MLB Capsules: Dallas Keuchel earns MLB leading ninth win as Astros top Rangers

ARLINGTON, Texas – Unbeaten lefty Dallas Keuchel earned his major league-leading ninth win, pitching six scoreless innings as the Houston Astros beat the Texas Rangers 7-1 after a long rain delay Friday night for their eighth straight victory.

Carlos Correa and George Springer each hit a three-run homer for the Astros (39-16), who have the best record and longest winning streak in the majors.

Correa’s homer came in the fifth off Rangers ace Yu Darvish (5-4), winless in his last eight starts against Houston.

After the start was delayed 2 hours, 6 minutes, because of rain, Keuchel (9-0) struck out seven and walked two while limiting the Rangers to three hits. The 2015 AL Cy Young Award winner worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the sixth when he got Rougned Odor on an inning-ending groundout.

Cubs 3, Cardinals 2

CHICAGO – Jason Heyward hit a tiebreaking sacrifice fly in the eighth inning, and the Chicago Cubs snapped a six-game losing streak with a victory over the St. Louis Cardinals.

Heyward also had an RBI double in the sixth and Kris Bryant homered as the Cubs washed away some of the sting from a winless road trip against the Dodgers and Padres. Anthony Rizzo reached four times and scored two runs a day after he got engaged.

Rizzo led off the eighth with a double over the head of rookie left fielder Magneuris Sierra. He moved up on Ben Zobrist’s grounder to third and scampered home when Heyward hit a fly ball to center against Trevor Rosenthal (1-2).

Pedro Strop (1-2) struck out Yadier Molina with the bases loaded for the final out of the Cardinals eighth, and Wade Davis finished for his 11th save.

Dexter Fowler homered for St. Louis in his first game at Wrigley Field since he signed with the Cardinals in the offseason.

Tigers 15, White Sox 5

DETROIT – Miguel Cabrera had his 1,000th career extra-base hit, J.D. Martinez fell a single short of the cycle, and the Detroit Tigers beat the Chicago White Sox. Cabrera and Martinez combined for five hits, all for extra bases, and six RBIs in eight at-bats.

John Hicks and Mikie Mahtook also homered for Detroit.

Michael Fulmer (6-3) allowed a season-high five runs and seven hits in seven innings. The Tigers had been shut out in his past two starts.

White Sox starter Derek Holland (4-5) allowed eight runs and eight hits, including three homers, in 2 1/3 innings.

Twins 11, Angels 5

ANAHEIM, Calif. – Joe Mauer, Robbie Grossman and Max Kepler each hit a two-run homer to power Minnesota.

For the third consecutive game, the Angels’ Albert Pujols remained at 599 career home runs while going 0 for 4.

Kyle Gibson, in his third start since a brief minor-league demotion, turned in his best game of the season. Gibson (2-4) took a shutout into the sixth inning before tiring and giving up two runs. He allowed six hits in a season-high 5 2/3 innings.

JC Ramirez (5-4) suffered his worst start of the season for the Angels, giving up the seven runs and eight hits in 4 1/3 innings. Danny Espinosa hit a two-run homer for Los Angeles in the ninth.

Nationals 13, Athletics 3

OAKLAND, Calif.– Daniel Murphy and Brian Goodwin each had four hits, including a home run, and Stephen Strasburg pitched seven strong innings as the Washington Nationals defeated the Oakland Athletics.

Murphy was 4 for 5 with two RBIs, including his 10th home run. He’s 10 for 18 with three extra-base hits and five RBIs over his last four games since missing three games last weekend with an illness.

Goodwin played right field in place of Bryce Harper, who was serving the third of his four-game suspension for his role in Monday’s brawl with the San Francisco Giants. His home run was his career first and the four hits were a career high.

Dusty Baker’s 1,800th managerial win was Washington’s fourth straight and ninth in 11 games. Anthony Rendon had a home run for the Nationals, who combined for 20 hits. Strasburg (7-1) struck out seven and allowed two runs, four hits and three walks.

Matt Joyce homered for Oakland, which lost for the sixth time in seven games. Andrew Triggs (5-5) lasted just 3 2/3 innings.

