Acuña homers for the 7th time in 11 games as the MLB-leading Braves beat the Pirates 8-2
Atlanta Braves shortstop Orlando Arcia fields a grounder by Pittsburgh Pirates’ Liover Peguero, who was out at first during the second inning of a baseball game Friday, Sept. 8, 2023, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Hakim Wright Sr.)
ATLANTA (AP) — Ronald Acuña Jr. homered for the seventh time in 11 games, Eddie Rosario went deep and drove in three runs and the major league-leading Atlanta Braves beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 8-2 on Friday night.
The Braves (92-48) have won two straight following a three-game skid.
Atlanta took a 4-0 lead in the third on soft hits — Rosario’s RBI single, Travis d’Arnaud’s two-run single and Orlando Arcia’s RBI single. Arcia had the hardest-hit single at 83.1 mph. D’Arnaud’s dropped in front of left fielder Jack Suwinski at 71 mph.
Acuña put that trend to rest in the fourth, driving his 35th homer 455 feet to center to make it 5-0. Rosario followed four batters later with his 21st long ball, a two-run shot to right for a 7-0 lead.
Atlanta’s Bryce Elder (12-4) gave up four hits and two runs with a season-high nine strikeouts through seven innings.
Suwinski hit his 24th homer for the Pirates. Mitch Keller (11-9) allowed 12 hits and a career-high eight runs in five innings.
ORIOLES 11, RED SOX 2
BOSTON (AP) — Kyle Bradish struck out nine batters in six innings, Adley Rutschman homered and drove in three runs, and AL-leading Baltimore beat fading Boston.
After going 5-1 on the western portion of its nine-game trip, Baltimore posted its sixth straight victory and 12th in 15 games. The Orioles extended their streak of series without being swept to 85.
Ryan O’Hearn also homered for the Orioles. Cedric Mullins had a two-run double during a four-run sixth inning that chased Boston starter Tanner Houck (4-9).
Connor Wong hit a solo homer for the Red Sox, who have lost three straight and eight of 11.
BREWERS 8, YANKEES 2
NEW YORK (AP) — William Contreras hit a go-ahead single in a three-run seventh inning, and Milwaukee overcame rookie Jasson Domínguez’s fourth homer to drop New York below .500.
Milwaukee opened a three-game NL Central lead over the second-place Chicago Cubs.
Playing a week after his major league debut, Domínguez put the Yankees ahead 2-0 with a two-run homer in the second off Colin Rea. The 20-year-old became the youngest player since at least 1901 to homer four times in his first seven games.
Willy Adames hit a tying, two-run homer in the fourth off Luis Severino, who left an inning later with an injured left side.
Andruw Monasterio doubled against Jhony Brito (6-7) leading off the eighth, Contreras singled off Jonathan Loáisiga for a 3-2 lead and Carlos Santana added an RBI single.
Andrew Monasterio added a two-run double off Greg Weissert in a three-run eighth that included another Santana run-scoring single.
New York (70-71) lost its second straight following a five-game winning streak and trails Toronto, Texas and Boston for the AL’s final wild card. The Yankees were held to three hits for 15th time this year, their most in a season since 1914.
WHITE SOX 6, TIGERS 0
DETROIT (AP) — Mike Clevinger combined with two relievers on a three-hitter, Luis Robert Jr. broke up rookie Reese Olson’s no-hit bid to spark a go-ahead, two-run seventh inning in Chicago’s win over Detroit.
After Robert singled with one out in the seventh, Yoán Moncada hit a tiebreaking, two-run homer that chased Olson (3-7). Moncada added an RBI single in a four-run eighth.
Chicago won back-to-back road games for the first time since Aug. 5-6 at Cleveland. The Tigers have lost three of four.
Clevinger (7-7) allowed three hits, struck out seven and walked none in Chicago’s sixth shutout this season.
The Tigers, who have been blanked 15 times, advanced just one batter into scoring position. Andy Ibañez doubled with two out in the second.
CARDINALS 9, REDS 4
CINCINNATI (AP) — Willson Contreras hit a three-run homer in the first inning, Luken Baker added a three-run double and St. Louis dropped Cincinnati 1 1/2 games back for the NL’s final wild-card berth.
Nolan Arenado had three hits and snapped a career-worst 11-game streak without an RBI. The Cardinals have won four of five.
