MLB Capsules: Royals homer twice off Rick Porcello in win over Boston
Salvador Perez and Mike Moustakas homered off emergency starter Rick Porcello, who took over when David Price went back on the disabled list because of inflammation in his left elbow, and the visiting Kansas City Royals beat Boston 4-2 Friday night for their season-high ninth straight win.
The Red Sox have lost five of six and nine of 14, dropping out of the AL East lead for the first time since June 29 and falling a half-game behind the New York Yankees.
Price began the season on the DL and didn’t make his first start until May 29. The 31-year-old lefty, winner of the 2012 AL Cy Young Award, is 5-3 with a 3.82 ERA.
Porcello (4-14), who had been scheduled to pitch Saturday, leads the major leagues in losses, a year after winning the AL Cy Young. He allowed four runs and six hits in seven innings.
Jason Vargas (13-4) gave up one run and five hits in six innings. Kelvin Herrera pitched a one-hit ninth for his 22nd save in 25 chances.
Rangers 8, Orioles 2
ARLINGTON, Texas – Adrian Beltre had two RBI singles to increase his hit total to 2,998, Elvis Andrus homered and Texas beat Baltimore.
Beltre, the 38-year-old third baseman in his 20th major league season, is on the brink of becoming only the 31st player in the 3,000-hit club.
Nomar Mazara hit three doubles for the Rangers.
Andrew Cashner (6-8) allowed only a solo homer by Jonathan Schoop in seven innings. Chris Tillman (1-6) allowed eight runs and nine hits in 4 1-3 innings.
Cardinals 1, Diamondbacks 0
ST. LOUIS – Arizona starter Robbie Ray was hit in the head by a line drive and driven off the field in a cart during the Diamondbacks’ loss to St. Louis.
Ray was struck in the second inning by a liner off the bat of rookie Luke Voit. The ball caromed in the air into foul territory where third baseman Daniel Descalso caught it for the out.
Ray lay prone on the mound for several minutes before sitting up with his teammates surrounding him. He was taken off to be examined.
Michael Wacha pitched six innings and Jedd Gyorko drove in the lone run with one of his three hits.
Wacha (8-4) allowed three hits. He has won five of his last six starts and improved to 7-1 in 12 starts at Busch Stadium this season.
Trevor Rosenthal, the third reliever for St. Louis, earned his fifth save with two innings. T.J. McFarland (4-3) took the loss.
Astros 6, Tigers 5
DETROIT – Josh Reddick hit a three-run homer in the eighth inning, lifting the Houston Astros over Detroit.
The Astros trailed 5-3 when the Tigers brought in reliever Bruce Rondon (1-2) to start the eighth. He allowed singles to Derek Fisher and Jose Altuve before Reddick’s drive sailed well beyond the wall in right field.
Reddick drove in five runs, and the Astros won despite getting only three innings from starter Dallas Keuchel in the left-hander’s return from a neck injury.
Keuchel, who hadn’t pitched since June 2, allowed three runs and six hits in three innings, walking three and striking out three. Manager A.J. Hinch indicated before the game that he would be on a pitch count, and he was pulled after throwing 79.
Brad Peacock (9-1) allowed two runs in four innings of relief, then Chris Devenski pitched the eighth and Ken Giles finished for his 22nd save in 24 chances.
Altuve had three hits, extending his hitting streak to 19 games and raising his average to .369.
Yankees 6, Rays 1
NEW YORK – Masahiro Tanaka took a perfect game into the sixth inning and struck out a career-high 14, pitching the New York Yankees past Tampa Bay for their fifth straight win.
Brett Gardner hit a leadoff home run, Aaron Judge lined his AL-leading 33rd homer and Clint Frazier added a three-run shot to boost Tanaka (8-9).
Tanaka struck out the first five batters, all swinging. He set down 17 in a row before Adeiny Hechavarria grounded a sharp, two-out single up the middle. Tanaka allowed two hits and walked none, and finished up by striking out the side in the eighth.
Lucas Duda homered in the seventh, a day after Tampa Bay got him a trade with the Mets. Austin Pruitt (5-2), called up from Triple-A to take the turn of injured Jake Odorizzi, gave up all three homers. The Rays have lost seven of nine and are 0-5 in the Bronx this year.
Brewers 2, Cubs 1
MILWAUKEE – Brent Suter tossed seven scoreless innings and Milwaukee edged Chicago, moving within a half-game of the NL Central-leading Cubs.
Suter (2-1) limited the Cubs to four hits. He struck out five and walked one in a career-long outing.
Corey Knebel notched his 18th save in 23 attempts, striking out pinch-hitter Kyle Schwarber with the tying run on third.
Jose Quintana (6-9) gave up four hits and two runs in six innings.
Marlins 7, Reds 4
MIAMI – J.T. Realmuto had three hits, including a tiebreaking home run, to spark a four-run seventh inning and help Miami top Cincinnati.
