Francisco Alvarez's solo home run in the bottom of the ninth inning lifted the New York Mets to a dramatic 4-3 win over the Baltimore Orioles in Monday's opener of an important three-game series for both teams.
With one out and the game tied at 3-3, Alvarez crushed a 3-0 fastball from Seranthony Dominguez well clear of the wall in left center field to allow the Mets to close the gap in the National League wild card race and knock the Orioles out of first place in the American League East.
J.D. Martinez had a two-run homer in the first inning for New York, which moved within 1 1/2 games of the Atlanta Braves for the NL's final wild card spot with its third win in four games.
The Orioles have now lost three of four and dropped a half-game back of the idle New York Yankees for the AL's top spot.
Baltimore made it interesting, however, by scoring twice in the seventh inning to erase a 3-1 deficit.
Ryan Mountcastle began the rally with a lead-off double and took third on a groundout before being forced home when Mets starter David Peterson was called for a balk. Ramon Urias then followed with a solo home run to knot the score at 3-3.
Peterson had been cruising up until that point and departed after allowing three runs - two earned - while striking out eight through seven innings.
Martinez followed a first-inning single by Mark Vientos with his 13th homer of the season to give the Mets an early advantage. They increased the margin to 3-0 in the fourth when Pete Alonso doubled and later crossed the plate on Tyrone Taylor's two-out single.
The Orioles answered in the fifth with the help of an error by Peterson, who threw errantly on a pickoff attempt to send Urias to third after the infielder reached on a double. Urias would then score on a groundout by Jackson Holliday.
Urias and Mountcastle each finished with two hits for the Orioles, while Baltimore starter Trevor Rogers struck out five while permitting three runs in 4 2/3 innings.
Diaz's homer in ninth caps rally, keeps Astros hot
The Houston Astros also earned a key win via a walk-off home run, as Yainer Diaz's ninth-inning blast gave the AL West leaders a 5-4 comeback victory over the Boston Red Sox.
Houston scored once in each of the final two innings to rally for its 11th win in 12 games, with Diaz delivering the final blow by launching Kenley Jansen's pitch well over the left field wall with one out in the bottom of the ninth.
The Astros tied the game at 4-4 with a two-out rally an inning earlier, as Chas McCormick singled off reliever Lucas Sims and stole second before racing home on Mauricio Dubon's clutch single.
Yordan Alvarez and Victor Caratini each collected three hits to help Houston increase its lead over the second-place Seattle Mariners to five games in the division.
The slumping Red Sox lost for the eighth time in 12 games despite taking a 4-2 lead on Masataka Yoshida's pinch-hit two-run homer off reliever Tayler Scott in the top of the sixth inning. Romy Gonzalez was aboard for the blast after reaching on an error by Houston second baseman Jose Altuve, one of a season-high four miscues for the Astros.
Houston got closer in its half of the sixth, however. Back-to-back singles by Jeremy Pena and Caratini put runners on first and third for Jon Singleton, who drove in Pena with a sacrifice fly to trim the lead to 4-3.
Astros starter Yusei Kikuchi struck out seven over 5 2/3 innings while allowing three runs, one earned, though his night began ominously when Boston's Jarren Duran connected on his 16th homer of the season on the game's first pitch.
Rob Refsnyder and Rafael Devers each singled later in the first inning before another Houston error - a misplay by rookie third baseman Shay Whitcomb - enabled another run to score.
The Astros were held scoreless by Tanner Houck through the first three innings before breaking through in the bottom of the fourth, which Alvarez began with a double and Diaz followed with a single. Alvarez was later thrown out at home on a fielder's choice grounder, but Caratini singled in Diaz and Pena also scored on the play on an errant throw by Boston catcher Danny Jansen.
Houck worked six innings and struck out eight while surrendering three runs - two earned.
Stone, Muncy propel Dodgers over Mariners in Turner's Los Angeles return
Gavin Stone racked up a career-high 10 strikeouts in seven innings, Max Muncy homered in his first game back from the injured list, and the Los Angeles Dodgers spoiled Justin Tuner's return to Dodger Stadium with a 3-0 win over the Seattle Mariners.
Muncy, sidelined since May 16 by a right oblique strain, came through with a two-run homer in the seventh inning to back Stone's superb start and help the Dodgers win the opener of this three-game series between playoff hopefuls.
Gavin Lux homered earlier in the seventh to break a scoreless deadlock and a terrific pitching duel between Stone and Bryan Woo, who had allowed just one hit until Lux drove a pitch over the wall in center field.
Woo (5-2) then hit Will Smith with a pitch and was removed in favour of Yimi Garcia, who was greeted by Muncy's towering drive to right that quickly made the lead 3-0.
Stone (11-5) yielded just two hits and two walks before departing, with Joe Kelly pitching a scoreless eighth before Evan Phillips retired the side in order in the ninth to notch his 16th save.
Woo was charged with two runs in 6 1/3 innings in slumping Seattle's sixth loss in seven games. The defeat dropped the Mariners five games back of first-place Houston in the AL West.
Turner went 1 for 3 in his first appearance at Dodger Stadium in nearly two years. The 39-year-old infielder made two NL All-Star teams during a successful nine-year tenure with the Dodgers from 2014-22.
MLB: Brewers, Rays cap weekend sweeps
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.
MLB: Blanco hits 2 home runs, drives in 7 in Royals' rout of Reds
Dairon Blanco homered twice and drove in a career-high seven runs to power the Kansas City Royals to a 13-1 rout of the Cincinnati Reds on Saturday night.
