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Yankees extend their win streak to six, Soto homers twice in 6-1 win over White Sox

 The Associated Press  |    May 18th, 2024 10:41pm EDT

NEW YORK (AP) — Juan Soto had his first multihomer game with the Yankees, Luis Gil struck out a career-high 14 and New York beat the Chicago White Sox 6-1 on Saturday to extend its winning streak to a season-high six games.

Giancarlo Stanton and Jose Trevino also went deep for New York, which has won 12 of 14 and improved to an AL-best 32-15. Soto was 4 for 4 with a walk and is batting .317 with 11 homers and 37 RBIs.

New York is 12-2-1 in series, matching 2002 as the only times since 1950 the Yankees have won 12 of their first 15 series.

Soto tied the score in the first with a 417-foot drive deep into the right-field bleachers, had an RBI single in the second and hit another solo shot in the fifth with a 437-footer deeper into the right-field bleachers. It was the 18th multihomer game for Soto, who combined with Stanton and Aaron Judge to make New York the first team this year with a trio of double-digit home run hitters.

Gil (5-1) won his fourth straight start and fifth consecutive decision, allowing one run, five hits and one walk in six innings. The 25-year-old right-hander set the Yankees’ rookie record for strikeouts, topping the 13 on Aug. 13, 1998, by Orlando Hernández, who threw out Saturday’s ceremonial first pitch. Gil has given up two runs over 24 1/3 innings in his last four starts.

After struggling through a 29-pitch first inning that included 13 changeups, Gil struck out seven in a row starting in the fourth in a streak ended by Eloy Jiménez’s single.

CUBS 1, PIRATES 0

CHICAGO (AP) — Christopher Morel singled in Cody Bellinger with one out in the ninth to give Chicago a win over Pittsburgh.

Bellinger got the winning rally started with a ground-rule double down the left-field line with one out off David Bednar. Morel then cracked a 3-2 pitch up the middle, and Bellinger narrowly beat Michael A. Taylor’s throw to the plate on a play that withstood a video review.

Hector Neris (4-0) tossed a perfect ninth, striking out two, for the win.

Cubs starter Shota Imanaga tossed seven scoreless innings of four-hit ball in his third straight no-decision. The 30-year-old left-hander from Japan struck out seven and walked one as he threw 68 of 88 pitches for strikes.

Mark Leiter Jr. followed with a perfect eighth, striking out the side.

Pittsburgh’s Bailey Falter pitched scoreless, three-hit ball through 7 2/3 innings, the longest outing of his career. The 27-year-old left hander struck out two and walked two, throwing 55 of 83 pitches for strikes.

RAYS 5, BLUE JAYS 4

TORONTO (AP) — Jonny DeLuca hit a go-ahead home run in the eighth inning and Tampa Bay overcame a four-run deficit to beat Toronto for their 11th win in 15 games.

Yandy Díaz reached base five times and Amed Rosario hit a two-run single for the Rays, who have won four of five series.

Erasmo Ramírez (3-0) worked one inning for the win, Jason Adam pitched the eighth and Garrett Cleavinger finished for his third save in three chances.

Four of Tampa Bay’s past six games have been decided by a single run. The others were two-run decisions.

Isaac Paredes singled off right-hander Nate Pearson (0-1) to begin the eighth with Tampa Bay trailing 4-3. DeLuca followed with a drive that bounced off the top of the wall in left field and went out, his second home run.

GIANTS 14, ROCKIES 4

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Luis Matos hit a three-run homer and had a career-high six RBIs to continue his hot streak, Matt Chapman went 4 for 4 and scored three runs and San Francisco used 18 hits to rout Colorado.

The Giants have won three straight for the first time this season. They were the last team in the majors without a win streak of three or more games.

Matos, who drove in five runs Friday night, has RBIs in his last six games and set a franchise record with 17 RBIs in his first six games of the season with a plate appearance. With Jung Hoo Lee out for the season, the 22-year-old Matos figures to keep seeing playing time in center field. He also took away a potential extra-base hit from Ezequiel Tovar with a leaping grab in the fifth.

Matos put the Giants ahead with a three-run homer in the first inning, hit an RBI double in his second at-bat to give San Francisco a 6-3 lead and then knocked in two more runs in the eighth with a bases-loaded single as part of a six-run inning.

MARLINS 10, METS 9, 10 INNINGS

MIAMI (AP) — Josh Bell hit a tying homer off Edwin Díaz in a four-run ninth inning, the latest costly meltdown by the struggling New York closer, and Otto Lopez singled home the winning run in the 10th as Miami rallied for a victory.

Lopez grounded a single up the middle off Jorge López (1-1) through a drawn-in infield to score automatic runner Christian Bethancourt from third, and the last-place Marlins stretched their winning streak to a season-best four games.

Miami was down 9-5 in the ninth before Jazz Chisholm Jr. singled off Díaz to drive in Vidal Brujan, who led off with a double. Bryan De La Cruz reached on an infield single with one out, and Bell hammered Díaz’s first-pitch slider 428 feet to straightaway center field for a three-run shot that tied it.

Tanner Scott (3-4) picked up the win by pitching a scoreless 10th.

Miami had shut out its previous three opponents — including an 8-0 win over the Mets on Friday night — before J.D. Martinez ripped a line drive to center off starter Braxton Garrett that scored Francisco Lindor in the first. The Marlins’ streak ended three innings short of the franchise record set in April 2004.

GUARDIANS 11, TWINS 4

CLEVELAND (AP) — José Ramírez homered and had three RBIs and Logan Allen pitched six strong innings, sending Cleveland to a romp over Minnesota, who lost their fifth straight and remained in an offensive funk.

