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MLB capsules: Wieters hits grand slam as Nationals beat Cubs 9-4

Washington Nationals' Matt Wieters, right, celebrates with Anthony Rendon, left, Daniel Murphy, center, and Ryan Zimmerman after hitting a grand slam during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs, Sunday, Aug. 6, 2017, in Chicago. (Nam Y. Huh / Associated Press)
Associated Press

CHICAGO (AP) – Matt Wieters hit a tiebreaking grand slam off Carl Edwards Jr. in Washington’s five-run eighth inning, helping the Nationals beat the Chicago Cubs 9-4 on Sunday.

Bryce Harper started the winning rally with a one-out infield single against Mike Montgomery. Ryan Zimmerman doubled against Edwards and Daniel Murphy was walked intentionally to load the bases.

Washington then grabbed control in a span of two pitches. Edwards (3-3) hit Anthony Rendon, tying it at 4, and Wieters followed with a drive over the wall in center for his third career grand slam.

Wieters drove in five runs and Brian Goodwin homered for the NL East-leading Nationals, who had dropped three of four.

Willson Contreras homered twice for NL Central-leading Chicago.

Brandon Kintzler (3-2) pitched a scoreless inning for his first win since he was acquired in a trade with Minnesota.

Dodgers 8, Mets 0

NEW YORK (AP) – Justin Turner’s caught stealing turned into a two-out stolen base when a video review determined he reached around Amed Rosario to evade the rookie shortstop’s tag, sparking a three-run first inning that started record-setting Los Angeles to its first season sweep of New York.

Hyun-Jin Ryu (4-6), Tony Cingrani and Kenley Jansen combined on a one-hitter. New York’s only baserunners were on Travis d’Arnaud’s third-inning single and Brandon Nimmo’s ninth-inning walk.

Los Angeles crushed the Mets like refuse in a trash compactor, outscoring them 57-15 over seven games and outhomering them 25-11.

Rookie Cody Bellinger hit his 32nd homer, a 447-foot, two-run drive in the eighth. Turner, who like Bellinger homered for the second straight day, raised his NL-leading batting average to .349.

Yankees 8, Indians 1

CLEVELAND (AP) – Luis Severino overpowered Cleveland’s lineup into the seventh inning, Jacoby Ellsbury hit a three-run triple and rookie Aaron Judge hammered a three-run homer, sending the Yankees to a win over the Indians.

Severino (9-4) gave up Michael Brantley’s homer in the first and then toyed with the Indians, striking out nine and allowing just three runners to reach. He didn’t give up his second hit until there were two outs in the seventh and was pulled by manager Joe Girardi before getting a roaring ovation from several thousand New York fans.

The All-Star right-hander is 4-0 with a 0.71 ERA in his last four starts.

Ellsbury’s triple came in New York’s five-run sixth off Carlos Carrasco (10-5), and Judge connected in the seventh for his 35th homer – only No. 5 since the All-Star break – to give New York an 8-1 lead.

Astros 7, Blue Jays 6

HOUSTON (AP) – Juan Centeno hit an RBI single with two outs that capped a four-run rally in the ninth inning, lifting the Astros over the Blue Jays.

Jose Altuve singled off All-Star closer Roberto Osuna (3-3) to begin the Houston ninth and one-out singles by Yuli Gurriel and Marwin Gonzalez loaded the bases. Carlos Beltran grounded into a forceout that scored a run, and Alex Bregman hit a tying, two-run triple.

Centeno followed with a liner over the head of leaping first baseman Justin Smoak and into shallow right field to win it for the AL West leaders.

Nori Aoki had a two-run homer, his first hit since being traded from Houston to Toronto last Monday, during a four-run seventh that gave the Blue Jays a 6-3 lead.

Francis Martes (4-1) pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings for the win. Osuna allowed five hits and four runs while getting only two outs for his seventh blown save this season.

Cardinals 13, Reds 4

CINCINNATI (AP) – Jose Martinez hit his first grand slam during the Cardinals’ nine-run fourth inning, and St. Louis overcame Adam Wainwright’s rough return from the disabled list, beating the Reds.

