MLB Capsules: Max Scherzer gets 13 strikeouts in 10th win, Nationals beat Rays
WASHINGTON – Max Scherzer pitched eight strong innings to become the first 10-game winner in the majors this season, striking out 13 in the Washington Nationals’ 4-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday night.
Scherzer (10-1) won his ninth consecutive decision while scattering five hits and did not allow a runner past second base until pinch hitter Brad Miller’s two-out double in the eighth.
Sean Doolittle pitched the ninth for his 15th save in 16 opportunities.
Scherzer struck out Johnny Field, Christian Arroyo and Daniel Robertson on a combined nine pitches in the sixth inning. It was the third nine pitch/three strikeout inning in Nationals history and the first since Scherzer did it against Philadelphia on May 14, 2017.
Tampa Bay starter Nathan Eovaldi (1-1) gave up four runs in five innings in his second start back from Tommy John surgery.
Red Sox 6, Tigers 0
BOSTON – J.D. Martinez hit his 20th home run, Steven Wright pitched seven sharp innings in his first start of the season and Boston blanked Detroit.
Xander Bogaerts also homered for the Red Sox, who have won six of eight and hold the best record in the majors at 42-19.
Wright (2-0), the knuckleballer who served a 15-game suspension for violating Major League Baseball’s domestic-violence policy, allowed only two hits and struck out six with three walks.
Artie Lewicki (0-1) lasted 3 2/3 innings in his first major league start.
Yankees 7, Blue Jays 2
TORONTO – Miguel Andujar hit his first career grand slam, CC Sabathia pitched seven innings to snap a five-start winless streak and New York won for the sixth time in seven games.
Aaron Hicks added a three-run blast as the Yankees improved to 30-9 since a 9-9 start.
Andujar connected off right-hander Seunghwan Oh (1-2) in the seventh, his seventh home run of the season. He leads all big league rookies with 29 extra-base hits this season.
Sabathia (3-1) allowed two runs and three hits to win for the first time since April 29 against the Los Angeles Angels. The seven innings matched his season high.
Dodgers 5, Pirates 0
PITTSBURGH – Joc Pederson, Yaisel Puig and Cody Bellinger hit home runs and surging Los Angeles won its fourth straight and 14th in the last 18.
Pederson hit a two-run shot off Joe Musgrove (2-1) in the second inning, Puig led off the fourth with his seventh of the season and Bellinger drilled a long blast that smacked off the batter’s eye in center field against reliever Tyler Glasnow in the sixth.
Ross Stripling (4-1) remained unbeaten as a starter this season, striking out seven while giving up four singles in five innings. The Dodgers moved back to .500 (30-30) for the first time since April 24.
Pittsburgh has been shut out three times in a week and dropped 13 of 17 overall to fall to .500 (30-30) for the first time this season.
Twins 4-3, White Sox 2-6
MINNEAPOLIS – Jose Abreu hit a two-run homer in the first inning of the second game of a doubleheader to spoil Zack Littell’s major league debut and help Chicago bounce back from a late lapse in the opener.
In the first game, Eduardo Escobar hit a three-run homer with two outs in the eighth against Nate Jones (2-2) as the Twins ruined a stellar start by White Sox right-hander Reynaldo Lopez.
Abreu, who hit an RBI double in the opener, hit a first-pitch fastball from Littell (0-1) left over the middle of the plate onto the grass berm beyond center field. With an RBI single by Kevan Smith and an RBI double by Adam Engel, the White Sox staked starter Lucas Giolito (4-6) to a 4-0 lead.
Littell, added as the 26th player for the doubleheader, was acquired last July 30 from the New York Yankees in a trade for starting pitcher Jaime Garcia. The 22-year-old got nine outs, allowing six runs on six hits and four walks.
Escobar did his best to bring the Twins back again, with RBI doubles in the third and the eighth innings. The White Sox bullpen held this time, though. Luis Avilan struck out Max Kepler with men on second and third in the eighth, and Joakim Soria fanned Mitch Garver. Soria had runners at the corners in the ninth, but he finished his fifth save in seven opportunities.
Escobar went 5 for 8 with five RBIs in the doubleheader.
Tyler Duffey (1-1) pitched two scoreless innings for the victory in the first game, and Fernando Rodney pitched a perfect ninth for his 13th save in 16 attempts and 11th in a row.
Orioles 2, Mets 1
NEW YORK – Alex Cobb delivered his best performance since signing a rich contract with Baltimore late in spring training, helping the Orioles break a seven-game losing streak by beating New York.
The major league-worst Orioles ended their longest skid of the season and sent the slumping Mets to their fifth loss in a row. New York has dropped seven straight at Citi Field and 12 of 15 overall.
Cobb (2-7) gave up one run and two hits in six innings, striking out seven and walking one. Richard Bleier got Asdrubal Cabrera to ground into a double play with two on to end the eighth. Brad Brach closed for his ninth save, completing the three-hitter.
Baltimore scored two quick runs in the first against Jason Vargas (2-4).
Indians 3, Brewers 2
CLEVELAND – Corey Kluber scattered seven hits in seven strong innings and moved into a tie for the American League lead with his ninth win, leading Cleveland past Milwaukee.
Kluber (9-2) gave up a run, struck out seven and didn’t walk a batter for the fifth straight start, a stretch of 35 1/3 innings. The right-hander is tied with New York’s Luis Severino for the league lead in wins.
Jose Ramirez hit his 19th home run, a solo shot in the third. Lonnie Chisenhall, in his first at-bat in two months, drove in two runs with a bases-loaded single in the second.