Ramírez hit a two-run homer in the first inning off Bailey Ober (4-2) and added an RBI double and single on the same night the Guardians celebrated their All-Star third baseman with a bobblehead giveaway.

Needing a triple for the cycle — Cleveland’s lone one at home came in 1933 — Ramírez popped to second in the sixth and grounded to first in the seventh.

Tyler Freeman had a career-high four hits and also drove in three runs as the AL Central-leading Guardians moved a season-best 12 games over .500.

Allen (5-2) held the Twins to five singles and hasn’t given up a run in his last 12 innings over two starts. The left-hander walked one and struck out seven.

ROYALS 5, ATHLETICS 3

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Seth Lugo struck out 10 and earned his American League-leading seventh victory as Kansas City beat Oakland.

The Royals improved to 28-19, nine games over .500 for the first time since the end of the 2015 season, when they went on to win the World Series. Kansas City also claimed its eighth series win of the season, a mark the Royals didn’t reach until mid-September in 2023.

Oakland lost its seventh straight game, the A’s longest skid of the season.

Lugo (7-1) allowed two runs on six hits with a walk in 5 2/3 innings. The 34-year-old right-hander had his second straight double-digit strikeout game and became the eighth Royals pitcher to accomplish that feat. James McArthur picked up his 11th save.

Ross Stripling (1-8) picked up his league-leading eighth loss. The 34-year-old righty allowed four runs on nine hits with no walks and two strikeouts in five-plus innings.

PHILLIES 4, NATIONALS 3, 10 INNINGS

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Bryce Harper hit a game-winning sacrifice fly in the 10th inning after Kody Clemens tied it with a home run with two outs in the ninth, lifting Philadelphia to a victory over Washington.

Bryson Stott also homered for Philadelphia, which has won or split each of its last 14 series. The Phillies (33-14) have the most wins in baseball and will go for the three-game series sweep on Sunday.

CJ Abrams and Ildemaro Vargas each had three hits for the Nationals, who have lost four straight and six of seven.

With runners on second and third and one out in the 10th, Harper drove a 1-2 splitter from Washington closer Kyle Finnegan (1-3) into center field to drive in Johan Rojas. The two-time MVP threw both hands in the air when he reached first base, where he was mobbed by teammates.

Finnegan retired the first two batters in the ninth before Clemens drove a 1-0, 98 mph fastball into the seats in right-center. In limited action this season, Clemens is 7 for 23 (.304) with a double, three homers and eight RBIs. Finnegan entered tied for the major-league lead with 13 saves and had his second blown save.

BREWERS 4, ASTROS 2

HOUSTON (AP) — William Contreras hit a go-ahead three-run homer off Justin Verlander in the fifth inning to give Milwaukee Brewers a win over Houston.

The Brewers trailed by 1 when Joey Ortiz singled to start the fifth before Verlander (2-2) walked Sal Frelick and Jackson Chourio to load the bases. Milwaukee tied it when Ortiz scored on a sacrifice fly by Blake Perkins.

There were two outs in the inning when Contreras sent Verlander’s 13th pitch of the at-bat to center field to put the Brewers on top 4-1 and chase the three-time Cy Young Award winner.

Verlander yielded four hits and four runs in 4 2/3 innings. He struck out three Saturday to give him 3,368 career strikeouts, to pass Max Scherzer (3,367) for 11th on the all-time list.

Jake Meyers had two hits with a solo homer for the Astros, whose season-long six game winning streak was snapped.

Milwaukee starter Bryse Wilson allowed five hits and two runs in 4 2/3 innings. Hoby Milner (2-0) gave up one hit in 1 1/3 scoreless innings for the win.

MARINERS 4, ORIOLES 3

BALTIMORE (AP) — Cal Raleigh and Dylan Moore hit RBI doubles in the eighth inning, capping a comeback that gave Seattle a victory over Baltimore.

The tight contest between AL contenders was delayed at the start by rain for nearly three hours and featured solid pitching by Baltimore’s Grayson Rodriguez and three-time All-Star Luis Castillo.

Rodriguez returned from the injured list to allow one hit over six innings before leaving with a 2-0 lead.

The advantage vanished in the seventh, when the Mariners pulled even against Baltimore’s bullpen with three hits, including an RBI double by Ty France to end a 12-pitch at-bat.

Seattle then took the lead in the eighth against Yennier Cano (2-2). Raleigh made it 3-2 with a double to left-center, and Moore sent Raleigh home with a liner to left off Cionel Pérez.

Ryne Stanek (2-0) got the last two outs in the seventh, and Andrés Muñoz gave up Gunnar Henderson’s 14th home run in the ninth before securing his eighth save.

CARDINALS 7, RED SOX 2

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Nolan Gorman homered early and added an RBI single during a five-run eighth inning that propelled St. Louis to a victory against Boston.

Nolan Arenado, Alec Burleson, Iván Herrera and Gorman hit consecutive singles to start the eighth against Justin Slaten (2-1) as St. Louis immediately reclaimed the lead after the Red Sox pulled even in the top of the inning.

Arenado went from first to third on Burleson’s single to right field, then scored the go-ahead run when Herrera followed with a sharp grounder to left through the drawn-in Red Sox infield. Gorman tacked on an RBI single before Masyn Winn’s sacrifice fly pushed the lead to 5-2. Two more runs scored when right fielder Rob Refsnyder misplayed Lars Nootbaar’s RBI single for an error.

Nootbaar also had a bases-loaded RBI grounder in the seventh for the Cardinals, who have won five of six. JoJo Romero (1-0) allowed Refsnyder’s pinch-hit RBI double in the eighth, and Kyle Leahy pitched a scoreless ninth to close it out.

Boston’s Rafael Devers homered in his fourth straight game — the third time he’s done so in his career. The Red Sox have lost four in a row and 11 of 15.

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The Associated Press