Travis d’Arnaud hit a game-winning homer with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning as the Tampa Bay Rays overcame blowing a late lead and edged the New York Yankees 4-3 in St. Petersburg, Fla., on Saturday.
Jul 6, 2019; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Rays catcher Travis d’Arnaud (37) celebrates with his teammates after hitting a walk off home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to beat the New York Yankees 4-3 at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Douglas DeFelice-USA TODAY Sports
The Rays were one strike away from getting the win in the top of the inning, but left-hander Colin Poche allowed a game-tying homer to Aaron Hicks. Poche (2-1) blew his first career save attempt but kept the game tied by striking out Gary Sanchez.
After Chad Green (2-3) easily got the first two outs in the bottom of the frame, d’Arnaud won it by lining a first-pitch fastball just over the right field fence.
D’Arnaud’s sixth homer with the Rays ended Tampa Bay’s six-game losing streak to the Yankees. It also gave the Rays only their third win in 12 meetings against New York this season.
Nationals 6, Royals 0
Max Scherzer won his seventh straight start with seven scoreless innings and stole his second career base, while Kurt Suzuki hit a two-run homer as host Washington beat Kansas City.
Both teams wore throwback 1969 uniforms, with the Nationals paying homage to the Expos, who moved from Montreal prior to the 2005 season. Washington won for the fifth time in six games and is 27-11 since May 24.
Scherzer (9-5), who has not lost since May 17, allowed four hits with 11 strikeouts. He did walk one and threw 75 strikes on 103 pitches. He has fanned 79 batters in his last seven starts against just six walks.
Twins 7, Rangers 4
Marwin Gonzalez homered, Miguel Sano tripled and scored twice, and Jason Castro drove in three runs to lead Minnesota to a victory over Texas in Minneapolis.
Gonzalez’s home run was the 166th of the season for the Twins, matching the team’s entire total for the 2018 season while also extending their major league record for home runs before the All-Star break.
Michael Pineda (6-4) won his second consecutive start, allowing one run on five hits over six innings while finishing with a season-high nine strikeouts. It marked the 13th time in 17 starts this season that Pineda allowed three or fewer earned runs.
Indians 7, Reds 2
Roberto Perez highlighted his second career four-hit performance with a go-ahead two-run homer in the eighth inning, as visiting Cleveland posted a victory over Cincinnati.
Shane Bieber (8-3) tossed eight strong innings, and Francisco Lindor belted a pair of solo shots to record his 11th career multi-homer performance for the Indians, who have won five in a row.
Yasiel Puig launched a two-run homer in the first inning and finished with three of the five hits for the Reds, who saw their three-game winning streak come to a halt.
Astros 4, Angels 0
Gerrit Cole continued his run of exceptional pitching, and Houston squared its three-game series with visiting Los Angeles.
Cole (9-5), the American League Pitcher of the Month for June, twirled seven shutout innings at the Angels to open July in similar fashion. He surrendered three hits and two walks while recording nine strikeouts, lowering his ERA to 1.76 over his last eight starts dating to May 27.
During that stretch, Cole has allowed 10 earned runs on 35 hits and 13 walks with 70 strikeouts over 51 innings while going 5-0.
Cubs 6, White Sox 3
Kyle Schwarber and Javier Baez both hit two-run doubles in a decisive five-run fifth inning, and Jon Lester pitched 6 1/3 strong innings to lift the visiting Cubs over the White Sox.
Eight consecutive Cubs reached base to start the fifth, including the first three via walk as White Sox ace Lucas Giolito struggled with his command. Schwarber followed with a two-run, bloop double to the opposite field in left to give the Cubs a 3-1 lead before Baez chased Giolito from the game with a two-run double one batter later.
Recently named an American League All-Star, Giolito (11-3) allowed six runs and four hits in four-plus innings with five walks and five strikeouts. He has two losses and a 12.96 ERA in two starts against the Cubs this season, compared to a 2.26 ERA in 15 starts against the rest of the majors.
Red Sox 10, Tigers 6
Andrew Benintendi had four of his team’s 17 hits, scored two runs and knocked in another as visiting Boston downed Detroit in a game delayed four hours and five minutes by rain.
Mookie Betts supplied three hits while scoring two runs and driving in two more for Boston. Marco Hernandez contributed three hits and scored twice, while Christian Vazquez knocked in two runs.
Rick Porcello (6-7) collected the win despite allowing six runs on nine hits in 5 2/3 innings.
Mets 6, Phillies 5
Tomas Nido’s three-run double capped a wild fifth inning and gave host New York the lead for good in a win over Philadelphia.
The Mets won for just the third time in 12 games. The Phillies fell to 9-16 since June 9 — though they are 5-1 against the Mets in that span.
Until Nido’s hit, the Mets were in danger of seeing more people ejected than runners cross home plate in the fifth. Third baseman Todd Frazier and manager Mickey Callaway were each ejected during a testy inning in which Phillies starter Jake Arrieta hit his second and third batters of the game.
Marlins 5, Braves 4
Caleb Smith overcame a shaky beginning to his first start off the injured list, completing six innings and helping visiting Miami snap an eight-game losing streak against Atlanta.
Smith (4-4) staggered in the first three innings of his first start since June 6, giving up four runs (three earned) on five hits and one walk. But the lefty retired the final nine batters he faced and earned his first win since May 1. He finished with six strikeouts.
Closer Sergio Romo worked around a leadoff single to Nick Markakis in the ninth and notched his 16th save. The Braves still lead the season series 9-2.
Pirates 12, Brewers 2
Kevin Newman hit a solo homer and a two-run single to help Pittsburgh pound visiting Milwaukee, giving the teams a split through the first two games of a weekend series.
Starling Marte added a two-run triple and an RBI single, and Melky Cabrera hit a two-run homer for Pittsburgh, which totaled 17 hits.
Mike Moustakas and Yasmani Grandal each hit a solo homer for the Brewers.
Orioles 8, Blue Jays 1
Renato Nunez hit a two-run homer, Stevie Wilkerson hit a solo blast and right-hander Andrew Cashner pitched seven strong innings as visiting Baltimore defeated Toronto.
The Orioles have won the first two games of the three-game series leading into the All-Star break. They have a 5-3 advantage in the season series with the Blue Jays.
Cashner (9-3) allowed one run, three hits, no walks and a wild pitch. He struck out four in winning his third straight start.
—Field Level Media