Shohei Ohtani tossed eight dominant innings and blasted his major league-leading 40th home run, carrying the visiting Los Angeles Angels to a 3-1 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Wednesday.
Ohtani (8-1) limited Detroit to one run on six hits while piling up eight strikeouts. Ohtani is 4-0 in five starts since the All-Star break.
His 40 homers mark the most by an Angels left-handed batter in a season, surpassing Reggie Jackson’s 39 in 1982.
Tigers starter Tarik Skubal (8-11) gave up two first-inning runs on a Justin Upton homer, then settled in during a 6 2/3-inning stint. He didn’t walk a batter while recording seven strikeouts.
Braves 11, Marlins 9
Freddie Freeman posted just the seventh cycle in Atlanta history, leading his team to a win over Miami.
Freeman, who has the last two Braves cycles, started his work with a double in the first. He tripled in the fourth — his first three-bagger since Aug. 9, 2020. Freeman singled in the fifth and homered 405 feet to center in the sixth to complete the cycle.
Miami, which was swept in this three-game series, got just three-plus innings from starter Jesus Luzardo (4-6), who allowed four hits, five walks and four runs in three-plus innings.
Yankees 5, Red Sox 2
Andrew Heaney pitched seven effective innings, Anthony Rizzo hit a two-run single in his return from the COVID-19 list and surging New York beat Boston to complete a three-game sweep at Yankee Stadium.
The Yankees tied a season high with their sixth straight win and won for the 18th time in 23 games since blowing a four-run lead at Fenway Park on July 25. They were 9 1/2 games behind the Red Sox in the AL East on July 26, but completing the sweep put them one game ahead of their rival for the second wild-card spot.
Heaney (8-8) allowed one run and two hits for his second win since being acquired from the Los Angeles Angels on July 30. Rizzo returned from missing 10 games, and in his first appearance since Aug. 7, the first baseman capped New York’s four-run second with a hard single that scored two.
Diamondbacks 4, Phillies 2
Humberto Castellanos recorded his first two major league hits and notched his first career win as Arizona registered a victory over slumping Philadelphia at Phoenix.
Castellanos (1-1) drove in a run with his second hit and allowed one run and three hits over 5 1/3 innings.
Asdrubal Cabrera and Christian Walker also had two hits for the Diamondbacks, who won for the fifth time in six games.
Odubel Herrera homered and tripled for the Phillies, who lost for the sixth time in their last eight games. Philadelphia fell to 3 1/2 games behind the first-place Atlanta Braves in the National League East.
Dodgers 9, Pirates 0
Max Muncy hit two home runs for the second time in four games and Mitch White went a career-long 7 1/3 innings without allowing a run as Los Angeles completed a three-game sweep of visiting Pittsburgh.
AJ Pollock and Corey Seager also hit home runs as all nine Dodgers hits came from the top four spots in the lineup. White (1-1) entered in the second inning, and he allowed two hits with two walks while striking out six.
The Dodgers won for the 10th time in their past 11 games and extended their winning streak over the Pirates to 16 games. Los Angeles has won its past 12 home games against Pittsburgh.
Rockies 7, Padres 5
Trevor Story and Dom Nunez homered, Garrett Hampson had three hits, and Colorado beat San Diego in Denver to earn a three-game sweep.
C.J. Cron had two hits and three RBIs and Charlie Blackmon and Ryan McMahon had two hits each for the Rockies. Colorado has won seven straight home games against San Diego.
Wil Myers hit two home runs in Jake Arrieta’s debut with the Padres. Arrieta (5-12) left in the fourth inning with a mild left hamstring strain.
Cubs 7, Reds 1
Ian Happ and Michael Hermosillo each hit early homers as visiting Chicago earned a rare series win by beating Cincinnati.
The Cubs, who lost 12 straight before winning Tuesday night, won a set for just the third time in 18 series dating back to mid-June. Happ hit a two-out solo homer in the first off Tyler Mahle (10-4).
Tyler Naquin homered in the second for the Reds while Jose Barrero had a pair of hits. Mahle allowed five runs on eight hits and one walk while striking out five over five innings.