Blanco, who wielded a bat painted to look like a yellow crayon, hit a two-run homer deep to center field on the first pitch he saw from Reds starter Nick Lodolo in the second inning.
Then the 31-year-old Cuban cleared the loaded bases with a shot deep into the left-field seats in the third and drove in another run with a single in the fourth. He came into the game with just one homer and five RBIs this season.
Vinnie Pasquantino and Hunter Renfroe each added three hits for the Royals, who finished with 16 and won their third straight.
Michael Wacha benefited from the big offensive night. He limited the Reds to four hits over six scoreless innings with one walk and a season-high nine strikeouts.
Lodolo was roughed up for eight runs and eight hits in 2 1/3 innings.
Jeimer Candelario hit his 20th home run for the Reds, who had a four-game winning streak snapped.
Sale beats Angels for 14th win
Chris Sale struck out 10 over six innings to tie for the major league wins lead and Marcell Ozuna went 3 for 3 with an early three-run homer as the Atlanta Braves rolled to a 11-3 win over the Los Angeles Angels.
Sale allowed two runs and six hits with two walks to end a four-start winless streak. He leads the National League with 14 wins and tied Detroit’s Tarik Skubal for most in the majors.
Sale improved to 8-0 in 11 appearances against the Angels with a 1.24 ERA – his lowest versus any team he’s faced at least 10 times.
Michael Harris led off the game against Griffin Canning with a double and Austin Riley singled before Ozuna connected for his 36th home run and a 3-0 lead.
Atlanta broke the game open with a five-run fifth and knocked out Canning.
Whit Merrifield opened the inning with a homer and Travis d’Arnaud had a two-run double before Ramon Laureano’s two-run shot made it 9-0.
Severino goes distance for Mets
Luis Severino pitched his first complete game in over six years and was backed by home runs from Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso as the New York Mets defeated the last-place Miami Marlins, 4-0.
Severino allowed four hits with one walk and struck out eight to end a personal three-game losing streak. He threw a season-high 113 pitches and recorded his second career complete game and first since May 2, 2018, at Houston for the Yankees.
The shutout was the first by a Mets starter since Jacob deGrom blanked Washington on April 23, 2021.
Lindor led off the bottom of the first against Max Meyer with his 24th home run and Alonso did the same in the second, his 27th.
New York extended its lead in the third on Jesse Winker’s RBI single and Mark Vientos doubled home Lindor in the fourth.
The Mets scored once in each of the first four innings for the first time since May 26, 1995, against San Francisco.
MLB: Civale, Adames help Brewers cool Guardians
Aaron Civale pitched six stellar innings and Willy Adames hit a three-run homer in the first inning as the Milwaukee Brewers ended the Cleveland Guardians’ five-game winning streak with a 5-3 victory in a matchup of division leaders on Friday night.
Civale, who began his career with Cleveland in 2019, gave up four hits with one walk and four strikeouts.
After going 0-2 with a 5.40 ERA in his first five appearances with Milwaukee, he’s 2-0 with a 1.46 ERA over his last two starts.
The Brewers jumped on Gavin Williams for three runs in the first.
Ty Black reached on a fielder’s choice with one out and William Conteras walked before Adames sent a 431-foot drive over the wall in right-center.
It was Adames’ franchise record 10th three-run homer – the most in the majors this season.
Jose Ramirez and David Fry homered in the eighth to draw the Guardians within 5-3, but Joel Payamps retired the side in order in the ninth for his sixth save with regular closer Devin Williams unavailable.
Lowly White Sox end Astros’ win streak
Luis Robert Jr. had two home runs among his four hits and drove in four runs as the major league-worst Chicago White Sox snapped the Houston Astros’ eight-game winning streak with a 5-4 victory.
Robert hit a two-run homer in the third and added a solo shot in the fifth as the White Sox built a 4-1 lead. It’s the seventh career two-homer game for Robert and his first since March 30 against Detroit.
Jake Meyers and Jon Singleton homered for the Astros, who struck out a season-high 16 times in their first loss since Aug. 5.
The White Sox (30-93) are 3-5 in their last eight games following 21 consecutive losses.
Garrett Crochet allowed one run on four hits over four innings with nine strikeouts. Chad Kuhl gave up Singleton’s homer in the ninth but fanned Jose Altuve for his first save of the season.
Witt continues surge as Royals win
Bobby Witt Jr. homered, doubled and singled to raise his major league-leading average to .352 and Michael Lorenzen pitched into the sixth inning to lift the Kansas City Royals to a 7-1 win over the Cincinnati Reds.
Witt hit a four-seam fastball from Nick Martinez 430 feet into the upper deck for his 25th homer in the fourth inning. He doubled and scored on a fielder’s choice in the sixth and had an infield single in the seventh.
The Reds intentionally walked him with two outs in the ninth, just before he scored on Vinnie Pasquantino's 18th homer.
Witt is batting .422 (27 for 64) with seven homers and 19 RBIs in his last 16 games. He became the third Royals player to hit 25 homers and steal 25 bases in consecutive seasons.
Lorenzen, acquired by the Royals from Texas on July 29, allowed a run and two hits in 5 2/3 innings and left after 83 pitches.
Salvador Perez, Adam Frazier and Freddie Fermin also drove in runs for Kansas City, helping snap Cincinnati's four-game win streak.
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