The Houston Astros are coming off their first series loss in more than two weeks, but the team is returning home to face the Texas Rangers on Thursday after receiving some good news.

Veteran right-hander Jake Odorizzi avoided a catastrophic injury, with an MRI revealing strains of ligaments around his left ankle/foot.

The diagnosis allowed the Astros to feel slightly better despite concluding a nine-game road trip with a 5-1 loss to the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday in the rubber match of a three-game series.

While there is no timetable for Odorizzi to return, he avoided a rupture of his Achilles tendon, which was his initial fear when he collapsed between the mound and first base during his Monday start against the Red Sox.

“There’s no damage to my Achilles. That’s really the main takeaway,” Odorizzi said. “There’s some other damage to stuff in there, but not on the Achilles itself, which is the big problem.

“So we avoided that. I’d say it’s best-case scenario when you just avoid a season-ending surgery. Things are more positive than what they could have been, I guess.”

Odorizzi, currently on the 15-day injured list, had pitched exceptionally following a ragged start to the season. He is 3-0 with an 0.79 ERA over his past four starts, allowing opponents a .122/.177/.189 slash line while recording 16 strikeouts against five walks in 22 2/3 innings.

Without Odorizzi, the Astros will utilize a five-man rotation after relying on six starters during this current stretch of 33 games in 34 days. That Odorizzi should return this season softens the blow of his absence.

Houston left-hander Framber Valdez (2-2, 2.93 ERA) will start the opener against Texas on Thursday. He is coming off his longest outing of the season: a stint of 7 2/3 innings during which he allowed one run on seven hits and two walks with six strikeouts in a 6-1 win over the Washington Nationals on Friday.

Valdez has faced the Rangers previously this season, allowing one run, which was unearned, on four hits and two walks with five strikeouts in a no-decision on April 25.

Valdez is 3-2 with a 3.05 ERA over nine career appearances (six starts) against Texas.

Right-hander Glenn Otto (1-1, 6.38 ERA) has the starting assignment for the Rangers. He matched his career high for hits (eight), walks (four) and earned runs (eight) allowed in his latest start, an 11-3 loss to the Red Sox on Saturday. Otto had allowed just eight hits and five runs over his previous three starts and 14 1/3 innings.

A Houston-area native and Rice University product, Otto will make his first career appearance at Minute Maid Park in what will be his fourth start against the Astros. He is 0-1 with a 6.39 ERA against Houston — all at Globe Life Field. On April 27, he allowed two runs on four hits and two walks with five strikeouts over 4 1/3 innings during the Rangers’ 4-3 loss to the AStros.

Texas completed a three-game series sweep of the Los Angeles Angels with a 6-5, walk-off win on Wednesday. Nathaniel Lowe slugged a two-run home run on the first pitch of the 10th inning off Angels closer Raisel Iglesias. Texas comes to Houston on a four-game win streak.

“This group fights and this group fights,” Lowe said. “That’s what we do.”

Houston is 2-3 in the past five games immediately after an 11-game winning streak.

–Field Level Media

The Chicago Cubs possess first-hand knowledge of why Arizona Diamondbacks right-hander Zac Gallen has been one of the majors’ best pitchers so far this season.

Looking to help the visiting Diamondbacks avoid a seventh straight defeat, Gallen aims to remain successful when facing the Cubs for a second time in less than a week on Thursday night.

Gallen (2-0, 1.05 ERA) has allowed just four runs on 18 hits and five walks with 35 strikeouts in 34 1/3 innings spanning six starts. He yielded only Yan Gomes’ tying solo homer and one other hit while fanning a season-high nine over six innings against Chicago on Saturday.

“How he goes about it, just the look — he has all of that,” bench coach Jeff Banister said, according to the Diamondbacks’ website. “There’s a lot of precision to (his stuff). There’s a lot of swagger, a lot of confidence with it.”