Mets 6, Giants 2 (12 innings)
Kevin Pillar hit a three-run home run in a four-run 12th inning, helping New York end a five-game losing streak with a victory over host San Francisco.
After the Mets had rallied to tie the game at one in the ninth and the Giants tied it at two in the 11th, Patrick Mazeika singled inherited runner Dominic Smith to third before Pillar crushed a Tyler Chatwood pitch into the left field bleachers.
Chance Sisco, in his first at-bat for the Mets, capped the 12th-inning uprising with an RBI double.
Twins 8, Indians 7 (11 innings)
Jorge Polanco delivered his third walk-off hit in the last four games as Minnesota posted over visiting Cleveland in the rubber match of a three-game series.
Polanco’s one-out, bases-loaded single off Justin Garza (2-1) scored Ryan Jeffers, who began the inning as the automatic runner at second base.
Miguel Sano homered and drove in three runs for the Twins, who rallied from a 5-2 deficit to win for the sixth time in their last eight games. Sano added a two-RBI double during the team’s five-run fifth inning.
Rays 8, Orioles 4
Tampa Bay’s Ryan Yarbrough returned from the injured list by firing five stellar innings of relief in the Rays’ win over Baltimore, stretching the Orioles’ losing streak to a season-high-tying 14 games in St. Petersburg, Fla.
Just activated from the COVID-related IL, the lefty Yarbrough (7-4) took over in the second and retired 15 of the 16 batters he faced in his first outing since his Aug. 6 start. He allowed one hit and fanned three in his 70-pitch effort.
Rookie Wander Franco reached base safely in his 20th straight game by going 3-for-4 with a double, walk and two RBIs.
Nationals 8, Blue Jays 5
Josh Bell’s three-run seventh-inning homer helped Washington rally past visiting Toronto and earn a sweep of the two-game set.
Juan Soto also had a three-run homer for Washington and Carter Kieboom added a solo shot.
Mason Thompson (1-1) pitched 2/3 of an inning for the win and Kyle Finnegan got the final four outs for his fourth save as the Nationals won their second game in a row after losing seven straight.
Mariners 3, Rangers 1
Kyle Seager belted a two-run homer and Marco Gonzales tossed 5 1/3 solid innings to propel visiting Seattle to a victory over Texas in Arlington.
Seager also had a double to account for two of the five hits for the Mariners, who have won six of their last seven contests to move a season high-tying nine games above .500.
Jose Trevino had an RBI double with two outs in the seventh inning for the Rangers, who have lost 11 of their last 14 games overall and 12 of 18 encounters with the Mariners this season.
Royals 3, Astros 2
Hunter Dozier’s two-run home run in the seventh inning gave Kansas City a victory over visiting Houston, the Royals’ third consecutive victory to open a four-game series.
The game ended on a play at the plate, when Royals left fielder Andrew Benintendi threw out Chas McCormick trying to score from second on Jose Altuve’s single.
Domingo Tapia (1-0) got the victory after retiring the only batter he faced. Scott Barlow earned his seventh save despite giving up three hits in the ninth inning.
White Sox 3, Athletics 2
Luis Robert had three hits and two RBIs and Liam Hendriks recorded a five-out save against his former club as host Chicago beat Oakland.
Hendriks struck out the final three Oakland batters en route to his American League-leading 28th save for the White Sox, who will try to secure a sweep of the four-game series on Thursday afternoon.
The A’s have lost four straight and five of six on the heels of a seven-game winning streak.
Brewers 6, Cardinals 4 (10 innings)
Avisail Garcia hit two homers as Milwaukee rallied past host St. Louis in 10 innings. Garcia’s second homer was a ninth-inning solo shot that tied the game, setting the stage for the winning rally in the 10th.
The Brewers got eight innings of one-run ball from seven relievers while winning for the eighth time in nine games. However, they may have lost starting pitcher Freddy Peralta to an injury. Peralta exited the game with right shoulder discomfort after batting in the third inning.
Reyes’ throwing error on Luis Urias’ chopper put Brewers on second and third with nobody out in the 10th inning, and a wild pitch put the visitors up 4-3. Christian Yelich’s bunt single scored another run, and Jace Peterson’s single, combined with Nootbaar’s error in right field, increased the advantage to 6-3.
–Field Level Media
