MLB Roundup: Witt Jr. collects three hits, Royals beat Reds

CINCINNATI — Bobby Witt Jr. homered, doubled and singled to boost his major league-leading average to .352, Michael Lorenzen pitched into the sixth inning to get his first win since being traded and the Kansas City Royals beat the Cincinnati Reds 7-1 in the opener of an interleague series on Friday night.

Witt, the Royals’ All-Star shortstop, hit a four-seam fastball from Nick Martinez 430 feet into the upper deck for his 25th homer in the fourth inning. He doubled and scored on a fielder’s choice in the sixth and had an infield single in the seventh.

The Reds intentionally walked him with two outs in the ninth, just before he trotted home on Vinnie Pasquantino’s 18th homer.

Lorenzen (6-6), acquired by the Royals in a July 29 trade with Texas, started his third game after two no-decisions. He allowed a run and two hits in 5 2/3 innings and departed after 83 pitches.

BLUE JAYS 6, CUBS 5

CHICAGO — Seiya Suzuki hit a game-ending single in the 10th inning, and Chicago beat Toronto.

Ian Happ began the 10th on second as the automatic runner. Chad Green (3-3) walked Michael Busch before Suzuki lined a 2-2 pitch into left field.

Happ scored easily to give Chicago a sorely needed victory after it blew a 5-2 lead in the ninth. The Cubs had dropped three in a row in a sweep at Cleveland.

Happ, Cody Bellinger, Pete Crow-Armstrong and Miguel Amaya homered for Chicago, and Tyson Miller (4-1) pitched a scoreless inning for the win.

PIRATES 5, MARINERS 3

PITTSBURGH— Paul Skenes struck out six and ended a four-start winless streak, and Pittsburgh snapped a 10-game skid with a win over Seattle.

Skenes (7-2), who was 0-2 in his previous starts, allowed three hits and issued a career-high four walks over six innings in his first win since July 11. That victory came in the 22-year-old right-hander’s last outing before starting for the National League in the All-Star Game five days later.

David Bednar weathered a rocky ninth inning for his 21st save. Jorge Polanco homered leading off the inning and pulled the Mariners within 5-3. Luke Raley followed with a single before Bednar struck out the final three batters.

Bednar, a two-time All-Star, had two losses and two blown saves in his previous three outings.

PHILLIES 3, NATIONALS 2

PHILADELPHIA — Trea Turner hit a bases-loaded single to the base of the wall over a drawn-in outfield in the bottom of the ninth and Philadelphia beat Washington after the Nationals tied the game with two runs in the top of the inning.

Turner finished with three singles and a double, and Nick Castellanos and JT Realmuto also drove in runs for Philadelphia, which won its third straight and steadied itself after losing 16 of 23 games after the All-Star break. The Phillies, 41-22 at home, entered the game with a seven-game lead over the Atlanta Braves in the NL East.

The Phillies took advantage of Washington miscues in the ninth. Brandon Marsh, entering the game as a defensive replacement, led off with a single to the wall in right field and advanced to second when right fielder Alex Call’s throw sailed past second base. Pinch-hitter Cal Stevenson followed with a bunt that was intended to sacrifice Marsh to third. But, neither pitcher Kyle Finnegan (3-6) nor third baseman José Tena fielded the ball. The Nationals intentionally walked Kyle Schwarber, loading the bases with no outs. Turner ended it with a drive to the wall in left.

YANKEES 3, TIGERS 0

DETROIT — Aaron Judge hit his major league-leading 44th home run and Gerrit Cole struck out eight in six innings as the New York Yankees beat Detroit.

Oswald Peraza also went deep in his first big league game this season for the Yankees, who improved to 4-0 against Detroit. New York, which began the day tied with Baltimore atop the AL East, won its third straight.

One game after hitting his 300th career home run, becoming by far the fastest player to reach the milestone, Judge connected for No. 301 in the eighth. His 431-foot drive over the first row of shrubs atop the centre-field fence made it 3-0.

Top prospects Jace Jung and Trey Sweeney made their major league debuts for the Tigers at third base and shortstop, respectively — the first time Detroit debuted two infielders on the same day since Lou Whitaker and Alan Trammell began their careers together on Sept. 9, 1977.

RAYS 5, DIAMONDBACKS 4

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Jonny DeLuca scored on an error in the ninth inning and Tampa Bay beat Arizona to end the Diamondbacks’ season-high winning streak at six games.

DeLuca drew a walk from Justin Martinez (5-3), and scored from first when centre fielder Jake McCarthy misplayed Brandon Lowe’s two-out single that deflected up the middle.

Corbin Carroll tied it at 4 on a two-out, two-run homer off Rays closer Pete Fairbanks (3-3) in the ninth. It was Fairbanks’ third blown save in 26 chances.

Josh Lowe had a two-run single in a three-run eighth inning against Ryan Thompson that put the Rays up 4-2.

METS 7, MARLINS 3

NEW YORK — Brandon Nimmo broke out of his slump with a three-run homer and Jeff McNeil launched a two-run shot, powering the New York Mets to a 7-3 win over Miami.

