Justin Verlander pitched seven strong innings to get his MLB-leading 18th win in his first start since throwing his third no-hitter to lead the Houston Astros to a 2-1 victory over the Seattle Mariners on Saturday night.
Verlander (18-5) allowed four hits with one run and fanned seven in his 30th start of the season. He leads the American League with a 2.52 ERA and his 264 strikeouts are second in the majors behind teammate Gerrit Cole. Will Harris struck out one in a scoreless ninth for his second save.
With the game tied at one, Josh Reddick drove in the go-ahead run with a sacrifice fly in the seventh inning. Alex Bregman tied it up with a solo home run in the sixth inning to help the Astros improve to 15-1 against the Mariners this season with their 10th straight win over their AL West foes.
Seattle starter Yusei Kikuchi had retired 11 of the last 13 batters he’d faced when Bregman connected off of him on a shot to the seats in left field with no outs in the sixth to tie it at 1-all.
Rookie pinch-hitter Kyle Tucker doubled to start Houston’s seventh and reached third on a wild pitch by Austin Adams (1-2). Houston took the lead when Tucker scored on the sacrifice fly by Reddick for the first out of the inning.
Verlander has started at least 30 games in 13 seasons and he reached 200 innings on Saturday night for his 12th season with at least 200 innings.
PHILLIES 5, METS 0
NEW YORK (AP) — Drew Smyly pitched seven solid innings and Philadelphia pounded Marcus Stroman and a porous New York defense to end a three-game skid.
César Hernández led off the game with his ninth homer, and Philadelphia grinded away early even with star Bryce Harper out of the lineup a day after being hit in the right hand by a fastball.
The Mets played sloppily behind Stroman (7-13), and the right-hander left trailing 5-0 after four innings. He allowed 10 hits and struck out six without issuing a walk.
J.T. Realmuto and Corey Dickerson added RBI hits for the Phillies.
RAYS 5, BLUE JAYS 3
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Travis d’Arnaud and Daniel Robertson drove in runs with two outs in the eighth inning, helping Tampa Bay beat Toronto.
In the eighth, Jordan Romano (0-2) walked pinch-hitter J-Man Choi and Kevin Kiermaier hit a double. D’Arnoud lofted a pinch-hit sacrifice fly that scored pinch-runner Michael Brosseau and broke a 3-3 tie. Robertson, who had tied the game with an RBI double in the seventh, hit a single off Ryan Tepera that drove in Kiermaier with an insurance run.
Nick Anderson (5-4) got the win and Oliver Drake struck out three straight for his second save in three tries.
The Rays won for the ninth time in 10 games as they battle Oakland and Cleveland for one of the two American League wild-card spots.
The Blue Jays lost their six straight despite a strong outing by Anthony Kay in his major league debut. He gave up four hits and three walks while striking out eight in 5 2/3 innings.
DIAMONDBACKS 2, REDS 0
CINCINNATI (AP) — Rookie Alex Young struck out 12 in eight innings, Ketel Marte drove in a run and scored another and Arizona won its fifth straight and extended its playoff surge.
Jimmie Sherfy fanned slugger Eugenio Suarez and rookie sensation Aristides Aquino with runners on first and second to end it.
The Diamondbacks have won 11 of 12 and moved a season-high eight games over .500. Arizona pulled within 1 1/2 games of Chicago for the last NL wild-card spot after the Cubs’ 3-2 loss at Milwaukee later Saturday.
Luis Castillo (14-6) took the loss.
Young (7-3) limited the Reds to infield singles by Jose Iglesias and Curt Casali in his longest appearance. The left-hander walked one and set a career high in strikeouts in his 12th start since he was called up in June.
Sherfy completed the combined three-hitter and got his second major league save.
YANKEES 5, RED SOX 1
BOSTON (AP) — J.A. Happ pitched shutout ball into the seventh inning, Edwin Encarnacion homered and New York beat Boston.
Happ and four relievers combined on a five-hitter for the AL East leaders.