However, in the Saturday game, Gallen’s Arizona teammates provided him with only one run, and the Cubs scored three times in the ninth off closer Mark Melancon for a 4-2 victory. In four of Gallen’s six 2022 starts, the Diamondbacks have scored one or no runs while the righty was still in the game.

The Saturday setback began a Diamondbacks’ losing streak that reached a season-high six in a row with a 5-3 road loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday. Arizona, which was three games over .500 prior to the Saturday loss to the Cubs, has lost by one or two runs five times during the six-game skid.

“You have to be locked in, you can’t make mistakes and you have to go out there and concentrate — be prepared for every pitch,” Arizona third baseman Josh Rojas said.

Though the Cubs essentially were stymied by Gallen, their late-inning breakout in that contest kicked off a season-high string of four consecutive victories, a surge that ended with a 3-2 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday.

Still, the Cubs have won three consecutive series and should get an added boost with Marcus Stroman (1-3, 5.13 ERA) slated to be activated off the COVID-19 injury list and take the mound for the opener of the four-game set against Arizona.

Stroman hasn’t pitched since May 1, when he allowed two hits and struck out five with one walk over seven innings of a 2-0 road victory over the Milwaukee Brewers. The right-hander allowed a total of 13 runs (12 earned) and 14 hits in a two-start span, at Colorado on April 15 and vs. Tampa Bay on April 20. However, he yielded just three runs (two earned) while giving up only eight hits through 13 innings in his past two outings.

“We’ve missed him, that’s for sure,” Cubs manager David Ross said. “It will be nice to get him back. He was throwing the ball as good as anyone before he went down.”

Stroman is 2-1 with a 3.81 ERA in four career starts against the Diamondbacks.

Arizona’s David Peralta is batting just .202 this year, but he is 3-for-6 with a homer lifetime against Stroman. Teammate Daulton Varsho is batting .375 (9-for-24) with three doubles, two homers and eight RBIs in his past six games against Chicago.

Meanwhile, the Cubs’ Ian Happ is hitting .323 (10-for-31) in the past nine games overall, and Frank Schwindel is batting .321 (9-for-28) with five RBIs in his past seven.

–Field Level Media

When Boston Red Sox pitcher Rich Hill was in quarantine and on the COVID-19 list last week, he snuck out to a field and threw into a net.

The veteran left-hander returned to the mound Saturday against the Texas Rangers, pitching six-plus quality innings in an 11-3 victory.

Hill (1-1, 2.89 ERA) will look for another strong effort when he faces the visiting Seattle Mariners on Thursday night in the opener of a four-game series.

Hill allowed three runs (two earned) on seven hits against the Rangers, with no walks and four strikeouts.

“It’s just that one-pitch-at-a-time approach,” Hill said. “You remove yourself from the results. That’s the biggest thing, and if we’re pitching for the moment and understanding each pitch is its own entity, its own moment, then we can look back at the end of day and be satisfied with the way the ball came out of your hand.”

The 42-year-old has baffled the Mariners throughout his 18-year career, going 4-0 with a 2.64 ERA in 13 appearances against them, including six starts.

Hill will be opposed by 24-year-old Seattle rookie George Kirby (0-0, 0.90 ERA), who will be making his third career start. The 2019 first-round pick has allowed three runs (one earned) on seven hits through his first 10 innings, with one walk and eight strikeouts.

After throwing six scoreless innings in his debut against the Tampa Bay Rays on May 8, Kirby wasn’t as strong Saturday against the host New York Mets, lasting just four innings.

Kirby, who grew up outside New York City in Westchester County, had to endure a one-hour rain delay before the start of the game and struggled to put away batters. He struck out just one.

“When I would get them 0-2 or 1-2, it was a real challenge to get them to swing and miss,” Kirby said. “I just felt like they were on everything, but it’s my job to execute better with two strikes.”

The Mariners and Red Sox both won 5-1 on Wednesday.