McNeil and Nimmo both went deep in a six-run fourth that included an RBI triple by Francisco Lindor. Sean Manaea (9-5) pitched seven effective innings for his third victory in four starts.

Nimmo’s 390-foot line drive into the second deck in right field ended an 0-for-17 skid and was his first home run since July 10. The 31-year-old outfielder, who missed Thursday’s 7-6 loss to Oakland with a stomach virus, hit just .139 (15 for 108) with four extra-base hits and 37 strikeouts between homers.

The shot capped a six-run outburst for the Mets, who began the day two games behind Atlanta for the third NL wild card. McNeil connected for a go-ahead homer and Lindor delivered an RBI triple earlier in the inning against starter Roddery Muñoz (2-7).

TWINS 4, RANGERS 3

ARLINGTON, Texas — Carlos Santana hit a tiebreaking three-run homer, Ryan Jeffers also went deep and playoff-contending Minnesota beat Texas.

A night after hitting a go-ahead sacrifice fly in the ninth inning, Santana’s 17th homer with one out in the fifth put Minnesota up 4-1. It also chased Texas starter Andrew Heaney (4-13), who has the most losses in the majors.

The Twins (69-53) moved to 16 games over .500 for the first time since their 101-win season in 2019. They have an MLB-best 62 wins since April 22, after only seven in their first 20 games.

Reigning World Series champion Texas (56-67) dropped to 11 games under .500 for the first time this season. They have lost 15 of 20 since a five-game winning streak in late July.

WHITE SOX 5, ASTROS 4

HOUSTON — Luis Robert Jr. homered twice and had a season-high four hits along with four RBIs in the Chicago White Sox’s victory over Houston.

The majors-worst White Sox (30-93) won for the second time in four games, snapping the AL West-leading Astros’ season-best winning streak at eight games.

Pinch-hitter Jon Singleton hit a solo home run for Houston off Chad Kuhl with two outs in the ninth to cut it to 5-4. But Kuhl struck out Jose Altuve to end it and get his first save.

BREWERS 5, GUARDIANS 3

MILWAUKEE — Willy Adames hit a three-run homer, Aaron Civale pitched six shutout innings against his former team and Milwaukee beat Cleveland to snap the Guardians’ five-game winning streak.

José Ramírez had a two-run homer and David Fry added a solo shot for Cleveland in this matchup of division leaders.

Civale (4-8) began his major league career with Cleveland in 2019 and remained with the Guardians until they traded him to Tampa Bay on July 31, 2023. The Brewers acquired him from Tampa Bay on July 3 for minor league infielder Gregory Barrios.

Civale struck out four and allowed only four hits and one walk. After going 0-2 with a 5.40 ERA in his first five appearances with Milwaukee, he’s 2-0 with a 1.46 ERA over his last two starts.

DODGERS 7, CARDINALS 6

ST. LOUIS — Mookie Betts and Kevin Kiermaier homered in a five-run sixth inning, and the Los Angeles Dodgers came back to beat skidding St. Louis.

The offensive outburst gave Justin Wrobleski his first major league win. The left-hander was called up from Triple-A Oklahoma City earlier in the day to make his fifth career start.

Wrobleski (1-1) allowed four runs and four hits — including three homers — in five innings as the NL West leaders stopped a two-game skid.

ROCKIES 7, PADRES 3

DENVER — Brendan Rodgers and Charlie Blackmon homered, Cal Quantrill pitched effectively for five innings and Colorado beat San Diego.

Jordan Beck added three hits, including an RBI single, for the Rockies, who cooled off the surging Padres. Before Friday, the Padres had won 19 of their 23 games dating back to the All-Star break, including 10 of their last 11.

Ha-Seong Kim and Xander Bogaerts homered for the Padres. Jackson Merrill had a pair of hits, including a one-out triple in the sixth, but the Rockies stranded him by turning the third of their four double plays in the game.

Quantrill (8-8) allowed three runs on six hits while striking out five and walking two. Rockies relievers Angel Chivilli, Lucas Gilbreath, Tyler Kinley and Victor Vodnik combined to pitch four scoreless innings.

ANGELS 3, BRAVES 2

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Mickey Moniak hit a go-ahead double in the sixth inning, Logan O’Hoppe snapped an 0-for-29 slump with a tying homer in the fourth and the Los Angeles Angels rallied past Atlanta to stop their three-game losing streak.

Moniak, who was 1 for 11 on the homestand when he came up to bat, narrowly missed a home run when he drilled Pierce Johnson’s curveball off the right-field wall. That drove in Nolan Schanuel, who drew a walk from Braves starter Spencer Schwellenbach (4-6) leading off the inning.

Brock Burke (1-0), the third of six Los Angeles pitchers, earned the win with 1 2/3 scoreless innings. Ben Joyce got five outs for his second save.

Schwellenbach allowed three runs on four hits and two walks in five-plus innings. He struck out eight and has 85 strikeouts this season, most by a Braves pitcher through their first 13 games in franchise history.