Wilmer Flores hit a grand slam and drove in six runs as the San Francisco Giants snapped their five-game losing streak with a 13-7 victory Saturday over the visiting St. Louis Cardinals.
Mauricio Dubon and Darin Ruf hit two-run homers for the Giants, who had scored just five runs in their previous four games. Giants starter Logan Webb (4-1) allowed four runs on eight hits in five innings. He struck out seven batters and walked two.
San Francisco first baseman Brandon Belt suffered an injury swinging his bat in the eighth inning and exited the game.
Cardinals starter Steven Matz (3-2) lasted just two innings while allowing eight runs on five hits (including three homers) and three walks. Dylan Carlson hit a three-run homer and Paul DeJong drove in two runs with two hits to pace the Cardinals’ offense.
Yadier Molina extended his hitting streak to eight games and got his 1,000th career RBI. He became the eighth primary big league catcher with 2,000 hits and 1,000 RBIs.
Rockies 4, Diamondbacks 1
Consecutive singles by Yonathon Daza, Jose Iglesias and Connor Joe with two outs in the ninth inning capped a four-run rally to give visiting Colorado a victory over Arizona in Phoenix.
Called on to protect a 1-0 lead in the ninth, Diamondbacks closer Mark Melancon (0-3) gave up four runs (three earned) on five hits in 2/3 innings.
Daniel Bard retired three straight batters after allowing a leadoff walk to Pavin Smith in the ninth inning to earn his ninth save.
Nationals 7, Angels 3
Washington got home runs from Josh Bell, Yadiel Hernandez and Nelson Cruz to pave the way to a victory over host Los Angeles in Anaheim, Calif.
The Angels’ pitching staff entered the game on an 18-inning scoreless streak but the streak ended in the top of the first inning on Bell’s solo homer, one of two hits for the Nationals’ first baseman. Third baseman Maikel Franco had two hits and drove in three runs for the Nationals, who had 10 hits in all.
The Angels hit two home runs of their own, one by Jared Walsh and the other by Brandon Marsh, both coming in the fourth inning, which cut Washington’s lead to 4-3. Angels starter Michael Lorenzen (3-2) had his toughest outing of the season, giving up five runs on five hits and two walks in 4 2/3 innings. He struck out seven.
White Sox 3, Red Sox 1
Jose Abreu and Luis Robert logged back-to-back RBI hits in the 10th inning as Chicago came from behind to beat host Boston.
Leury Garcia’s sacrifice fly erased the 1-0 lead that Boston held from the fifth inning on, and the White Sox went on to win their fifth consecutive game.
The Red Sox had a chance to walk off in the ninth after Jackie Bradley Jr. lined a one-out single to left and Christian Vazquez doubled into the left-center gap. But both were stranded as Bobby Dalbec struck out looking and Trevor Story popped up.
Braves 3, Brewers 2
Max Fried pitched seven strong innings and Ronald Acuna Jr. homered for the second straight game to help Atlanta over visiting Milwaukee.
The win evened the three-game series between the teams and ended Milwaukee’s four-game winning streak. The game lived up to expectations as a pitching duel, with Fried going head-to-head with Milwaukee’s Corbin Burnes, the reigning National League Cy Young winner.
Fried (4-2) allowed one run on four hits with one walk and eight strikeouts to earn his fourth straight win. The walk was the first allowed by Fried since opening day and only his second of the year. Burnes (1-2) pitched six innings and allowed two runs (one earned) on six hits, one walk and seven strikeouts.
Reds 9, Pirates 2 (Game 1)
Tyler Stephenson broke an eighth-inning tie with a two-run double and drove in four to help Cincinnati snap a nine-game losing streak with a win over visiting Pittsburgh in the first game of a day-night doubleheader.
Stephenson finished 3-for-4 with two doubles while Lucas Sims (1-0) pitched out of his own bases-loaded, none-out jam in the eighth to record just the second win in 22 games for the Reds.
Tyler Naquin’s three-run double highlighted the seven-run uprising in the eighth for Cincinnati’s biggest inning of the season. The nine runs marked a season high for the Reds, while the Pirates lost for the seventh time in nine games.
Pirates 8, Reds 5 (Game 2)
Pittsburgh clubbed four homers to overpower host Cincinnati and to earn a split of the scheduled day-night doubleheader.
It was the second doubleheader split in the last four days for the Pirates, who had an extra off day on Friday due to a rainout in Cincinnati.
