MLB roundup: Mookie Betts belts three home runs to lead Red Sox past Royals
Mookie Betts belted three solo homers and J.D. Martinez also went deep, powering the Boston Red Sox to a 5-4 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday.
It was the fourth three-homer game for the 25-year-old Betts, snapping a tie with Hall of Famer Ted Williams for most three-homer games in franchise history.
American League East-leading Boston won for the third time in four games after losing 7-6 in 13 innings on Tuesday night.
Cheslor Cuthbert homered for Kansas City, and Drew Butera had a two-run double. Danny Duffy (0-4) was tagged for five runs and 10 hits in 6 2/3 innings.
Drew Pomeranz (1-1) worked six innings for the win and Craig Kimbrel struck out the side in the ninth for his eighth save.
Indians 12, Rangers 4: In Cleveland, Edwin Encarnacion homered three times and drove in six runs, helping the Indians to the runaway win over Texas.
Encarnacion hit a three-homer in the first, a two-run shot in the second and a solo drive in the eighth. The designated hitter leads the team with nine homers despite a .191 batting average.
Jason Kipnis and Francisco Lindor also connected in Cleveland’s highest scoring game of the season. Corey Kluber (5-1) allowed three solo homers in seven innings in his fifth straight win.
Rangers starter Matt Moore (1-4) allowed a career-high 10 runs in four innings, including three homers.
Joey Gallo, Nomar Mazara and Juan Centeno homered for Texas, which lost for the third time in four games.
Braves 7, Mets 0: In New York, Mets right-hander Jacob deGrom was pulled after four dominant innings with a hyperextended right elbow, and the Braves broke out against the bullpen to back a stellar start by Sean Newcomb.
DeGrom pitched smoothly through the heart of Atlanta’s order in his final inning. But he was replaced by Paul Sewald (0-2) to begin the fifth.
Atlanta also had an injury concern when shortstop Dansby Swanson was lifted in the sixth inning with a sore left wrist. The Braves said it was a precautionary measure.
Newcomb (2-1) pitched seven innings of two-hit ball. He also doubled and scored on Ender Inciarte’s two-run homer in the seventh.
Nationals 9, Pirates 3: In Washington, Bryce Harper hit a leadoff homer and drove in three runs, Stephen Strasburg struck out 11 and the Nationals earned their fourth straight win.
Matt Adams clubbed his third homer in two games for Washington. Strasburg (3-3) allowed three runs – two earned – and seven hits in seven innings.
Batting at the top of the lineup for the second straight game, Harper sent a first-inning pitch from Ivan Nova (2-2) into the second deck in right-center for his 10th homer this season and second in two nights.
Francisco Cervelli homered for Pittsburgh, which will try to avoid a series sweep on Thursday.
Rockies 11, Cubs 2: In Chicago, Nolan Arenado hit two of Colorado’s four homers and drove in five runs, lifting the Rockies to the road win.
Arenado hit a long two-run homer to center off Yu Darvish (0-3) in the first inning. He connected again in the eighth, hitting a three-run drive to left off Luke Farrell.
Trevor Story led off the fifth with a long homer to left, and Chris Iannetta chased Darvish one out later with a solo drive that made it 6-1.
Tyler Anderson (2-0) pitched a season-high seven innings after leaving his previous start because he was feeling light-headed. The left-hander struck out a season-high nine while permitting two runs and three hits.
Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant homered for the Cubs, who finished with four hits in their eighth consecutive game with three or fewer runs.
Cardinals 3, White Sox 2: In St. Louis, Cardinals ace Carlos Martinez hit his first major league home run and threw 7 1/3 effective innings.
Dexter Fowler added a two-run homer for the Cardinals, who won their second game in a row.
Chicago has dropped four straight and 13 of 17. The White Sox fell to a season-low 12 games under .500.
Martinez (3-1) got St. Louis on the board with a 407-foot shot off Lucas Giolito (1-4) with two outs in the sixth. Martinez allowed one run and five hits with five strikeouts and two walks.
Bud Norris got four outs for his sixth save in six chances.
Brewers 3, Reds 1: In Cincinnati, Christian Yelich homered, Wade Miley pitched six effective innings in his Milwaukee debut and the Brewers swept the sloppy Reds.
Yelich hit a tiebreaking drive to right off Luis Castillo (1-4) in the fifth.
Miley (1-0) allowed three hits, struck out four and walked three. The veteran left-hander agreed to a minor league deal with the Brewers in February and was promoted ahead of the finale of the three-game set, replacing Brent Suter in the rotation.
Jeremy Jeffress worked two innings for this second save in two nights.
Cincinnati committed three errors while slipping to 7-24, matching the franchise’s worst 31-game start.
Twins 4, Blue Jays 0: In Minneapolis, Fernando Romero pitched four-hit ball into the sixth inning in his major league debut, giving Minnesota a badly needed boost.
Eddie Rosario homered for the Twins, who won for only the second time in their last 13 games. Romero (1-0) was a big reason why, striking out five in 5 2/3 innings. Four relievers preserved the shutout, allowing only two singles the rest of the way.
Marcus Stroman (0-4) had his best performance in six turns for the Blue Jays this season. The right-hander, who turned 27 on Tuesday, gave up two runs and six hits in seven innings.
Tigers 3, Rays 2: In Detroit, JaCoby Jones led off the 12th inning with a triple and scored on John Hicks’ bunt single, lifting Detroit to the victory over Tampa Bay.
