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Rays avoid being swept with 4-3 victory over Orioles

 The Associated Press  |    Jun 2nd, 2024 11:16pm EDT

BALTIMORE (AP) — Jose Siri hit a two-run double in the eighth to put Tampa Bay ahead, Garrett Cleavinger escaped the bottom of the inning thanks to a bases-loaded double play, and the Rays avoided a sweep with a 4-3 win over the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday.

Gunnar Henderson hit his sixth leadoff homer of the season for the Orioles, who led 3-0 in the fourth before Tampa Bay’s comeback. With the score 3-2, Dillon Tate (2-1) allowed two straight singles to start the eighth and then fell behind in the count against Siri, who was squaring around to bunt. Siri finally swung away at a 3-1 pitch and drove it to right-center field to put Tampa Bay on top.

Shawn Armstrong (2-1) won in relief, but Cleavinger nearly gave up the lead. With a man on first and one out, he walked Henderson — the Baltimore shortstop reached in all five of his plate appearances — and then allowed a single to left by Adley Rutschman.

Ramón Urías was held at third on that sharp hit, leaving the bases loaded, and then Ryan Mountcastle hit a roller to third on the first pitch.

Pete Fairbanks worked a slightly less stressful ninth, allowing one hit before securing his sixth save in seven chances.

NATIONALS 5, GUARDIANS 2

CLEVELAND (AP) — Joey Meneses’ two-run double keyed a four-run second inning and Jake Irvin pitched six strong innings to lead Washington to a victory over Cleveland.

Meneses’ double to deep center field opened the scoring against Carlos Carrasco. Ildemaro Vargas and Lane Thomas had back-to-back RBI singles later in the second to put the Nationals up 4-0 as they avoided a series sweep.

That was enough support for Irvin (3-5), who allowed five hits and one walk while striking out six. Irvin had gone 1-3 in his previous five starts despite a 2.55 ERA.

The AL Central-leading Guardians’ nine-game home winning streak, their longest since 2017, was snapped.

Daniel Schneemann cut the Nationals’ lead in half in the bottom of the second inning by lining a two-run double to right field on the first pitch he saw in the major leagues. Schneemann, an infielder/outfielder, had his contract selected by the Guardians from Triple-A Columbus prior to the game.

TWINS 4, ASTROS 3

HOUSTON (AP) — Jose Miranda hit a solo homer in the sixth inning and a tiebreaking RBI double in the eighth, helping Minnesota top Houston.

Trevor Larnach also went deep for Minnesota, which took two of three in the weekend series. Steven Okert (2-0) got two outs for the win, and Jhoan Duran handled the ninth for his 10th save.

Miranda’s sixth homer of the season — a one-out drive to left-center off Hunter Brown — tied it at 3.

Larnach reached on a leadoff walk in the eighth against Ryan Pressly (0-3). Pinch-runner Manuel Margot moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Ryan Jeffers and then scored on Miranda’s grounder down the third base line.

Larnach got Minnesota an early lead when he homered on Brown’s fourth pitch of the game. The leadoff drive was Larnach’s sixth homer this season.

Alex Bregman and Victor Caratini went deep for Houston, which lost for the fifth time in seven games.

BRAVES 3, ATHLETICS 1

ATLANTA (AP) — Sean Murphy drove in the go-ahead run with a bloop double in the seventh inning and Atlanta limited Oakland to two hits in a win.

Charlie Morton allowed one hit in six scoreless innings, but he ended up with a no-decision when the A’s tied the game in the top of the seventh inning on a home-run by Zack Gelof.

Murphy’s double down the right-field line knocked in Adam Duval for what proved to be the winning run and allowed the Braves to take the series 2-1.

Morton had his best start of the season, walking five and hitting a batter. No A’s batter reached third base during his outing.

Luis Medina was stellar for the A’s in his first start of the season, lasting 5 2/3 innings and surrendering two hits and one unearned run. He had six strikeouts and two walks. Medina started the season on the injured list with a sprained right knee. He made three minor league appearances before starting Sunday.

Marcell Ozuna went 1-for-3 with a double and reached base for the 26th consecutive game.

RANGERS 6, MARLINS 0

MIAMI (AP) — Andrew Heaney threw six scoreless innings, Adolis García homered and singled and Texas beat Miami.

Jacob Latz, David Robertson and Grant Anderson pitched an inning each to finish the Rangers’ second consecutive shutout win. It is the first time since September 2016 that the Rangers have back-to-back shutout wins.

Rangers shortstop Corey Seager singled in five at-bats to extend his hitting streak to 15 games. Seager also has a 25-game on-base streak.

