Baseball capsules: Luis Severino pitches eight solid innings as New York Yankees blank Kansas City
Helped by a great first-inning catch that forced center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury from the game with a concussion and sprained neck, Luis Severino won for the first time in a month and led the New York Yankees to a 3-0 victory over the visiting Kansas City Royals on Wednesday night.
On the first pitch of the game, Ellsbury sprinted 107 feet and raised his glove above his head to catch Alcides Escobar’s fly. Ellsbury’s head jarred into the wall as the ball landed in his glove, and he crumpled to the field. After being checked by manager Joe Girardi and head athletic trainer Steve Donohue, he remained in the game but was replaced by Aaron Hicks starting the second.
Didi Gregorius homered against Jason Hammel (1-6) leading off the third inning.
Severino (3-2) allowed four hits and struck out seven over eight innings. Dellin Betances struck out the side in a perfect ninth for his fourth save.
Cardinals 6, Dodgers 1: Mike Leake allowed four hits over eight innings and St. Louis beat host Los Angeles.
Jedd Gyorko had three hits and drew a walk in the two-run second inning that gave the Cardinals the lead for good.
Yadier Molina hit a solo home run in the seventh inning to extend his hitting streak to 13 games. Molina’s streak ties Kolten Wong for the Cardinals’ longest this season.
Leake (5-2) struck out five and walked none. He maintained a National League-leading 1.91 ERA.
Dodgers starter Rich Hill walked seven and allowed five earned runs in 4-plus innings. He threw two more balls (42) than strikes (40).
Hill (1-2) walked four in a two-run, 36-pitch second inning.
Diamondbacks 8, White Sox 6: Jake Lamb homered off a left-hander for only the second time this season, five Diamondbacks drove in at least one run and Arizona completed a three-game sweep over Chicago in Phoenix and won for the eighth time in nine games.
The Diamondbacks scored six runs in the fifth inning, chasing starter Jose Quintana (2-6) and building a six-run lead, but they had to hold off a White Sox rally.
Jose Abreu and Leury Garcia homered for the White Sox, who were swept for the second time on a 3-7 road trip. The Los Angeles Angels did it to start the trip.
Andrew Chafin (1-0) threw a scoreless fifth inning to get the victory in relief of Randall Delgado.
Twins 4, Orioles 3: Jose Berrios took a two-hitter into the seventh inning, Kennys Vargas drove in two runs and Minnesota completed its first three-game sweep in Baltimore since 1996.
Eduardo Escobar had two hits and an RBI for the first-place Twins, who have won six of seven and are a major league best 14-5 on the road.
Berrios (3-0) allowed three runs and four hits over 6 1/3 innings, striking out seven. He was pulled in the seventh after solo homers by Chris Davis and Jonathan Schoop got Baltimore to 4-3.
Brandon Kintzler got the last three outs for his 12th save in 13 tries.
Orioles starter Chris Tillman (1-1) gave up four runs and nine hits in five innings.
Blue Jays 8, Brewers 4: Ryan Goins hit his first career grand slam, one of four homers for Toronto as it swept host Milwaukee in a two-game interleague series and won three straight to finish a seven-game trip.
Kevin Pillar, Devon Travis and Jose Bautista hit solo shots for the Blue Jays, who have homered in four straight games. Bautista’s towering shot caromed off the Miller Lite sign high above the center-field wall 400 feet from the plate.
Marcus Stroman (5-2) allowed four hits and a season-high four walks but won his fourth straight game, pitching into the sixth before Domingo Santana’s two-out, three-run homer cut Toronto’s lead to four.
Athletics 4, Marlins 1: Sonny Gray struck out a season-high 11 over seven innings in his best start in two years and Khris Davis homered to lead Oakland past Miami in Oakland, California.
Jed Lowrie matched his career high with four hits including a pair of doubles, and Matt Joyce reached base three times and scored to help the A’s earn a split of the two-game interleague series.
Gray (2-1) was dominant while earning his second straight win. He walked one and allowed three hits.
Santiago Casilla got the last three outs for his seventh save.
Edinson Volquez (0-7) allowed three runs over six innings and tied the Marlins franchise record for most consecutive losses to open a season.
Nationals 5, Mariners 1: Anthony Rendon hit a three-run homer for his eighth of the season and Tanner Roark allowed a run over seven innings to lead Washington past visiting Seattle.
Rendon has three homers and eight RBIs in the Nationals’ two victories to open this three-game series.
Roark (4-2) completed seven innings for the first time in seven starts and held the Mariners to 1 for 7 with runners in scoring position.
Mariners rookie Sam Gaviglio (0-1) allowed all five runs – one earned – over six innings as the Mariners lost their fifth straight.
Seattle’s Robinson Cano went 3 for 4.
Red Sox 9, Rangers 4: Dustin Pedroia waved home the tiebreaking run on a wild pitch, then singled in two more during host Boston’s seven-run seventh inning against Texas as the Red Sox won their third straight.
Chris Sale (5-2) struck out six, falling short in his attempt to become the first pitcher in baseball’s modern era to strike out at least 10 batters in nine straight games in one season. He allowed three earned runs, six hits and a walk in 7 1/3 innings and received more runs of support in the seventh inning alone than in any previous game this season.
Sam Dyson (1-5) faced seven batters in relief of Martin Perez and gave up four hits, three walks – two intentional – and a wild pitch without retiring a batter. Mike Napoli homered for Texas, which has lost three of four to follow a 10-game winning streak.