J.D. Martinez homered off Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman with two outs in the ninth.
Happ (12-8) allowed two hits in 6 1/3 innings, striking out seven and walking one.
Ryan Weber (2-3), Boston’s third pitcher of the game, took the loss.
The Red Sox used eight pitchers, a day after employing seven in their win.
ROYALS 7, MARLINS 2
MIAMI (AP) — Ryan McBroom doubled twice and had three RBI to help Kansas City beat Miami.
McBroom’s bases-clearing double off Miami reliever Ryne Stanek in the seventh capped a six-run inning.
Jorge Soler hit his 41st homer, a solo blast in the ninth, and Hunter Dozier had two hits for the Royals, who have won six of seven.
Adam Conley (2-8) took the loss.
Danny Duffy (6-6) allowed one run and two hits in six innings. Duffy struck out five and walked two.
RANGERS 9, ORIOLES 4
BALTIMORE (AP) — Rougned Odor homered during a six-run first inning and Texas cruised to its third straight victory over Baltimore.
Texas won its first road series since June 25-27, having gone 0-9-2 over that stretch.
Reliever Yohander Méndez (1-0) picked up the win after entering in the third and allowing one run with six strikeouts over 21/3 innings.
Anthony Santander went 1 for 5 with an RBI, extending his hitting streak to 12 games, and Rio Ruiz homered for the Orioles, who have lost seven of eight.
Baltimore starter Aaron Brooks (4-8) took the loss.
Odor finished with three hits.
CARDINALS 10, PIRATES 1
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Marcell Ozuna hit a three-run homer and Adam Wainwright pitched seven strong innings, helping St. Louis maintain its lead atop the NL Central.
After Dexter Fowler opened the scoring with an RBI single earlier in the third inning, Ozuna connected against Steven Brault (4-4) for his 26th home run of the season and a 4-0 lead. The cleanup hitter also walked twice after having two hits in his 35 at-bats.
Wainwright (11-9) helped himself with a double and single while lasting seven innings for the second straight start. He gave up one run and six hits.
Starling Marte drove in the Pirates’ run with a single in the third.
ANGELS 8, WHITE SOX 7
CHICAGO (AP) — Shohei Ohtani hit a three-run home run and drove in a career-high five runs to help Los Angeles beat Chicago.
Ohtani finished with three hits and was a triple shy of hitting for the cycle. Albert Pujols and Kevan Smith added two hits apiece for the Angels, who have won 10 of 11 against Chicago.
José Abreu homered and drove in four runs, and Yoán Moncada had three hits for the White Sox, who have dropped 10 of 12. Tim Anderson went 2 for 5 to raise his AL-leading average to .334, six points ahead of the DJ LeMahieu of the New York Yankees.
Hansel Robles pitched a perfect ninth for his 20th save in 23 opportunities.
Dylan Covey (1-8) took the loss.
Andrew Heaney (4-4) struck out eight and allowed four runs in six innings for the Angels.
TWINS 5, INDIANS 3
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Mitch Garver hit his second homer of the game, a three-run shot, in the seventh inning, helping Minnesota rally past Cleveland.
Garver set a Twins single-season record for home runs by a catcher with a solo shot that opened the scoring in the first inning. He capped the Twins’ comeback with his 28th of the season, sending the pitch from Nick Goody into the first row of flowers in the right field overhang.
Zack Littell (4-0) pitched a scoreless inning in relief of Jake Odorizzi, who struck out 10 in 5 1/3 innings for the Twins. Taylor Rogers earned his 25th save.
Indians reliever Adam Cimber (5-3) took the loss.
Yasiel Puig doubled twice for Cleveland after he failed to run out a ground ball in the fourth inning. The Indians have lost six of eight.
BREWERS 3, CUBS 2
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Christian Yelich sliced an opposite-field double off Brandon Kintzler to score the winning run in the ninth inning for Milwaukee.