Boston’s Nick Pivetta threw a two-hit complete game and struck out eight against the visiting Houston Astros. Rafael Devers went 2-for-3 with a double and a triple for the Red Sox, and Xander Bogaerts hit a solo homer.

The Mariners topped the host Toronto Blue Jays as Marco Gonzales pitched six quality innings and Cal Raleigh, Ty France and Abraham Toro went deep.

While the Mariners sent struggling Jarred Kelenic back to Triple-A Tacoma last week, their other prized outfield prospect, Julio Rodriguez, has been improving.

After hitting .205 in April, Rodriguez has upped his average to .257. Though he has yet to show consistent power, socking only two home runs, he leads the majors with 11 stolen bases.

“I feel like the more you are around it and the more you see stuff, the more you adjust,” the 21-year-old said. “That’s something that I felt very comfortable with, kind of stepping out of my comfort zone and learning and seeing what they are actually going to try to do to me. I’ve been able to learn.”

The Mariners should get reliever Drew Steckenrider back from the restricted list Thursday after he missed the series in Toronto because of his vaccination status.

–Field Level Media

Carlos Hernandez might be pitching for his rotation spot, if not his place on the roster, when he starts for the Kansas City Royals on Thursday afternoon in the finale a five-game series against the visiting Chicago White Sox.

The Royals won the past two games after dropping the first two in the series. Rookies Bobby Witt Jr. and M.J. Melendez homered Wednesday in Kansas City’s 6-2 victory.

Hernandez (0-3, 9.11 ERA) will square off Thursday with Chicago’s Vince Velasquez (2-3, 5.53) in a battle of right-handers. Velasquez was initially scheduled to pitch Wednesday, but the White Sox activated Lucas Giolito from the COVID injured list, bumping Velasquez back a day.

Hernandez earned Kansas City’s fifth starter spot out of spring training, but more because other expected starters Brady Singer and Jackson Kowar didn’t.

The Royals have Zack Greinke, Brad Keller and Daniel Lynch all pitching well. Kris Bubic was relegated to the bullpen and later demoted to the minors after compiling a 12.83 ERA in six games (five starts). He was replaced in the rotation by Jonathan Heasley, who is 0-2 but carries a respectable 4.32 ERA through two starts.

However, 2018 first-round selection Singer upped the ante by throwing seven shutout innings while starting the second game of the Tuesday doubleheader. He was called up from Triple-A as the 27th man for the doubleheader, and he was returned to Omaha after the game. However, after the outing, there was little doubt that he would be back soon. Manager Mike Matheny said it could be “one of those days that changes his career.”

On the flip side, Hernandez allowed nine runs on eight hits and three walks in four-plus innings during his latest start, Saturday at Colorado. He was surprised that he didn’t pitch well.

“The goal was to mix every pitch that I was working with and everything in the bullpen looked good, so I went with all of them,” he said. “Everything went wrong. I just have to get back to work and get better.”

Maybe the White Sox will cure what ails him, as he is 3-0 with a 2.70 ERA in five career appearances (three starts) against them.

Velasquez has been hot and cold over his past four starts. In two of those outings, he allowed a total of one run on seven hits in 10 2/3 innings. But in the other two starts, he allowed 12 runs on 16 hits in 8 1/3 innings. That includes his latest game, when he gave up seven runs on eight hits in five innings during a loss to the New York Yankees on Friday.

“This is very disappointing, especially since (Dylan) Cease had a rough outing (the previous day) as well,” Velasquez said after the game. “You kind of want to come back and have an impact and kind of at least be a threat. It just seemed like they were a little bit more comfortable and they kind of zoned me up pretty well, and they capitalized on the pitches I mistakenly threw.”

Velasquez has only faced the Royals three times (two starts) in his eight-year career spent largely in the National League. He owns a 1-0 record with a 4.05 ERA vs. Kansas City.

