Juan Soto hit two of the Yankees’ five home runs and New York salvaged a four-game series split with a 9-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday.
Soto had his fourth multi-homer game this season since coming over in a December trade and 21st of his career. He hit a solo homer into the third deck in right field in the seventh inning and added a three-run homer in the eighth and now has 25 on the season.
Soto went 11 for 18 in the series, including a four-hit game on Friday.
DJ LeMahieu, Austin Wells and Anthony Volpe also homered as the Yankees tied a season high by hitting five homers for the second time this season.
Carlos Rodón (10-7) earned his first win since June 10. He allowed one run and two hits and struck out 10 in seven innings.
LeMahieu ended an 0-for-18 slide with his first homer in 10 months. He entered with a .177 average and the two-time batting champion hit his first homer since Sept. 5 after being given Sunday off.
Rodón entered 0-5 with a 9.37 ERA in his previous six starts since his previous victory June 10 at Kansas City, but was in complete command from the outset. He allowed two hits and matched his longest outing of the season by going seven innings for the third time.
The left-hander had his 25th career double-digit strikeout game and first since Sept. 17. He averaged 95.5 mph on his 55 fastballs, threw 20 sliders, 16 curveballs and 10 changeups.
Rodón did not allow a hit until Jose Siri homered in the fifth inning. Siri also homered in the Rays’ 6-4 victory on Sunday.
TIGERS 8, GUARDIANS 2
CLEVELAND (AP) — Tarik Skubal pitched seven innings while continuing to be mentioned in trade rumors and Justyn-Henry Malloy hit a two-run homer, leading Detroit to a win over Cleveland.
Skubal (11-3) gave up a season-high 10 hits, but just one run as the All-Star worked out of several jams. The left-hander has been linked to potential trades with several contenders as the July 30 trade deadline nears.
Malloy homered in the first inning off Carlos Carrasco (3-8) as the Tigers beat the AL-Central leaders for the fourth time in five games.
Cleveland has dropped three straight and is just 2-7 since July 10. The teams play five more times in the next eight days.
PIRATES 2, CARDINALS 1
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Nick Gonzales hit a go-ahead RBI single in the eighth inning after Mitch Keller allowed one run in the first seven, and Pittsburgh defeated St. Louis.
Bryan Reynolds led off the eighth with a single to left before advancing to second on a wild pitch. With one out, Gonzales sneaked a slow dribbler off John King (3-2) through the right side of the infield.
Gonzales hit a late-inning, go-ahead single for the second time in four games. He did it in the ninth inning against Philadelphia on Friday, giving the Pirates an 8-7 win.
Keller gave up six hits in seven innings, striking out three and walking two, before Aroldis Chapman (2-4) pitched a perfect eighth. David Bednar allowed a two-out single to Paul Goldschmidt in the ninth before striking out Nolan Gorman for his 18th save.
REDS 4, BRAVES 0 (AP) —
ATLANTA — Hunter Greene allowed only two hits in seven scoreless innings, Will Benson homered and Cincinnati took advantage of their speed to beat Reynaldo López and Atlanta.
Greene (7-4), making his first start since taking the loss in the All-Star Game, had seven strikeouts. The right-hander has allowed a combined two runs in his last four starts.
Marcell Ozuna had two hits for Atlanta, including a ninth-inning single off Alexis Díaz. Ozuna scored on Eddie Rosario’s sacrifice fly. Díaz walked Adam Duvall and Sean Murphy before ending the game on Orlando Arcia’s fly ball to left field.
The Reds ended a four-game losing streak and dealt the Braves their third straight loss. Cincinnati stole four bases, including two by Benson, and leads the majors with 143.
METS 6, MARLINS 4
MIAMI (AP) — Francisco Lindor homered twice, Jeff McNeil also went deep and the New York Mets beat Miami.
McNeil had three RBIs for the Mets, who split the four-game series against the National League’s worst team. New York (51-48) is 5-5 versus Miami (35-65) this season.
Mets starter David Peterson (5-0) permitted two runs and six hits in five innings. The left-hander walked four and struck out four.
José Buttó relieved Peterson and allowed one run over two innings. Phil Maton worked a perfect eighth, aided by a diving catch from center fielder Harrison Bader.
