DETROIT (AP) — Shohei Ohtani’s two-out RBI double gave the Los Angeles Dodgers a ninth-inning lead and they held on to beat the Detroit Tigers 4-3 on Friday, ending a four-game losing streak.
Chris Taylor singled off Jason Foley with one out in the ninth and took third on Austin Barnes’ pinch-hit single off Tyler Holton (4-2). Gavin Lux popped out, but Ohtani hit a 0-1 sinker to the deepest part of the outfield for what appeared to be a two-run double.
However, the ball bounced into the shrubbery beyond the center-field fence, forcing Barnes to stop at third. After Tigers manager A.J. Hinch intentionally walked Will Smith to load the bases, right fielder Wenceel Pérez made a sliding catch to rob Freddie Freeman of a two-run single.
Daniel Hudson struck out Ryan Vilade to start the ninth, but walked Colt Keith and Pérez before retiring Matt Vierling and Riley Greene to record his fourth save.
The Dodgers trailed 3-2 in the eighth, but two-out singles by Smith and Freeman put runners on the corners. Foley came in, but Teoscar Hernández bounced a tying single between first and second.
Neither starter was involved in the decision. Tarik Skubal allowed two runs on two hits in six innings, striking out eight in his last start before the All-Star Game.
RAYS 2, GUARDIANS 0
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Taj Bradley allowed limited AL Central-leading Cleveland to five hits in seven innings to help Tampa Bay beat Guardians.
Bradley (4-4) struck out eight and walked two in his seventh consecutive strong start. The right-hander has given up five earned runs over his 42 innings.
Colin Poche struck out two in a perfect eighth before Jason Adam had three strikeouts in an 1-2-3 ninth to complete a five-hitter and get his fourth save. Tampa Bay improved to 47-47.
Major league batting leader Steven Kwan went 1 for 4 for the Guardians, who have lost 10 of 16. He is hitting .359.
Light-hitting catcher Alex Jackson had a leadoff double in the fifth off Carlos Carrasco (3-7), and scored to put the Rays up 2-0 on Yandy Díaz’s groundball double down the first-base line.
ATHLETICS 6, PHILLIES 2
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Lawrence Butler homered, Shea Langeliers drove in a two runs and Oakland beat Philadelphia.
Miguel Andujar and Brent Rooker also had RBIs for the A’s, who are in last place in the AL West and have the fourth-fewest wins (36) in baseball.
The Phillies have the most wins (61) and were coming off a three-game home sweep of the NL West-leading Dodgers while outscoring Los Angeles 19-5. But NL East-leading Philadelphia dropped the first in a three-game series against cellar-dwelling Oakland.
Ranger Suárez (10-4), one of a franchise-record seven Phillies All-Stars, continued his recent struggles, allowing four runs and six hits in six innings. Suárez had a 1.83 ERA through his first 16 starts but has an 8.62 mark in his last three outings.
Osvaldo Bido (1-1) tossed three scoreless innings of relief to get the win.
ROYALS 6, RED SOX 1
BOSTON (AP) — Bobby Witt Jr. and MJ Melendez each had solo home runs, Cole Ragans allowed one run over seven innings and Kansas City beat Boston for their fourth consecutive victory.
Adam Frazier, Vinnie Pasquantino and Salvador Perez all added RBIs for Kansas City, which opened the three-game series a game back of Boston for the AL’s final wild-card spot.
It was the 16th homer of the season for Witt, an All-Star who will be competing in Monday’s Home Run Derby.
Ragans (6-6) struck out seven and allowed four hits to earn his first victory since June 24 at Miami.
Ceddanne Rafaela had an RBI for the Red Sox.
Cooper Criswell (3-4) threw a career-high 104 pitches over six innings, yielding eight hits and five runs, but only two – including Witt’s home run – were earned.
YANKEES 4, ORIOLES 1
BALTIMORE (AP) — Aaron Judge hit his 33rd homer for his first RBI in over a week, and New York took the opener of their three-game set with AL East-leading Baltimore.
Benches cleared and there was some pushing and shoving in the bottom of the ninth after Orioles outfielder Heston Kjerstad was hit around the ear flap of his helmet by Clay Holmes’ pitch.
Gerrit Cole (2-1) pitched six solid innings for the Yankees, who pulled within a game of first place. Baltimore has dropped four in a row.
The teams met for the first time since the Orioles took two of three in New York last month. Since then, the Yankees are 6-13 and Baltimore is 8-12. That has allowed Boston to creep to within 5 1/2 games of the division lead.
Cole allowed a run and five hits, throwing 106 pitches in his longest outing — by both innings and pitches — since returning from elbow problems in the middle of June. Three relievers finished, with Holmes working a hitless ninth for his 21st save in 26 chances.
REDS 7, MARLINS 4
CINCINNATI (AP) — Rookie Rece Hinds hit his first career grand slam, Jonathan India and Jeimer Candelario had first-inning solo shots and Cincinnati beat Miami.