Pirates 12, Braves 5 (10): Gift Ngoepe doubled to drive in Andrew McCutchen for the go-ahead run before Pittsburgh hit three straight homers during a seven-run 10th inning to beat host Atlanta.
Pittsburgh’s Jose Osuna hit a bases-loaded, two-run single off Jose Ramirez in the ninth to tie it at 5.
After Ngoepe’s double, the Pirates put the game away with Josh Harrison’s two-run single, followed by homers from David Freese, Osuna and Jordy Mercer – all off Josh Collmenter (0-2). Freese’s homer was a two-run shot.
McCutchen snapped a 0-for-15 slump with a pinch-hit single to lead off the 10th.
The last time the Pirates hit three straight homers was Sept. 13, 2013, against the Cubs. Adam Frazier hit a three-run homer in the second.
Felipe Rivero (2-1) pitched a scoreless ninth.
Rays 5, Angels 2: Steven Souza Jr. homered twice to rally Tampa Bay past Los Angeles in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Colby Rasmus also went deep for the Rays and Erasmo Ramirez pitched six strong innings in his third start of the season.
Albert Pujols hit his 597th career home run, a two run shot in the first for the Angels. It was his sixth of the season.
Ramirez (3-0) gave up four hits and walked one while striking out two. Alex Colome got the last three outs for his 12th save.
Souza tied it with a two-run homer off Ricky Nolasco (2-4) in the second. Back-to-back doubles by Corey Dickerson and Kevin Kiermaier put the Rays up 3-2 in the third. Rasmus and Souza then homered in the seventh.
Rockies 7, Phillies 2: Tyler Chatwood allowed just one hit in seven scoreless innings, Carlos Gonzalez homered and Colorado beat host Philadelphia.
Chatwood befuddled the Phillies, striking out a season-high eight batters and only allowing a single by Andrew Knapp in the fifth inning. It was the third time Chatwood (4-6) earned a win in his career while allowing just one hit.
Gonzalez hit a three-run homer for the Rockies, who have won four straight. It was their major league-best 18th win on the road.
The Rockies pounded starter Jeremy Hellickson (5-2) for seven runs in the third.
Cubs 5, Giants 4: Anthony Rizzo hit two home runs, Kyle Hendricks tossed seven strong innings and Chicago held on to beat visiting San Francisco.
Rizzo hit solo homers off Matt Moore (2-5) in the second and fourth innings for his 14th career multihomer game. He has four homers over his last four games and 11 on the season.
Javier Baez made it 3-2 with a sacrifice fly in the fifth. Miguel Montero doubled and scored in the seventh. Jason Heyward tripled and came around on Jon Jay’s sacrifice fly in the eighth after the Giants left the bases loaded.
Hendricks (4-2) gave up two runs and five hits. He struck out five and walked none over seven innings, retiring 15 of the last 16 batters he faced.
Wade Davis gave up a two-run homer to Mac Williamson with one out in the ninth to make it 5-4 before finishing up for his 10th savein 10 chances.
Tigers 6, Astros 3: Jose Iglesias finished a triple shy of the cycle, Ian Kinsler had two hits and scored twice, and Detroit beat host Houston to snap a three-game skid.
Iglesias, who scored three runs, doubled to lead off the eighth. He moved to second on a single by Kinsler before scoring on Alex Avila’s RBI grounder off Chris Devenski (3-3) to give the Tigers a 3-2 lead. Following an intentional walk to Miguel Cabrera, Kinsler scored on Victor Martinez RBI grounder.
Iglesias then hit a two-run homer in the ninth.
In the third, Iglesias scored on Charlie Morton’s wild pitch before Kinsler scored on Cabrera’s double-play grounder to give Detroit a 2-0 lead.
Shane Greene (1-0) retired all five batters he faced for the win.
Padres 6, Mets 5: Hunter Renfroe snapped an eighth-inning tie with a titanic home run, Brad Hand pitched out of a huge jam in the ninth and San Diego rallied for the win in New York.
New York loaded the bases with nobody out against Hand on two singles and a walk. But the left-hander struck out Curtis Granderson and Rene Rivera on breaking balls before Juan Lagares flied out to end it.
An excited Hand pounded his glove after holding on for his third major league save and first this season.
After trailing by four, the Padres pulled even when Wil Myers rocketed a two-run single off the top of the right-center fence in the seventh. Renfroe then homered off Josh Smoker (0-2).
Ryan Buchter (3-2) worked a hitless inning for the win.
Reds 4, Indians 3: Billy Hamilton scored from first base on Zack Cozart’s two-run single with two outs in the ninth inning against closer Cody Allen to lift Cincinnati past host Cleveland.
The speedy Hamilton reached after narrowly beating out an apparent game-ending double play – he was ruled safe after a replay review, putting runners at first and third for Cozart.
With Hamilton running, Cozart hit a sinking liner to left. Michael Brantley couldn’t make a diving catch and the ball rolled a few feet away. Pinch-runner Arismendy Alcantara scored to tie it and Hamilton also raced home.
Allen (0-2) blew his first save since Aug. 17. He had recorded 22 consecutive saves.
Michael Lorenzen (3-0) pitched the eighth, and Raisel Iglesias retired Brantley with two on in the ninth for his eighth save.
The game was delayed by rain in the top of the sixth inning for 2 hours, 1 minute.