Hunter Renfroe hit a two-run homer and Nick Senzel had a solo shot for the Reds. Cincinnati (73-70) trail Arizona (74-68) and Miami (73-68) for the last wild card.
Matt Liberatore (3-5), the fourth of six Cardinals relievers, earned the win. Andrew Abbott (8-5) tied his career high by allowing six runs. He pitched four innings, giving up four hits and three walks.
MARLINS 3, PHILLIES 2
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Jacob Stallings hit a two-run home run, Jesús Sánchez also went deep and Miami beat Philadelphia.
Bryan De La Cruz added a pair of hits for Miami, a half-game behind Arizona for the third and final wild-card spot in the National League. The Marlins have won seven of eight.
Trea Turner returned from a two-game absence on the paternity list to homer for the Phillies. Defending NL champion Philadelphia (77-63) is in first place in the wild-card race, two games in front of the Cubs (76-66) and four games clear of Arizona (74-68). Miami (73-68) is just behind the Diamondbacks.
David Robertson (5-6) pitched a scoreless inning of relief for the victory, and Tanner Scott earned his sixth save in nine tries.
Bryce Harper had an RBI single for Philadelphia. Matt Strahm (8-4) took the loss.
RAYS 7, MARINERS 4
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — René Pinto and Harold Ramírez hit two-run homers in the seventh inning, and Tampa Bay rallied to beat Seattle.
Isaac Paredes added a solo homer in the eighth inning, his 29th of the season, for the Rays, who hold a 6 1/2-game lead over Seattle in the race for the top AL wild card.
Chris Devenski (4-4) got two outs in the seventh and earned the win, while Pete Fairbanks worked the ninth and earned his 21st save.
Julio Rodríguez, Cal Raleigh and Eugenio Suárez homered for the Mariners. Isaiah Campbell (4-1) worked two-thirds of an inning and took the loss.
BLUE JAYS 5, ROYALS 4
TORONTO (AP) — Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit a tiebreaking double in the seventh, Bo Bichette had two hits and two RBIs in his return from injury and Toronto held on to beat Kansas City, which fell below Oakland for the worst record in the major leagues at 44-98.
Guerrero’s two-run double off right-hander Carlos Hernández (1-10) helped the Blue Jays (78-63) hold onto the final AL wild-card berth with their fourth win in five games.
Chad Green (2-0) got two outs for the win and closer Jordan Romano recorded the final four outs for his 33rd save in 36 chances.
Kansas City left-hander Austin Cox had to be helped off the field in the the seventh after appearing to injure his left knee while covering first base.
DIAMONDBACKS 1, CUBS 0
CHICAGO (AP) — Zac Gallen pitched a three-hitter for his second career complete game and first since 2021, helping Arizona beat Chicago for its fourth win in five games.
Rookie Corbin Carroll accounted for the game’s only run with an RBI single in the eighth inning against Mark Leiter Jr. Seiya Suzuki nearly made a terrific catch in right field, but the ball hit the grass in front of his glove and the out call was overturned by a replay review.
Arizona (74-68) moved within two games of Chicago for the No. 2 spot in the NL wild-card standings. Gallen (15-7) struck out nine and walked one after he dropped his previous two starts.
José Cuas (3-1) took the loss and Suzuki had two hits for the Cubs (76-66).
TWINS 5, METS 2
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Andrew Stevenson scored the go-ahead run in the seventh inning when he stole third and continued home on catcher Francisco Álvarez’s throwing error, and Minnesota beat New York.
AL Central-leading Minnesota remained 6 1/2 games ahead of second-place Cleveland. The Guardians beat the Los Angeles Angels 6-3.
With the score 2-2, Matt Wallner walked against Sean Reid-Foley (0-1), Stevenson pinch ran and Willi Castro singled. With the runners going, Reid-Foley bounced a changeup to Edouard Julien that glanced off Álvarez’s glove and rebounded off the backstop. The catcher fired a throw that bounced past third base and down the left-field line for an error that allowed Stevenson to score from second.
Caleb Thielbar (3-1) pitched a scoreless seventh for the win, and Jhoan Duran earned his 25th save in 30 chances. Carlos Correa hit his 18th homer.
