Mookie Betts’ two-out home run in the top of the 15th inning snapped a tie and lifted the Boston Red Sox to a 7-6 win over the Los Angeles Angels on Friday night/Saturday morning in Anaheim, Calif.
It was Betts’ second home run of the game — he also went deep in the first inning, on the fifth pitch of the game. His 15th-inning homer, his 23rd of the year, came on the 473rd pitch of the game.
Andrew Cashner (11-7), the last of eight Red Sox pitchers, did not allow a hit in four scoreless innings to get the win over Trevor Cahill (3-9), who was the Angels’ eighth pitcher as well. J.D. Martinez had a home run and a double for Boston.
Albert Pujols had four hits and drove in three runs, and Brian Goodwin hit two home runs for the Angels, who lost for the seventh time in eight games and fell a season-worst eight games under .500 (64-72). Shohei Ohtani had a rough game, going 0-for-8 with four strikeouts.
A’s 8, Yankees 2
Jurickson Profar and rookie Seth Brown drove in three runs apiece as Oakland won at New York. Profar homered in the second inning off CC Sabathia, and then snapped a 2-2 deadlock with a two-run double down the right field line off Tommy Kahnle (3-1) in the sixth.
Brown came off the bench to go 3-for-3, giving him seven hits in his past seven at-bats, one hit shy of the longest streak in franchise history.
A’s starter Brett Anderson (11-9) tossed six innings of two-run ball, allowing six hits and two walks with one strikeout.
Diamondbacks 5, Dodgers 4
Tim Locastro scored the go-ahead run in the eighth on a balk after reaching base on a strikeout as Arizona rallied to beat the Los Angeles in Phoenix.
Locastro opened the eighth with a swinging strikeout, but the pitch got away from catcher Russell Martin for a passed ball. Locastro stole second, went to third on a soft single to center by Adam Jones and was awarded home plate when right-hander Yimi Garcia (1-4) balked. Garcia failed to step off the rubber while looking to throw to first base.
Arizona tied its season high with its fifth consecutive victory.
Astros 7, Blue Jays 4
George Springer had a three-run homer and drove in four runs as Houston defeated host Toronto in the opener of their three-game series.
Springer’s home run broke a 1-1 tie in the fifth inning, and his RBI double in the sixth stretched the lead to 6-1.Alex Bregman had two hits and an RBI, and Michael Brantley and Jose Altuve also had two hits for the Astros, who have won seven of their past eight games and 10 of 12.
Astros starter Wade Miley threw 95 pitches before he was removed after 3 2/3 innings. He allowed just one run and two hits, but walked five and struck out five. Collin McHugh (4-5) pitched one third of an inning to get the win.
Twins 13, Tigers 5
C.J. Cron blasted a three-run homer and Minnesota rolled to its sixth straight victory and eighth consecutive on the road by pounding host Detroit.
It was the only homer of the night for the Twins, who now have 262 home runs, five shy of the single-season record set by the New York Yankees last season. Seattle hit 264 in 1997.
Minnesota scored 12 runs in the first four innings. Eddie Rosario had two hits, two runs scored and three RBIs. Max Kepler doubled twice, scored three runs and drove in another. Jorge Polanco had three hits and scored twice, while Nelson Cruz collected three hits, a run scored and two RBIs.
Rays 4, Indians 0
Jesus Aguilar belted a three-run homer to cap a four-run seventh inning as Tampa Bay blanked Cleveland in St. Petersburg, Fla.
Avisail Garcia had an RBI single with one out in the seventh inning for the Rays, who have won two consecutive overall and four of five against Cleveland this season.
The teams combined for just eight hits through the first 6 1/2 scoreless innings before Austin Meadows singled to right field off Shane Bieber (12-7) to lead off the seventh. Meadows advanced to third on a shallow single to center by Travis d’Arnaud before coming around to score on Garcia’s single to left field.
Cubs 7, Brewers 1
Nicholas Castellanos hit a pair of two-run home runs, and host Chicago cruised past Milwaukee behind starting pitcher Jose Quintana.
Castellanos hit home runs No. 21 and 22 in the first and second innings, and Quintana (12-8) helped himself with his first career extra base hit, a run-scoring double in the Cubs’ three-run second inning.
Castellanos has 11 home runs in 27 games with the Cubs, after hitting 11 in 100 games as a Detroit Tiger before being traded.
Braves 10, White Sox 7
Adeiny Hechavarria’s pinch-hit single in the seventh inning drove home two runs and gave host Atlanta some breathing room in withstanding a rally to beat Chicago.
