Chasen Shreve saves Yankees in Subway Series win
NEW YORK (AP) Aroldis Chapman had flamed out, throwing three of 19 pitches for strikes and enabling the Mets to cut a four-run, ninth-inning deficit in half.
Chasen Shreve to the rescue. Yes, Chasen Shreve.
Maligned last month, Shreve entered with the bases loaded, got Devin Mesoraco to hit into a run-scoring, double-play grounder and retired Wilmer Flores on a slow roller in front of the mound.
With his second big league save and first since August 2016, Shreve preserved a 7-6 Subway Series victory Saturday that enabled Sonny Gray (7-7) to win consecutive starts for the first time since the Yankees acquired him last summer.
On another tumult-filled day for the last-place Mets, closer Jeurys Familia was traded to Oakland for a pair of minor leaguers and slugging outfielder Yoenis Cespedes was out of the lineup because of body soreness, one game after returning from a two-month absence. Cespedes said Friday night he may need surgery on both heels that would require an eight-to-10-month recovery.
Aaron Judge homered for the Yankees, who trailed after Michael Conforto's second-inning solo homer but rallied against Steven Matz (4-8) with a four-run fourth that included Didi Gregorius' tying triple, run-scoring doubles by Miguel Andujar (aided by fan interference), and Greg Bird, and Austin Romine's RBI single.
MILWAUKEE (AP) - Christian Yelich hit a tying homer off Clayton Kershaw in a three-run sixth inning, and Milwaukee snapped a seven-game losing streak with a win over Los Angeles.
Brewers reliever Josh Hader struck out four in two scoreless innings during his first appearance since Hader's racist and homophobic tweets surfaced during the All-Star Game. Hader, who has apologized for the years-old social media messages, received an ovation from the crowd after he was introduced, with many fans at Miller Park standing.
Hader's work highlighted five shutout innings from the Milwaukee bullpen. With a runner on, closer Corey Knebel retired Dodgers newcomer Manny Machado for his 12th save.
Keon Broxton had an RBI triple for the Brewers. Kershaw (3-5) allowed seven hits and four runs in six innings, though only one was earned. He lost for the first time since April 25, a span of eight starts.
Milwaukee rookie Corbin Burnes (1-0) picked up his first major league win with two scoreless innings, bailing starter Chase Anderson out of a bases-loaded, none-out jam in the fifth.
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) - George Springer hit a grand slam while the Astros batted around in the sixth inning, and Justin Verlander ended his six-start winless streak with 11 strikeouts over six dominant innings in Houston's victory over Los Angeles.
Verlander (10-5) yielded five hits while getting ample support in his third win over Los Angeles already this season. He has thrown 23 consecutive scoreless innings over his last three starts at Angel Stadium, including a five-hit shutout on May 16.
Four batters after Josh Reddick homered to lead off the sixth, Springer delivered his fifth career grand slam on a full count against reliever Noe Ramirez.
Verlander hadn't won since June 14 despite setting career bests for strikeouts, ERA and opponents' batting average before the break. The All-Star right-hander walked two and allowed just one runner to reach third base.
Shohei Ohtani had two doubles as the Angels (49-50) dropped below .500 for the first time since the season opener. Nick Tropeano (3-5) pitched five innings of two-hit ball in his return from injury, but Los Angeles committed three errors and again struggled at the plate against an Astros ace.
ATHLETICS 4, GIANTS 3, 11 INNINGS
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) - Jonathan Lucroy singled home Matt Chapman with two outs in the 11th inning to give Oakland a victory over San Francisco in front of the largest crowd to watch a baseball game at the Coliseum.
Hours after bolstering their bullpen by trading for New York Mets closer Jeurys Familia, the A's improved to a major league-best 22-7 since June 16 with their third win in five games against their Northern California rivals.
The game between Bay Area foes drew 56,310 fans - the biggest crowd in the majors this season - as the Athletics celebrated their 1989 World Series championship with a pregame reunion that included former stars such as Rickey Henderson, Dennis Eckersley and Jose Canseco.