Bryan Reynolds, Yoshi Tsutsugo, Diego Castillo and Ben Gamel all homered for Pittsburgh.
Astros 3, Tigers 2
Michael Brantley delivered a game-tying RBI triple in the eighth inning, and Houston scored the go-ahead run on a bases-loaded walk later in the frame to push its winning streak to six with a win over visiting Detroit.
Brantley followed a one-out single from Jose Altuve with his extra-base hit into the right field corner, scoring Altuve and knotting the game at 2-2. Altuve and Brantley each reached base against Tigers reliever Michael Fulmer (1-1), who later issued a bases-loaded walk to Kyle Tucker.
Astros closer Ryan Pressly notched his fourth save with a perfect eight-pitch ninth. Bryan Abreu (1-0) earned the victory.
Dodgers 7, Cubs 0 (Game 1)
Clayton Kershaw threw seven scoreless innings, and Austin Barnes had a home run with three RBIs, as visiting Los Angeles beat Chicago in the opener of a doubleheader.
Freddie Freeman matched a career high with three doubles for the Dodgers, while Trea and Justin Turner combined to deliver three hits with three RBIs.
Kershaw (4-0) yielded all five Chicago hits and walked one with two strikeouts to match the longest outing of his season. The left-hander lowered his ERA to 1.80.
Dodgers 6, Cubs 2 (Game 2)
Mookie Betts delivered a three-run double and two-run homer for two of Los Angeles’ three hits, but they were more than enough to cap the visiting Dodgers’ doubleheader sweep of reeling Chicago.
Betts cleared the bases with his double down the left-field line during a four-run second and added some insurance via a drive high into the left-field bleachers in the ninth. Los Angeles also benefited from nine walks issued by Chicago pitching to win its fifth in a row. Tyler Anderson (3-0), meanwhile, gave up two runs, four hits and struck out seven with a walk over five innings.
Willson Contreras went 3-for-4 with a triple and home run for the Cubs, who have dropped four in a row and 13 of 16 since starting 6-4. They’ve also lost five straight and nine of their last 10 at home.
Blue Jays 8, Guardians 3 (Game 1)
Raimel Tapia and George Springer each had three RBIs as visiting Toronto defeated Cleveland in the opening game of a doubleheader.
Kevin Gausman (3-1) earned his third successive win while allowing one run, six hits and one walk and striking out five in 6 1/3 innings.
Cleveland starter Shane Bieber (1-2) was knocked around for seven runs on eight hits and three walks in 3 1/3 innings.
Guardians 8, Blue Jays 2 (Game 2)
Franmil Reyes continued his hot hitting with a home run to support a strong outing by winning pitcher Triston McKenzie in Cleveland’s victory over visiting Toronto in Game 2 of a doubleheader. Cleveland has won six of its last eight games.
The Blue Jays won the first game of the doubleheader, 8-3 and their first three batters reached safely in Game 2, but Toronto scored just one run in the first and Cleveland rallied.
McKenzie (2-2) settled in after the rocky start. He retired the final 11 hitters he faced. The 6-5, 165-pound right-hander pitched six innings and allowed four hits, two runs and two walks. He struck out six batters.
Twins 1, Athletics 0
Sonny Gray struck out seven in four scoreless innings in his return from the injured list, as four Minnesota pitchers combined for a three-hit shutout over visiting Oakland.
Jorge Polanco hit a solo homer in the sixth inning for the game’s lone run. Polanco had three of the Twins’ five hits, finishing a triple shy of the cycle for the AL Central-leading Twins, who have won back-to-back games.
Oakland continued its tailspin with its eighth loss in a row. The Athletics have scored one run overall in their past three games, and the game marked the 10th time this season that they have been held to fewer than two runs.
Marlins 8, Padres 0
Joe Dunand homered in his first major league at-bat and Jorge Soler capped a five-run ninth with a grand slam as visiting Miami routed San Diego to snap a six-game losing streak.
Pablo Lopez shut out the Padres over eight innings. The right-handed Lopez ran his record to 4-1 and lowered his earned run average to a miniscule 1.00. He issued two walks and had five strikeouts. He retired nine straight Padres at one point and got 13 outs on ground balls.
The 26-year-old Dunand is a Miami native and a nephew of Alex Rodriguez. He reached the first row of seats in left on the third pitch he saw from Padres left-handed starter Sean Manaea with one out in the bottom of the second.
–Field Level Media