–Field Level Media

Philadelphia Phillies slugger Bryce Harper isn’t expected back in right field until late July or early August.

However, because the designated hitter was instituted in the National League this season, the reigning Most Valuable Player could be back in the lineup as early as Thursday when the Phillies play the rubber game of a three-game series against the visiting San Diego Padres.

Harper received a plasma-rich platelet injection Sunday in Los Angeles after sustaining a small tear in the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow. The Phillies are 1-2 without Harper since he received the injection.

They lost Sunday against the Dodgers and Tuesday against the Padres before responding with a 3-0 win over San Diego on Wednesday.

Before his recent absence, Harper was one of the hottest hitters in the majors, as he went 8-for-12 with three homers and eight RBIs in the first three games against the Dodgers.

Phillies manager Joe Girardi is optimistic that Harper will return to the outfield before the season ends.

“Our hope is that isn’t the case,” Girardi said of Harper being unable to go back out in the field this year. “Our hope is that the procedure we did helps it scar over and he’s fine. It’s worked before, but there’s no 100 percent guarantee.”

The Phillies got enough offense in Harper’s absence on Wednesday, as Rhys Hoskins smacked a solo home run, walked and scored two runs. Hoskins hit leadoff, a role that has been held by numerous Phillies so far this season.

“It’s different,” Hoskins said in a postgame interview on NBC Sports Philadelphia. “Especially the first at-bat of the game.”

The Phillies will hand the ball Thursday to Kyle Gibson (3-1, 4.10 ERA), who struggled mightily in his latest outing on Friday against the Dodgers. He allowed eight hits and six runs in 3 2/3 innings.

Gibson is 2-0 with a 2.84 ERA in three career starts against the Padres.

After an impressive 3-0 win in the series opener, San Diego simply couldn’t generate any offense on Wednesday against Zack Wheeler.

The Padres will look to Yu Darvish (3-1, 4.62 ERA) to reverse their fortune and come up with a series victory.

Darvish is also coming off a rough outing, as he allowed nine hits and five runs in 5 2/3 innings against the Atlanta Braves on Friday.

“I focused on my big slider,” Darvish said after the start. “They were able to hit some fat breaking pitches, but there weren’t too many hard hits. I was happy with my game.”

Darvish is 1-1 with a 2.30 ERA in five career starts against the Phillies.

Darvish will need more offensive production than just the four hits the Padres managed on Wednesday. Jake Cronenworth had a double for the only extra-base hit, and the Padres had just one at-bat with a runner in scoring position.

Nick Martinez, however, gave San Diego a much-needed spark out of the bullpen with four scoreless innings. Martinez allowed two hits, walked none and struck out six a day after Padres reliever MacKenzie Gore tossed three shutout innings.

“He’s good when he attacks the zone,” acting manager Ryan Christenson said of Martinez. “When he’s doing that, he’s really good. He threw the ball extremely well.”

The bullpen as a whole wasn’t considered a major strength heading into the season, but the recent results have been a pleasant surprise.

“It’s just their competitive nature,” Christenson said of Gore and Martinez. “They want to stay here. They want to be a contributing force.”

–Field Level Media

The New York Yankees will look to continue one of their best starts in the history of the storied franchise when they shoot for a four-game sweep of the host Baltimore Orioles on Thursday afternoon.

The Yankees, who are a major-league-best 28-9, have won 23 of their past 27 games. They are coming off a 3-2 win on Wednesday, marking the sixth straight time they have beaten the Orioles.

The Orioles have dropped six in a row overall after a stretch that saw them win six of eight.

The Yankees will turn Thursday to left-hander Jordan Montgomery (0-1, 3.06 ERA). He allowed two runs on six hits with four strikeouts and three walks in 4 1/3 innings during a 3-2 road loss to the Chicago White Sox on Saturday.