Reds starter Carson Spiers (3-2) struck out eight of the first 10 Marlins he faced and finished with a career-high nine in the opener of the final series before the All-Star break. Spiers allowed three runs and six hits through five innings.
The Reds, who took three of four from the Colorado Rockies this week, did their damage in the first three innings off Miami starter Yonny Chirinos (0-1).
India hit one out to center field, his first lead-off homer since May 7, 2023, and Candelario’s shot went out to right, his 15th of the season.
Will Benson hit a two-out RBI double in the second, and Hinds hit a bases-loaded shot into the first row of seats in center field in the third inning, his third homer in his first five games in the majors.
METS 7, ROCKIES 6
NEW YORK (AP) — Jose Iglesias and Harrison Bader each hit two of New York’s season-best five home runs, and they held off the last-place Colorado.
Mark Vientos also went deep and drilled an RBI double as the Mets (48-45) improved to 4-0 on a six-game homestand against the struggling Nationals and Rockies leading into the All-Star break. New York has won six of seven overall, improving to 24-10 since it was 11 games under .500 on June 2.
Sean Manaea (6-3) threw 74 of his season-high 107 pitches for strikes over seven effective innings, striking out nine to win his third straight decision. He handed a 7-3 lead to New York’s shaky bullpen, which barely held on.
Charlie Blackmon homered against Jake Diekman to start the eighth, and Brenton Doyle shaved it to 7-6 with a two-run shot off Phil Maton.
In between, Iglesias left his feet at third base to snare Elias Díaz’s 109.4 mph line drive, which got stuck in the webbing of his glove.
PIRATES 4, WHITE SOX 1
CHICAGO (AP) — Marco Gonzales made a promising return to the rotation hours after coming off the injured list and Pittsburgh won their second straight, over the Chicago.
Ke’Bryan Hayes had a pair of hits, an RBI and scored a run for the Pirates. They’ve won four of five.
Gonzales (1-0), who’d been out almost three months with a forearm strain, made his first start since April 13 and scattered seven hits over the five innings. He allowing an earned run, struck out four and didn’t walk a batter.
Pittsburgh erased a 1-0 deficit in the fifth thanks to RBIs from Jared Triolo and Michael A. Taylor and padded the lead an inning later when Nick Gonzales and Hayes drove in runs.
David Bednar, the last of three Pittsburgh relievers, worked the ninth for his 17th save.
ASTROS 6, RANGERS 3
HOUSTON (AP) — Jose Altuve hit a three-run homer, Hunter Brown struck out five over six innings and Houston won their 10th straight home game with a victory over Texas.
Alex Bregman and Jake Meyers also homered while Josh Hader converted his 18th straight save opportunity. The Astros have the best record in the majors at 25-11 since June 1 and notched their 50th win of the year.
Holding on to a 3-2 lead in the sixth, Altuve crushed a 1-1 changeup from Texas reliever José Ureña 365 feet into the left field seats to make it 6-2.
Houston’s defense kept the scorecard clean early for Brown. With two on in the first, Chas McCormick ended the frame with a diving grab in right field. The Astros then turned a pair of inning-ending double plays in the second and third innings.
Brown (7-6) held the Rangers to two runs on five hits, walked two and struck out five for his sixth win in his last seven starts.
NATIONALS 5, BREWERS 2
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Jackson Rutledge struck out six in his first major league start, Jesse Winker hit his 11th home run and Washington beat Milwaukee to end a five-game losing streak.
Rutledge, Washington’s first-round pick in 2019 who had only pitched one inning during a May 14 doubleheader, held Milwaukee to three hits and two walks over 4 2/3 innings.
Robert Garcia (1-3) pitched 1 1/3 innings for the victory, and Kyle Finnegan struck out two in the ninth for his 24th save.
The Nationals staked Rutledge to a 1-0 lead in the first inning on Winker’s RBI double and added two more in the fourth before the Brewers got on the board with two in the bottom half.
Winker got one of those runs back in the fifth when he sent a 94.2 mph fastball from right-hander Freddy Peralta 403 feet to right-center.
CUBS 5, CARDINALS 1
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Kyle Hendricks allowed five hits in seven shutout innings and Nico Hoerner and David Bote each drove in two runs as Chicago extended their season-best winning streak to five games with a victory over St. Louis.
Hendricks (2-7) didn’t allow a runner to reach second base and finished with three strikeouts and a walk. The 34-year-old right-handler has not allowed a run in 11 1/3 innings over two appearances against St. Louis this season and is 14-4 with a 2.51 ERA lifetime in 27 appearances (26 starts) versus the Cardinals.
The Cardinals’ Sonny Gray (9-6) allowed three runs on nine hits and struck out six in seven innings. St. Louis has dropped three straight games after winning six of its previous eight.
Masyn Winn and Willson Contreras walked, and Paul Goldschmidt hit an RBI single in the ninth inning off Hunter Bigge to snap a streak of 32 2/3 scoreless innings by Cubs pitching.
Héctor Neris allowed a two out walk to Nolan Arenado to load the bases before striking out Lars Nootbaar to earn his 13th save in 17 chances.
