Sports

Rays flirt with perfect game in beating O's

July 15, 2019
Ryne Stanek of the Tampa Bay Rays pitches during the first inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore, Maryland, on Sunday. — AFP
Ryne Stanek of the Tampa Bay Rays pitches during the first inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore, Maryland, on Sunday. — AFP

NEW YORK — Ryan Yarbrough and Ryne Stanek combined to retire the first 24 Baltimore hitters, and visiting Tampa Bay got homers from Austin Meadows and Michael Brosseau as the Rays defeated the Baltimore Orioles 4-1 in the finale of a four-game series on Sunday afternoon.

Stanek went the first two innings as the opener and retired the first six hitters with two strikeouts. Yarbrough (8-3), just called up from Triple-A Durham, entered and retired the Orioles in order through the eighth.

The left-hander was trying to close out the first combined perfect game in major league history, but Hanser Alberto singled on the first pitch of the ninth inning. Yarbrough allowed one run on two hits in 6 1/3 innings and struck out six, doing a good job of moving the ball in and out throughout the game.

Andrew Cashner was scheduled to make this start for Baltimore, but the Orioles traded him to Boston on Saturday and recalled Tom Eshelman for this game. Eshelman (0-1) was pitching in just his second major league game; he struck out seven but gave up four runs on five hits in 5 2/3 innings.

Dodgers 7, Red Sox 4 (12 innings)

Max Muncy walked with the bases loaded in the top of the 12th inning for the go-ahead run as Los Angeles topped host Boston.

Los Angeles loaded the bases on a walk, an interference call against pitcher Hector Velazquez along the first-base line and a single before Muncy took ball four on the fifth pitch he saw from Velazquez (1-4). The Dodgers added two more insurance runs.

The win in the rubber contest of a three-game series between last year's World Series opponents was Los Angeles' second straight following a four-game skid. Boston dropped its second straight since a five-game winning streak.

Phillies 4, Nationals 3

Maikel Franco hit a walk-off homer with one out in the ninth inning to lift Philadelphia over visiting Washington.

The win by the Phillies salvaged the finale of the three-game series and pulled them within 1 1/2 games of the National League wild card-leading Nationals, who lost for just the third time in the last 15 games.

Jay Bruce led off the ninth by striking out against left-hander Matt Grace (0-2). But Franco wasted no time ending the game by homering well into the left field seats on Grace's next pitch. It was the second career walk-off blast and 100th career homer for Franco.

Indians 4, Twins 3

Carlos Santana belted a go-ahead solo homer with two outs in the seventh inning as host Cleveland averted a series sweep with a victory over Minnesota.

Jose Ramirez ripped a two-out RBI double in the first inning and Greg Allen and Tyler Naquin each had run-scoring singles in the fourth for the Indians, who have won seven of their past nine games.

Marwin Gonzalez highlighted his three-hit performance with an RBI single and Max Kepler also drove in a run for the Twins, who saw their lead in the American League Central dip to 6 1/2 games over Cleveland.

Yankees 4, Blue Jays 2

Gio Urshela accounted for three runs, Masahiro Tanaka pitched six innings of two-run ball and New York beat visiting Toronto.

The Yankees improved to 12-0-1 in their past 13 series at home since dropping two of three to the Chicago White Sox on April 12-14. New York also scored a run for the 173rd straight game, one shy of matching the 1992-93 Philadelphia Phillies for the fourth-longest streak without being shut out in baseball history.

Urshela helped New York to its 18th win in 23 games by producing a two-run single in the second off Marcus Stroman (5-10) and scoring the tie-breaking run on a wild pitch in the fifth. Randal Grichuk and Eric Sogard homered for the Blue Jays, who were held under three runs for the fifth time in six games.

Cubs 8, Pirates 3

Jason Heyward, Albert Almora Jr. and Kyle Schwarber each homered, and Chicago pulled away to defeat visiting Pittsburgh.

Anthony Rizzo and Robel Garcia each added two hits and one RBI for the Cubs, who completed a three-game sweep. Bryan Reynolds went 2-for-4 with an RBI to lead the Pirates at the plate.

Cubs left-hander Jose Quintana (7-7) limited Pittsburgh to three runs on six hits in six innings. Pirates right-hander Trevor Williams (3-3) drew the loss after giving up eight runs on 11 hits in 5 1/3 innings in his first game since returning from the paternity list after he and his wife welcomed an adopted daughter.

Astros 12, Rangers 4

Justin Verlander retired the final 15 batters he faced before Jose Altuve ignited a seven-run seventh inning with a grand slam, and visiting Houston earned a split of its four-game series against Texas in Arlington, Texas.

After scoring five runs in the first two innings, the Astros stranded seven runners between the third and sixth innings prior to breaking out in the seventh. In addition to Altuve's slam, Yuli Gurriel added a two-run homer in the seventh, his 11th dinger in 15 games.

The seven-run frame was the largest of the season for the Astros, who took the final two games of the series. After allowing two runs in the first inning, Verlander (11-4) struck out the side in the second to get himself going. He allowed two runs on four hits and one walk while striking out seven over six innings.