Hicks bunted toward first and the Rays didn’t have a chance to make a play at the plate. First baseman Brad Miller fielded the ball and collided with right-hander Matt Andriese (0-1).
Warwick Saupold (1-0) got three outs for the win, striking out two. He combined with five other relievers for six scoreless innings, yielding just two hits.
Tampa Bay left-hander Blake Snell was pulled after he surrendered James McCann’s tying solo homer with two out in the seventh. Snell, who had won his previous four starts, gave up five hits, struck out four and walked one.
Michael Fulmer pitched six innings of two-run ball for Detroit.
Phillies 6, Marlins 0: In Miami, Aaron Nola allowed four hits in 7 1/3 innings, helping Philadelphia stop a four-game slide.
Nola (4-1) retired 17 consecutive batters at one point. He struck out seven and walked one.
Cesar Hernandez led off the game with a home run and Maikel Franco had two doubles and drove in a run.
Miami’s Jose Urena (0-5) remained winless in his last nine starts dating to last season despite allowing two runs, one earned, in seven innings.
Giants 9, Padres 4: In San Francisco, Nick Hundley matched his career high with four hits, Brandon Crawford broke out of a lengthy slump with three RBIs and the Giants beat the Padres.
Austin Jackson added two hits and two RBIs, and Derek Holland (1-3) pitched five innings for his first win of the season for San Francisco.
The Giants finished 7-3 on their homestand and celebrated reliever Will Smith’s first appearance in the big leagues in nearly 19 months after undergoing Tommy John surgery on March 30, 2017. Smith pitched one scoreless inning.
Giants right fielder Andrew McCutchen left in the third after getting hit in the back of his elbow by a pitch. X-rays were negative.
Eric Hosmer had two hits and three RBIs for San Diego. Clayton Richard (1-4) got the loss.
Dodgers 2, Diamondbacks 1: In Phoenix, Alex Verdugo doubled and scored twice, and a struggling Los Angeles bullpen picked up injured starter Hyun-Jin Ryu to help the Dodgers defeat Arizona.
The Dodgers ended a four-game losing streak and won after eight consecutive regular-season losses at Chase Field, home to the top team in the National League this season.
Verdugo, a 21-year-old outfielder from Tucson, scored a key insurance run in the eighth inning. He doubled off reliever T.J. McFarland, beat the throw to third on a wild pitch and came home on Yasmani Grandal’s sacrifice fly for a 2-0 lead.
In the first, Verdugo doubled with one out and scored on Cody Bellinger’s single off Zack Godley (4-2), who allowed five hits in six sharp innings.
Three of the five Dodgers relievers had allowed at least a run in their previous outings, but all five combined to limit the Diamondbacks for 7 2/3 innings, including Kenley Jansen’s fourth save in six chances.
The Dodgers led 1-0 when Ryu, their most successful starter this season at 3-0 with a 2.22 ERA coming in, exited with a left groin strain.
Athletics 3, Mariners 2: In Seattle, James Paxton struck out a major league-high 16 in seven dominant innings, but the Seattle bullpen blew a late lead and Oakland rallied past the Mariners.
Paxton was overpowering in arguably the finest performance of his career, posting the highest strikeout total by a Seattle pitcher since Randy Johnson fanned 19 on Aug. 8, 1997. He got 14 A’s on swinging strikeouts.
Paxton left with a 2-0 lead. Jed Lowrie hit a two-run homer off Juan Nicasio in the eighth inning, then Mark Canha opened the ninth with a home run against Edwin Diaz (0-1). Diaz had allowed just one earned run in 15 appearances this season.
The left-handed Paxton was the fourth different pitcher in Mariners history to strike out at least 16 in a game, joining Johnson, Mike Moore and Mark Langston. Johnson struck out 19 twice, 18 once, and 16 twice in his Mariners career, while Moore and Langston reached the mark once.
But none of those other performances were as efficient as Paxton. He threw 80 strikes among his 105 pitches, gave up five hits and walked one.
Seattle led 2-0 after Ryon Healy’s solo homer and Jean Segura’s RBI single in the third inning. The M’s left the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth.
Yankees 4, Astros 0: In Houston, Luis Severino pitched a five-hit shutout with 10 strikeouts for his first career complete game, Giancarlo Stanton homered twice and drove in four runs, and New York shut out Houston for the second straight night.
Stanton hit a two-run homer to right field that just made it over the wall in the first inning. He added a solo homer to left off Yankees nemesis Dallas Keuchel (1-5) in the fourth and tacked on an RBI double in the eighth.
Severino (5-1) walked one and threw 110 pitches in his 60th major league start, earning his third straight win. He was still throwing 99 mph in the ninth inning as he polished off New York’s third complete game over the last three seasons.
The 24-year-old righty became the youngest Yankees pitcher to toss a shutout since Sterling Hitchcock, who was also 24, in 1995.
Angels 10, Orioles 7: In Anaheim, California, Albert Pujols reached 2,998 career hits with a home run and a double, and Justin Upton hit a three-run homer in the fifth inning as Los Angeles held off Baltimore.
Mike Trout and Pujols both homered in the first, and Upton drove in four runs while the Angels earned their second straight win following a 3-9 skid.
Andrew Heaney (1-1) yielded five hits and one run over six solid innings to earn his second major league victory since September 2015. The left-hander missed large portions of the past two seasons while recovering from Tommy John surgery.
Manny Machado drove in two runs and made another throwing error for the last-place Orioles, who have lost 14 of 17.