch hitter Chris Taylor struck out to end the inning.

The Phillies went ahead 1-0 in the first when Harper blooped an RBI single to left.

The Dodgers placed runners on first and second with two outs in the third, and Muncy flied out to the fence in center.

Philadelphia took a 3-0 advantage in the bottom of the third when Stott hit a two-run single to center.

Freeman launched a solo homer to center to open the sixth to cut the deficit to 3-1. It was Freeman’s 33rd career home run against the Phillies.

In the sixth, the Phillies built a 4-1 lead when Garrett Stubbs hit a bunt single to score Stott from third.

Heyward crushed a solo homer with two outs in the seventh off Seranthony Dominguez as the Dodgers closed within 4-2.

Castellanos responded with a two-run homer and Kody Clemens added an RBI single in the seventh, and the Phillies took a 7-2 advantage.

–Field Level Media

Jeimer Candelario and Dominic Smith both homered during a five-run outburst in the sixth inning and helped the visiting Washington Nationals to a 6-2 win over the Atlanta Braves on Sunday to end their season-long six-game losing streak.

Washington snapped Atlanta’s seven-game winning streak and salvaged a game in their three-game set. Atlanta leads the season series 4-2.

The decisive rally began with a double by Luis Garcia, and Joey Meneses singled him home, extending his on-base streak to 18 games. Candelario followed with his eighth homer, which hit the top of the right-field wall and bounced over.

After Keibert Ruiz singled, Atlanta inserted reliever Kirby Yates, who surrendered a 444-foot blast to Smith, his first since April 29 and second of the season.

Atlanta’s Bryce Elder entered the game as the league’s ERA leader, but he was knocked out in the sixth inning. Elder (4-1) allowed a season-high five runs on eight hits, one strikeout and one walk. Elder saw his ERA rise from 2.26 to 2.69.

Washington starter Trevor Williams (3-4) worked five innings and allowed two runs on seven hits, one walk and six strikeouts.

Williams escaped from a bases-loaded situation in the fourth inning without allowing a run, retiring Ronald Acuna Jr. on a grounder to end the threat. He worked around a two-out double in the fifth.

Carl Edwards Jr. pitched two scoreless innings and Kyle Finnegan worked a scoreless eighth. Hunter Harvey pitched a perfect ninth inning, despite taking a line drive off his leg from Michael Harris II.

Atlanta grabbed a 2-0 lead in first inning on Matt Olson’s 18th homer, a two-run shot that traveled 421 feet and landed on top of the Chop House restaurant in right field.

Washington cut the lead to 2-1 in the fourth inning with a two-out rally capped by an RBI single from Ruiz.

Atlanta begins a three-game series at Detroit on Monday. Washington travels to Houston to start a three-game series on Tuesday.

–Field Level Media

The Miami Marlins sent veteran right-hander Johnny Cueto on a rehab assignment Sunday to Double-A Pensacola.

Cueto, 37, was set to pitch for the Blue Wahoos on Sunday as he nears a return to the major leagues from biceps and ankle injuries.

Cueto departed his Marlins debut on April 3 with a biceps issue after giving up four runs in one inning against the Minnesota Twins, including two home runs. He went on a rehab assignment May 6 with Triple-A Jacksonville but came away with a left ankle sprain.

In 16 major league seasons with five teams, Cueto is 143-108 with a 3.46 ERA in 356 appearances (354 starts). The two-time All-Star has finished in the top six of Cy Young Award voting three times, including a second-place finish in 2014 with the Cincinnati Reds.

–Field Level Media

The Los Angeles Angels recalled right-hander Jimmy Herget from Triple-A Salt Lake on Sunday, one day after the club’s five-game winning streak came to an end.

The reliever will take the roster spot of right-hander Gerardo Reyes, who was optioned to Triple-A on Saturday.

Herget, 29, was 0-2 with a 4.38 ERA in 12 relief appearances with the Angels earlier this season and had a 2.25 ERA with one save in 10 appearances at Salt Lake.

In 104 career major league appearances (two starts) with three teams, Herget is 5-6 with a 3.29 ERA. He had nine saves for the Angels last season.

Reyes, 30, made his 2023 debut Saturday and gave up a run in one inning of work against the Seattle Mariners. In 30 relief appearances for the San Diego Padres and Angels, going back to 2019, Reyes is 4-0 with a 7.45 ERA.

–Field Level Media

Shane Bieber tossed seven shutout innings, Andres Gimenez and Josh Bell each homered and the Cleveland Guardians beat the visiting Houston Astros 5-0 on Sunday to take the rubber match of the series.

Bieber (5-3) matched a season high with nine strikeouts and allowed three hits with one walk. Cleveland outhit the Astros 11-4 and won for the sixth time in its last eight games.

The Guardians claimed an early lead when Bell doubled off Brandon Bielak (3-3) to begin the second inning and Gimenez followed with a two-run homer to right-center field.

Bell scored three runs and had three hits, including a leadoff homer in the fourth inning. The 426-foot blast to center field was Bell’s fifth of the season.

Cleveland pushed another run across in the fifth when Myles Straw hit a leadoff single, moved to third on Steven Kwan’s one-out double and scored on Amed Rosario’s groundout.

The Guardians knocked Bielak out of the game in the sixth inning after Bell delivered a leadoff double and scored on Tyler Freeman’s double to left field. Freeman had entered the game in the top of the sixth in place of Gimenez, who was removed due to left leg tightness.

Bielak yielded five runs on nine hits over five-plus innings. He walked two and struck out four.

Bieber fanned at least one batter in each of his seven innings after recording a total of eight strikeouts over his last three starts.

Freeman had two hits for Cleveland, which notched its first series win against Houston since May 19-21, 2017.

Guardians first baseman Josh Naylor extended his hitting streak to a career-high 11 games with a third-inning single.

Houston, which concluded a stretch of 17 games in 17 consecutive days, struck out 13 times and had just one extra-base hit. The Astros went 9-8 during the 17-game span.

The Astros’ best scoring threat came with runners at the corners and one out in the fifth inning, when Cesar Salazar struck out and Mauricio Dubon grounded into a fielder’s choice.

Guardians reliever Emmanuel Clase capped the team’s sixth shutout of the season and recorded his 200th career strikeout during a scoreless ninth inning.

–Field Level Media