MLB Roundup: Cubs bullpen shines, defeats league-leading Rays

CHICAGO (AP) — Nico Hoerner homered and the Chicago Cubs made the most of a rare gaffe by Tampa Bay, handing Shane McClanahan his first loss of the season with a 2-1 victory over the Rays on Tuesday night.

The game was tied at 1 when Ian Happ led off the sixth with a shallow fly ball that dropped between Tampa Bay second baseman Brandon Lowe and right fielder Josh Lowe in a miscommunication between the fielders.

That was enough for Chicago, which topped the majors’ best team for the second straight day after entering the series with a four-game losing streak.

Julian Merryweather (1-0), Mark Leiter Jr. and Adbert Alzolay combined for four innings of one-hit ball in relief of Kyle Hendricks. Merryweather earned his first major league win, and Alzolay got six outs for his second save.

McClanahan (8-1) allowed six hits, struck out seven and walked two in 5 2/3 innings. The left-hander was bidding to become the first pitcher in franchise history to begin a season 9-0.

RANGERS 10, TIGERS 6

DETROIT (AP) — Jonah Heim drove in four runs, Josh Jung homered and Texas improved to 35-19, the best record in franchise history at the one-third mark.

Texas second baseman Marcus Semien extended his hitting streak to a career-best 19 games with a fifth-inning single. Rangers reliever Grant Anderson (1-0) won in his major league debut, striking out seven of the nine batters he faced.

Miguel Cabrera had three hits and drove in two runs for Detroit. Cabrera passed Ken Griffey Jr. for 15th place with 5,272 total bases.

The Rangers took a 1-0 lead in the second off Alex Faedo (1-3) on back-to-back doubles by Jung and Heim, and Cabrera tied it with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the inning.

ORIOLES 8, GUARDIANS 5

BALTIMORE (AP) — Anthony Santander hit a bases-clearing triple during Baltimore’s five-run second inning, then added a pair of doubles to lift the Orioles over Cleveland.

Kyle Gibson (7-3) won his third straight start, allowing three runs and seven hits in 5 2/3 innings. Félix Bautista pitched a perfect ninth for his 14th save in 18 chances.

Josh Bell hit an RBI single in the fourth for Cleveland. Santander doubled in the fifth and scored on Henderson’s single, which chased Guardians starter Cal Quantrill (2-4).

Bell hit a sacrifice fly in the sixth, and Andrés Giménez followed with an RBI double. Josh Naylor hit a two-run single in the seventh.

DODGERS 9, NATIONALS 3

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Freddie Freeman extended his hitting streak to 19 games, capping a four-hit game with an eighth-inning homer, and Los Angeles defeated Washington.

J.D. Martinez homered and drove in three runs, and Jason Heyward also went deep. Tony Gonsolin (3-1) allowed one run and three hits in six innings. Los Angeles has won 13 of 14 at Dodger Stadium since late April.

Keibert Ruiz homered and Lane Thomas had two hits to extend his hitting streak to a career-best 15 games for the Nationals. Thomas has reached base in a career-high 26 straight games.

Jake Irvin (1-3) gave up four runs on eight hits in five innings.

ATHLETICS 2, BRAVES 1

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Seth Brown scored on a fielding error by Atlanta third baseman Austin Riley in the ninth inning, and Oakland recorded consecutive victories for the second time this season.

Braves reliever Raisel Iglesias (1-2) walked three of the first four Oakland batters in the ninth. Jonah Bride hit a sharp grounder that Riley bobbled. Bride easily beat Riley’s throw to first as Brown scored, giving the A’s their fifth walk-off win of the season and first back-to-back victories since May 5-6 in Kansas City.

Kevin Pillar hit his sixth homer of the season for the NL East-leading Braves.

Atlanta starter Bryce Elder had five strikeouts and worked around three walks in 7 1/3 innings while lowering his majors-leading ERA to 1.92, among qualifiers.

Shintaro Fujinami (2-5) retired the only batter he faced on a foul pop-up to the catcher and earned the win.