The Braves loaded the bases on walks, and Hechavarria greeted reliever Evan Marshall with a two-out liner to center field that extended Atlanta’s lead to 8-5. Hechavarria has 10 hits and nine RBI in 12 games with the Braves since joining them on Aug. 16.
The White Sox scored twice with two outs in the ninth against reliever Anthony Swarzak. That forced the Braves to bring in closer Mark Melancon, who struck out Tim Anderson for the final out to earn his seventh save.
Nationals 7, Marlins 6
Anthony Rendon hit a two-run, walk-off single in the ninth inning, leading host Washington to a wild win over Miami.
Washington’s Daniel Hudson blew a one-run lead in the top of the ninth, allowing a two-run homer to Starlin Castro, who finished 3-for-5 with three RBIs. But Miami’s Ryne Stanek (0-4) also blew a save chance, giving the win to Hudson (8-3).
Howie Kendrick started the winning rally with a leadoff single, then advanced to second on Trea Turner’s walk and to third on a Jorge Alfaro passed ball. That set up Rendon, who lined a 2-1 slider to left.
Mets 11, Phillies 5
Amed Rosario keyed a five-run outburst in the eighth inning with a tiebreaking two-run single and New York snapped a six-game losing streak at the expense of host Philadelphia.
Todd Frazier followed Rosario’s hit with a three-run homer for the Mets, who hadn’t led for more than a single inning in any of their losses to the Atlanta Braves or Chicago Cubs over the past week.
That was the first of two late three-run homers for Frazier, whose second blast capped a five-run ninth. Michael Conforto hit a two-run homer earlier in the ninth.
Giants 8, Padres 3
Brandon Belt hit the third pitch of the bottom of the first inning for a two-run home run, and Madison Bumgarner threw a dominant seven innings, highlighting host San Francisco’s victory over San Diego.
Belt finished with three RBIs, Buster Posey had three hits, and Mike Yastrzemski homered and scored three times for the Giants. Belt’s homer was his 16th of the season.
Bumgarner (9-8) allowed only one run, on Machado’s 28th homer, while giving up four hits and two walks. He struck out nine.
Pirates 9, Rockies 4
Melky Cabrera hit a three-run homer, Starling Marte had three hits and tied a career high with four runs, and Pittsburgh beat Colorado in Denver.
Josh Bell also had three hits while Kevin Newman, Bryan Reynolds, Colin Moran and Cabrera had two hits each for the Pirates, who continued their domination of the Rockies at Coors Field. Pittsburgh has won 13 of 17 games in Denver dating back to July 27, 2014.
Every position player had at least one hit and starting pitcher Dario Agrazal (4-3) drove in a run for the Pirates, who have won six of their last eight games. Agrazal (4-3) allowed three runs on nine hits in five-plus innings.
Rangers 6, Mariners 3
Jose Trevino, the No. 9 hitter in the lineup, went 3-for-3 with two doubles and two RBIs as Texas defeated Seattle in Arlington, Texas.
Danny Santana homered, and left-hander Kolby Allard won for the third time in five starts since being acquired from Atlanta in a July 30 trade for reliever Chris Martin.
Allard (3-0) allowed two runs on seven hits in 5 2/3 innings. He walked one and struck out four. Right-hander Emmanuel Clase pitched a scoreless ninth for his first career save.
Orioles 14, Royals 2
Hanser Alberto and Pedro Severino combined for nine hits as Baltimore trounced host Kansas City. The Orioles had season highs in runs and hits (21).
John Means (10-9) picked up his first career win against the Royals. Means, who was a teammate of Royals center fielder Bubba Starling at Gardner-Edgerton (Kan.) High School, allowed two runs on five hits, tying his career best with seven innings pitched.
Eric Skoglund (0-1) took the loss. He gave up six runs on nine hits in four innings. Jorge Soler entered the Royals’ record books in the first with his 38th home run, tying Mike Moustakas’ 2017 season.
Reds-Cardinals postponed
The game between the Cincinnati Reds and St. Louis Cardinals was postponed because of inclement weather, setting up a pair of doubleheaders this weekend in St. Louis.
Saturday was already scheduled to be a doubleheader, with games scheduled for 1:15 p.m. ET and 7 p.m. ET. Friday’s postponement will now make Sunday a doubleheader day, as well, with games at 1:05 p.m. ET and 7:05 p.m. ET.
—Field Level Media