MLB Roundup: Soler hits longest HR of MLB season as Giants beat Rockies

DENVER — Jorge Soler opened the game with the longest homer in the majors this season, rookie Hayden Birdsong struck out a career-high 12, and San Francisco beat Colorado.

Soler hit the fourth pitch of the game 478 feet to dead center for his 11th homer of the season, staking the Giants to an early lead. Tyler Fitzgerald led off the third with his second homer of the series and fourth of the year, and Matt Chapman scored on a passed ball in the fourth inning to give San Francisco a 3-0 lead it never relinquished.

Birdsong (2-0), making his fifth career start, didn’t allow a hit until Brendan Rodgers’ two-out, two-run homer in the fourth inning. The 22-year-old right-hander walked one in six innings, his longest outing since having his contract selected June 26. He recorded the most strikeouts by a San Francisco pitcher this season.

Camilo Doval got the final three outs for his 18th save.

Giants manager Bob Melvin wasn’t around to see the win after getting ejected before the first pitch after he and bench coach Ryan Christensen delivered the lineup to home plate umpire Alex MacKay.

MARINERS 6, ASTROS 4

SEATTLE — Luke Raley hit a three-run homer, Bryan Woo pitched 5 2/3 solid innings and the Seattle Mariners overcame an injury to Julio Rodriguez to beat the Houston Astros 6-4 on Sunday.

Rodríguez left the game with two outs in the sixth inning after he leapt for a flyball and appeared to twist his right ankle against the pad of the center field fence on a triple by Yordan Alvarez, who hit for the cycle.

Rodriguez grabbed at his ankle in pain and stayed on the ground for several minutes before walking off the field with manager Scott Servais and trainer Taylor Bennett.

Rodríguez was replaced in center field by Victor Robles.

The hit was the third of the game for Alvarez, who also had a first-inning single and a fourth-inning homer against Woo. Alvarez completed the cycle with a double in the eighth against Mariners reliever Gregory Santos.

RAYS 6, YANKEES 4

NEW YORK — Richie Palacios led off the game against Marcus Stroman with the first of Tampa Bay’s four home runs, Jose Siri took a 34-second trot after his longball and Tampa Bay Rays beat New York.

Randy Arozarena hit his third home run in two days and José Caballero also went deep as the Rays hit four homers for the second straight day, something they had done once in their first 97 games.

After the Rays opened a 5-0 lead, Aaron Judge hit a three-run homer in the seventh inning off Jason Adam, a 444-foot drive to left field. Judge leads the major leagues with 35 homers and 89 RBIs.

Tampa Bay has won two straight after a series-opening loss and moved back over .500 at 50-49 heading into Monday’s series finale. The Yankees dropped to 9-20 after a 50-22 start.

New York’s Aaron Boone was ejected before the start of the seventh inning for arguing, his major league-high fifth ejection this season and 38th of his managing career. Boone was angry over a called third strike to slumping Alex Verdugo.

CARDINALS 6, BRAVES 2

ATLANTA — Paul Goldschmidt hit one of four St. Louis home runs after getting dropped in the order as they knocked off Atlanta to win the weekend series.

Cardinals designated hitter Alec Burleson had a homer and two RBIs, giving him 21 in 16 games in July. He has an RBI in six straight games, which is one shy of the Cardinals' record.

Lars Nootbaar and Willson Contreras also hit solo home runs.

Miles Mikolas (8-8) gave up two runs on seven hits in six innings. He struck out three and walked one for the Cardinals, who won the season series against the Braves for the first time since 2017.

Goldschmidt, the seven-time All-Star, was 1 for 4 from the No. 7 spot, a place he had not hit from since 2012 when he was with the Diamondbacks. He entered the game hitting just .206 against right-handed pitching this season and has a career-low in OPS by 150 points.

NATIONALS 5, REDS 2

WASHINGTON — James Wood hit a three-run homer with two outs in the eighth inning, and Washington completed a three-game sweep of Cincinnati.

Wood, a 21-year-old rookie and the Nationals’ top prospect sent a first-pitch fastball from Justin Wilson 405 feet the opposite way to left field. His second homer since his debut on July 1 gave the Nationals their fifth win in six games.

After general manager Mike Rizzo made clear on Friday that Washington is still in rebuilding mode, the Nationals (47-53) drew even in the wild-card standings with Cincinnati, which began the second half hoping to make a playoff push. The Reds have lost four straight.