Mike Aviles added a pinch-hit two-run homer and Tyler Moore had an RBI double in the seventh for the Marlins, who have won six of eight.
Dustin McGowan (6-1) pitched an inning in relief for the victory.
Realmuto’s home run to left field off Wandy Peralta (3-2) was his 12th of the season, a new career-high, and his sixth game with at least three hits.
Cincinnati has dropped five straight and has lost 13 of 15 since the All-Star break.
Phillies 10, Braves 3
PHILADELPHIA – Aaron Altherr homered twice and Jake Thompson pitched five scoreless innings in an emergency start to lead Philadelphia over Atlanta.
Tommy Joseph and Cameron Rupp also homered and Freddy Galvis had three hits for the Phillies, who have scored 19 runs on seven homers and 14 extra-base hits while winning the last two.
Thompson (1-0) replaced Jeremy Hellickson, who was scratched an hour before the game. Hellickson is thought to be among the players the Phillies are likely to move before Monday’s non-waiver trading deadline.
Thompson, who the Phillies acquired from Texas in the 2015 trade that sent Cole Hamels to the Rangers, gave up five hits while striking out five and walking two. He was making his fourth appearance this season but first start since last September.
Julio Teheran (7-9) allowed eight runs in 4 2/3 innings.
Angels 7, Blue Jays 2
TORONTO – Parker Bridwell pitched a career-high 7 1/3 innings to win his third straight decision, C.J. Cron hit a two-run homer and Los Angeles beat Toronto.
Mike Trout had two RBIs and Yunel Escobar had two doubles and an RBI for the Angels.
Toronto’s Justin Smoak hit a solo homer off Cam Bedrosian in the ninth, his 29th.
Bridwell (5-1) allowed one run and three hits. J.A. Happ (3-8) allowed three runs in six innings and is 0-4 with a 6.00 ERA over his past four starts.
Indians 9, White Sox 3
CHICAGO – Jose Ramirez had four hits, including a homer, and Carlos Santana and Michael Brantley also went deep as Cleveland extended its winning streak to eight and sent Chicago to its 13th loss in 14 games.
Danny Salazar (4-5) allowed two runs and three hits in six-plus innings to win his second straight start since being activated from the disabled list.
Derek Holland (5-10) allowed six runs and nine hits in 4 1/3 innings and has given up five or more runs in five of his last seven starts.
Cardinals 1, Diamondbacks 0
ST. LOUIS – Michael Wacha (8-4) allowed three hits in six innings, won for the fifth time in six outings and improved to 7-1 in 12 starts at Busch Stadium this season.
Trevor Rosenthal, the third reliever for St. Louis, pitched two innings for his fifth save.
Jedd Gyorko had three hits, including an RBI single in the sixth off Rubby De La Rosa, who had just relieved T.J. McFarland (4-3).
Twins 6, Athletics 3
OAKLAND, Calif. – Jaime Garcia (1-0) struck out seven over 6 2/3 innings in his debut for Minnesota debut, which acquired him Monday from Atlanta, and the Twins stopped a four-game losing streak.
Jason Castro hit RBI doubles in consecutive innings, and Ehire Adrianza and Miguel Sano added run-scoring singles.,
Brandon Kintzler got three outs for his 28th save as the Twins won for just the third time in their last 17 games at the Coliseum.
Daniel Gossett (2-6) was chased after just 3 2/3 innings, allowing five runs – four earned – and nine hits.
Mets 7, Mariners 5
SEATTLE – Michael Conforto returned to his hometown and hit a pair of solo home runs, Neil Walker and Curtis Granderson had two-out RBI singles off David Phelps (2-5) to cap a three-run eighth inning and New York rallied after wasting a 4-0 lead.
Playing his first professional game at Safeco Field, Conforto excited the 30 or so friends and family he left tickets for with the fourth multi-homer game of his big league career. Conforto grew up in nearby Redmond.
Jerry Blevins (5-0) worked 1 1/3 innings, and Addison Reed pitched the ninth for his 19th save. New York attempted to solidify its bullpen by acquiring closer A.J. Ramos from Miami for a pair of prospects
Padres 3, Pirates 2
SAN DIEGO – Travis Wood (1-0), making his Padres debut after being acquired Monday from Kansas City, struck out seven over six innings and allowed two runs and two hits. Three relievers finished a three-hitter, with Brad Hand getting his sixth save.
Cory Spangenberg tripled in the tying run in the sixth and scored the go-ahead run on a ball four wild pitch by Daniel Hudson (2-5).
Dodgers 6, Giants 4
LOS ANGELES – Corey Seager hit two home runs, including a go-ahead, two-run drive in the seventh as Los Angeles overcame a 4-2 deficit. The Dodgers have won six straight games and 37 of their last 43.
Seager homered leading off the first off Matt Moore and capped a four-run seventh with a drive over the right-field wall against Josh Osich.
Alex Wood (12-1) gave up four runs and eight hits in seven innings, and Kenley Jansen struck out the side in the ninth for his 26th save.