Quintana, Cubs beat Pirates 7-1 in Williamsport
WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. (AP) — José Quintana pitched seven crisp innings, Anthony Rizzo hit a two-run homer and the Chicago Cubs beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-1 on Sunday night in the MLB Little League Classic.
Nicholas Castellanos and Jason Heyward also connected as Chicago earned its second straight win since consecutive heartbreaking losses to the Phillies and Pirates.
The Cubs took two of three in the unusual weekend set and remain in a virtual tie with St. Louis for the top spot in the NL Central.
Starling Marté had three hits for Pittsburgh, including his 21st homer in the ninth. Mitch Keller (1-2) allowed six runs in 4 1/3 innings.
With grinning Little Leaguers dressed in their uniforms filling the stands at BB&T Ballpark, Quintana (11-7) allowed five hits and walked none. The left-hander improved to 7-0 in nine starts since his last loss June 22.
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Zack Greinke threw seven smooth innings for his 200th win, helping the AL West-leading Astros avoid a four-game sweep.
Alex Bregman had a three-run homer among his four hits to back Greinke (13-4), who won his third straight start since coming over in a July 31 trade with Arizona.
Roberto Osuna got three outs for his 27th save as the Astros stopped a five-game slide.
Marcus Semien homered for Oakland, which had won four in a row. Brett Anderson (10-9) allowed four runs in five innings.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Pete Alonso hit his 40th home run to break the National League rookie record, capping a late outburst by New York against Kansas City.
Michael Conforto launched a long homer in the first inning and drove in four runs. Amed Rosario put the Mets ahead 6-4 with a two-run single in the seventh, and Alonso went deep in the ninth. He snapped a tie with Cody Bellinger, who hit 39 home runs for the Dodgers in 2017 on the way to winning Rookie of the Year honors.
Alonso also had an RBI double and scored three times during his second consecutive three-hit game. Rosario had three hits and three RBIs, and Joe Panik added three hits as the top four batters in the Mets' lineup combined to go 11 for 18 with nine RBIs and seven runs.
New York scored six times in the seventh to turn a 4-3 deficit into a 9-4 lead. J.D. Davis tied it with a pinch-hit RBI single.
Royals reliever Kevin McCarthy (2-2) was charged with four runs in one-third of an inning.
Jeurys Familia (4-1) allowed one run in two innings.
ATLANTA (AP) — With All-Star outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. benched for not hustling, Rafael Ortega stepped up with a sixth-inning grand slam to lift Atlanta over Los Angeles.
Acuña was pulled before the fifth after failing to run out a drive off the right field wall in the third. The ball bounced off the wall for a long single. The 21-year-old Acuña likely would have had an easy double if he had hustled from home plate.
Braves manager Brian Snitker followed Acuña into the tunnel for an apparent conversation during the fourth inning before Adam Duvall entered the game in left field in the fifth, with Ortega moving from left to center.
The move by Snitker came in a 2018 playoff rematch and the decisive game of a three-game series between the top two teams in the National League.
Ortega, recalled from the minors Tuesday, made the most of his second start with the Braves with his first career slam off Dustin May (1-2).
Anthony Swarzak (3-3), Chris Martin, Shane Greene and Mark Melancon combined for four scoreless innings of relief. Melancon pitched a perfect ninth for his fourth save.
Cody Bellinger hit a three-run homer in the first for the Dodgers. He leads the majors with 42 home runs.
NEW YORK (AP) — Mike Clevinger struck out 10 in five shutout innings to win his seventh straight decision, Mike Freeman had three extra-base hits and Cleveland tamed New York for a four-game split between AL pennant contenders.
A day after manager Aaron Boone and two other Yankees were ejected for again ranting against umpires, it was a relatively quiet afternoon.
Freeman hit a three-run homer and a pair of doubles. Oscar Mercado homered and drove in three runs, and Francisco Lindor also connected for the Indians. Clevinger (8-2) limited the Yankees to three hits and walked two.
CC Sabathia (5-7) came off the injured list after being out with knee tendinitis, and his original team scored four times against him in the second. Sabathia lasted three innings, allowing four runs and four hits. The veteran lefty is 0-3 in his last five starts and hasn't won since June 24.
BOSTON (AP) — Rafael Devers went 4 for 5 with a homer, two doubles and four RBIs as Boston rallied from an early six-run deficit to complete a three-game sweep of Baltimore.
J.D. Martinez added three hits and two RBIs, and Sam Travis hit a solo homer for the Red Sox, who won their fifth straight as they try to climb out of a deep hole for the second AL wild card. Boston trails Tampa Bay by 6½ games.
In his last eight games, Devers is 20 for 37 with 12 extra-base hits and 14 RBIs. He raised his season RBI total to 101.
Renato Núñez had a three-run homer and four RBIs for last-place Baltimore, which dropped its seventh in a row.
Marcus Walden (8-2), the fourth of six Red Sox relievers, worked a scoreless inning. Paul Fry (1-5) took the loss.
CINCINNATI (AP) — Paul Goldschmidt hit a two-run homer, Tommy Edman added a solo shot among his three hits and St. Louis held off Cincinnati to split their four-game series.
Jack Flaherty (7-6) had his scoreless streak snapped at 23 innings, but allowed only one run in five frames as the Cardinals stayed in first place in the NL Central, just ahead of the Chicago Cubs.