Mets starter Kodai Senga gave up two runs and four hits in six innings. He struck out five to raise his total to 181, moving three ahead of Jerry Koosman for second-most strikeouts by a Mets rookie.
PADRES 11, ASTROS 2
HOUSTON (AP) — Blake Snell pitched six strong innings, Trent Grisham had a homer and four RBIs and San Diego sent Houston to its 10th loss in 12 home games.
Snell (13-9) allowed five hits and two runs with eight strikeouts in his third straight win.
Rookie Hunter Brown (10-11) took the loss for Houston, which had just six hits after piling up 50 in a three-game sweep of the Texas Rangers earlier in the week. The Astros lead Seattle by a half-game atop the AL West.
San Diego’s Xander Bogaerts extended his hitting streak to seven games with a solo homer in the third.
ATHLETICS 6, RANGERS 3
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Shea Langeleirs hit a tiebreaking two-out, two-run homer in the sixth inning and Oakland held on to beat Texas.
Texas slipped a game behind Toronto in the race for the for the third AL wild-card spot. Texas remained 2 1/2 games behind first-place Houston in the AL West and a half-game back of second-place Seattle. Houston and Seattle lost Friday.
The Rangers have lost four consecutive games, seven of eight and 16 of 20. Evan Carter made his major league debut starting in right field for the injured Adolis Garcia. He finished 1 for 3 with a walk and two strikeouts.
Esteury Ruiz hit a solo homer for the last-place A’s, who will be officially eliminated from the postseason with their next loss.
Rangers starter Jordan Montgomery (8-11) allowed five runs on eight hits, including two homers in 5 2/3 innings.
DODGERS 8, NATIONALS 5
WASHINGTON (AP) — J.D. Martinez homered and drove in three runs in his return from the injured list and Freddie Freeman set a Los Angeles record with his 53rd double of the season in a win over Washington.
Max Muncy and Kiké Hernandez had solo shots for Los Angeles, which reduced its magic number in the NL West to eight. The Dodgers lead Arizona by 13 games and hold the tiebreaker over the Diamondbacks.
CJ Abrams and Keibert Ruiz homered for last-place Washington, which has dropped nine of 11.
The Dodgers were without All-Star outfielder Mookie Betts, who had a CT scan Friday, a day after fouling a ball off his left foot.
Alex Vesia (1-5) pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings for Los Angeles before rain delayed the game for 1 hour, 34 minutes in the top of the seventh. Evan Phillips worked the ninth for his 22nd save.
GIANTS 9, ROCKIES 8
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Wilmer Flores drew a bases-loaded walk in the eighth from Evan Justice to bring home the go-ahead run after Mike Yastrzemski hit a tying RBI single that inning, and San Francisco beat Colorado.
Justice relieved Jake Bird (2-3) and hit Blake Sabol with a pitch to load the bases. After Luis Matos struck out looking, Flores worked the count full and Justice missed his spot — then did so again in walking LaMonte Wade Jr. next.
That insurance run mattered as Camilo Doval surrendered Nolan Jones’ two-out double before finishing for his 36th save. John Brebbia (3-0) was the winner.
Elias Díaz hit a go-ahead three-run homer in the seventh and Nolan Jones also connected for Colorado. Sabol hit a two-run shot in the bottom of the seventh to keep San Francisco close.
The Giants (71-70) snapped a six-game losing streak to avoid falling below 500.
Flores, Mitch Haniger and J.D. Davis homered in order in the sixth for the Giants to erase a four-run deficit and tie the game. The last time three Giants in a row homered was April 4, 2016, at Milwaukee.
GUARDIANS 6, ANGELS 3
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Josh Naylor drove in three runs, Logan Allen picked up his first victory in four starts and Cleveland beat Los Angeles.
It was Naylor’s 11th game with at least three RBIs this season. Bo Naylor also drove in a run, marking the seventh time this season the Naylor brothers have had an RBI in the same game.
Allen (7-7) allowed one run on three hits and struck out six to get his first victory since Aug. 15. Emmanuel Clase picked up his majors-leading 39th save.
The Guardians remained 6 1/2 games behind Minnesota in the AL Central after the Twins beat the Mets on Friday.
Logan O’Hoppe had a two-run homer in the sixth inning for the Angels, who have dropped seven of their last eight. Griffin Canning (7-6) allowed three runs on eight hits in 5 1/3 innings.
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