ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Harold Ramírez, Yandy Díaz and Christian Bethancourt homered, and the major league-leading Tampa Bay Rays beat the Milwaukee Brewers 8-4 on Saturday.
Zach Eflin (6-1) allowed three runs, four hits and struck out eight for the Rays (34-14), who improved to 21-3 at home this season. Despite the great start, the Rays hold just a 3 1/2 game lead over Baltimore (30-16) in the tough AL East.
Jason Adam entered with two on in the ninth and retired both his batters to get his sixth save.
The Brewers (24-21), tied with Pittsburgh for first in the NL Central, got homers from Owen Miller and Brian Anderson. Milwaukee has lost four of five.
ORIOLES 6, BLUE JAYS 5, 10 INNINGS
TORONTO (AP) — Ryan Mountcastle scored the go-ahead run in the 10th inning when third baseman Matt Chapman’s throw hit him in the back on Austin Hays’ grounder, and Baltimore became the second team to reach 30 wins.
Ryan O’Hearn tied his career high with four RBIs, including a three-run homer in the eighth off Jordan Romano that tied the score 5-5. Cedric Mullins hit a solo homer as the Orioles (30-16) won for the fourth time in five games.
George Springer hit a two-run home run and Danny Jansen hit a solo homer for the Blue Jays. Toronto has lost three straight and five of six since sweeping a three-game series against Atlanta last weekend.
Félix Bautista (3-1) pitched the 10th and struck out his final five batters.
RANGERS 11, ROCKIES 5
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Corey Seager had a two-run home run among three hits and Jon Gray won in his first start against his former club as Texas (28-17) is one win short of the franchise’s best record through the first 45 games.
The Rangers, averaging a major league-best 6.20 runs per game, knocked out Kyle Freeland (4-5) after two innings — scoring four runs in each. Freeland allowed six earned runs and nine hits with no strikeouts.
Gray (4-1), who spent his first seven big-league seasons with Colorado before signing with Texas in December 2021, allowed one run and five hits in five innings, throwing 93 pitches. He struck out six and walked two.
YANKEES 7, REDS 4, 10 INNINGS
CINCINNATI (AP) — Aaron Judge had a go-ahead single in the 10th inning for his fourth hit of the game, and New York beat Cincinnati after cutting outfielder Aaron Hicks.
New York overcame a 4-1 deficit in a three-run fifth inning against Luke Weaver on Isiah Kiner-Falefa’s homer, Judge’s RBI double off the left-field wall and Anthony Rizzo’s run-scoring single.
Greg Allen opened the 10th as the automatic runner on second. He advanced on Gleyber Torres’ flyout and scored on Judge’s single off Ian Gibaut (3-1). Anthony Rizzo followed with a two-run homer.
Clay Holmes (2-2) allowed a walk in a scoreless ninth, and Ryan Weber pitched the 10th to give the Yankees seven pitchers with saves, the most of any big league team.
ASTROS 3, ATHLETICS 2
HOUSTON (AP) — Yordan Alvarez hit a tiebreaking home run in the eighth inning to propel Houston over Oakland.
The game was tied at 2-2 with no outs in the eighth when Alvarez sent a pitch from Richard Lovelady (0-2) into the seats in right field for his team-leading 10th homer this season.
Jose Altuve doubled in a two-run first inning for Houston for his first hit of the year after going 0 for 4 in his season debut Friday night. Altuve missed the first 43 games after fracturing his right thumb in the World Baseball Classic.
Hector Neris (3-1) allowed one hit in a scoreless eighth for the win. Ryan Pressly pitched a scoreless ninth for his eighth save.
DIAMONDBACKS 4, PIRATES 3
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pavin Smith hit a go-ahead, two-run homer in the seventh inning to lift Arizona over Pittsburgh.
Smith’s third homer of the season came off Robert Stephenson (0-2) and helped the Diamondbacks overcome a 3-2 deficit after Pirates ace Mitch Keller was pulled following six strong innings.
Ketel Marte also homered for Arizona, which won for the sixth time in its last eight games.
Ke’Bryan Hayes accounted for all the Pirates’ scoring with a bases-loaded triple that brought home two runs. He has back-to-back games with at least three RBIs for the first time in his career.
The home run made a winner of Kyle Nelson (4-1), who retired three batters after relieving rookie starter Brandon Pfaadt. Miguel Castro worked around a leadoff walk to Rodolfo Castro in the ninth for his fourth save.
MARLINS 1, GIANTS 0
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Braxton Garrett and three relievers combined on a three-hitter, and Miami scored an unearned run in the eighth inning on a Jon Berti single to beat San Francisco.
Miami scored in the eighth against Tyler Rogers (0-4). Garrett Hampson reached on third baseman J.D. Davis’s fielding error, Xavier Edwards sacrificed and Berti followed with a single past first baseman LaMonte Wade Jr.
Garrett allowed one hit in 6 1/3 innings, a single to Thairo Estrada on his first pitch of the day. He walked one and struck out eight for the second straight start, matching his season high.
J.T. Chargois (1-0) got two outs for the win.
PHILLIES 12, CUBS 3
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Aaron Nola (4-3) struck out 10 in seven sharp innings, Kyle Schwarber hit a grand slam and Philadelphia snapped a five-game losing streak.
Kody Clemens also went deep in Philadelphia’s six-run first inning, and Bryce Harper singled, doubled, walked twice and had an RBI for the defending NL champs. The Phillies had scored a total of 11 runs in losing seven in a row to the Cubs before eclipsing that just in Saturday’s outburst.
Dansby Swanson and Christopher Morel homered for Chicago.
Singles by Bryson Stott and Nick Castellanos and Harper’s walk loaded the bases with no outs against Jameson Taillon (0-3). Taillon threw 10 balls in his first 15 pitches. After an out, Schwarber launched his fifth career grand slam 435 feet into the second deck in right field.
NATIONALS 5, TIGERS 2
WASHINGTON (AP) — Patrick Corbin won consecutive starts for the first time since last summer and Lane Thomas had a go-ahead, two-run single in the fifth inning that stopped Washington’s four-game losing streak.
Corbin (3-5) allowed two runs and six hits in six innings against the Tigers, the only big league team he had never faced. He struck out three, reaching 1,500 in his career when he fanned Jonathan Scoop in the sixth.
Carl Edwards Jr., Hunter Harvey and Kyle Finnegan finished with hitless relief, with Finnegan getting his ninth save in 11 chances to finish a game that took 2 hours, 3 minutes.
Jeimer Candelario homered and hit a run-scoring double for Washington, which fell behind when Spencer Torkelson hit a two-run homer in the first.
Alex Faedo (0-2) gave up three runs and five hits in five innings. Detroit had won three of four.
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