Carlos Martinez gave up three straight hits and two runs to open the ninth but hung on for his 14th save, striking out Eugenio Suàrez to end it. Suàrez homered early but also committed a costly error at third base and grounded into an inning-ending double play with the bases loaded in the seventh.
Reds rookie Aristides Aquino went 0 for 2 with two walks after hitting 10 home runs in his previous 11 games.
Alex Wood made his fifth start for the Reds after spending the first four months of the season on the injured list with a lower back problem. Wood (1-2) gave up eight hits and five runs — four earned — in five innings.
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Ji-Man Choi's two-run single in the bottom of the ninth completed a rally from a late three-run deficit, and Tampa Bay kept itself in the AL's second wild-card spot and avoided a series loss to woeful Detroit.
The Rays trailed 4-1 after seven before coming back with two in the eighth and then the winning hit in the ninth.
Travis d'Arnaud reached to open the ninth against Joe Jimenez (3-7) on shortstop Gordon Beckham's throwing error and went to second when Willy Adames walked. The Rays loaded the bases on Mike Brosseau's one-out infield single before Choi singled to center.
Tampa Bay pitchers set a three-game series team record by recording 49 strikeouts, including 12 on Sunday. Detroit finished with three walks, with two coming in the ninth off Jose Alvarado (1-5).
WASHINGTON (AP) — Juan Soto hit two of Washington's team record-tying eight homers in a 16-8 rout of Milwaukee.
Matt Adams and Victor Robles hit back-to-back homers in the first to give the Nationals a 4-0 lead, and Anthony Rendon and Soto did the same in the third as the advantage ballooned to 13-0. Washington has gone for back-to-back homers ten times this season.
Erick Fedde (4-2) won his third consecutive start, allowing four runs on ten hits over five innings and striking out two.
Chase Anderson (5-3) lost for the first time since June 21, allowing a career-high ten runs on nine hits with one strikeout in 2 1/3 innings.
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Jorge Polanco cleared the bases with a tiebreaking triple in the eighth inning, helping Minnesota to its first-ever four-game sweep of Texas.
Polanco hit a two-out liner to the gap in right-center field off Emmanuel Clase (0-2). Minnesota maintained a 2½-game lead over Cleveland in the AL Central.
Reliever Sam Dyson (5-1) allowed Shin-Soo Choo's tying homer in the seventh but escaped further damage. Taylor Rogers struck out Rougned Odor looking as the potential tying run in the ninth for his 19th save in 25 chances.
TORONTO (AP) — Yusei Kikuchi pitched his first shutout in the major leagues, throwing a two-hitter that led Seattle over Toronto.
Kikuchi (5-8) struck out eight, walked one and retired the final 14 batters in his first win since beating Baltimore on June 23. It was his 26th start for the Mariners and first complete game.
Tom Murphy hit a two-run homer and the Mariners went deep four times. Kyle Seager hit a leadoff homer against Toronto opener Wilmer Font (2-1).
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Austin Hedges had four hits, including a tiebreaking homer in the seventh, and Joey Lucchesi pitched six strong innings to lead San Diego past Philadelphia.
Luis Urías also went deep for the Padres, who had lost seven consecutive rubber games before taking two of three in Philadelphia.
Lucchesi (8-7) gave up two runs on three hits with four strikeouts and two walks.
Hedges belted an 0-2, 78-mph curveball from Jared Hughes (3-5) over the wall in left with one out in the seventh to put San Diego up a run.
Kirby Yates struck out the side in a perfect ninth for his NL-leading 35th save in his 38th chance.
ROCKIES 7, MARLINS 6, 10 INNINGS
DENVER (AP) — Garrett Hampson hit a bases-loaded single in the bottom of the 10th inning, and Colorado rallied to complete a three-game sweep of Miami.
Nolan Arenado homered twice for Colorado, which has won four straight and swept a series for the first time since June 18-20.
Hampson's game-winner came off Jeff Brigham (2-2) after the Rockies loaded the bases with no outs.
Carlos Estevez (2-2) allowed two runs in the ninth, but the Rockies tied it on Charlie Blackmon's RBI single and a sacrifice fly by Trevor Story.
DIAMONDBACKS 6, GIANTS 1
PHOENIX (AP) — Wilmer Flores and David Peralta homered, Merrill Kelly held San Francisco to one run in 5 2/3 innings, and Arizona avoided a four-game sweep.
Kelly (9-12) struck out five and allowed six hits in his first win at home since June 2. Madison Bumgarner (8-8) took the loss for the Giants after giving up four runs on six hits in six innings.
The Diamondbacks ended a four-game losing streak, spoiling Bruce Bochy's final game at Chase Field as Giants manager.
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Shohei Ohtani, Kole Calhoun, Matt Thaiss and Anthony Bemboom all homered to lead Los Angeles over Chicago.
Ohtani hit his first home run since July 27 and just his second since the All-Star break. He has a nine-game hitting streak, the longest of his young career.
Calhoun added his career-high 27th homer, a solo shot in the fourth inning. Thaiss hit a three-run homer in the second inning off White Sox starter Dylan Cease (5-6).
Angels rookie Griffin Canning (5-6) pitched seven innings for just the second time. Eloy Jiménez homered and tripled for the White Sox.