Chapman had three hits and Yusmeiro Petit (5-2) got three outs for the win.
Will Smith (0-1) took the loss.
The Giants tied the score in the ninth when Alen Hanson reached on a wild pitch after striking out against All-Star closer Blake Treinen and scored on Hunter Pence's double that rolled into San Francisco's bullpen down the right-field line.
CARDINALS 6, CUBS 3, 2ND GAME
CHICAGO (AP) - Matt Carpenter homered for the sixth consecutive game and Paul DeJong hit a tiebreaking double in St. Louis' three-run ninth inning, helping the Cardinals beat Chicago to split their day-night doubleheader.
Carpenter entered as a defensive replacement in the sixth and hit a solo drive in the seventh for his fifth homer in two days. He also had a solo shot in the opener after he went 5 for 5 with three homers and seven RBIs while playing just six innings in St. Louis' 18-5 victory on Friday.
Carpenter became the first player in Cardinals history to homer in six consecutive games during one season. He matched the club record held by Mark McGwire, who connected in six straight games over two years.
The Cardinals trailed 3-2 before Yairo Munoz hit a tying single with two outs in the eighth. DeJong came up with runners on first and second in the ninth and doubled to left field against Steve Cishek.
Tommy Pham added a two-run double for St. Louis. Sam Tuivailala (2-3) pitched a scoreless eighth and Bud Norris got three outs for his 18th save on a blustery day at Wrigley Field.
Justin Wilson (3-3) took the loss after walking the first two batters in the ninth.
DeJong committed a costly error in Chicago's three-run sixth. He also bounced into a critical double play during St. Louis' 7-2 loss in the opener.
The Cubs won the first game behind Tyler Chatwood (4-5), who earned his first win since May 11. Ben Zobrist went 4 for 4, Javier Baez had three hits and two RBIs, and Tommy La Stella also drove in two runs in the makeup of an April 16 rainout.
The Cardinals finished with just two hits. Luke Weaver (5-9) allowed three runs in four-plus innings.
DETROIT (AP) - Jose Iglesias homered and drove in four runs, and Mike Fiers pitched impressively into the seventh inning to lead Detroit over Boston.
The major league-leading Red Sox lost for just the second time in 15 games, and their AL East lead over the New York Yankees slipped to 4 games.
Fiers (7-6) worked his first scoreless outing since his Tigers debut April 8, when he beat the Chicago White Sox 1-0 for Detroit's only other shutout this season. This time, he allowed seven hits and three walks in 6 1/3 innings, striking out six.
Brian Johnson (1-3) gave up two unearned runs and five hits in five innings for Boston. He struck out five.
TORONTO (AP) - Marcus Stroman pitched seven sharp innings, Aledmys Diaz had two hits and Toronto beat struggling Baltimore for the sixth straight time.
Stroman (3-7) allowed one run and five hits. He threw a season-high 107 pitches, the first time this season he has topped 100. Stroman is 3-2 with a 3.03 ERA in five starts since returning from a shoulder injury that caused him to miss more than a month.
Seunghwan Oh worked the eighth and Ryan Tepera finished for his seventh save in 12 opportunities.
Baltimore right-hander Alex Cobb picked up his major league-worst 13th loss as the Orioles dropped to 1-8 against Toronto this season.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) - Rookie Pablo Lopez gave up three hits in six innings, Cameron Maybin homered and Miami beat Tampa Bay.
Lopez (2-1) struck out six in his fourth major league start, helping the Marlins match their longest winning streak of the season at four games.
Maybin's third home run came in the seventh off Rays reliever Hunter Wood.
Martin Prado drove in the game's first run with a double in the fourth off Ryan Yarbrough (8-5) and scored on Miguel Rojas' ground ball.
Joey Wendle led off the Tampa Bay fourth with a home run, his fifth, after Lopez had pitched three perfect innings. Wendle had two of the Rays' six hits.