A’s starter JP Sears, whose seven no-decisions going into the game were tied for most in the majors, added to that with a solid outing. He allowed one run and four hits in six innings, yet remained winless since Sept. 20, 2022.

YANKEES 10, MARINERS 2

SEATTLE (AP) — Aaron Judge homered for the third time in two games, Anthony Volpe and Greg Allen also went deep and New York stretched its winning streak to four.

While Judge hitting another homer will get the headlines, it was Volpe’s long ball that broke open the game. With two outs in the third inning, Seattle starter Logan Gilbert (3-3) caught too much of the plate with a 1-2 slider and Volpe drove the pitch 413 feet for a three-run shot and a 6-0 lead. It was Volpe’s eighth homer of the season and snapped a 2-for-22 slide for the rookie.

Nestor Cortes (5-2) mostly cruised through five innings, allowing two runs and five hits with six strikeouts. Ty France and Teoscar Hernández had RBI doubles in the fifth inning. Judge nearly stole another hit from Hernández after robbing him of a homer on Monday, but his diving attempt at Hernández’s liner fell for a double.

ASTROS 5, TWINS 1

HOUSTON (AP) — Alex Bregman and Chas McCormick each homered in the second inning and had two RBIs and Houston built a big lead early.

Bregman and McCormick connected off Joe Ryan (7-2) to put Houston up 3-0 — and snap Ryan’s career-long streak of six starts without allowing a homer.

Brandon Bielak (2-2) allowed three hits and one run with six strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings, helping the Astros bounce back after losing the series opener 7-5 in 10 innings.

Minnesota rookie Royce Lewis doubled a night after homering with four RBIs in his season debut after tearing the ACL in his right knee last May. It was the only extra-base hit for the Twins, who went 1 for 8 with runners in scoring position.

DIAMONDBACKS 5, ROCKIES 1

PHOENIX (AP) — Zac Gallen pitched six shutout innings, Ketel Marte and Evan Longoria homered in the first inning and Arizona earned its third consecutive win.

Gallen (7-2) gave up five hits and two walks and struck out seven to win for the first time in three starts and lower his season ERA to 2.72. The right-hander hasn’t allowed a homer in 63 innings — dating to his second start of the season.

Nolan Jones hit his first homer of the year in the ninth for Colorado against reliever Kevin Ginkel. Ezequiel Tovar had three of the Rockies’ eight hits.

Kyle Freeland (4-6) pitched 5 2/3 innings, giving up six hits and five runs. His career woes against the Diamondbacks continue; he’s 3-8 with a 5.49 ERA in 19 starts against the division rivals.

BLUE JAYS 7, BREWERS 2

TORONTO (AP) — Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Alejandro Kirk each had three hits, Whit Merrifield reached twice and drove in two runs and Toronto snapped a four-game home losing streak.

William Contreras hit a two-run home run, his second homer in two games, as the Brewers lost for the fourth time in five games.

Yusei Kikuchi (6-2) allowed two runs and three hits in five innings, snapping a three-start winless streak. Kikuchi walked a season-high five and struck out four.

Adrian Houser (1-1) came in having pitched 11 1/3 scoreless innings over his previous two outings. He gave up seven runs, six earned, and a career-worst 11 hits in 4 1/3 innings.

REDS 9, RED SOX 8

BOSTON (AP) — Jose Barrero hit a grand slam to lift Cincinnati to a fourth straight win.

Will Benson had three hits to back Ben Lively (3-2), who pitched 5 2/3 shutout innings. He struck out six for the Reds, who blew it open with a five-run seventh inning.

Raimel Tapia had three of Boston’s 14 hits and drove in a pair of runs. The Red Sox lost their second straight and have dropped six of eight.

Boston scored all eight of its runs in the final three innings, getting five in the ninth but couldn’t quite catch the Reds, who clinched the win when reliever Alexis Diaz struck out Triston Casas for the final out and his 13th save.

Brayan Bello (2-2) threw 33 pitches in the first inning and left after the fourth with the Red Sox down 1-0. Bello allowed one run on five hits, struck out four and walked two.

