MLB capsules: Red Sox ride Benintendi’s huge game to sixth straight victory
ARLINGTON, Texas – Andrew Benintendi went 5 for 5 with two homers, six RBIs and a terrific catch in left field, and David Price struck out nine over six scoreless innings as the Boston Red Sox stretched the longest winning streak in the majors to six games with an 11-4 victory over the Texas Rangers on Tuesday night.
The first Red Sox rookie with two five-hit games in a season, Benintendi had a three-run homer in the fifth that chased All-Star pitcher Yu Darvish (6-7), who matched career highs by allowing seven runs and 11 hits.
Benintendi led off the eighth by going the opposite way for his 12th homer, with the ball hitting on top of the 14-foot wall down the left-field line. Jackie Bradley Jr. followed with his 11th home run.
Price (4-2) threw 70 of 106 pitches for strikes in his eighth start since missing the season’s first seven weeks with an elbow strain. The lefty departed after his second walk started the seventh.
PADRES 1, INDIANS 0
CLEVELAND – Cory Spangenberg drove in the only run with a groundout, and six San Diego pitchers combined on a five-hitter as the Padres edged Cleveland despite a record-setting outing by All-Star Corey Kluber.
Cleveland manager Terry Francona missed the game after he was admitted to the Cleveland Clinic for tests. Francona was hospitalized twice last month after feeling lightheaded and having a rapid heart rate. He was fitted with a heart monitor last week and said at the time doctors had ruled out any serious health issues.
Team president Chris Antonetti said Francona did not experience the previous symptoms again, and the tests were being done to help determine what’s causing the issue.
Kluber (7-3) struck out 10 in eight innings – setting a franchise mark with five consecutive double-digit strikeout games. But the 2014 AL Cy Young Award winner received little help from his offense or defense.
Jose Torres (5-2) got two outs for the win. Brandon Mauer pitched the ninth for his 17th save.
BLUE JAYS 4, YANKEES 1
NEW YORK – CC Sabathia was chased during a four-run third inning in his return from the disabled list, with Kendrys Morales hitting a two-run single that helped the Blue Jays stop a five-game losing streak.
Aaron Judge dented a metal casement above a door behind the left-center field wall with his major league-leading 28th home run, a drive that would have traveled 456 feet had it landed unimpeded, according to MLB’s Statcast.
That was the only run off J.A. Happ (3-5), who allowed four hits in six innings. Roberto Osuna pitched a perfect ninth for his 20th save.
Sabathia (7-3) was charged with four runs, three hits and three walks in 2 2/3 innings.
RAYS 6, CUBS 5
CHICAGO – Tim Beckham homered, and the Rays won their reunion with Joe Maddon.
Beckham’s two-run drive highlighted a five-run fourth against Jon Lester (5-5). Alex Colome gave up two runs in the ninth, but the Rays won their first meeting against Maddon since he left to manage Chicago following the 2014 season.
Colome threw 38 pitches in the ninth but came away with his 22nd save in 26 chances.
Chris Archer (7-5) picked up his third win in four starts, giving up three runs and eight hits in six innings. The former Cubs prospect also had an RBI single for his first career hit.
Lester allowed up six runs – tying a season high – and nine hits over five innings. Chicago lost for the fifth time in seven games.
NATIONALS 11, METS 4
WASHINGTON – Daniel Murphy had four hits and five RBIs, helping NL East-leading Washington to its third straight victory.
Murphy improved his career average to .405 against the Mets, his first and only former big league team.
Bryce Harper had three hits and two RBIs for the Nationals, and Joe Ross (5-3) allowed two runs over seven innings.
Jay Bruce, Jose Reyes and Rene Rivera homered for New York. Seth Lugo (3-2) surrendered six runs and 10 hits in five innings.
PIRATES 3, PHILLIES 0
PHILADELPHIA – Pittsburgh right-hander Jameson Taillon struck out a career-best nine in five innings, and Andrew McCutchen hit a pair of solo homers.
Taillon (5-2) allowed four hits and four relievers finished off the six-hitter. The right-hander is 3-1 in five starts since returning from surgery for testicular cancer.
McCutchen ripped his 15th homer to left in the sixth, one pitch after a high-and-tight fastball from Mark Leiter Jr. (1-1) knocked him down. He connected off Ricardo Pinto in the eighth, sending a drive off the facing of the upper deck in left.
A 22-minute rain delay held things up in the bottom of the eighth. Felipe Rivero pitched out of trouble in the ninth for his fourth save in four tries.
ROYALS 7, MARINERS 3
SEATTLE – Whit Merrifield hit the first pitch of the game from Felix Hernandez for his seventh home run, helping Kansas City to its fifth win in six games.
Mike Moustakas added his 24th homer for the Royals, and Salvador Perez also drove in two runs. Danny Duffy (5-4) returned after spending a month on the disabled list and allowed two runs and five hits in 5 2/3 innings.
Hernandez (3-3) was charged with six runs, five earned, and six hits in six innings.
Jean Segura had four hits for Seattle, and Nelson Cruz added two hits and two RBIs.
ATHLETICS 7, WHITE SOX 6
OAKLAND, Calif. – Franklin Barreto homered in the ninth inning, Yonder Alonso went deep twice and Oakland snapped a season-high six-game losing streak.
Matt Joyce’s two-run homer and Alonso’s long balls in the fourth and fifth helped stake the A’s to a 6-5 lead, but Santiago Casilla (2-3) was unable to close it out in the ninth. That set the stage for Barreto’s late-inning theatrics.