Marcus Semien had three walks and singled, while Josh Smith had two hits for the Rangers.

Heaney (2-6) allowed four singles and struck out seven. It was his longest outing since also going six innings against Oakland on May 6.

The Marlins dropped to an NL-worst 21-39. They haven’t scored since the eighth inning of their series-opening win on Friday.

BREWERS 6, WHITE SOX 3

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Jackson Chourio hit a three-run homer and Milwaukee extended Chicago’s slide to a season-high 11 games with a victory.

Gary Sánchez had a two-run single and left fielder Christian Yelich threw out the potential tying run at the plate in the eighth inning as the NL Central leaders completed a three-game sweep. Milwaukee (36-23) has won four in a row and seven of nine to move a season-best 13 games above .500.

Chicago has dropped 15 of 16 and owns the worst record in the majors at 15-45. Paul DeJong homered and drove in two runs for the White Sox, who are on the longest losing streak in the big leagues this year.

Freddy Peralta (4-3) struck out seven over five innings for his first win since April 30 against Tampa Bay.

Batting ninth, Chourio sent a first-pitch slider from starter Nick Nastrini (0-5) into the second level of seats in left field for the prized rookie’s sixth home run. The drive followed an RBI double by Jake Bauers and gave the Brewers a 4-2 lead in the second.

DeJong hit a solo homer in the fourth, trimming it to 4-3.

DIAMONDBACKS 5, METS 4

NEW YORK (AP) — Ketel Marte hit a leadoff homer and then a go-ahead, two-run shot in the ninth inning that lifted Arizona over New York for a four-game split.

Brandon Nimmo and J.D. Martinez combined to drive in three runs with consecutive triples in a four-run third against Arizona starter Brandon Pfaadt, but the Mets lost for the sixth time since May 1 when leading after eight innings.

Entering the day, no other team in the majors had lost more than twice during that stretch when taking a lead into the ninth.

Pinch-hitter Gabriel Moreno doubled to open the ninth against Jake Diekman (1-2) and Marte hit a 439-foot drive to center field for his 12th home run this season and seventh career multi-homer game. It was Arizona’s first hit in eight at-bats with runners in scoring position.

Marte also homered to center off Jose Quintana on the game’s third pitch.

Justin Martínez (2-0) tossed two hitless innings and Paul Sewald, pitching on consecutive days for the first time this year, got three outs for his fifth save.

BLUE JAYS 5, PIRATES 4

TORONTO (AP) — Daniel Vogelbach had two hits and two RBIs, Chris Bassitt pitched five innings to remain unbeaten in five career starts against Pittsburgh and Toronto won.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Davis Schneider each had an RBI and Daulton Varsho scored twice as the Blue Jays took two of three from Pittsburgh.

Bassitt (6-6) allowed three runs and eight hits, extending his winning streak to three starts. He walked one and struck out seven.

The Pirates put at least one runner on base in every inning against Bassitt but the right-hander pitched out of jams, escaping a bases-loaded situation in the second.

Bassitt is 4-0 with a 2.10 ERA in five career starts against the Pirates.

Chad Green, Trevor Richards and Nate Pearson each pitched one inning of relief. Yimi García pitched around Rody Tellez’s two-out RBI single in the ninth for his third save in four chances.

TIGERS 8, RED SOX 4, 10 INNINGS

BOSTON (AP) — Javier Báez’s two-run single highlighted a four-run 10th inning and Detroit beat Boston.

Rafael Devers had a game-tying solo homer, RBI triple and sliding play to his left on Matt Vierling’s grounder for the Red Sox, who were a major league-best 9-0 on Sundays.

Wenceel Pérez added three hits, drove in a run and scored another on a close play for the Tigers, who won for just the third time in their last 15 games against Boston.

Pinch-hitter Andy Ibáñez’s RBI double against Cam Booser (0-2) moved the Tigers ahead in the 10th before Báez singled and Carson Kelly added an RBI double.

Andrew Chafin (3-1) got four outs for the win.

REDS 5, CUBS 2

CHICAGO (AP) — TJ Friedl hit a three-run homer, Nick Lodolo pitched six effective innings and Cincinnati beat slumping Chicago.

Jake Fraley had three hits for Cincinnati, which took two of three in the weekend series. Spencer Steer and Jeimer Candelario each had two hits.

Lodolo (5-2) allowed two runs and seven hits in his second straight win. The left-hander struck out three and walked one.

Nick Martinez tossed two scoreless innings for Cincinnati before Alexis Díaz got three outs for his 12th save.

