MLB caps: Stanton continues home-run binge for Marlins
Giancarlo Stanton hit his team-record 43rd home run, connecting in his fifth straight game and sending the Miami Marlins over the San Francisco Giants 8-3 on Monday night in Miami.
Stanton broke the club mark of 42 homers set by Gary Sheffield in 1996. Stanton has homered 22 times in his last 34 games.
Stanton set another team record for most consecutive games with a home run when tagged Ty Blach (8-8) for a two-run drive in the first inning. The All-Star slugger later had an RBI single as Miami won its fourth in a row.
Marcell Ozuna also homered for the Marlins. Dee Gordon had three hits, scored twice, and drove in a run to help back former WSU Cougar Adam Conley (5-5), who allowed three runs in 6 1/3 innings.
Padres 7, Phillies 4: In San Diego, Jose Pirela’s two-out, two-run single highlighted the four-run sixth inning that carried San Diego over Philadelphia.
Cory Spangenberg hit a leadoff homer in the eighth to finish with three hits and three runs. Pirela, Austin Hedges and Carlos Asuaje each had two hits, and Hedges also drove in two runs.
Philadelphia rookie Rhys Hoskins hit his first two major league home runs, a leadoff shot in the fourth off starter Travis Wood and a solo shot in the seventh off Craig Stammen. Hoskins made his debut Thursday after his contract was selected from Triple-A Lehigh Valley. He got his first hit and RBI on Sunday against the New York Mets.
Cubs 15, Reds 5: In Chicago, Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo hit back-to-back homers to cap a five-run fourth inning, and Chicago continued its recent dominance of Cincinnati.
Bryant went 2 for 4 with a walk and has reached safely in 16 of his last 20 plate appearances. Rizzo was 3 for 5 with a season-high five RBIs.
Jon Jay had three hits with an RBI and finished a home run shy of the cycle.
Chicago has 25 wins in its last 32 games against the Reds. The Cubs have swept the last two series at Wrigley Field between the teams (going back to last season), and have won 11 of the past 13 meetings there the last two years.
Scooter Gennett hit a two-run homer, his 20th, in the eighth for the Reds, who have five players with at least 20 home runs to tie a club record.
Rockies 3, Braves 0: In Denver, Chad Bettis drew a standing ovation when he took the mound for the first time since cancer treatment, then threw seven impressive innings as Colorado beat Atlanta.
Bettis scattered six hits, walked none and struck out two. He hadn’t pitched in the majors since being diagnosed with testicular cancer in November.
Bettis had surgery for the condition, but tests in March showed the cancer had spread to his lymph nodes. He later underwent chemotherapy.
The crowd at Coors Field gave Bettis a big cheer as he went out to pitch the first inning. The Braves’ best chance to score against him came when Ender Inciarte led off with a triple, but he was thrown out trying to stretch it to an inside-the-park home run.
The 28-year-old Bettis led Colorado in starts (32), wins (14) and innings (186) last season. He left for a pinch-hitter in the seventh with the game still scoreless.
Colorado scored three times in the eighth off Rex Brothers (2-3), who relieved starter Julio Teheran.
Mike Dunn (5-1) got the win and Greg Holland closed for his 35th save.
Yankees 4, Mets 2: In New York, Aaron Judge hit a tying home run in the sixth inning, Aaron Hicks and Gary Sanchez went deep in the eighth and the New York Yankees rallied to beat the Mets in the first of four Subway Series matchups this week.
Curtis Granderson and Yoenis Cespedes homered in the third inning off Luis Cessa to give the Mets a 2-0 lead at Yankee Stadium.
Sanchez started the Yankees’ comeback with a sacrifice fly in the fourth against Rafael Montero. Two innings later, Judge hit his A.L.-leading 36th home run – just his sixth since the All-Star break. The ball was dropped in the right-center field bleachers by a fan wearing a Judge jersey.
Hicks, who returned last week from an oblique injury, homered against Hansel Robles (7-4) leading off the eighth, his career-best 12th homer. Sanchez homered two batters later against Erik Goeddel. With 20 homers, Sanchez matched his total in his rookie season last year.
Diamondbacks 2, Astros 0: In Phoenix, Zack Greinke struck out nine in six-plus innings to bounce back from his first home loss of the season, lifting Arizona over Houston.