Cody Allen gave up a leadoff homer to Travis Shaw in the ninth, but retired the next three hitters for his 10th save.
Junior Guerra (3-4) allowed three runs in six innings.
Rockies 9, Reds 6
CINCINNATI – Chris Iannetta hit a two-run homer off Anthony DeSclafani in his return to the mound, and Carlos Gonzalez added a three-run shot to power Colorado.
The Rockies ended a four-game losing streak that was their longest since they dropped eight in a row last June.
Left-hander Kyle Freeland (6-5) allowed three runs while pitching into the seventh. He also got his first RBI of the season with a bases-loaded walk as Colorado pulled away.
The Reds matched the third-worst start in franchise history at 21-40 despite getting one of their top pitchers back from his latest major injury.
DeSclafani (0-1) was activated off the disabled list before the game and got hit hard at the outset.
Mariners 7, Astros 1
HOUSTON – Kyle Seager, Mike Zunino and Jean Segura all homered off Dallas Keuchel early to back up another solid start by James Paxton and lead Seattle to its fifth straight win.
The Mariners, now two games ahead of the defending champion Astros atop the A.L. West, got going early as Seager hit a three-run homer in a four-run first. Zunino padded the lead to 6-0 with his two-run shot in the second.
Paxton (5-1) gave up nine hits but just one run in 7 2/3 innings to extend his winning streak to five games. Keuchel (3-8) tied a season-high by yielding seven hits and the seven runs were the most he’s allowed this season. Marwin Gonzalez was a home run shy of the cycle and drove in Houston’s only run with a second-inning double.
Rangers 7, Athletics 4
ARLINGTON, Texas – Adrian Beltre led off the eighth inning with a tiebreaking homer, one of Texas’ season-high five on the night.
Beltre made it 5-4 when he connected off reliever Lou Trivino (3-1), who then walked Jurickson Profar before Joey Gallo pulled a two-run shot into the right-field seats. It was Gallo’s 16th homer.
Shin-Soo Choo, Robinson Chirinos and Profar also homered for Texas.
Chris Martin (1-1) pitched a scoreless eighth for his first big league victory, and Keone Kela struck out the side in a perfect ninth for his 14th save – the most in the majors without a blown chance.
Phillies 6, Cubs 1
CHICAGO – Zach Eflin pitched into the eighth inning, Nick Williams homered and Philadelphia snapped a three-game slide.
Williams had three RBIs and Eflin (2-2) allowed one run and eight hits in a season-high 7 2/3 innings to end a two-game skid for his first win since May 7.
Seranthony Dominguez got the final three outs to extend his scoreless streak to 14 2/3 innings.
Anthony Rizzo had two hits and an RBI as Chicago’s four-game winning streak came to an end.
Kyle Hendricks (4-5) allowed five runs and five hits in five innings.
Marlins 7, Cardinals 4
ST. LOUIS – Brian Anderson and J.T. Riddle homered to help a shaky Jose Urena get his first win of the season as Miami stopped a six-game losing streak.
Anderson had a two-run homer and two singles for the Marlins, who had lost nine of 10.
Urena (1-7) pitched five innings, allowing 10 hits and four runs for his first win in 13 starts. Kyle Barraclough pitched the ninth for second save.
Preston Guilmet (0-1) made his St Louis debut after the Cardinals called him up Tuesday from Triple-A Memphis. It was a forgettable one inning of work. In his first game against his former team, St. Louis’ Marcell Ozuna went 3 for 4 with an RBI.
Angels 1, Royals 0
ANAHEIM, Calif. – Andrew Heaney pitched a one-hitter on his 27th birthday to lead Los Angeles Angels to a win over Kansas City.
Heaney only allowed a single to Hunter Dozier with one out in the fifth and needed 116 pitches to pitch his first complete game.
Heaney (3-4) hit Jon Jay to start the game, then retired 13 consecutive batters.
The Angels, who have won four of their last five, scored their run when Michael Hermosillo was caught in a rundown trying to steal second base. Chris Young ran home from third to score the lone run of the game.
Brad Keller (1-2) allowed allowed just one run on five hits in 4 1/3 innings.
Braves 14, Padres 1
SAN DIEGO – Freddie Freeman homered and had four hits, Dansby Swanson and Nick Markakis also went deep and Atlanta Braves routed San Diego.
Sean Newcomb and Luke Jackson combined on a four-hitter for the N.L. East leaders, who unloaded with 18 hits one night after losing the series opener 11-4. The Padres, last in the N.L. West, were denied their first four-game winning streak of the season.
Newcomb (7-1) allowed only three singles in six innings, and each time the baserunner was erased on a double play. He struck out three and walked four.
Jackson almost got through three hitless innings of relief before allowing rookie Franmil Reyes’ homer with two outs in the ninth, his sixth. Jackson walked two and struck out five in earning his first save.
Diamondbacks 3, Giants 2
SAN FRANCISCO – Madison Bumgarner tossed six solid innings in his long-awaited season debut but was outpitched by Patrick Corbin as Arizona held off San Francisco on Tuesday night, ending the Giants’ five-game winning streak.
More than two months after breaking the pinkie on his pitching hand during his final start of spring training, Bumgarner (0-1) allowed two runs and eight hits in his first regular-season outing. San Francisco’s ace left-hander struck out three and didn’t walk a batter.
Corbin (6-2) struck out seven over 6 1/3 innings, permitting one run and four hits with two walks. The left-hander was staked to an early lead that barely held up for the first-place Diamondbacks.
Buster Posey hit an RBI single with two outs in the ninth and Andrew McCutchen followed with a single before Brad Boxberger retired Evan Longoria on a groundout to earn his 14th save.