Jake Irvin and Andrew Abbott dueled to a stalemate over seven innings. Irvin allowed solo homers to Noelvi Marte and Stuart Fairchild among five hits. He struck out seven and walked none, giving the Nationals’ bullpen the break it needed after it had to cover seven innings Saturday night.

Robert Garcia (2-3) pitched the eighth before All-Star Kyle Finnegan worked the ninth for his 28th save in 32 chances. He saved each of the three wins against the Reds.

BLUE JAYS 5, TIGERS 4

TORONTO — George Springer hit two home runs, including the 58th leadoff shot of his career, and Toronto avoided a three-game sweep by beating Detroit.

Ernie Clement delivered a tiebreaking single in the sixth inning and Toronto outfielder Daulton Varsho made a sensational leaping catch at the wall with two runners on to preserve the one-run lead in the eighth.

Springer went 3 for 4 with three RBIs and Clement reached base three times as the Blue Jays won for the second time in seven meetings with Detroit this season.

Justyn-Henry Malloy hit his first career grand slam off Blue Jays right-hander Kevin Gausman, a two-out drive in the fifth, but the Tigers couldn’t extend a four-game winning streak.

Springer connected off Keider Montero (1-3) in the first, then drove in Clement with a one-out shot in the third. The home runs were his 12th and 13th of the year.

PADRES 2, GUARDIANS 1

CLEVELAND — Michael King did not allow a hit until the seventh inning and Kyle Higashioka had a two-run double and San Diego beat American League Central-leading Cleveland.

King’s bid for the second no-hitter in franchise history ended when Angel Martínez led off the seventh with a bloop single to center. The right-hander was acquired from the Yankees in the blockbuster deal that sent Juan Soto to New York on Dec. 7, 2023.

Jeremiah Estrada followed King, while Robert Suarez recorded the final four outs for his 23rd save and completed the two-hitter. The Padres won two of three over the Guardians, who have the best home record in the majors at 31-13.

King (8-6) worked seven innings, giving up one run and two hits with six strikeouts and one walk. In six career games against Cleveland, he has a 0.51 ERA over 17 2/3 innings.

San Diego pitchers Dylan Cease, Estrada and Yuki Matsui threw a combined one-hitter Saturday in a 7-0 win over Cleveland, limiting it to two baserunners.

PHILLIES 6, PIRATES 0

PITTSBURGH — Rookie Tyler Phillips gave up four hits in six innings, and Philadelphia avoided a three-game sweep with a victory over Pittsburgh.

Phillips (2-0) struck out three and walked one. It was the right-hander’s third game and second start since being recalled from Triple-A Lehigh Valley on July 5.

The Phillies, who had lost three straight and four of their last five games, ended the Pirates’ winning streak at six. Pittsburgh was shut out for the seventh time this season.

Alec Bohm led off the second inning with a single off Marco Gonzales (1-1), stopped at third on a double from Edmundo Sosa and put Philadelphia ahead on Weston Wilson’s sacrifice fly. Garrett Stubbs followed with an RBI single.

Gonzales lasted 4 2/3 innings, allowing two runs on six hits with four strikeouts and one walk.

ROYALS 4, WHITE SOX 1

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Seth Lugo retired 14 straight batters in his first career complete game as Kansas City rallied past Chicago for a win and series sweep.

Lugo (12-4) surrendered one run while striking out six on 103 pitches. He allowed an infield hit to Tommy Pham leading off the game before retiring the next 14 batters.

Nicky Lopez was hit with a pitch leading off the sixth and scored on Pham’s two-out single, breaking the scoreless tie. It was the White Sox first run against Royals’ starters during the series after 19 scoreless innings.

In the eighth, Hunter Renfroe’s single scored Bobby Witt Jr. to break a 1-1 tie as the Royals collected five hits, scoring three runs against reliever John Brebbia (0-5).

Witt had three hits in all three games of the series as the Royals completed their sixth series sweep.

Kansas City tied the game with one out in the seventh. Maikel Garcia reached on an infield hit against reliever Justin Anderson, went to third on Dairon Blanco’s hit and scored on Kyle Isbel’s squeeze bunt

RANGERS 3, ORIOLES 2

ARLINGTON, Texas — Jonah Heim hit a three-run homer, Andrew Heaney pitched two-hit ball over five scoreless innings and Texas beat Baltimore to avoid a three-game sweep in a postseason rematch from last year.

