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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

MLB roundup: Andrew Benintendi, Jackie Bradley Jr. lift Red Sox back to .500

Boston Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale is greeted in the dugout after pitching nine innings against the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday. The Red Sox won 2-1 in 12 innings. (Gail Burton / Associated Press)
Associated Press

BALTIMORE – After Chris Sale and Jackie Bradley Jr. got Boston to the 12th inning, Andrew Benintendi took it from there.

Benintendi delivered the tiebreaking home run, and Boston received a masterful pitching performance from Sale and a game-saving catch from Bradley in a 2-1 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday night.

With their fifth win in six games, the Red Sox reached .500 (19-19) for the first time since they were 1-1.

The game appeared to have reached its conclusion in the bottom of the 11th, when Trey Mancini hit a drive to deep center. Bradley ran back, dug his right foot into the barrier for leverage and reached far over the 7-foot wall to snag the ball.

“Just went back, tracked it, and got a good jump on it,” Bradley said. “Timed my footsteps the way I wanted to, and got up there and executed.”

The players in the Baltimore dugout went from jubilant to stunned as Bradley pulled the ball from his glove.

“Good players and great teams make great plays in big spots, and that was an ultra-exceptional play,” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said.

Mancini tipped his helmet to Bradley to acknowledge the catch, which enabled Ryan Brasier (2-1) to earn the victory.

“It really stinks to be on the losing side of it and think you hit a walk-off, but you’ve got to tip your cap to him there,” Mancini said. “That was insane.”

Not long after that, Benintendi connected off Yefry Ramirez (0-1) and Heath Hembree struck out the side in the 12th for his first save.

With Sale leading the way, the Orioles fanned 22 times – most since the team moved from St. Louis in 1954. In the seventh, Sale struck out the side on nine pitches, a feat known as an immaculate inning.

Sale struck out 14 and allowed one run, three hits and no walks over eight brilliant innings. Vying for his second straight victory after starting 0-5, the lefty was pulled with the score tied after throwing 108 pitches.

Diamondbacks 3, Rays 2 (13)

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Wilmer Flores snapped a 13th-inning tie with an RBI single, helping Arizona beat Tampa Bay, ending a three-game losing streak.

Eduardo Escobar made up for a crucial throwing error, leading off the 13th with a single off Adam Kolarek (2-1) – Arizona’s first hit since the fifth inning. He moved to second on a double-play grounder before scoring on Flores’ two-out broken-bat hit to right field off Chaz Roe.

Archie Bradley (2-3) pitched three scoreless innings to get the win. Zack Godley, the eighth Diamondbacks pitcher, worked a perfect 13th for his first career save.

Arizona pitchers combined to set a franchise record with 23 strikeouts.

The Rays rallied from a 2-0 deficit to force extra innings, scoring on Escobar’s eighth-inning error and Kevin Kiermaier’s two-out, pinch-hit single in the ninth.

Brewers 7, Nationals 3

MILWAUKEE – Christian Yelich hit his major leading-leading 16th home run and Milwaukee won its sixth straight game, beating Washington.

The Nationals lost all three at Miller Park, marking the first time they’ve been swept this season, and have dropped four in a row overall.

Washington loaded the bases with one out in the ninth inning, but Josh Hader struck out pinch-hitter Kurt Suzuki and Adam Eaton for his 10th save in 10 chances. Mike Moustakas and Manny Pina also connected for Milwaukee, which leads the National League with 65 home runs.

Yelich’s solo homer came on the fourth pitch of the game from Jeremy Hellickson (2-1). The reigning NL MVP finished with three hits and scored twice.

Brandon Woodruff (5-1) struck out a career-high nine while notching his third straight win. He gave up one run in six innings.

Rangers 9, Pirates 6

PITTSBURGH – Hunter Pence connected for a pinch-hit grand slam in the eighth inning and Isiah Kiner-Falefa drove in the go-ahead run in the ninth as Texas rallied past Pittsburgh.

Kiner-Falefa doubled off Tyler Lyons (1-1) and an offline relay throw allowed Nomar Mazara to score. Rougned Odor followed with a two-run homer.

Ariel Jurado (1-1) worked the eighth and got the ball to Chris Martin, who earned his first save of the season and first since 2015.

Joey Gallo gave Texas the early lead with a two-run shot that bounced off the concourse beyond the right-center field wall and landed in the Allegheny River. The estimated 443-foot blast was Gallo’s 100th career home run in his 377th game, making him the fastest player to 100 homers in American League history. He also became the first player in major league history to hit 100 home runs before reaching 100 singles (he has 93).

Pirates first baseman Josh Bell’s estimated 472-foot drive tied the game in the fourth inning and is the fourth ever to reach the river on a fly.

Phillies 5, Cardinals 0

ST. LOUIS – Jerad Eickhoff allowed three hits in eight innings, Cesar Hernandez homered and drove in three and Philadelphia beat St. Louis.

Aided by a pair of double plays, Eickhoff (2-1) faced just two batters over the minimum through the first seven innings as the NL East-leading Phillies took two of three from the Cardinals.