The Cardinals took two of three in the series. They’re 5-8 against Cincinnati this season.

St. Louis sent 13 batters to the plate for nine runs in the fourth, matching its biggest inning of the season. Martinez connected off Homer Bailey (3-6), who gave up a career-high 10 runs in only 3 1/3 innings. Bailey has been hit hard in his return from surgery to remove bone spurs from his pitching elbow last February.

The Cardinals overcame a rugged first inning by Wainwright, who had spent the last 12 days on the DL with a stiff back. Joey Votto hit a three-run homer, and Wainwright threw 39 pitches before retiring a batter. Wainwright left after three innings and 88 pitches.

Brett Cecil (2-4) allowed three hits in three innings for the win.

Rays 2, Brewers 1

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) – Steven Souza Jr. homered off Milwaukee reliever Jacob Barnes leading off the ninth inning Sunday to lift the Rays to a win over the Brewers.

Souza’s 24th home run helped the Rays salvage a win in a three-game series in which they scored only two runs. It was Souza’s first walkoff homer with the Rays.

Most of the game was a pitchers’ duel between the Rays’ Chris Archer and the Brewers’ Jimmy Nelson.

Tommy Hunter (1-2) got the win after tossing 1 1/3 innings of relief.

Barnes (3-3) threw only two pitches in relief of Nelson, who gave up one run on six hits while striking out nine in eight innings.

Marlins 4, Braves 1

ATLANTA (AP) – Jose Urena pitched six strong innings, Marcell Ozuna hit a three-run homer and the Marlins avoided a three-game sweep with a victory over the Braves.

Urena (10-5) won for the third time in four starts, allowing one run and three hits, walking one and striking out three.

Lucas Sims (0-2), making his second career start, gave allowed four runs in six innings. The Braves’ 2012 first-round draft pick trailed 4-0 in the first after hitting Giancarlo Stanton with a pitch, walking Christian Yelich and giving up consecutive homers to Ozuna, his 26th, and J.T. Realmuto, his 13th .

Pirates 5, Padres 4 (12)

PITTSBURGH (AP) – Sean Rodriquez homered in the 12th inning to give the Pirates a win over the Padres.

Rodriguez, acquired from Atlanta a day earlier, lifted a 1-1 pitch off Padres reliever Buddy Baumann (0-1) over the left-field wall.

Rookie reliever Dovydas Neverauskas (1-0) pitched two scoreless innings to get his first career win.

The Pirates took two of three from the Padres after losing their past four series. Entering this series, Pittsburgh had lost eight of 11 since a six-game winning streak from July 16-21.

Pirates closer Felipe Rivero gave up two walks and a single to load the bases loaded with two outs in the ninth inning before Manuel Margot’s two-run single tied the score 4-4.

Phillies 3, Rockies 2

DENVER (AP) – Cameron Rupp hit a two-run double in the ninth inning, and the Phillies rallied to beat the Rockies.

Rupp, who had been thrown out at home an inning earlier, drove the first pitch he saw from closer Greg Holland (2-2) into the gap in left-center field, scoring Maikel Franco and Hyun Soo Kim. It was the second blown save in 36 chances for Holland.

Rupp finished with three hits and Franco homered for Philadelphia, which snapped a five-game losing streak.

Edubray Ramos (1-7) pitched the eighth inning and Hector Neris got the last three outs for his 11th save.

The Rockies took a 2-1 lead in the seventh off starter Aaron Nola. The game was tied with two outs in the seventh when pinch-hitter Raimel Tapia worked a walk off Nola. He stole second and scored on Charlie Blackmon’s third double of the game.

Giants 6, Diamondbacks 3

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – Jeff Samardzija pitched into the seventh inning to win his third consecutive start and the Giants beat the Diamondbacks.

The Giants entered the day with the second-worst record in the NL, but jumped on Diamondbacks starter Patrick Corbin early and held on to win the series. Arizona still has a hold on the second NL wild-card spot despite dropping four of its last seven.

Samardzija (7-11) allowed three runs on five hits before leaving after giving up a one-out single to Katel Marte then walking Chris Hermann in the seventh. Albert Suarez retired seven batters for his first career save.