Anthony Santander closed the gap with his 27th home run and third of the series, a two-run shot in the eighth inning, before Texas held on to finish the season 2-5 against the Orioles. The Rangers swept Baltimore in the AL Division Series last year on the way to their first World Series title.

The Orioles won three of four at home in late June, with Texas salvaging the finale in that series as well.

Heaney (4-10) walked three and struck out four in the left-hander’s 14th consecutive start of allowing three or fewer earned runs. The longest such streak of Heaney’s career has dropped his ERA from 6.26 to 3.60.

Heim was in a 1-for-17 slump when he put Texas ahead 3-0 with two outs in the fourth, pulling the first pitch from Dean Kremer, an 85 mph splitter that stayed in the middle of the plate, into the Texas bullpen in right-center field. Wyatt Langford and Nathaniel Lowe had walked.

CUBS 2, DIAMONDBACKS 1, 10 INNINGS

CHICAGO — Nico Hoerner doubled and scored the tying run in the ninth inning, then walked with the bases loaded in the 10th to give Chicago victory over the Arizona.

Chicago entered the ninth with just one hit before Hoerner sparked the late rally as the Cubs avoided the sweep.

Cubs All-Star pitcher Shota Imanaga had a career-high 10 strikeouts and gave up two hits over seven innings, including a home run to Eugenio Suárez.

The Cubs prevailed after Brandon Pfaadt’s dominant day on the mound. The Arizona ace struck out seven and allowed just one hit.

Hoerner doubled down the first-base line to lead off the bottom of the ninth and scored on Seiya Suzuki’s one-out single.

BREWERS 8, TWINS 7

MINNEAPOLIS — Rhys Hoskins hit a go-ahead two-run homer in the eighth inning and rookie Jackson Chourio homered and drove in three runs to lift Milwaukee to a two-game sweep of Minnesota at Target Field.

With the game tied 5-all, Hoskins took Twins reliever Griffin Jax (3-4) deep to left for his 15th home run of the season. A fan leaned over the railing to catch the ball before Minnesota left fielder Austin Martin had a chance to make a play, but the call stood after review as he didn’t reach into the field of play.

Eric Haase also hit two solo homers for Milwaukee, his sixth career multihomer game. Chourio hit a tying leadoff homer in the seventh after he ended the sixth inning with a leaping grab at the wall in foul territory down the left field line.

Minnesota’s offense loaded the bases with nobody out in the bottom of the eighth but couldn’t score a run against reliever Elvis Peguero.

The Brewers’ bats helped starter Aaron Civale overcome a rough outing. In his third start with the Brewers since being acquired via trade, Civale allowed five earned runs in 4 1/3 innings. He also walked four batters, including a walk with the bases loaded in the second inning.

MARLINS 4, METS 2

MIAMI — Jazz Chisholm Jr. hit a three-run homer, Jake Burger also went deep and Miami beat New York.

Vidal Bruján had his second career three-hit game for the National League-worst Marlins, who are 5-4 against the NL East rival Mets this season.

Declan Cronin (2-2) threw 1 1/3 innings of scoreless relief against his hometown team. A.J. Puk and Calvin Faucher blanked the Mets for an inning apiece before Tanner Scott closed with a perfect ninth for his 16th save.

Miami’s Nick Fortes committed three throwing errors, a first by a catcher in club history.

The Mets struck out 14 times and went 1 for 8 with runners in scoring position.

Chisholm’s three-run drive in the fourth inning gave Miami a 3-1 lead. He sent a slider from rookie starter Christian Scott (0-3) into the Mets’ bullpen in right field for his 13th homer.

DODGERS 9, RED SOX 6

LOS ANGELES — Shohei Ohtani hit a 473-foot home run and Los Angeles went deep six times in a victory over Boston.

Freddie Freeman, Teoscar Hernández, Gavin Lux, Austin Barnes and Jason Heyward also connected as Los Angeles swept the three-game series.

It was the 25th time the Dodgers launched at least six homers in a game and first since 2022 against Kansas City. Five came off Boston starter Kutter Crawford (6-8).

Jarren Duran, the MVP of last Tuesday’s All-Star Game, homered and drove in four runs for the Red Sox (53-45), who fell a game behind the Royals (55-45) for the final AL wild card.

James Paxton (8-2) allowed three runs on four hits and struck out seven in five innings. Boston rallied for three runs in the ninth, but Daniel Hudson came in for his sixth save.