Angels 6, Mariners 3

Matt Thaiss hit his first major league home run, a three-run shot with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning, to break a tie as Los Angeles rallied over Seattle in Anaheim, Calif., despite the early exit of All-Star Mike Trout.

Trout, the two-time American League MVP, left the game after the second inning with what the team termed right calf tightness. Trout, who batted .429 (12 for 28) with eight home runs over his previous seven games, lined out in his only plate appearance Sunday. The Angels listed him as day-to-day.

Kole Calhoun also homered for the Angels, who swept the three-game series. Seattle's Austin Nola and Domingo Santana went deep, but that wasn't enough to prevent the Mariners from suffering their fourth consecutive defeat and seventh loss in their past eight games.

Giants 8, Brewers 3

Right-hander Tyler Beede won his second consecutive start and contributed an RBI single in a six-run seventh inning, guiding San Francisco over host Milwaukee.

Donovan Solano had a double and a single in the big seventh inning, while Brandon Belt added a solo homer for the Giants, who won two of three in the series to run their stretch of improved play to eight wins in their past 10 games.

Beede (3-3) allowed a third Brewers run in the last of the seventh before leaving the game. He gave up seven hits in his 6 2/3 innings, with seven strikeouts and no walks. Christian Yelich hit his 32nd homer for the Brewers, who lost for the seventh time in their past nine games.

Cardinals 5, Diamondbacks 2

Adam Wainwright pitched seven scoreless innings, Paul Goldschmidt homered against his former team and St. Louis held on to beat visiting Arizona in the rubber match of a three-game series.

Wainwright, who was pushed back from his scheduled Friday start because of back spasms, controlled the Diamondbacks with his curveball, allowing four hits – all singles – and one walk. Wainwright (6-7) struck out seven.

Goldschmidt, a six-time All-Star with Arizona who had been hitless in seven at-bats in the first two games of the series, went 2-for-4. His home run off Zack Greinke (10-4) in the third inning gave the Cardinals a 4-0 lead. Greinke entered having not been scored on in 14 consecutive innings.

A's 3, White Sox 2

Chad Pinder scored when an errant throw on a possible forceout at second base rolled into foul territory with no outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, sending host Oakland to victory against Chicago.

Ramon Laureano rolled a grounder to Chicago shortstop Jose Rondon on the play that ended the game. Rondon's throw went into foul ground in right field, allowing Pinder, who had singled to lead off the inning, to scamper home from first base.

Mark Canha had two hits for Oakland, which has won 10 of 12 after earning a series sweep of the White Sox. Eloy Jimenez smacked his 17th home run of the season for the White Sox.

Tigers 12, Royals 8

Jeimer Candelario's three-run double highlighted a seven-run third -- Detroit's highest-scoring inning of the season -- and the Tigers snapped a five-game losing streak by slugging past host Kansas City.

Harold Castro had four hits, two runs scored and two RBIs for Detroit, while Niko Goodrum supplied four hits, a run scored, two RBIs and two stolen bases. Gordon Beckham blasted a two-run homer as the Tigers piled up 19 hits. Christin Stewart added two hits, two runs scored and an RBI.

Nick Ramirez (4-3) gave up one run in three innings of relief and was credited with the victory. Tigers starter Jordan Zimmermann gave up seven runs in four innings. Jorge Soler drove in three runs for the Royals, including his 25th homer.

Braves 4, Padres 1

Freddie Freeman hit a three-run homer with two outs in the eighth inning to break a scoreless duel between rookie Mike Soroka and a trio of San Diego pitchers, leading visiting Atlanta to a victory that completed a three-game sweep.

Soroka (10-1) shut out the Padres on six hits and a walk with nine strikeouts over seven innings. Left-hander A.J. Minter picked up his fifth save.

San Diego rookie shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. had his first career four-hit game.

Mets 6, Marlins 2

Two All-Stars led struggling New York to its first road series win since early April with its win over Miami.

Starting pitcher Jacob deGrom (5-7) held the Marlins to a run on six hits with six strikeouts in five innings, and Jeff McNeil, the National League's batting average leader at .349, homered on the first pitch of the game and delivered an important outfield assist.

Robinson Cano added his second home run in as many days, a solo shot in the seventh, and went 4-for-5 to raise his batting average to .251. Garrett Cooper hit his 10th home run of the season and Rojas had three hits for the Marlins, who have lost eight of 10.

Rockies 10, Reds 9

Ryan McMahon had three hits and three RBIs to help lift host Colorado over Cincinnati in the deciding contest of its three-game series in Denver.

Raimel Tapia, Tony Wolters, Trevor Story and Garrett Hampson had two hits apiece for the Rockies, and Wolters and Daniel Murphy each drove in two runs. Rockies starter Antonio Senzatela (8-6) earned the win despite allowing eight runs and seven hits in 5 1/3 innings.

Reds starter Tyler Mahle (2-10) allowed 10 runs (six earned) and 12 hits in 4 1/3 innings. He struck out two and didn't walk a batter. Scooter Gennett had two hits and two RBIs for Cincinnati. Kyle Farmer also had two hits and Jose Peraza blasted a pinch-hit two-run homer. — Reuters


July 15, 2019
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