Red Sox 6, White Sox 3

BOSTON (AP) – Chris Young hit two homers, including a tiebreaking three-run shot after the batter in front was walked intentionally, to lift the Red Sox to a win over the White Sox.

Young added an RBI double and had a solo homer to help the AL East-leading Red Sox complete a four-game sweep of the White Sox.

Chicago lost its sixth consecutive game, and 23rd in its last 27. The White Sox were swept in a four-game series in Fenway Park for the first time since July of 1988.

Doug Fister (2-5) allowed three runs and eight hits over 6 1/3 innings, striking out a season-high seven for his second straight win. Craig Kimbrel, the third reliever, pitched the ninth for his 27th save.

Mike Pelfrey (3-10) gave up six runs and eight hits in 5 2/3 innings. He’s 0-5 with a 7.78 ERA in his last eight starts.

Orioles 12, Tigers 3

BALTIMORE (AP) – Jonathan Schoop, Chris Davis and Trey Mancini homered in succession during a four-run first inning that sent the Orioles past the Tigers.

Joey Rickard and Manny Machado also connected for the Orioles, who led 8-0 after four innings and cruised to their seventh win in nine games.

All five home runs were hit off Anibal Sanchez (3-2), who yielded a career-high tying eight runs and 10 hits in three-plus innings.

Machado went 4 for 5 with five RBIs, and Rickard had a career-best four hits and scored three runs.

Backed by all that firepower, Ubaldo Jimenez (5-7) earned his first win in five starts since July 9. The right-hander pitched 5 2/3 innings, giving up one run and nine hits.

Nicholas Castellanos homered for the Tigers, who had to settle for a split of the four-game series after winning the first two.

Twins 6, Rangers 5

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Max Kepler, Brian Dozier and Eddie Rosario homered to help the Minnesota Twins dig out of a five-run hole and beat the Rangers.

Jose Berrios (10-5) gave up five runs on six hits and struck out six in five innings, Trevor Hildenberger threw two innings of scoreless relief and Robbie Grossman drove in the go-ahead run for the Twins, who were missing slugger Miguel Sano for the second straight game because of a sore left hand.

Adrian Beltre hit his 455th career homer and Joey Gallo also went deep for the Rangers, who were shut out after a five-run first inning. Nick Martinez gave up five runs on five hits with five strikeouts and two walks in a game that was delayed 32 minutes by rain in the second inning.

Athletics 11, Angels 10

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) – Bruce Maxwell’s two-run single completed a dramatic five-run, two-out comeback in the eighth inning, and the Athletics stunned the Angels.

The Angels led 10-5 after the sixth but couldn’t hold on against an A’s team that hammered them with 18 hits, including three home runs and seven doubles.

Down 10-6 in the eighth, Khris Davis hit a three-run homer off reliever Blake Parker to ignite the Oakland comeback. Parker had not allowed a run in 27 consecutive appearances at home.

After Ryon Healy doubled, the Angels went to Bud Norris (1-5), but the closer gave up a run-scoring single to Chad Pinder, a double to Matt Chapman and then the two-run single to Maxwell.

Josh Smith (2-0) picked up the win in relief. Blake Treinen, Oakland’s seventh reliever, earned his fifth overall save and second with the A’s.

Mariners 8-1, Royals 7-9

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – Rookie Jakob Junis pitched eight sharp innings and the Kansas City Royals beat the Seattle Mariners 9-1 to split their doubleheader Sunday.

Nelson Cruz homered twice and drove in four runs as the Mariners held off the Royals 8-7 in the first game.

Whit Merrifield homered in both games for the Royals.

Junis (4-2), who was added to Kansas City’s roster as the extra 26th man for the twinbill, allowed one run. He retired his final 19 batters after giving up an RBI double to Danny Espinosa in the second inning.

Junis walked none and struck out a career-high seven.

Melky Cabrera hit a three-run homer off Erasmo Ramirez (4-4) during a four-run third inning. It was Cabrera’s first home run since the Royals acquired him in a July 30 trade with the Chicago White Sox. Cabrera also had an RBI double.

Eric Hosmer homered and drove in three runs for the Royals.