MLB

MLB: Brewers, Rays cap weekend sweeps

By Sports Desk August 18, 2024

Collin Rea and two Milwaukee relievers teamed up on a two-hit shutout as the Brewers completed a three-game sweep of the Cleveland Guardians with Sunday's 2-0 win.

Rea (11-4) did not allow a hit until the sixth inning and surrendered just two over seven dominant frames while also hitting a pair of batters. Bryan Hudson and Jared Koenig followed with one perfect inning each to finish off the National League Central-leading Brewers' fifth consecutive win, tying a season high.

Despite Sunday's outcome, the Guardians maintained a two-game advantage over second-place Minnesota in the American Central race after the Twins lost in 10 innings to the Texas Rangers later in the day. 

Milwaukee scored all of its runs in the first and second innings to give Rea all the support he would need. Brice Turang delivered an early spark with a lead-off triple in the bottom of the first before crossing the plate on Willy Adames' two-out single off Ben Lively to quickly put the Brewers ahead.

The Brewers threatened again an inning later when back-to-back singles by Sal Frelick and Joey Ortiz put runners at first and third with one out. Eric Haase then brought in Frelick with a groundout to increase the lead to 2-0.

Lively (10-8) kept Milwaukee scoreless over the remainder of his six-inning stint and yielded five hits while striking out five.

 

Rays cap sweep of Diamondbacks with 12-inning win

Dylan Carlson's run-scoring single in the 12th inning lifted the Tampa Bay Rays to a wild 8-7 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks and a three-game sweep of one of baseball's hottest teams coming into the series.

The defending NL champion Diamondbacks entered St. Petersburg with wins in 18 of their previous 21 games, but left with a third straight loss despite erasing a 6-0 deficit after six innings.

Arizona may also have lost one of its top players for a period of time after All-Star Ketel Marte had to be helped off the field in the ninth inning after aggravating a left ankle sprain. The second baseman missed three games with the injury before returning to the lineup Saturday.

Shortly after Marte's exit, the Diamondbacks forced extra innings when rookie Adrian Del Castillo belted a three-run homer off Tampa Bay closer Pete Fairbanks with one out in the top of the ninth to tie the game at 6-6.

Joc Pederson's two-out run-scoring single in the top of the 10th gave Arizona its lone lead of the day, which was short-lived as Taylor Walls delivered an RBI single in the Rays' half of the inning to extend the contest.

It remained a 7-7 tie until the bottom of the 12th. After Tampa's Jonny Deluca sacrificed the designated runner to third and Walls drew a walk, Carlson ended the game with a single off Justin Martinez (5-4) that gave Rays reliever Edwin Uceta his first major league win.

Uceta (1-0) held the Diamondbacks scoreless in the top of the 12th despite Arizona bringing the go-ahead run to third with none out.

Brandon Lowe and Christopher Morel each went 2 for 4 for Tampa Bay and were responsible for the game's first runs, as Morel doubled in the third and Lowe followed by homering in his second straight game.

The Rays then tagged Arizona starter Merrill Kelly for three more runs in the fifth.

Morel and Lowe each singled in front of Jose Caballero's two-run double that extended the lead to 4-0, and Caballero later scored on Junior Caminero's infield single.

Tampa Bay turned three walks and a wild pitch into another run in the sixth before the Diamondbacks began their rally an inning later.

Jake McCarthy's bases-loaded sacrifice fly in the seventh finally got Arizona on the board, and Corbin Carroll got the Diamondbacks within 6-3 with a two-run homer off Tyler Alexander in the eighth.

McCarthy later opened the ninth with a single before Pederson, who entered following Marte's injury, drew a walk off Fairbanks. Two batters later, Del Castillo sent a pitch into the right field seats to erase Tampa Bay's lead.

 

Ohtani's 39th homer backs Kershaw's gem as Dodgers edge Cardinals

Shohei Ohtani increased his NL home run lead with his 39th of the season, while Clayton Kershaw delivered his best start since returning from injury to lead the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 2-1 win over the struggling St. Louis Cardinals.

In his fifth start back from off-season shoulder surgery, Kershaw (2-2) scattered four hits and one walk over six shutout innings to help the Dodgers to a seventh win in 10 games. The victory also gave Los Angeles some breathing room atop the NL West, as second-place San Diego fell to three games behind the Dodgers after losing 3-2 to the Colorado Rockies on Sunday.

The Cardinals, meanwhile, have now lost six of seven and fell further behind in the NL wild card race. St. Louis now trails the Atlanta Braves by five games for the final playoff spot.

Kershaw left with a 2-0 lead after the Dodgers scored twice off St. Louis ace Sonny Gray in the fifth inning. Ohtani broke a scoreless tie when he launched the first pitch he saw in the fifth over the right field wall to move one short of his third career 40-homer season as an MLB player.

Mookie Betts followed Ohtani's blast with a walk before moving to third on Gavin Lux's single. Two batters later, Miguel Rojas singled in Betts to increase the margin.

Both Lux and Rojas finished with three hits.

The Cardinals cut into their deficit on Lars Nootbaar's pinch-hit homer off Daniel Hudson in the eighth inning. Michael Kopech protected Los Angeles' lead with a scoreless ninth, however, to record his second save of the series.

Gray (11-8) struck out six over five innings while allowing two runs and seven hits.

 

 

 

 

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