With one out, Barreto hit a towering fly ball off Tommy Kahnle (0-3) that just cleared the wall in left field and sent the A’s pouring out of the dugout for a sorely needed celebration.
Melky Cabrera and Jose Abreu homered for the White Sox, who had won four of five. Cabrera also hit a tying RBI single with two out in the ninth.
BREWERS 6, ORIOLES 2
MILWAUKEE – Eric Thames homered twice and Jimmy Nelson pitched seven strong innings, leading Milwaukee to the victory.
Stephen Vogt and Travis Shaw also connected for the NL Central-leading Brewers. Nelson (7-4) allowed an unearned run and six hits.
Jonathan Schoop hit a solo homer for Baltimore in the ninth. Ubaldo Jimenez (3-4) gave up five runs and six hits over five innings.
The Brewers jumped ahead on Vogt’s two-run shot in the second. Vogt has three home runs since being claimed off waivers last week.
TIGERS 5, GIANTS 3
DETROIT – Victor Martinez homered, Michael Fulmer pitched eight innings and Detroit snapped San Francisco’s six-game win streak.
Justin Upton went 3 for 3 for the Tigers, including a tiebreaking two-run single with two out in the seventh. Upton’s big day helped make up for the loss of slugger Miguel Cabrera, who left after six innings due to left hip tightness.
Fulmer (8-6) allowed two homers for the first time this season. Justin Wilson pitched a perfect ninth for his ninth save.
San Francisco right-hander Matt Cain (3-8) surrendered five runs and seven hits in 6 1/3 innings. He dropped to 0-7 in nine starts since beating the Dodgers on May 15.
MARLINS 5, CARDINALS 2
ST. LOUIS – Christian Yelich hit a three-run homer and Jose Urena struck out seven in five solid innings, helping Miami to the road win.
JT Riddle added a two-run single for the Marlins, who had dropped five of six. Dee Gordon had three hits, and Giancarlo Stanton reached three times.
Greg Garcia hit a two-run homer for St. Louis, which lost for just the second time in seven games. Lance Lynn (6-6) allowed four runs, two earned, and six hits in 5 1/3 innings.
Urena (7-3) was charged with two runs and three hits. AJ Ramos got three outs for his 14th save in 15 opportunities.
TWINS 5, ANGELS 4
MINNEAPOLIS – Kyle Gibson got his first win in three weeks and Byron Buxton hit his fifth homer, leading Minnesota to the victory.
Gibson (5-6) allowed two runs in 6 2/3 innings in his longest outing of the season. It was his first win since June 13 against Seattle.
Minnesota went ahead to stay with two runs in the fifth. Robbie Grossman hit an RBI double off JC Ramirez (7-7) and scored on Joe Mauer’s single for a 3-1 lead.
Los Angeles slugger Albert Pujols homered in the eighth, and the Angels closed to 5-4 when Andrelton Simmons scored on shortstop Ehire Adrianza’s throwing error in the ninth. But Brandon Kintzler got Martin Maldonado to bounce into a double play for his 22nd save.
DODGERS 4, DIAMONDBACKS 3
LOS ANGELES – Clayton Kershaw carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning and struck out 11 to become the first 13-game winner in the majors this season, helping first-place Los Angeles beat Arizona in a matchup of the National League’s top two teams.
Kershaw (13-2) ended up allowing two hits in seven innings. He lost his bid for a second career no-hitter on an infield single by Chris Owings with one out in the seventh.
Owings fisted a soft grounder to second baseman Logan Forsythe, but rookie All-Star first baseman Cody Bellinger broke for the ball when it was hit. Kershaw was too late getting over to cover the bag, and Owings beat the play at first as Kershaw had to reach back for Forsythe’s throw.
ASTROS 16, BRAVES 4
ATLANTA – Jose Altuve homered and drove in four runs, Josh Reddick hit a grand slam and the Houston Astros pounded the Atlanta Braves.
Showing why they’re the major leagues’ best team at 57-27, the Astros banged out 19 hits to tie a season high and led 12-0 before Atlanta scratched out three late runs.
Yuli Gurriel doubled twice to drive in three runs, Brad Peacock (6-1) won his third straight start, and George Springer went 4 for 5 with a homer, helping Houston improve to 30-9 on the road and overshadow the return of Braves slugger Freddie Freeman.
Houston has won 11 of 14 overall and 19 of 22 on the road, thanks in part to Altuve and Gurriel, who are hitting a combined .462 with 16 RBIs in the last seven games.
Reddick’s fifth career grand slam put the Astros up 16-4 in the ninth.
REDS 8, ROCKIES 1
DENVER – Homer Bailey went six solid innings for his first win since Aug. 12, Billy Hamilton had a two-out, two-run single after missing a game with a bothersome back and the Cincinnati Reds beat the Colorado Rockies.
Jose Peraza, Scott Schebler and pinch-hitter Scooter Gennett added homers for the Reds, who have won three of their last 18 road games.
The injury-plagued Bailey (1-2) scattered eight hits in the longest of his three starts this season. The right-hander with two career no-hitters was on the disabled list until June 24 as he recovered from offseason surgery to remove bone spurs in his pitching elbow.
Kyle Freeland (8-7) struggled early before settling down. He gave up five runs over 5 1/3 innings in his third straight loss.
The 31-year-old Bailey has been limited to 11 starts since 2015 due to an assortment of arm injuries.