Pinch-hitter Tyler Austin reached on shortstop Addison Russell’s throwing error and before Yelich batted, Cubs pitching coach Tommy Hottovy came out to talk with Kintzler (3-3). Whatever was said didn’t work as Yelich had his 500th career RBI.
Yelich walked three times and swiped second each time, extending his career-best to 30 steals. He became the 10th player in major league history with 40 home runs and 30 stolen bases, a feat that’s been accomplished 12 times, the last by Ryan Braun in 2012. Yelich, who has 44 homers, was on in the first, sixth and eighth, getting the record-setting swipe off Rowan Wick.
Brewers reliever Josh Hader (3-5) earned the win.
BRAVES 5, NATIONALS 4
ATLANTA (AP) — Josh Donaldson and Ozzie Albies each homered for the second straight day and Atlanta won its ninth straight.
Brian McCann and Matt Joyce hit back-to-back homers in a three-run sixth inning, helping the NL East leaders to their longest winning streak in five-plus years.
Julio Teheran (10-8) made his 30th start for the seventh straight season, allowing one run and three hits in five innings.
Asdrubal Cabrera hit his 16th homer in the fifth. Nationals starter Austin Voth (1-1) allowed two runs and three hits in four innings.
PADRES 3, ROCKIES 0
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Manny Machado hit a two-run home run, Wil Myers also connected and left-hander Joey Lucchesi and three relievers combined on a three-hitter to lead San Diego.
Machado hit a two-run opposite-field shot to right off Jeff Hoffman with one out in the sixth and Greg Garcia aboard on a leadoff walk. It was Machado’s 29th overall and just his third since Aug. 1.
Myers homered leading off the fifth, his 17th.
Lucchesi (10-7) allowed only two hits and struck out eight in six innings but walked five.
All-Star Kirby Yates gave up a hit in the ninth while striking out two for his MLB-best 40th save in 43 chances.
Hoffman (1-6) also struck out eight while allowing three runs and five hits in 5 2/3 innings, with three walks.
ATHLETICS 10, TIGERS 2
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Chris Bassitt struck out a career-high 11 in six innings and was part of a bizarre double play to help Oakland beat Detroit.
Matt Chapman hit his 32nd home run, Matt Olson had four hits including his 29th homer, and Jurickson Profar hit his 20th for Oakland, which remained one game behind Tampa Bay for the top AL wild card. The A’s moved 1½ games ahead of Cleveland for the second spot.
Bassitt (10-5) allowed two runs and eight hits and didn’t walk a batter.
After giving up hits to two of Detroit’s first three batters, Bassitt induced a strange double play.
Christin Stewart hit a high pop-up into foul territory that A’s third baseman Matt Chapman chased before the ball came back fair and dropped on the infield dirt. Shortstop Marcus Semien grabbed the ball and threw to Bassitt who alertly covered third for the force out. The pitcher then threw to second to get Miguel Cabrera, who had stopped running while the ball was in the air.
Harold Castro matched his career high with four hits and had two RBIs for Detroit. Jordan Zimmermann (1-10) took the loss.
GIANTS 1, DODGERS 0
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kevin Pillar knocked in the game’s only run with a ground out in the first inning and Tyler Beede struck out five in five innings as San Francisco beat Los Angeles.
The Dodgers entered the three-game series against their rivals with a magic number of four to clinch their seventh consecutive National League West title. While already eliminated from playoff contention, the Giants made sure a Dodgers party will not happen this weekend.
The earliest the Dodgers can now clinch is Tuesday, at the start of an interleague series at Baltimore.
The Giants loaded the bases in the first inning against Dodgers rookie starter Tony Gonsolin. Pillar’s slow roller to Justin Turner at third base was able to bring home Mike Yastrzemski with what proved to be the game’s only run.
Beede (4-9) pitched five scoreless innings.
Gonsolin (2-2) recovered from his shaky start to allow one run on two hits over four innings. He did give up four walks, while recording five strikeouts.
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