Montgomery has faced the Orioles twice this season, ending up with a no-decision each time. On April 15 in Baltimore, he allowed just three hits to go along with two strikeouts and two walks in five scoreless innings during a 2-1 New York loss in 11 innings. In New York on April 27, he gave up two runs on four hits with four strikeouts and no walks in 5 2/3 innings of a 5-2 win.

The Orioles will counter with left-hander Bruce Zimmermann (2-2, 2.72 ERA). He gave up three runs, two earned, on seven hits with two strikeouts and a walk over six innings against the Detroit Tigers during a 3-0 loss on Saturday.

Zimmermann has faced the Yankees twice this season, with mixed results.

On April 17 in Baltimore, he held the Yankees to just four hits to go along with six strikeouts and two walks in five innings during a 5-0 win.

Eleven days later, he allowed four runs, three earned, on seven hits with five strikeouts and a walk in 4 1/3 innings during a 10-5 loss at Yankee Stadium.

Zimmerman has struggled facing the Yankees’ Aaron Judge, who is 4-for-9 with two homers in nine at-bats against him.

Judge leads the majors with 14 homers this year after hitting two on Tuesday. He would have hit a third, as his fly ball to left hit the top of the new 13-foot-high wall in Baltimore and bounced back into play for a double.

“It’s a travesty, man,” Judge said. “I’m pretty upset. It looks like a create-a-park now. I didn’t like it, because I always liked coming here and playing here. Hopefully, in a couple of years, they can move it back in. We’ll see.”

During the offseason, the Orioles moved the left field fence back about 30 feet and raised the wall from its previous height of 7 feet to make the park more pitcher-friendly.

The Orioles’ Trey Mancini, who hit 21 home runs last year and has three this year, said he isn’t a fan of the new left field.

“We play half our game here, so …,” Mancini said. “I know that (Judge’s) ball should probably be a homer, but yeah, we’ve got a lot that should have been, too. Like I said, we play half our games here, so not as great for a right-handed hitter.

“It is still our job to go out there and play, so complaining about it is not going to help us. But that doesn’t mean we like it either.”

–Field Level Media

When the Guardians play a makeup game on Thursday afternoon against the visiting Cincinnati Reds after the teams were rained out on Wednesday, Cleveland will have a key figure back on the bench.

Guardians manager Terry Francona is set to return after missing four games following a positive test for COVID-19.

He was asked if he enjoyed his “vacation.”

“That word would not be the way I would describe it,” Francona said before the rainout. “My kind of vacation is sitting in Hawaii. This was forced retirement. It wasn’t very fun.”

Pitching coach Carl Willis stepped in for Francona and compiled a 1-3 mark.

As many as six Cleveland coaches, plus Francona, have been on the COVID list. More important, red-hot first baseman Josh Naylor has also been sidelined for the past four games. He hasn’t played since May 10 in Chicago.

In his past three games, Naylor went 6-for-12 with three home runs and nine RBIs.

Francona said Naylor could return to the lineup on Friday when the Guardians open a home series against the Detroit Tigers.

“(COVID) was starting to work its way through the clubhouse,” the manager said. “Everyone is breathing on each other. We live with each other.

“It’s not like it’s over and you can let your guard down. Once it happens, it’s almost too late.”

Reds right-hander Tyler Mahle (2-4, 5.89 ERA) will oppose Cleveland right-hander Cal Quantrill (1-2, 3.93) in Thursday’s series finale.

Mahle is 0-2 with a 6.61 ERA in four career starts against the Guardians and 0-1 with a 19.29 ERA in one start at Cleveland.

Quantrill is 0-1 with a 5.00 ERA three career appearances (one start) against the Reds.

Cincinnati manager David Bell will have to adjust his current four-man rotation next week. He moved Vladimir Gutierrez to the bullpen, and Mike Minor should soon return from the injured list to grab a starting role. Nick Lodolo is sidelined due to a right lower back ailment.

Minor, out with a sore shoulder, has recorded two solid starts in Triple A on a rehab assignment. He is scheduled to make another rehab appearance for Louisville on Friday.