Greinke (14-5) took his first home loss last week against the Los Angeles Dodgers and followed with a dominating performance against the majors’ top-hitting team to help the Diamondbacks win for the third time in nine games.
The NL All-Star struck out A.L. hitting leader Jose Altuve three times and held the Astros to five hits in 6 2/3 innings. Fernando Rodney worked around an infield single in the ninth for his 27th save.
Arizona’s Ketel Marte hit a run-scoring double off Collin McHugh (0-2) in the second inning and J.D. Martinez had another off the right-hander in the sixth.
The A.L. West-leading Astros have lost six of seven.
Indians 7, Red Sox 3: In Boston, Edwin Encarnacion homered twice to help A.L. Central-leading Cleveland beat Boston in Boston for its fourth straight win.
In a rematch of last year’s ALDS, which Cleveland won in a three-game sweep, Trevor Bauer (11-8) struck out 11 over 6 2/3 innings. He allowed three runs – all on solo homers by Red Sox rookies. Rafael Devers had two and Andrew Benintendi one.
The Indians improved to a season-high five games in front of the second-place Minnesota Twins, who were idle. The Red Sox lost for just the second time in 12 games.
The quick visit to Fenway Park by the Indians was to make up an Aug. 2 rainout that came two days after Doug Fister (2-6) shut out Cleveland into the eighth inning. But this time he allowed five runs on seven hits and four walks, striking out five in 4 1/3 innings as his two-game winning streak ended.
Blue Jays 2, Rays 1: In Toronto, Josh Donaldson homered for the second consecutive game, Nick Tepesch won for the first time in almost three years and Toronto beat Tampa Bay.
Wilson Ramos homered to provide the only run for the offense-starved Rays, who lost their fourth straight. Tampa Bay arrived in Toronto on the heels of a 2-7 homestand in which they totaled 11 runs and were shut out five times during an eight-game span.
Tepesch (1-2) had not won since Sept. 16, 2014, when he beat Oakland while pitching for Texas. The right-hander allowed one run and four hits, giving way to Aaron Loup after the first two batters reached safely in the seventh inning.
Rangers 6, Tigers 2: In Arlington, Texas, Joey Gallo hit his 33rd home run and Texas defeated Detroit.
Martin Perez (7-10) had a second straight solid start for Texas. The lefty made it through six innings without giving up any more runs after trailing 2-0 only three batters into the game.
The Rangers led for good when Delino DeShields had a safety squeeze bunt to make it 3-2 in the second. Former Spokane Indian Rougned Odor scored from third, getting there on a stolen base after catcher James McCann threw behind him trying to pick him off second.
Odor had three hits, including a leadoff double in the fourth, and scored three times. It was Odor’s second consecutive multihit game after going 0 for 17 the previous five games.
Royals 6, Athletics 2: In Oakland, California, Cam Gallagher hit a grand slam for his first career home run and second big league hit, and Kansas City beat Oakland.
Gallagher’s shot into the left-field seats in the sixth inning marked the first grand slam by a Royals rookie since Paulo Orlando connected in the first game of a doubleheader against Tampa Bay on July 7, 2015.
Jake Junis (5-2), recalled for his seventh stint with Kansas City this season, allowed two runs and four hits in six innings with two strikeouts and no walks.
The Royals moved into a second-place tie with the idle Twins, five games back of A.L. Central-leading Cleveland.
Orioles 11, Mariners 3: In Seattle, Tim Beckham hit the first pitch of the game out for his first career leadoff homer, Manny Machado hit the sixth grand slam of his career an inning later, and Baltimore routed Seattle.
Baltimore pounded Seattle’s pitching, scoring double-digit runs for the second time in three games and the sixth time since the All-Star break. Beckham got the Orioles started with his 16th homer, but it was Machado’s slam that broke the game open as part of Baltimore’s six-run second inning. Machado drove a 1-2 pitch into the first row of the second deck in left field for his second grand slam this season.
Trey Mancini hit his 21st homer and Seth Smith added his 12th to turn it into a blowout.
That was plenty of runs for Baltimore starter Kevin Gausman (9-8), who stumbled early before settling into a groove.