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) - Yonder Alonso homered twice, Carlos Carrasco pitched into the seventh inning, and Cleveland scored in each of the last five innings of a win over Texas.
Alonso's two-run home run in the fifth inning highlighted a six-run outburst that broke a scoreless tie. His second, a solo homer and 15th of the season, came in the seventh.
Carrasco (12-5) gave up two runs and five hits in 6 2/3 innings to tie teammate Corey Kluber and four others for second place in the majors in wins, two behind Luis Severino of the New York Yankees. One win came in relief, last Sunday against the Yankees on the day before the All-Star break.
Bartolo Colon (5-8) failed in his third bid to record his 246th career win and break a tie with Dennis Martinez for the most career wins for a major league pitcher born in Latin America. He allowed five runs and eight hits in 4 2/3 innings.
WHITE SOX 5, MARINERS 0
SEATTLE (AP) - Dylan Covey allowing two hits in 8 1/3 innings against baffled Seattle hitters, Avisail Garcia hit a three-run homer in his return off the disabled list, and Chicago beat the Mariners.
Covey's start to the second half of the season was stunning based on his previous six starts going into the All-Star break. Covey (4-5) won for the first time since June 13 against Cleveland. That was also the last time he pitched beyond the fifth inning. In his previous six starts, Covey was 0-4 with an 11.70 ERA and six home runs allowed.
Yet Seattle was unable to solve him. Covey took a no-hitter into the sixth inning before Dee Gordon singled with one out. He retired the next nine batters until Jean Segura's one-out single in the ninth.
Garcia provided the big blow with his 10th home run of the season off Seattle starter Felix Hernandez. Chicago got all four runs in the fourth inning after Hernandez (8-8) was dominant the first time through the lineup.
ROCKIES 6, DIAMONDBACKS 5
PHOENIX (AP) - Tom Murphy's two-out, pinch-hit solo home run in the eighth inning lifted Colorado over Arizona.
The Rockies overcame an early three-run deficit for their season-high seventh straight win. Colorado moved past Arizona into second place in the NL West and clinched its sixth consecutive series win, the first time the Rockies have accomplished that since 2014.
Murphy drove the first pitch he saw from Arizona's Yoshihisa Hirano (2-2) over the left-field wall for his first home run of the season.
Scott Oberg (6-0) got the win in relief for the second night in a row, though he gave up Nick Ahmed's tying RBI single in the bottom of the seventh. Adam Ottavino pitched the eighth and Wade Davis, who was out Friday due to an illness, escaped a jam in the ninth for his 28th save.
CINCINNATI (AP) - Corey Dickerson hit two first-pitch home runs, rookie Nick Kingham overcame another Cincinnati rain delay to pitch six shutout innings and drive in two runs, and Pittsburgh beat the Reds for its season-high eighth straight win.
Dickerson homered on the first pitches he saw from Anthony DeSclafani (4-3) in the third and fifth innings for his seventh career multihomer game, helping the Pirates to their longest winning streak since an eight-game stretch Sept. 19-26, 2015.
The game was delayed 47 minutes by rain in the middle of the fourth inning, one night after the start was held up 2 hours, 55 minutes.
Kingham (5-4) allowed just one runner past second base before Curt Casali knocked him out of the game with a two-run homer that just barely reached the left field seats in the seventh.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - Salvador Perez homered, reliever Brian Flynn picked up the win with three scoreless innings and Kansas City beat Minnesota.
The Royals won back-to-back games for the first time since May 29-30.
Perez belted his 14th homer with Mike Moustakas aboard in the first. Perez hit a 2-2 pitch from Lance Lynn (7-8) out to right, only his third opposite-field homer this season. Perez has driven in four in two games since the All-Star break.
Joe Mauer led off the game with his 415th double, breaking a tie with Kirby Puckett to move into first place on the Twins' career list. He scored on Eddie Rosario's single.