“If all goes well there, I think there will be a conversation of getting him back into the rotation after that,” Bell said.

Lodolo, however, isn’t close to rejoining the Reds after a recent setback prompted the team to have him back off for another week.

Reds second baseman Jonathan India, sidelined since April 30 because of a hamstring injury, is not yet set for a rehab assignment.

Cincinnati outfielder Tyler Naquin, meanwhile, has been feasting on Guardians pitching. He went 2-for-4 on Tuesday with a home run.

Naquin, who spent five years in Cleveland, has homered in four of seven games against the Guardians since leaving the team. In those contests, he went 11-for-27 (.407) with two doubles and five RBIs.

Reds shortstop Kyle Farmer snapped a 3-for-46 (.065) skid with a 3-for-3 performance in the first game of the series. He was also hit by a pitch. It marked the second time in his career he reached base four times in a game. The other time occurred against the San Diego Padres last month.

–Field Level Media

A win on Thursday would give the New York Mets another statement series win over a National League contender.

However, the biggest statement regarding the short- and potentially long-term direction of the Mets’ season is likely to be issued before first pitch Thursday afternoon — and after Max Scherzer exits an MRI tube.

The Mets are expected to learn Scherzer’s prognosis ahead of their matchup against the St. Louis Cardinals in the matinee finale of a four-game series.

Chris Bassitt (4-2, 2.34 ERA) is slated to start for the Mets against Dakota Hudson (3-2, 3.06) in a battle of right-handers.

Scherzer earned the win but exited after 5 2/3 innings with discomfort in his left side Wednesday night, when the Mets beat the Cardinals 11-4 to ensure themselves at least a split of the series. In 11 series this season, New York has won nine, lost just one and split another.

Scherzer, facing likely fellow future Hall of Famer Albert Pujols, made a throat slashing motion and appeared to say “I’m done” after sailing a slider out of the strike zone with two on. He departed after a brief consultation with pitching coach Jeremy Hefner, manager Buck Showalter and a trainer.

“In that Pujols at-bat, just felt a zing on my left side and just knew I was done,” Scherzer said. “Don’t know exactly what the exact injury is, but (I’ve) never had a left side injury before. So when I felt it, I just knew there’s no way you can throw another pitch. So just get out of there.”

Scherzer hopes he avoided a major injury. Showalter was thinking positively as well after Scherzer was forthright about a mild hamstring injury at the end of spring training, which cost the right-hander a chance to start on Opening Day but forced him back only one day in the rotation.

“He’s been a great self-evaluator — he knows when he’s at a point where if he pushes more, it’s going to turn into something serious,” Showalter said. “I’m hoping we caught whatever’s in there at an earlier stage of it.”

The lopsided loss for the Cardinals overshadowed another career milestone for Pujols. His two hits — including a two-run single — in what might have been his final game in New York increased his career total to 3,314 and vaulted him into 10th place on the all-time list, one ahead of Eddie Collins, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Pujols also stole a base — the 117th of his career and his first of the year. But his solid night wasn’t enough to overcome an arduous pitching effort by the Cardinals.

Starter Jordan Hicks lasted four innings, during which he gave up two runs but threw more balls (43) than strikes (39). The Mets scored four runs in the fifth off Jake Walsh and added five runs in the eighth against T.J. McFarland.

“Just a combination of a lot of off-nights for a lot of guys,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said.

Bassitt didn’t factor into the decision on Saturday, when he gave up one run over 5 2/3 innings as the Mets beat the Seattle Mariners 5-4. Hudson earned a win on Saturday after tossing five scoreless innings in the Cardinals’ 4-0 victory over the San Francisco Giants.

Bassitt is 1-0 with a 2.89 ERA in two career starts against the Cardinals. He threw six shutout innings to beat St. Louis 3-0 on April 26.

