Cardinals win seventh straight with 4-2 victory over Nationals

WASHINGTON (AP) — Andre Pallante took a shutout into the eighth inning in the second-longest outing of his career, and the St. Louis Cardinals extended their winning streak to seven with a 4-2 victory over the Washington Nationals on Saturday.

Ryan Helsley allowed the Nationals to load the bases in the ninth but retired CJ Abrams on a first-pitch flyball for his seventh save in nine chances.

The Cardinals couldn’t quite close out a third straight shutout. Dylan Crews hit a two-run homer in the eighth for the first runs against St. Louis since the sixth inning Tuesday night against Pittsburgh. The Cardinals followed that up with a 5-0 win over the Pirates and then opened the series in Washington with a 10-0 victory.

All four runs for St. Louis came in the second inning Saturday.

Pallante (3-2) pitched more than seven innings for only the second time. The other was also against the Nationals, when he threw eight scoreless frames July 31, 2022. Washington finally chased the right-hander Saturday when Crews went deep with one out in the eighth.

JoJo Romero made it through the rest of the eighth despite allowing a couple baserunners.

Trevor Williams (2-4) allowed four runs and seven hits in six innings.

ATHLETICS 11, YANKEES 7

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Shea Langeliers hit a go-ahead homer in the seventh inning and drove in five runs as the Athletics overcame two home runs by Aaron Judge to beat New York.

Langeliers’ three-run shot to center field off Fernando Cruz (1-1) gave the A’s a 7-6 lead and helped them snap a three-game losing streak. Langeliers added a two-run double in a four-run eighth and finished with four hits.

Judge connected on a solo shot in the fourth against JP Sears and led off the sixth against Justin Sterner with another drive over the batting eye in center field in just his second game as a pro in his home region near Sacramento. That gave Judge a major league-leading 14 homers this season.

Grant Holman (4-0) pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings for the win and Mason Miller got five outs for his 11th save in 12 chances.

The A’s took a 4-0 lead against Carlos Rodón on a solo homer by Luis Urías in the second and a three-run shot by Brent Rooker in the third.

But the Yankees rallied back behind the two solo homers from Judge and a two-run shot by Oswald Peraza to take a 6-4 lead.

BRAVES 3, PIRATES 2, 11 INNINGS

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Matt Olson homered in the third inning and scored the winning run on a wild pitch in the 11th inning as Atlanta beat Pittsburgh.

Chase Shugart (1-3) got Sean Murphy to ground to short for the second out in the 11th with Olson on third. He intentionally walked Michael Harris II to bring up Eli White. Shugart nearly hit White in the head with a pitch that went to the backstop, allowing Olson to score.

Pittsburgh’s Ke’Bryan Hayes started the 10th by moving automatic runner Henry Davis to third on a sacrifice bunt. Davis was thrown out at home after Matt Gorski grounded to third. Scott Blewett (2-0) then got Alexander Canario to fly out.

Joey Bart hit his fourth single of the game with one out in the eighth for the Pirates. Ji Hwan Bae entered as the pinch runner, stole second, advanced on a groundout and scored to tie it 2-all when Gorski sent a dribbler down the line to third.

Don Kelly, in his second game as Pirates manager since Derek Shelton was fired on Thursday, was tossed in the sixth inning after plate umpire Clint Vondrak called two balls to start Olson’s at bat.

Murphy and Harris hit back-to-back doubles in the second inning to put Atlanta ahead before Olson hit a sinker from Andrew Heaney 431 feet for a 2-0 lead.

RAYS 3, BREWERS 2

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Travis Jankowski had a pair of hits including the winning RBI single in the ninth inning in Tampa Bay’s win over Milwaukee after the first home field weather delays in the teams history.

Jankowski singled off closer Trevor Megill to bring home rookie Kameron Misner, who was walked by Grant Anderson (1-2) and stole second.

The hit might have produced a close play at the plate but the ball snuck under the glove of left fielder Isaac Collins. Misner scored two of Tampa Bay’s three runs.

A journeyman who spent spring training with both the Cubs and White Sox before the Rays acquired him last month, Jankowski also gave Tampa Bay a 2-1 lead with a fourth-inning sacrifice fly.

Pete Fairbanks (3-1) pitched the ninth.

PHILLIES 7, GUARDIANS 1

CLEVELAND (AP) — Bryce Harper homered during Philadelphia’s six-run eighth inning, Ranger Suárez allowed only three hits over seven scoreless innings and the Phillies defeated Cleveland.

Harper had his first three-hit game of the season as the Phillies improved to 4-1 on their road trip. His two-run shot to center field off Jakob Junis gave the Phillies a 3-0 lead and was part of a streak in which eight straight batters reached base. Philadelphia sent 11 to the plate in the inning and collected seven hits.

The 32-year-old slugger has 998 RBIs and is two away from becoming the 14th player in MLB history to reach 1,000 RBIs, 1,000 runs and 1,000 walks before turning 33.

