Mahle in control, Reds continue dominance over Cubs
CHICAGO (AP) Tyler Mahle tossed one-run ball into the seventh inning and the Cincinnati Reds edged the Cubs 3-2 on Friday for their fifth straight victory over Chicago.
Adam Duvall and Scooter Gennett drove in runs as the Reds won for the 14th time in 18 games and ended the Cubs' six-game winning streak. Billy Hamilton, Cincinnati's No. 9 hitter, had three hits and leadoff man Jose Peraza had two.
Mahle (7-6) allowed five hits and struck out four over 6 2/3 innings to win his fourth straight decision. In his last seven starts, the 23-year-old right-hander has a 2.06 ERA.
Raisel Iglesias, Cincinnati's third reliever, got the final five outs for his 17th save in 20 chances.
Cubs starter Mike Montgomery (3-3) allowed three runs on six hits in five innings while walking two and hitting two batters.
DETROIT - Jordan Zimmermann denied Bartolo Colon's bid at baseball history, striking out 11 batters in eight innings as Detroit beat Texas.
Colon (5-6) as trying to become the winningest Latin-American pitcher in major league history. He remains tied with Dennis Martinez with 245 career victories.
He pitched well, allowing three runs - including homers by James McCann and JaCoby Jones - in an eight-inning complete game, but Zimmermann (4-0) was better. The Tigers right-hander allowed one run and four hits and struck out 10 or more for the first time since his no-hitter for Washington against Florida on Sept. 28, 2014.
Joe Jimenez pitched the ninth for his third save, helping the Tigers end a three-game losing streak by winning for just the third time in 17 games.
TORONTO - Justin Smoak hit a three-run homer, Yangervis Solarte reached base four times and Toronto beat New York.
Smoak connected in Toronto's five-run second inning, when the Blue Jays batted around and put an early end to struggling right-hander Sonny Gray's latest outing.
Solarte went 3 for 4 with a walk as the Blue Jays won for the 12th time in 16 home games.
Aaron Hicks homered and had two RBIs in the opener of New York's 11-game road trip.
Gray (5-7) allowed five runs and six hits in two innings, his shortest start of the season and his third straight loss. Gray lasted just 2 1/3 innings in his previous start, matching a season worst by allowing six runs in an 11-0 loss to the division-leading Boston Red Sox.
Joe Biagni (1-5) pitched 1 2/3 innings of relief for his first win of 2018.
NEW YORK - Jose Bautista's grand slam with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning lifted New York over Tampa Bay.
Todd Frazier walked and Devin Mesoraco singled to open the ninth against Chaz Roe (1-2) before Amed Rosario's sacrifice advanced the runners. Roe then got pinch-hitter Dominic Smith on a comebacker and intentionally walked Brandon Nimmo to load the bases.
Bautista homered to left field on the first pitch he saw for his first career walk-off blast. It was his sixth homer of the season and gave the Mets their third win in their last 18 games at home.
Tampa Bay had a chance to take the lead in the top of the ninth against New York closer Jeurys Familia (4-4) but came up short.
Jacob deGrom was once again stellar for the Mets, allowing just one run and four hits while striking out eight and issuing one walk over eight innings.
CLEVELAND - Carlos Carrasco returned from the disabled list - and returned to the win column - as Jose Ramirez and Edwin Encarnacion drove in three runs apiece, leading Cleveland to its fifth straight victory.
Carrasco (9-5) shook off two homers measuring over 900 combined feet in the first two innings and pitched into the sixth in his first start since being drilled on the right elbow by a line drive on June 16. He struck out seven in 5 1/3 innings and showed no rustiness despite the layoff.
Francisco Lindor stole home as the AL Central-leading Indians won their eighth straight home game. Cleveland is an MLB-best 56-21 at Progressive Field since the All-Star break last season.
Matt Olson and Dustin Fowler homered for the A's, who lost for just the second time in 10 games since June 25. Paul Blackburn (2-3) took the loss after allowing six runs, five earned, in four innings.
WASHINGTON - Pinch-hitter Mark Reynolds led off the bottom of the ninth inning with a home run that lifted Washington past Miami.
Kyle Barraclough (0-3) fell behind Reynolds 3-0 and on 3-1 before the Nationals slugger sent a fastball into the visitor's bullpen in left-center for his eighth home run.
Sean Doolittle (3-2) pitched a scoreless ninth for the win as Washington defeated Miami for the 13th consecutive game dating to last season.
Miami starter Dan Straily lasted six innings, allowing two runs on five hits.
Gio Gonzalez threw 114 pitches over five innings and gave up eight hits and four walks.
MILWAUKEE - Jesus Aguilar hit his 20th homer, rookie Freddy Peralta pitched six sharp innings and surging Milwaukee held off Atlanta.
Tyler Saladino also homered for the Brewers, who have won five straight to extend their NL Central lead to 2 1/2 games over the second-place Cubs.
After Peralta (4-1) departed, Atlanta rallied for three runs in the seventh off Jacob Barnes. But the Braves' rally faltered when they failed to score with two on and no out after Dan Jennings replaced Barnes, and then left two on with one out in the eighth against Jeremy Jeffress.
Corey Knebel worked around a one-out single in the ninth for his 11th save. Atlanta has lost a season-high four straight.
Mike Foltynewicz (6-5) went six innings, allowing six hits and striking out seven.
MINNEAPOLIS - Lance Lynn bounced back from two poor starts, Max Kepler homered and Minnesota won its second straight after a six-game skid.
Joe Mauer, Eddie Rosario, Jorge Polanco and Mitch Garver each had two hits for the Twins.