Hudson is 1-0 with a 4.91 ERA in two lifetime starts against the Mets, both in 2019.

–Field Level Media

Max Scherzer earned the win but departed with left side discomfort with two outs in the sixth inning Wednesday night for the host New York Mets, who beat the St. Louis Cardinals 11-4.

Scherzer was ahead 0-1 on fellow likely Hall of Famer Albert Pujols when he sailed a slider out of the strike zone. The 37-year-old three-time Cy Young Award winner almost immediately signaled for the dugout. He subsequently left the mound with a trainer.

The Mets announced in the eighth inning that Scherzer would undergo imaging Thursday.

Scherzer (5-1) allowed two runs (one earned) on seven hits and no walks with four strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings. Pete Alonso homered and drove in four runs for New York. Nolan Arenado hit a two-run homer for the Cardinals.

Brewers 7, Braves 6 (11 innings)

Keston Hiura hit a walk-off, two-run home run in the bottom of the 11th inning as Milwaukee beat visiting Atlanta in the finale of their three-game series.

After Travis d’Arnaud hit a go-ahead single to put the Braves up 6-5, Hiura led off the home 11th with a blast over the center-field wall, plating ghost runner Jace Peterson to give the Brewers the series win.

Trevor Kelley (1-0) earned the win in relief for Milwaukee. Brewers starter Corbin Burnes went six innings, allowing seven hits and four earned runs.

Rays 6, Tigers 1

Isaac Paredes popped a pair of homers, starter Drew Rasmussen posted five scoreless innings and Tampa Bay surged past Detroit in St. Petersburg, Fla.

Acquired in a trade with Detroit on April 4 for Austin Meadows, Paredes went deep in the third and eighth innings for his first multi-homer game.

Over an 87-pitch outing, Rasmussen (4-1) allowed a pair of hits in the first inning but only two more over the next four innings. He whiffed seven without a walk.

Dodgers 5, Diamondbacks 3

Justin Turner hit a three-run home run and right-hander Walker Buehler (5-1) won for the fifth time in eight starts as Los Angeles completed a four-game sweep of visiting Arizona.
Freddie Freeman had an RBI single eight pitches into the game for the Dodgers, who won their fifth straight.

Pavin Smith had two RBIs for Arizona, which saw its season-worst losing streak reach six games. The Diamondbacks fell to 5-21 against the Dodgers over the past two seasons.

Red Sox 5, Astros 1

Nick Pivetta pitched his second career complete game and Rafael Devers had a pair of extra-base hits as Boston beat visiting Houston to win the rubber match of its series.

Pivetta (2-4) allowed one run, two hits and recorded eight strikeouts. He did not walk a batter and threw 78 of his career-high 112 pitches for strikes.

Houston right-hander Luis Garcia (3-2) allowed five runs (three earned) on five hits and three walks with four strikeouts over four innings.

Mariners 5, Blue Jays 1

Ty France had three hits, including a two-run home run, and left-hander Marco Gonzales pitched six strong innings as visiting Seattle beat Toronto.

Cal Raleigh and Abraham Toro added solo home runs for Seattle, which avoided a three-game series sweep. Gonzales (2-4) allowed one run, five hits and three walks while striking out two.

Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman (3-3) allowed two runs, seven hits and a walk in five innings, with three strikeouts. He allowed a home run for the first time this season.

Nationals 5, Marlins 4 (10 innings)

Keibert Ruiz went 3-for-3 with two walks and the go-ahead RBI double in the top of the 10th inning as Washington beat host Miami.

Miami, which is 5-1 against Washington this season, got a big performance from Jazz Chisholm Jr., who homered and also took the major league lead with his fourth triple of the season. Chisholm also hit a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the ninth, sending the game to extra innings.

Miami’s Pablo Lopez, who entered the game with the best ERA in the majors at 1.05, allowed three runs for just the second time this season. Lopez, whose ERA rose to 1.57, allowed four hits and three walks in three innings — his shortest outing of the season.