Nick Castellanos had the other key hit in the eighth with a two-run double.

RANGERS 10, TIGERS 3

DETROIT (AP) — Corey Seager had two solo home runs and an RBI double, Jacob deGrom struck out a season-high 10 in five-plus innings and Texas beat Detroit to end its winning streak at five.

Seager’s 19th career multi-homer game and second of the season came after he sat out two games to rest a hamstring injury. Joc Pederson supplied a two-run homer and Josh Smith and Evan Carter added solo shots and Adolis Garcia had two RBIs for the Rangers, who ended a three-game slide.

DeGrom (3-1) had six straight strikeouts in the first and second innings. He gave up two runs and five hits.

Kerry Carpenter and Riley Greene homered for the Tigers.

Detroit starter Jack Flaherty (1-5) allowed five runs on four hits — all homers — in three innings. The home run total was the most he’s allowed in 161 career starts. Flaherty has been the losing pitcher in his last five starts.

TWINS 2, GIANTS 1

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota starter Joe Ryan overcame an illness earlier in the week to put together a strong outing and Trevor Larnach delivered a big two-run homer as it held on for a win over San Francisco.

Ryan (3-2) was scratched from his start Thursday against Baltimore due to illness, which he said was at its most intense on Monday. He seemed no worse for the wear Saturday.

Ryan’s only blunder in six innings was a solo homer by Heliot Ramos, who had three of the Giants’ four hits. Ryan struck out seven and surrendered just two hits on 76 pitches.

Jhoan Duran earned his seventh save of the season. The Twins’ season-high win streak is now at seven games as Minnesota finally pulled to .500 (20-20) after a slow start to the year.

Logan Webb (4-3) was solid for the Giants in the loss. He struck out nine but gave up Larnach’s homer in the third.

RED SOX 10, ROYALS 1

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Garrett Crochet allowed one run on seven hits over seven innings, Rafael Devers was 4 for 4 with three RBIs and the Boston Red Sox beat Kansas City 10-1 on Saturday night to end the Royals’ winning streak at seven.

Crochet (4-2) struck out nine and walked one. He struck out Bobby Witt Jr. with the bases loaded to end the seventh.

Trevor Story blew open a close game with a three-run homer.

Cole Ragans (2-2) took the loss. He allowed four runs on seven hits through five innings. He struck out eight and walked two.

The Red Sox got to Ragans in the third. With two outs, Jarren Duran singled and scored on Devers’ double.

The Royals answered with a run in the bottom of the third. Witt stroked a one-out single, stole second, went to third on a balk and scored on a looping hit by Mark Canha.

The Red Sox scored three runs in the fifth on four consecutive hits. Duran, Devers and Alex Bregman each delivered RBI singles.

Story’s home run came with two outs in the seventh, and Carlos Narvaez added a two-run shot in the eighth.

MARLINS 3, WHITE SOX 1

CHICAGO (AP) — Eric Wagaman hit a two-run triple to break an eighth-inning tie, and Miami beat Chicago.

Kyle Stowers launched his seventh homer for the Marlins, a solo shot in the seventh that evened the score at 1. Miami won for just the third time in 13 games.

Andrew Vaughn, who entered batting .188, hit his second home run in two games, but the White Sox have lost five of six.

Calvin Faucher (2-1), the second of four Miami relievers, pitched a scoreless seventh for the win. Jesús Tinoco tossed a 1-2-3 ninth for his third save as the Marlins’ bullpen allowed one hit over four innings to complete a four-hitter.

Miami starter Edward Cabrera yielded one run and three hits over five innings.

White Sox rookie starter Shane Smith tossed six scoreless innings, allowing four hits in a no-decision. Smith struck out seven and walked none.

DIAMONDBACKS 3, DODGERS 0

PHOENIX (AP) — Corbin Burnes threw seven scoreless innings, Eugenio Suarez hit his 12th homer of the season and Arizona beat Los Angeles.

One day after the Dodgers won a thrilling 14-11 slugfest, Burnes and L.A.‘s Dustin May had an impressive pitchers’ duel.

Burnes (2-1) hadn’t thrown in a game since April 30, skipping a turn in the rotation after getting a cortisone shot because of shoulder inflammation. The 2021 NL Cy Young winner looked sharp after the nine-day layoff, carving through the Dodgers lineup while giving up just five hits and two walks and striking out five.

May (1-3) was nearly as good, giving up two runs on seven hits and a walk over 6 2/3 innings. The tall righty struck out five.

The Diamondbacks pushed ahead 1-0 in the fourth after Corbin Carroll hit a leadoff triple and scored on Ketel Marte’s groundout. Suarez’s solo homer in the sixth — a 455-foot shot to center — made it 2-0.

Pavin Smith had a three-hit night and his RBI double in the ninth gave Arizona a 3-0 cushion. Ryne Nelson threw the eighth and ninth innings for his first save of the season, retiring all six batters he faced.