Dodgers 2, Brewers 1, (12)

MILWAUKEE – Cody Bellinger homered in the 12th inning off Milwaukee Brewers reliever Neftali Feliz (1-5), salvaging a win for the Los Angeles Dodgers on a night when ace left-hander Clayton Kershaw recorded his 2,000th strikeout.

Kenley Jansen (3-0) pitched two scoreless innings for the win, stranding the potential tying run at third with one out in the speedy Jonathan Villar by striking out Orlando Arcia looking and getting Travis Shaw to pop out to short.

Los Angeles pitching had a franchise-record 26 strikeouts, handing the Brewers the dubious distinction of tying the major league mark for most whiffs in a game. Jansen’s strikeout of Hernan Perez in the 11th was his 36th of the season without having allowed a walk all year, setting a major league mark.

Both teams combined for 42 strikeouts, a National League record.

Reds 3, Braves 2, (10)

CINCINNATI – Eugenio Suarez scored the tying run in the ninth on Jim Johnson’s wild pitch, and Devin Mesoraco led off the 10th with a homer, rallying the Cincinnati Reds past the Atlanta Braves.

Mesoraco, who got into the game as a defensive replacement in the 10th, connected off Jose Ramirez (2-2) for his first career game-ending homer. Raisel Iglesias (2-0) faced three batters in the top of the 10th.

Second baseman Brandon Phillips returned to Great American Ball Park for the first time since his trade in February after 11 seasons in Cincinnati. He got a long ovation before his first at-bat and raised his helmet to recognize the 27,300 fans. Phillips went 0 for 5 with two strikeouts.

Atlanta’s Mike Foltynewicz pitched two-hit ball for seven innings and matched his career high with 10 strikeouts, five of them called by umpire Mike Winters. He turned a 2-0 lead over to the bullpen. The Reds tied it against Johnson, who blew a save for the fourth time.

Giants 10, Phillies 0

PHILADELPHIA – Ty Blach tossed his first career shutout, Denard Span had five hits and San Francisco routed skidding Philadelphia.

Blach (4-2) scattered seven hits, struck out four and didn’t walk a batter to win his fourth consecutive start. He also became the first major league pitcher in eight years to walk three times.

Eduardo Nunez added three hits and three RBIs for the Giants, who snapped a three-game losing streak. They had a season high in runs by the sixth inning and tied a season best with 15 hits.

Phillies starter Jerad Eickhoff (0-6) gave up five runs – four earned – and six hits, walking five in 2 2/3 innings, his shortest career outing.

The Phillies (17-35) have lost five in a row and 26 of 32. They have the worst record in the majors.

Marlins 7, Diamondbacks 5

MIAMI – Giancarlo Stanton matched a career high by scoring three times, and his 15th home run of the season put Miami ahead for good as the Marlins topped the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Justin Bour and Christian Yelich each hit two-run homers in the first for Miami, which improved to 6-2 on this homestand. J.T. Realmuto had two hits and scored twice for the Marlins.

Stanton’s solo homer in the fifth was his 579th career RBI, breaking a tie with Mike Lowell for the Marlins’ all-time lead.

Paul Goldschmidt homered and drove in three runs for Arizona. Chris Iannetta also homered and David Peralta scored twice for the Diamondbacks, whose three-game win streak was snapped.

Diamondbacks starter Patrick Corbin (4-6) allowed nine hits and six runs – five earned – before leaving two batters into the sixth inning.

Dustin McGowan (3-0) retired all five batters he faced for the win. A.J. Ramos pitched a perfect ninth for his seventh save.

Pirates 12, Mets 7

NEW YORK – Elias Diaz hit his first major league homer and drove in six runs as a late addition to the lineup, lifting Pittsburgh over New York.

Diaz hit a go-ahead, three-run shot off ineffective reliever Paul Sewald (0-1) during a seven-run sixth inning. The Pirates led 11-7 when New York finally retired the side, a swift reversal after the Mets went up 7-4 with a five-run fifth.

Diaz also had a three-run double off Matt Harvey in the fourth. The catcher got the start after Francisco Cervelli was scratched shortly before the first pitch due to illness. Diaz entered 2 for 12 in six games this season and had just one career RBI.

Lucas Duda hit a pair of upper-deck homers for the Mets, and Michael Conforto added his 14th of the season.