Caleb Joseph had a season-high three hits for the Orioles, losers of four straight and 11 of 12.
Lynn (6-7) allowed six hits and one earned run in six innings as he continued his up-and-down season.
In his first start since going on the disabled list June 23 with a left ankle sprain, Baltimore's Dylan Bundy (6-8) allowed nine hits and five earned runs in 3 1/3 innings. It is his second-shortest start of the season.
HOUSTON - Lance McCullers struck out a career-high 12 in seven strong innings, Evan Gattis hit a three-run homer in Houston's seven-run eighth and the Astros beat Chicago.
McCullers (10-3) didn't allow a hit until a single by Adam Engel with one out in the sixth, and he allowed just three singles and one run. He kept the White Sox off balance with a flurry of curveballs to outdo his previous career-best of 11 Ks.
The Astros took a 1-0 lead in the third on an RBI single by Yuli Gurriel. Tim Federowicz hit a two-run double in the fourth to make it 3-0.
Chicago starter Reynaldo Lopez (4-6) yielded six hits and three runs while tying a career high with five walks in 4 2/3 innings to snap a two-game winning streak.
RED SOX 10, ROYALS 5
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Chris Sale struck out 12 in six innings, Mookie Betts, J.D. Martinez and Xander Bogaerts homered, and Boston beat Kansas City.
Sale's 16-inning scoreless streak was snapped by Alcides Escobar's two-out RBI single in the second, but that was it for the skidding Royals against the ace left-hander. Sale (9-4) has allowed one run and 10 hits over 20 innings in his past three starts.
Boston stretched its win streak to four with its ninth victory in 11 games overall. It leads the majors with 60 victories and a .674 winning percentage.
Jason Hammel (2-11) allowed nine hits and eight runs in two innings.
PITTSBURGH - Odubel Herrera and Andrew Knapp hit three-run homers, rookie Scott Kingery had a career-high four hits, and Philadelphia beat Pittsburgh for its fifth straight victory.
Herrera's shot into the right-field stands in the third inning off Trevor Williams (6-7) pushed the Phillies' lead to 5-1. Knapp's blast to left capped a seven-run seventh, making it 14-4 and helping Philadelphia improve to 5-0 against the Pirates this season.
The game lasted 4 hours, 30 minutes, tying the NL record for a nine-inning game set on June 24, 2016, by the Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies.
Edubray Ramos (3-0) retired both batters he faced in the fifth inning after being activated from the disabled list before the game.
DIAMONDBACKS 3, PADRES 1
PHOENIX (AP) - Zack Godley pitched six effective innings in his 10th win this season, helping Arizona beat San Diego.
Godley (10-6) allowed one run and four hits while improving to 5-1 in his last six starts.
Steven Souza Jr. drove in two runs with a single and fielder's choice in his second game back from the disabled list.
Joey Lucchesi (4-4) retired 14 in a row before Arizona scored twice in the sixth. Lucchesi went 5 1/3 innings, allowing two runs and three hits with two strikeouts, one walk and two hit batters. He grazed A.J. Pollock with a pitch with the bases loaded to bring in the tying run.
Nick Ahmed doubled, singled and scored twice for the Diamondbacks, who improved to 2-6 on a 10-game homestand. Brad Boxberger threw a perfect ninth for his 21st save in 25 tries.
The Padres have lost 14 of 18.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Andrew McCutchen hit an RBI single to drive in Hunter Pence from second base in the seventh inning and San Francisco snapped a four-game losing streak.
Pablo Sandoval homered, Buster Posey singled twice and Brandon Crawford scored on a wild pitch to help the Giants' slumping offense break out.
Pence reached on a pinch-hit single off John Brebbia (1-2) leading off the seventh. After Alen Hanson sacrificed Pence to second and Posey was intentionally walked, McCutchen pushed a 2-2 pitch into left field to drive in the go-ahead run.
Reyes Moronta (5-1) retired one batter to earn the win. Will Smith pitched the ninth for his third save.
Kolton Wong had two hits and two RBIs for the Cardinals.
ROCKIES 7, MARINERS 1
SEATTLE (AP) - German Marquez limited Seattle to one run and five hits, and Tony Wolters drove in three runs on a pair of triples to lead Colorado.
Marquez (7-8) walked none and didn't allow a hit until the fourth inning, and struck out five in six innings.
Wolters started at catcher after Tom Murphy was scratched before the game so he could return to Denver to be with his wife, Lindsay, who's giving birth to their second child. Wolters delivered an RBI triple in the second inning and a two-run triple in the sixth as the Rockies took a 6-0 lead.
Wolters also blocked a pitch in the dirt from Marquez and managed to flip the ball back to Marquez covering the plate to retire an advancing Dee Gordon in the bottom of the sixth.
Felix Hernandez (8-7) gave up three runs and eight hits - including Charlie Blackmon's solo homer in the first - in five innings. Colorado then quickly piled on against Roenis Elias in the sixth.
ANGELS 3, DODGERS 2
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) - The Los Angeles Angels used a two-out walk by Shohei Ohtani and a throwing error on Yasiel Puig to rally for a dramatic victory over the Dodgers.
The Angels were down to their last strike in the ninth inning when Ohtani battled back from a 0-2 count all the way to a walk against Kenley Jansen (0-2). Ohtani then stole second and advanced to third on catcher Yasmani Grandal's thowing error before David Fletcher hit a tying RBI single to left.
Ian Kinsler followed with another base hit, and Fletcher scored on Puig's game-ending error. Blake Parker (2-1) pitched a scoreless inning for the win.
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