REDS 13, ASTROS 9

HOUSTON (AP) — Elly De La Cruz hit a three-run homer in Cincinnati’s 10-run first inning as the Reds pounced on Lance McCullers early and held on for a win over Houston.

McCullers (0-1), who was making just his second start since Game 3 of the 2022 World Series, struggled with command. He walked leadoff hitter TJ Friedl before plunking Matt McLain on the backside.

Cruz then smacked an opposite field homer to left field to make it 3-0.

McCullers walked two more batters with one out before Tyler Stephenson hit an RBI single. Will Benson followed with an RBI double to make it 5-0 and chase McCullers.

He was replaced by Logan VanWey but the Reds kept piling on, sending 15 batters to the plate before Santiago Espinal finally struck out to end the inning.

McLain hit a two-run homer in the third inning to make it 12-1.

CUBS 6, METS 5

NEW YORK (AP) — Cade Horton earned the win with four solid innings of relief in his major league debut, and Chicago held off New York.

Cubs opener Brad Keller worked a perfect first inning before giving way to Horton, who was recalled from Triple-A Iowa earlier in the day. The team’s top pitching prospect gave up three hits — including Brett Baty’s three-run homer in the fourth — and struck out five.

The 23-year-old Horton (1-0), a first-round draft pick in 2022 who was 2-1 with a 1.24 ERA in six starts at Iowa this season, walked none and threw 49 of his 77 pitches for strikes in his first professional relief appearance.

Seiya Suzuki and Dansby Swanson hit RBI singles off Tylor Megill (3-3) in the first, and Michael Busch had a run-scoring single in the third before Swanson led off the fourth with a homer to left field.

Miguel Amaya added pivotal insurance with a two-run single in the eighth before Baty hit his third homer in two games, a two-run shot to left in the bottom half.

Porter Hodge, the Cubs’ sixth pitcher, earned his second save with a hitless ninth. After a leadoff walk, he got Francisco Lindor to ground into a 1-6-3 double play.

Megill allowed four runs and seven hits over 4 2/3 innings.

PADRES 21, ROCKIES 0

DENVER (AP) — Fernando Tatis Jr. and Xander Bogaerts hit home runs in the fifth inning, part of a five-homer game for San Diego, and the Padres routed scuffling Colorado.

Jake Cronenworth, Gavin Sheets and Jason Heyward also went deep for San Diego. The Padres set season highs in runs and hits (24) for the second straight game while sending Colorado to its eighth straight loss.

The Rockies, who are 6-33, matched the 1988 Baltimore Orioles for the worst 39-game start in the majors in 130 years. Baltimore finished 54-107 that season.

Stephen Kolek (2-0) tossed a shutout in his second major league start. He cruised through Colorado’s lineup, allowing five hits and struck out seven.

The only time he faced trouble was in the sixth when the Rockies had runners on the corners with one out but he induced Hunter Goodman into an inning-ending double play.

Sheets homered off Bradley Blalock (0-2) in the five-run first inning and Heyward hit a three-run shot in the fourth when San Diego sent 12 men to the plate. The Padres scored at least one run through the first six innings.

ANGELS 5, ORIOLES 2

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Matthew Lugo had an RBI triple in the fourth inning for his first major league hit, and Jo Adell homered in Los Angeles’ victory over Baltimore.

Jack Kochanowicz (2-5) ended his five-start losing streak for the Angels, yielding one run on four hits and four walks while pitching into the sixth inning in this meeting of last-place clubs.

Ramón Laureano homered and Ryan Mountcastle had an RBI double for the Orioles, who have lost six of seven. Baltimore was held to six hits by five Angels pitchers.

Lugo, who made his MLB debut as a pinch-runner Friday, went 1 for 4 in his first career start. Carlos Beltrán’s nephew, a former second-round pick by Boston, is the third of four prospects acquired last year for reliever Luis García to play for the Angels.

Kyle Gibson (0-2) allowed five runs on seven hits and three walks in his third start in Baltimore’s injury-plagued rotation. The veteran has yet to record an out in the fifth inning for the Orioles.

The Angels got three singles on Gibson’s first seven pitches and scored twice in the first.

BLUE JAYS 6, MARINERS 3

SEATTLE (AP) — Addison Barger hit a tiebreaking single in the eighth inning and Toronto rallied from a three-run deficit to beat Seattle.

Bo Bichette’s two-run homer in the fifth began Toronto’s comeback. Barger tied it at 3 with an RBI groundout in the sixth, and Alejandro Kirk finished with four hits.

Myles Straw provided insurance with a two-run single off Carlos Vargas (1-2) in the eighth.

Mason Fluharty (3-0) worked 1 1/3 perfect innings and Jeff Hoffman struck out all three batters in the ninth for his ninth save.

Barger also had two RBIs — and three doubles — in Friday night’s 6-3 victory by the Blue Jays, who have won three in a row following a four-game skid.