Cleveland blanks Detroit
DETROIT (AP) — José Ramírez moved past Albert Belle into sole possession of second place on the Cleveland career home run list with his 243rd, hitting his third in two games to help the Guardians beat the Detroit Tigers 5-0 on Tuesday.
Josh Naylor hit a first-inning homer off Alex Faedo (5-3) and Ramírez hit a two-run drive in the eighth against Jason Foley. The 31-year-old Ramírez has spent his entire 12-year big league career with Cleveland.
Hall of Famer Jim Thome tops the Cleveland home run list with 337, part of a 22-year career that included 612 homers for six teams.
Brayan Rocchio added a ninth-inning homer off Joey Wentz.
Lane Thomas went 1 for 4 in his Guardians debut, scoring on Ramírez’s home run. Thomas was acquired Monday from Washington.
Cleveland has won three straight and six of eight. The Tigers have lost three in a row heading into the trade deadline.
ORIOLES 6, BLUE JAYS 2
BALTIMORE (AP) — Corbin Burnes took a two-hitter into the seventh inning, Ramón Urías and Anthony Santander homered and Baltimore beat depleted Toronto.
Baltimore built a 4-0 lead in the third inning and improved to 6-6 since the All-Star break to remain atop the AL East.
Burnes gave up two runs and four hits with seven strikeouts over 6 2/3 innings. Although the Orioles added starters Zach Eflin and Trevor Rogers before the trade deadline, Burnes (11-4, 2.47 ERA) remains the unquestioned ace of the staff.
The four-time All-Star and 2021 Cy Young Award winner has gone at least six innings in 17 straight starts, allowed three runs or fewer in 21 of 22 outings and is on course for his fourth straight season with at least 200 strikeouts.
METS 2, TWINS 0
NEW YORK (AP) — Sean Manaea struck out a season-best 11 over seven dominant innings Tuesday night, pitching the New York Mets to a victory over Minnesota.
Mark Vientos homered and J.D. Martinez had an RBI single to help the Mets (57-50) win for the 15th time in 21 games. They matched their season high at seven games above .500.
Manaea (7-4) yielded two hits and one walk while allowing just one runner beyond first base. The 11 strikeouts were his most since fanning 12 for San Diego against Atlanta in May 2022. The left-hander has a 1.50 ERA in his last four starts at Citi Field.
Ryne Stanek got two outs in the eighth and Edwin Díaz struck out Byron Buxton with two runners on to end the inning. Buxton whiffed all four times up, and Royce Lewis fanned three times.
Díaz finished for his 13th save in a game that took only 2 hours, 12 minutes. The four-out save was his first since Oct. 4, 2022.
REDS 6, CUBS 3
CINCINNATI (AP) — Santiago Espinal extended his hit streak to 10 games with a two-run homer in the second inning and Cincinnati held on to beat the Chicago Cubs.
TJ Friedl drove in two runs with a first-inning base hit, Tyler Stephenson also had an RBI as part of the three-run second inning, and Spencer Steer drove in another with a double in the eighth.
Tony Santillan got the start for the Reds because the scheduled starter, Frankie Montas, was traded to Milwaukee earlier in the day. Seven Reds pitchers combined to hold the Cubs to three runs and seven hits.
Nick Martinez (5-5) pitched four scoreless innings to get the win. Alexis Díaz pitched the ninth for his 21st save in 23 chances.
RAYS 9, MARLINS 3
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., (AP) — Trade acquisition Christopher Morel homered in his Tampa Bay debut, helping the new-look Rays come from behind to beat Miami.
Ben Rortvedt and Yandy Diaz each contributed two-run singles off reliever Declan Cronin (2-3) during a five-run sixth inning that propelled the Rays to a 6-3 lead. Jose Caballero added an RBI double, then stole home to extend the lead in the seventh.
Morel, acquired Sunday in a trade that sent All-Star infielder Isaac Paredes to Chicago, homered to left center field off Marlins starter Edward Cabrera leading off the fourth inning. The deal was one of several the Rays made the past week with an eye on positioning themselves for success in coming years.
With three straight wins, though, Tampa Bay (55-52) also has climbed three games over .500 for the first time in two months and is back in contention for a wild-card playoff berth.
BRAVES 5, BREWERS 1
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Jarred Kelenic broke out of a month-long slump by hitting a homer and double in the Atlanta victory over Milwaukee.
Austin Riley went 4 for 5 as the Braves won despite leaving 11 men on base.
Kelenic doubled during Atlanta’s four-run outburst in the third inning and hit a solo shot over the left-field wall in the fourth.
Before Tuesday, Kelenic had batted just .125 (11 of 88) in July with a .189 on-base percentage and .239 slugging percentage. The slump had caused his batting average to sink from .278 to .235, while his OPS plunged from .781 to .681.
Kelenic, who grew up in the Milwaukee suburb of Waukesha, Wisconsin, had a large group of fans cheering him on from behind the Braves’ dugout.
Braves pitcher Bryce Elder (2-4) ended a slide of his own.
Elder, who entered the night with a 6.35 ERA, carried a shutout into the seventh inning and ended up allowing a single run and five hits in 6 1/3 innings. He struck out seven and walked one.
A.J. Minter, Joe Jiménez and Raisel Iglesias pitched a combined 2 2/3 innings of shutout relief.
CARDINALS 8, RANGERS 1
ST. LOUIS, (AP) — Tommy Pham hit a pinch-hit grand slam in his first game back with the Cardinals and St. Louis beat the Texas Rangers 8-1 on Tuesday night.
Pham’s blast off reliver Cody Bradford capped a five-run fifth. It was his first at-bat since being dealt to the Cardinals from the White Sox as part of a three-team trade on Monday. Pham began his career with the Cardinals, who drafted him in the sixth round in 2006.
Pham’s second career grand slam, and his first since May 6, 2019, helped make a winner out of Lance Lynn, who gave up one run on three hits in five innings. Lynn (6-4) struck out three and walked one as the Cardinals won for the second time in their last three games.
Max Scherzer lasted just four innings, allowing three runs on four hits. He struck out five and walked one.
It is the third start out of the last four that Scherzer (2-4) didn’t pitch past the fourth inning.
The Rangers lost for the fourth time in their last five games.