ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Jordan Luplow and Christian Vazquez snapped extended slumps with home runs in the go-ahead seventh inning after Texas starter Max Scherzer left the game as the AL Central-leading Minnesota Twins beat the slumping Rangers 5-1 on Friday night.
“No one could really get anything going. No one could really have a good inning. It was more like a good swing, but not a good inning,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “That was a good inning.”
All of Minnesota’s runs came against Texas relievers after Scherzer struck out seven and allowed only one hit in six innings before he departed after 88 pitches with a 1-0 lead.
Scherzer, in his sixth start for the Rangers since being acquired in a trade from the New York Mets, said he was dealing with some forearm tightness and communicated that to pitching coach Mike Maddux. The three-time Cy Young Award winner insisted that he is OK, and just didn’t want that to become an extended problem.
“There in the sixth inning, I could tell my location was starting to get of. Now I can tell that I was kind of at my limit, even though my shoulder was good, my arm’s good,” Scherzer said. “I didn’t go out there and put myself in a dangerous position. I was not going to go out there and hurt myself. You come up with a forearm strain now, you’re done for the year. So that’s where you’ve got to be smart and take a blow when you need it.”
The Rangers are now just 1.5 games up on the Toronto Blue Jays for the third and final wild-card spot.
METS 2, MARINERS 1
NEW YORK (AP) — Daniel Vogelbach hit a tiebreaking single with two outs in the eighth inning and New York Mets cooled off first-place Seattle.
Brandon Nimmo homered, Kodai Senga struck out 12 and Ronny Mauricio had two hits in his major league debut for New York — including a double in his first at-bat that was the hardest-hit ball by a Mets player this season.
Seattle, fresh off a 21-6 August that marked the winningest month in franchise history, began the day a percentage point ahead of Houston and a game in front of third-place Texas in the AL West.
Vogelbach’s opposite-field single off Andres Munoz (3-6) scored Francisco Lindor, who led off with a single before stealing second and advancing to third on a wild pitch.
Phil Bickford (4-4) pitched a scoreless eighth and Drew Smith earned his third save after an eventful ninth. Smith walked leadoff batter Cal Raleigh before immediately picking off pinch-runner Jose Caballero. The right-hander then gave up a two-out hit to Dominic Canzone before striking out Ty France.
YANKEES 6, ASTROS 2
HOUSTON (AP) — Jasson Dominguez became the youngest Yankees player to homer in his first career at-bat and Aaron Judge reached 250 home runs faster than any other major leaguer as New York slugged its way to a 6-2 win over the Houston Astros on Friday night.
DJ LeMahieu sent Justin Verlander’s second pitch into the right-field seats for a leadoff shot, and there were two outs in the first inning when Verlander walked Giancarlo Stanton.
Then, on the second pitch he saw and his first swing in the majors, Dominguez, who has drawn comparisons to Bo Jackson and Mike Trout, connected off Verlander (10-7) to make it 3-0.
At just 20 years, 206 days old, the highly touted Dominguez became the youngest Yankees player to homer in his first MLB game. He was the first Yankees hitter to go deep in his initial big league at-bat since Judge on Aug. 13, 2016.
After Dominguez swatted his opposite-field home run to the short porch in left off a three-time Cy Young Award winner twice his age, TV cameras panned to his family, who screamed and jumped around after watching the ball leave the yard.
GUARDIANS 3, RAYS 2
CLEVELAND (AP) — Canadian rookie Bo Naylor doubled home Gabriel Arias with the go-ahead run in the seventh inning, sending Cleveland to a victory over Tampa Bay.
The Guardians trailed 2-1 entering the seventh, but Andres Gimenez led off with a single, stole second and came home on Arias’ single. Naylor, from Mississauga, Ont., followed with a drive to the wall in right-center off Rays starter Tyler Glasnow (7-5).
Tampa Bay had its four-game winning streak snapped and fell two games behind first-place Baltimore in the AL East. The Rays remain firmly in control of the top wild-card spot and have won eight of 10.
Eli Morgan (5-2) pitched the seventh and Emmanuel Clase got his major league-high 37th save with a perfect ninth. Cleveland, which has won three in a row, trails Minnesota by 4 1/2 games in the AL Central.
Guardians starter Cal Quantrill worked six innings in his return from the injured list, allowing two runs on two hits while striking out two. The right-hander had been sidelined for two months with inflammation in his pitching shoulder.
Glasnow matched his longest start of the season, going seven innings. The right-hander struck out six without issuing a walk, but remained winless in four career starts against Cleveland.
Meanwhile, Guardians first baseman Josh Naylor (oblique strain), who has been on the IL since Aug. 4, will work out Saturday at Progressive Field and could be activated Sunday. Naylor, older brother of Bo, is 2 for 5 through two games of a rehab assignment with Double-A Akron.
ROYALS 13, RED SOX 2
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Jordan Lyles pitched eight strong innings as the Kansas City Royals defeated the Boston Red Sox 13-2 Friday night
Lyles (4-15), who leads the major leagues in losses, had one of his best outings of the season for the Royals. He allowed two runs on four hits, struck out seven and did not give up a walk. The Royals gave him a big lead early, and he cruised. He didn’t allow a run until Alex Verdugo’s two-out home run in the eighth.
Salvador Perez hit two home runs for his second multi-homer game of the season, the first since May 2 against Baltimore. Nick Loftin, who was making his major league debut, was 2-for-3 with a walk, an RBI and a run.
James Paxton (7-5) allowed six runs on five hits in 1 1/3 innings.