Pinch-hitter Michael Busch reached on a leadoff walk in the ninth, but pinch-hitter Pete Crow-Armstrong flied out, Nico Hoerner bounced to shortstop and Seiya Suzuki struck out looking.

Cody Bellinger had three hits for Chicago, which lost for the ninth time in 11 games.

ROYALS 4, PADRES 3

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Nick Loftin hit a walk-off sacrifice fly, Nelson Velázquez hit two RBIs and Kansas City defeated San Diego.

Loftin’s sacrifice fly came after Velázquez pinch-hit a game-tying, two-run triple with no outs in the ninth. Velázquez finished the series with four RBIs.

The Padres won the series, but Kansas City avoided the sweep. The Royals have not been swept this season and ended a three-game skid.

Cole Ragans allowed one run on five hits in six innings with six strikeouts and two walks. It was the ninth time this season Ragans had six or more strikeouts in an outing this season. Will Klein (1-0) earned the win with a scoreless ninth inning.

Vinnie Pasquantino hit a sacrifice fly in the fourth to give Kansas City a 1-0 lead. It was his fifth RBI of the series.

DODGERS 4, ROCKIES 0

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman homered in the first inning, Gavin Stone had another strong outing and Los Angeles beat Colorado.

Betts hit his fourth leadoff homer this season. Two batters later, Freeman went deep off Colorado’s Austin Gomber, the eighth time the Dodgers have homered at least twice in an inning.

Freeman also scored twice and drove in two runs for the Dodgers, who have won five of six.

Stone (6-2) went five innings and struck out six while giving up only four hits and two walks. The right-hander has allowed one run or fewer in six of his seven starts since April 26.

Michael Grove, Alex Vesia and Daniel Hudson came out of the bullpen to combine for the Dodgers’ sixth shutout this season and second in five games.

MARINERS 5, ANGELS 1

SEATTLE (AP) — Luis Castillo threw seven shutout innings, Mitch Garver hit a three-run double and Seattle beat Los Angeles for a sweep of their weekend series.

Castillo was brilliant in his first win since May 12. The right-hander struck out six and walked three — all on 3-2 pitches.

Castillo (5-6) surrendered two hits on Taylor Ward’s double in the first and Kyren Paris’ broken-bat single in the third. It was his third occasion this season when he threw at least seven shutout innings while allowing three hits or less.

The Mariners had shut out the Angels for 19 straight innings before shortstop J.P. Crawford’s first error of the season led to a run in the ninth on Zach Neto’s two-out single. Before that, the Angels’ only runs in the three games had come on Jo Adell’s grand slam in the seventh on Friday.

Seattle closed out a stretch of 17 straight days without a day off — its longest such stretch of the season — with a 10-7 record during the span. The Mariners also improved to 21-11 at home, tied for the second-best home mark through 32 games in franchise history. Only the 2001 team that won 116 games had a better start at home at 25-7.

YANKEES 7, GIANTS 5

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Juan Soto homered twice, including a go-ahead drive in a four-run ninth inning against All-Star closer Camilo Doval, and New York rallied past San Francisco.

Giants starter Blake Snell, a two-time Cy Young Award winner, exited in the fifth with an apparent groin injury and will undergo an MRI.

Aaron Judge added two singles while extending his on-base streak to 29 games as the AL East-leading Yankees won their fifth straight and completed a 7-2 trip to three cities in California with a three-game sweep at Oracle Park.

Soto homered off Snell in the first inning, then reached on a bunt and scored in the fifth.

CARDINALS 5, PHILLIES 4, 10 INNINGS

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Nolan Gorman hit an early two-run homer and a tiebreaking single in the 10th inning to lead St. Louis over Philadelphia.

Gorman ripped a two-out single to right field off Gregory Soto (1-3) to score the automatic runner in the 10th and help St. Louis avoid a series sweep. The Cardinals had lost their last six games in Philadelphia.

Cardinals reliever Ryan Helsley struck out Nick Castellanos for his 19th save, stranding automatic runner Bryce Harper at third base and ending Philadelphia’s three-game winning streak.

John King (2-1) tossed a scoreless inning of relief for the win.

Taijuan Walker continued plodding through another turn in the rotation even as the Phillies have Spencer Turnbull out in the bullpen. The Phillies are committed to Walker in large part because he’s in the second season of a four-year, $72 million deal — the first of which saw him fail to throw a pitch in the postseason, even as the 15-game winner and the Phillies reached Game 7 of the NL Championship Series.

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The Associated Press