After winning 20 of their first 30 games, the Cardinals lost for the sixth time in their last seven.

Jack Flaherty (3-3) faced just one batter over the minimum in his first four innings before getting derailed by a 43-pitch fifth.

Padres 3, Mets 2

SAN DIEGO – Hunter Renfroe hit a tiebreaking solo shot in the seventh inning, center fielder Manuel Margot robbed Pete Alonso of a homer and San Diego beat New York.

Eric Hosmer also went deep for San Diego, Matt Strahm pitched into the seventh and Gerardo Reyes (2-0) got the win with 1 2/3 scoreless innings of relief. Strahm got a big assist from Margot, who jumped in front of the home bullpen to bring back Alonso’s drive for the last out in the sixth.

Kirby Yates allowed an infield single and a walk with two outs in the ninth but struck out Tomas Nido to finish his 15th save.

Renfroe’s shot against reliever Tyler Bashlor (0-1) was his ninth of the year and came three days after his game-ending, pinch-hit grand slam sank the Dodgers.

Cubs 3, Marlins 2 (11)

CHICAGO – Jason Heyward homered leading off the 11th inning to lift surging Chicago over Miami in Addison Russell’s return to the majors following a 40-game ban for violating MLB’s domestic violence policy.

Heyward lined a 1-2 pitch from Jose Quijada (0-1) into the basket in left field, helping Chicago hang on after blowing a 2-1 lead in the ninth. Carl Edwards Jr. (1-1), recalled from the minors Monday, pitched a perfect 11th with two strikeouts to get the win.

The Cubs won their second straight game on a walk-off shot. Kris Bryant hit a three-run drive in the ninth Tuesday in a 5-2 win.

Kyle Hendricks allowed an unearned run and five hits over eight innings. Javier Baez drove in a run, and Anthony Rizzo had two hits and sparkling fielding plays on two bunts as Chicago won for the ninth time in 10 games.

Ddogers 9, Braves 4

LOS ANGELES – Enrique Hernandez, Max Muncy and Justin Turner each homered, and Los Angeles beat Atlanta for its 10th straight win at home, where it earned a third consecutive sweep.

Clayton Kershaw (2-0) gave up four runs and a season-high nine hits in 6 2/3 innings. He struck out a season-low four and walked one to remain unbeaten in 11 career starts against the Braves.

The Dodgers took an early 3-0 lead against Mike Foltynewicz (0-2). Hernandez homered into the left field pavilion with two outs in the second. Muncy’s blast to right came in the third.

The Braves pulled to 3-2 in the fourth on Ronald Acuna Jr.’s two-run homer.

Astros 9, Royals 0

HOUSTON – Michael Brantley homered twice, Brad Peacock pitched seven innings and Josh James completed the three-hitter in Houston’s win.

Peacock (3-2) allowed three hits and set a career high with 12 strikeouts to help the Astros bounce back after a 12-2 loss on Tuesday night. Peacock also rebounded after allowing seven runs in just 3 2/3 innings in his previous start. James struck out five in the last two innings.

George Springer and Carlos Correa also homered to give the Astros 16 home runs combined in their past five games.

Houston led 2-0 with one out and one on in the third when Brantley sent a pitch from Jorge Lopez (0-4) into the seats in right field behind the bullpen to make it 4-0.

Indians 5, White Sox 3

CLEVELAND – Jose Ramirez hit a two-run homer with two outs in the ninth inning, giving Cleveland a 5-3 win over Chicago and snapping the Indians’ three-game losing streak.

Francisco Lindor singled with one out against Jace Fry (1-1) before Jason Kipnis struck out. Chicago manager Rick Renteria brought in right-hander Kelvin Herrera to face the switch-hitting Ramirez and Lindor stole second on a 2-1 pitch.

Ramirez crushed Herrera’s next pitch – a 96 mph fastball – through a stiff wind and into the seats in right for his third homer, setting off a much-needed celebration by the Indians.

Twins 9, Blue Jays 1

TORONTO – Jorge Polanco had his second career five-hit game, including a two-run home run, Kyle Gibson (3-1) struck out a career-high 11 and Minnesota beat Toronto, completing a three-game sweep.

Eddie Rosario hit his AL-leading 13th home run, one of four long balls by the Twins. Minnesota had 18 hits, one shy of its season high. C.J. Cron had a two-run homer among his four hits and Jonathan Schoop added a two-run shot.

Toronto has lost a season-high five straight and eight of nine overall. Trent Thornton (0-4) allowed five runs and seven hits in two-plus innings, the shortest start of his brief career.

Tigers 10, Angels 3

DETROIT – Ronny Rodriguez drove in a career-high four runs and Matthew Boyd pitched six strong innings, helping Detroit beat Los Angeles.

Boyd (4-2) allowed only one run on David Fletcher’s leadoff homer and just two more hits after the blast to left.

Shohei Ohtani, who was 0 for 4 for Los Angeles in his season debut Tuesday, was 0 for 3 with two strikeouts and was hit on his right elbow by a pitch. Tyler Skaggs (3-3) gave up eight runs – seven earned – on eight hits and two walks over 4 2/3 innings.