CINCINNATI (AP) — Relief pitcher Michael Lorenzen lined a game-ending, pinch-hit double in the ninth inning to lift the Cincinnati Reds over Arizona Diamondbacks 4-3 Sunday and stop the Diamondbacks’ five-game winning streak.
Lorenzen became the first Cincinnati pitcher with a walk-off hit since Randy Keisler in May 2005. It was Lorenzen’s fifth career pinch hit and occurred four days after the reliever became the first player since Babe Ruth in 1921 to homer, play the outfield and earn a victory on the mound in the same game.
Pinch-hitter José Peraza and Phillip Ervin singled with one out off Yoan López (2-6) before Lorenzen delivered against T.J. McFarland.
Arizona lost for the second time in the 13 games and remained 1½ games behind the Cubs for the second NL wild card.
INDIANS 5, TWINS 2
Mike Clevinger (11-2) allowed two runs and four hits in 6 1/3 innings to win his 10th straight decision, and Cleveland closed within 5½ games if AL Central-leading Minnesota and remained 1½ games behind Oakland for the second wild card.
Brad Hand pitched around a walk and a hit batter in the ninth for his 34th save.
RAYS 8, BLUE JAYS 3
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Tyler Glasnow struck out five over two innings in his return from a four-month layoff caused by a strained right forearm. Tampa Bay’s four-game sweep left the Blue Jays as the fifth major league team on pace to lose 100 games.
Austin Meadows and Avisail García homered for the Rays, who remained one game ahead of Oakland for the top AL wild card.
YANKEES 10,
RED SOX 5
BOSTON (AP) — Gleyber Torres, Mike Tauchman, Aaron Judge hit home runs as New York broke the franchise record for homers in a season in a win over Boston.
The Yankees won for the fourth time in five games and improved to 94-50, keeping pace with Houston for the top record in the majors.
The Yankees entered the game two homers shy of the club record of 267, set last year. Torres’ two-run shot in the second was No. 266, Tauchman went deep with a man on in the fourth and Judge added the record-breaker by leading off the fifth with his 21st of the season.
Jackie Bradley Jr. and Mookie Betts homered for the Red Sox, who lost for the third time in four games. Boston fell eight games behind Oakland for the second AL wild-card spot with only 19 games remaining.
CARDINALS 2, PIRATES 0
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Jack Flaherty (10-7) scattered five hits over eight innings and struck out 10 to help St. Louis widen its NL Central lead to 4½ games over the second-place Cubs.
Flaherty won for the sixth time in eight starts and dropped his post All-Star break ERA to 0.76. Carlos Martinez worked a perfect ninth for his 19th save. St. Louis has won eight of 11 overall..
NATIONALS 9, BRAVES 4
ATLANTA (AP) — Max Scherzer (10-5) won for the first time in two months, Juan Soto homered and Washington stopped Atlanta’s nine-game winning streak, the Braves’ longest in five years.
Scherzer (10-5) allowed one run and two hits in six innings with nine strikeouts. He had not gotten a decision in four starts since beating Kansas City on July 6, a span that included nearly a month on the injured list because of a bad back.
Yan Gomes homered twice, and Adam Eaton and Asdrúbal Cabrera each had three RBIs to help Washington end a four-game skid.
PHILLIES 10, METS 7
NEW YORK (AP) — Maikel Franco, Scott Kingery and Adam Haseley homered as Philadelphia overcame a 3-0 deficit and closed within two games of Chicago for the second NL wild-card spot. The Mets stayed four back of the Cubs.
The game took 4 hours, 29 minutes — a minute short of matching the longest nine-inning game in NL history.
BREWERS 8, CUBS 5
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Tyler Austin drove a pinch-hit, three-run homer during the a five-run fourth against Jon Lester (12-10), and Milwaukee pulled within two games of the Cubs.
Staked to a 3-1 lead, Lester (12-10) allowed RBI hits to Ryan Braun and Hernan Perez before Austin’s fourth pinch homer this season.
ASTROS 21,
MARINERS 1
HOUSTON (AP) — Gerrit Cole (16-5) celebrated his 29th birthday by allowing one hit with 15 strikeouts in a season-high eight innings and winning his 12th straight decision. He joined Pedro Martinez as the only pitchers in major league history with 14 or more strikeouts in three straight games. Cole leads the major league with a career-high 281 strikeouts.
Chris Devenski struck out two in a perfect ninth, finishing a series in which Houston outscored the Mariners 41-15 in a four-game sweep.
MARLINS 9, ROYALS 0
MIAMI (AP) — Sandy Alcantara (5-12) threw a four-hitter and became the first Marlins pitcher with two shutouts in his rookie season since Dontrelle Willis in 2003.
Starlin Castro hit his 18th home run and drove in two runs.
RANGERS 10,
ORIOLES 4
BALTIMORE (AP) — Rookie Nick Solak had three hits and four RBIs, Ronald Guzmán and Rougned Odor homered and Texas completed its first four-game sweep at Baltimore since July 1972 at Memorial Stadium.
Playing in his 19th big league game, Solak has six RBIs against Baltimore and five against everyone else.
WHITE SOX 5, ANGELS 1
CHICAGO (AP) — Danny Mendick hit his first career home run and José Abreu got his 31st this season.
Mendick, Matt Skole and James McCann had two hits apiece for the White Sox, who avoided a three-game sweep.
PADRES 2, ROCKIES 1
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Wil Myers singled off Yency Almonte with one out in the 10th to drive in Manny Machado, who walked against Jesús Tinoco (0-2).
Craig Stammen (8-7) pitched a perfect 10th for the win.