WHITE SOX 7, ANGELS 3

CHICAGO (AP) — Andrew Vaughn drove in three runs, Romy González homered and Chicago beat Los Angeles.

The White Sox looked as if they were headed toward their fourth straight loss after Los Angeles raced to a 3-1 lead against Lucas Giolito (4-4). But the White Sox turned it around in a big way, scoring five runs in the fourth against Tyler Anderson (2-1).

Vaughn smacked a three-run double to put Chicago on top. González drove him in with a double, stole third and scored when Gio Urshela allowed catcher Chad Wallach’s throw to wind up in left field, stretching it to 6-3.

Luis Robert Jr. and Jake Burger each had three hits, and the White Sox came out on top despite a shaky start by Giolito. The right-hander lasted five innings, giving up three runs and four hits.

PIRATES 2, GIANTS 1

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Connor Joe homered against his former team and Pittsburgh snapped a five-game losing streak against the Giants.

Joe, who played for San Francisco in 2019, homered off John Brebbia in the first inning. Michael Conforto tied the game with an RBI single in the bottom of the inning.

Sean Manaea (2-3) allowed one unearned run in four innings of relief.

Pirates starter Johan Oviedo struggled with his command but held the Giants to one run in 4 1/3 innings. He walked five and struck out five.

Dauri Moreta (2-1) relieved Oviedo in the fifth and was credited with the win following a scoreless inning.

David Bednar retired the side in order in the ninth with two strikeouts for his 10th save in 11 chances.

PADRES 9, MARLINS 4

MIAMI (AP) — Xander Bogaerts sparked a five-run ninth inning with a tiebreaking single and Matt Carpenter drove in two runs with his second double of the game, lifting San Diego over Miami.

Bryan De La Cruz hit a two-run homer for the Marlins, who came home after a three-game sweep at the Los Angeles Angels.

NL Cy Young Award winner Sandy Alcantara failed to hold a 4-2 lead and is 1-5 in his last nine starts. He allowed four runs, five hits in 6 1/3 innings while walking five, one shy of his career high.

Nick Martinez (3-2) pitched a scoreless eighth around a single and walk, retiring Jorge Soler on an inning-ending double play grounder.

Padres starter Ryan Weathers allowed three runs, seven hits and three walks in four innings.

METS 2, PHILLIES 0

NEW YORK (AP) — Kodai Senga allowed one hit through seven dominant innings and Francisco Lindor homered to help New York shut out Philadelphia in the first meeting this season between the NL East rivals.

Eduardo Escobar added an RBI single and Mets center fielder Brandon Nimmo robbed Nick Castellanos of a potential home run with a leaping catch at the fence.

Senga (5-3) struck out nine and permitted one baserunner — a soft single by Kody Clemens that fell in front of left fielder Tommy Pham in the third.

Adam Ottavino worked a hitless eighth, getting a huge lift when rookie Francisco Álvarez threw out fellow catcher J.T. Realmuto trying to steal second after a leadoff walk.

Philadelphia got 6 2/3 encouraging innings from left-hander Ranger Suárez (0-2), who entered with a 9.82 ERA.

CARDINALS 2, ROYALS 1

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Miles Mikolas pitched eight shutout innings, Nolan Arenado hit an RBI double and Nolan Gorman drove in a run with a sacrifice fly as St. Louis split the two-game set between the I-70 rivals.

Mikolas (4-1) matched a career high with 10 strikeouts and allowed three hits. Gionvanny Gallegos replaced Mikolas in the ninth and gave up a double and single to start the inning. Vinnie Pasquantino scored on a fielder’s choice by Bobby Witt Jr., cutting the deficit to a run. Gallegos went on to retire the next two hitters and record his seventh save.

The Cardinals got a run in the sixth with two outs against Carlos Hernández (0-2). Paul Goldschmidt reached first on an infield single. Arenado hit a run-scoring double to left-center. 

Zack Greinke started for the Royals but didn’t figure in the decision. He pitched five scoreless innings, allowing two hits and a walk with six strikeouts.