Josh Bell and Josh Harrison also homered as the Pirates bailed out starter Gerrit Cole (3-5), who allowed seven runs and eight hits over five innings.

Harvey was charged with six runs in five-plus innings.

Orioles 3, Red Sox 2

BALTIMORE – Seth Smith and Manny Machado hit first-inning home runs off Rick Porcello to back a redemptive pitching performance by Alec Asher and help the Baltimore Orioles beat the Boston Red Sox.

Jonathan Schoop had two hits and scored a run for the Orioles, who have won four of five following a seven-game losing streak.

After hitting four home runs in the series opener Thursday, the Orioles used the long ball to take control against Porcello (3-7), the 2016 Cy Young Award winner. Smith drove a 3-2 pitch into the right-field seats for his third career leadoff homer, and Machado pulled a fastball into the second deck for a 2-0 lead.

Asher (2-3) retired 16 of the first 17 batters he faced and ended up allowing two runs and three hits over 6 1-3 innings. It was his second start since replacing Ubaldo Jimenez in the Baltimore rotation; in his first try, Asher yielded six runs over two innings in loss to Houston on Sunday. Brad Brach, the third Baltimore reliever, got three straight outs for his 11th save.

Pablo Sandoval homered for the Red Sox, now 4-7 against the Orioles after losing two straight in this four-game series between AL East foes.

Blue Jays 7, Yankees 5

TORONTO – Josh Donaldson hit two solo home runs, Francisco Liriano won in his return from the disabled list and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the New York Yankees.

Justin Smoak added his team-leading 13th homer, a two-run drive in Toronto’s three-run first inning. He drove in three runs.

Aaron Judge hit his major league-leading 18th homer for the Yankees and Starlin Castro also connected.

Donaldson homered off Michael Pineda (6-3) in the first, then made it 6-4 with a homer off Jonathan Holder in the sixth. It was the 11th multihomer game of his career.

Activated off the disabled list before the game after being out since May 10 because of a sore shoulder, Liriano (3-2) allowed two runs and four hits in five-plus innings. The lefty walked two and struck out five.

Royals 4, Indians 0

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Jason Vargas tossed his first shutout in nearly three years, outdueling Royals nemesis Josh Tomlin and sending Kansas City past the Cleveland Indians.

Vargas (7-3) allowed seven hits over the first six innings but deftly induced double plays in four of them to escape the trouble. The veteran left-hander then set down the Indians in order the rest of the way, making a nifty grab of Carlos Santana’s liner in the ninth to seal it. It was Vargas’ first shutout since a 3-0 victory over Oakland on Aug. 13, 2014.

The Royals scored their first run off Tomlin (3-7) with two outs in the sixth when Lorenzo Cain beat out an infield single – he was initially ruled out, but the call was quickly overturned.

Whit Merrifield extended his hitting streak to 17 games with an RBI double in the seventh, and Mike Moustakas belted his 14th homer.

Padres 8, Rockies 5

SAN DIEGO – Austin Hedges, Yangervis Solarte and Wil Myers homered, leading the San Diego Padres to an 8-5 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Friday night for their season-high fifth straight win.

The Padres followed their sweep of the defending World Series champion Chicago Cubs by beating the Rockies, who have a share of the NL West lead.

Clayton Richard (4-6) allowed four runs – three earned – and 10 hits in 5 2/3 innings, while striking out three in winning for the second time in his last three outings. Brandon Maurer worked the ninth for his ninth save.

German Marquez (4-3) went five innings, allowing six runs, eight hits and two walks for Colorado, which has lost four of five.

Mariners 12, Rays 4

SEATTLE – Danny Valencia hit a three-run homer and tied a career high with five RBIs, Taylor Motter connected for a first-inning grand slam and Seattle routed Tampa Bay.

The Mariners jumped on Jake Odorizzi (3-3) for five runs in the first, although none were earned after Brad Miller’s error at second base. Valencia drew a bases-loaded walk with two outs and Motter followed with his second slam of the season. He also hit one April 23 at Oakland.

Christian Bergman (3-2) pitched well for the third time in his last four starts. He allowed just a pair of solo home runs over six innings.

Colby Rasmus and Tim Beckham hit back-to-back homers for the Rays in the fourth. Kevin Kiermaier added a two-run shot in the seventh.