Rockies 5, Giants 3

C.J. Cron hit a tiebreaking two-run homer in the eighth inning, Charlie Blackmon also went deep, and Colorado rallied to beat San Francisco in Denver.

Ryan McMahon had two hits, Tyler Kinley (1-0) pitched an inning and Daniel Bard got the final three outs for his 10th save for the Rockies. Colorado ended an eight-game home skid to San Francisco and a 12-game losing streak overall to the NL West Division rivals.

Twins 14, Athletics 4

Luis Arraez went 3-for-5 with two RBIs and four runs scored and Gary Sanchez drove in three runs as Minnesota routed host Oakland in the rubber match of a three-game series.

Ryan Jeffers added two hits and two RBIs for Minnesota, which set a season high for runs scored and won for the fourth time in its last six games. Thairo Estrada went 3-for-3 and Mike Yastrzemski had two hits for the Giants.

Minnesota starter Sonny Gray (1-1) allowed two runs on six hits with no walks and five strikeouts over six innings. Oakland starter Daulton Jefferies lost his seventh straight start, allowing six runs on seven hits over four innings. He walked three and struck out five.

Phillies 3, Padres 0

Rhys Hoskins homered, walked and scored two runs, and Zack Wheeler tossed seven scoreless innings as Philadelphia defeated San Diego.

Padres starter Blake Snell (0-1) lasted only 3 2/3 innings in his first start of the season while coming back from an adductor injury. Snell, who threw 34 pitches in the first inning, allowed three hits and three runs to go along with five strikeouts and three walks.

The Padres had only one at-bat with a runner in scoring position and left three on base.

Yankees 3, Orioles 2

Gerrit Cole allowed two runs on six hits over seven innings to lead New York past host Baltimore.

Cole (4-0) struck out five without a walk for the Yankees, who scored three times after two were out in the first inning. Gleyber Torres had an RBI double in the first.
Austin Hays went 3-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI for the Orioles.

Pirates 3, Cubs 2

Jack Suwinski clubbed a tiebreaking homer in his hometown during the fifth inning, and visiting Pittsburgh generated enough offense to post a needed victory over surging Chicago.

Michael Chavis had three hits with an RBI and four pitchers allowed five hits and struck out 11 for the Pirates, who salvaged the finale after being outscored 16-0 in the first two of the three-game series. Pittsburgh collected nine hits Wednesday, one more than its total from the previous two contests.

Suwinski, who attended high school eight miles west of Wrigley Field and made his major league debut April 26, broke a 2-2 tie with his solo drive that landed in the basket in right-center field. It was his third home run in 20 major league games, and the first by a Pirate in four contests.

Rangers 6, Angels 5 (10 innings)

Nathaniel Lowe’s two-run, walk-off home run off Raisel Iglesias in the 10th inning rallied Texas to a win over Los Angeles in Arlington, Texas.

Lowe’s blast to right field, which barely stayed fair, gave the Rangers a three-game sweep, all of the wins in comeback fashion. Charlie Culberson, the runner who started the half-inning at second base, also scored on Lowe’s second home of the season. It was Texas’ 10th comeback victory.

In the top of the 10th, the Angels went ahead 5-4 on Mike Trout’s fielder’s choice, which scored designated runner Andrew Velazquez from third. Dennis Santana (2-1) picked up the win, and Iglesias (1-2) took the loss.

Royals 6, White Sox 2

Bobby Witt Jr. and MJ Melendez hit home runs to lead host Kansas City to a victory over Chicago in the fourth game of a five-game series.

Melendez collected two hits and two RBIs while Witt, Emmanuel Rivera and Kyle Isbel each had two hits and an RBI for the Royals. Collin Snyder (3-1) pitched one-third of an inning to get the win.

Tim Anderson had three hits and an RBI for the White Sox, who have lost the past two games after winning the series’ first two.

–Field Level Media