ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Shohei Ohtani homered twice on a huge night at the plate after getting bad news about his pitching arm, and the Los Angeles Angels beat the Texas Rangers 9-3 on Wednesday.
Perhaps headed for Tommy John surgery, the two-way rookie sensation went 4 for 4 with three RBIs, four runs and a stolen base to power the Angels. About two hours before the game, the team announced Ohtani has new damage in his right elbow and ligament-replacement surgery has been recommended.
The club said the Japanese star had an MRI earlier in the day that revealed the problem in his ulnar collateral ligament.
RED SOX 9, BRAVES 8
ATLANTA (AP) — Brandon Phillips hit a two-out, two-run homer in the ninth inning, highlighting his long-awaited season debut and capping Boston’s biggest comeback of the season.
Major league-leading Boston scored six times in the eighth to make it 7-all. After Freddie Freeman hit a solo homer with two outs in the Braves eighth, the Red Sox bounced back for their 97th win.
The 37-year-old Phillips sat out the first half of this year, signed a minor league contract with Boston in late June and was called up from Triple-A Pawtucket on Tuesday. He didn’t play that night, but started at second base in the final game of the interleague set.
ASTROS 9, TWINS 1
HOUSTON (AP) — Alex Bregman homered and had five RBIs, and Evan Gattis hit his 25th home run to help Houston rout Minnesota.
The defending champs have won five straight, finishing a 10-game homestand with a 7-3 record. Houston has won 12 of its last 15 games entering a three-game series in major league-leading Boston.
Bregman gave the Astros a 2-0 lead in the third inning with his 29th homer of the season, a line-drive shot off Jake Odorizzi into the left-field Crawford Boxes. He added a three-run double off the left-field wall with the bases loaded in the eighth inning, his 47th double, to put Houston up 9-1.
INDIANS 3, ROYALS 1
CLEVELAND (AP) — Corey Kluber became the first 18-game winner in the majors this season, striking out 10 in Cleveland’s victory over Kansas City.
The Indians moved closer to the third straight AL Central title, reducing their magic number for clinching the division to nine.
Kluber (18-7) allowed one run and two hits in 6 2/3 innings. The reigning AL Cy Young Award winner was pulled after 105 pitches. Cleveland used three relievers to complete the two-hitter. Brad Hand struck out the side in the ninth for his eighth save since being acquired San Diego and 32nd this season.
METS 7, DODGERS 3
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Zack Wheeler stayed in the game after getting hit in the chest by a line drive, pitching seven sharp innings to lead New York over Los Angeles.
Max Muncy and Cody Bellinger homered for the playoff-contending Dodgers, who lost for third time in their past 12 games. Los Angeles finished with three hits.
Wilmer Flores had a pair of RBI singles and Amed Rosario got three hits for the Mets. They went 5-4 on their road trip to Wrigley Field, San Francisco and Los Angeles.
Wheeler (10-7) retired the first 11 batters before Justin Turner hit a liner in the fourth inning that struck the pitcher. The exit velocity on Turner’s ball was clocked at 91 mph. Wheeler got a visit from the Mets’ medical staff and gave up a home run to Muncy three pitches later.
CUBS 6, BREWERS 4
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Daniel Murphy and Kyle Schwarber homered to back a solid start from Jose Quintana, and Chicago held off Milwaukee to avert a three-game sweep.
Pedro Strop closed out a tense ninth inning as Chicago boosted its NL Central lead to four games over the second-place Brewers. Quintana (12-9) allowed two runs in 6 2/3 innings, improving to 3-1 at Miller Park with the Cubs. Strop allowed a walk and a single to open the ninth but got the final three outs, striking out Curtis Granderson with two runners on to preserve the win.
CARDINALS 7,
NATIONALS 6
WASHINGTON (AP) — Matt Adams homered twice against his former team, Marcell Ozuna tied his career high with four hits and St. Louis held off Washington.
One night after bashing five homers against Washington, St. Louis settled for three in the rubber game of the series as Yairo Munoz had a solo shot in the sixth.
MARINERS 5,
ORIOLES 2
SEATTLE (AP) — Nelson Cruz and Denard Span hit back-to-back home runs, and Seattle overcame sloppy infield defense to beat Baltimore.
Despite winning a home series for the first time since July 22, the Mariners failed to gain ground on Oakland in the AL wild-card race. They still trail by 5½ games with 22 remaining.
TIGERS 10,
WHITE SOX 2
CHICAGO (AP) — Ronny Rodriguez hit a two-run homer and Jeimer Candelario, Mikie Mahtook and JaCoby Jones each added a solo shot, powering Detroit to a rout of Chicago and prized pitching prospect Michael Kopech.
The game was delayed twice by rain for a total of 61 minutes.
Nicholas Castellanos went 3 for 4 with a walk and an RBI, and Victor Martinez had a two-run single as the Tigers pounded out 16 hits and won for the eighth time in nine games at Guaranteed Rate Field.
BLUE JAYS 10, RAYS 3
TORONTO (AP) — Aledmys Diaz hit a three-run homer in a seven-run first inning, Aaron Sanchez won for the first time in three months and Toronto beat Tampa Bay to prevent a three-game sweep.
Billy McKinney added a solo homer as Toronto had 16 hits and improved to 3-9 against the Rays this season. Tampa Bay’s four-game winning streak was snapped.
Rays outfielder Kevin Kiermaier hit two solo home runs for his third career multihomer game. He also did it against the Blue Jays on Aug. 23, 2017.
MARLINS 2, PHILLIES 1
MIAMI (AP) — Sandy Alcantara pitched shutout ball into the eighth inning in his second career start, Austin Dean drove in a pair of runs and Miami beat Philadelphia.
Alcantara (2-0) allowed three hits, walked two and struck out six. Drew Steckenrider allowed a walk and a single with one out in the ninth, but finished off his fourth save with a pair of strikeouts.
PIRATES 3, REDS 2
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Jameson Taillon pitched five effective innings and helped send Homer Bailey to yet another loss in Pittsburgh’s victory over Cincinnati.
Taillon (12-9) allowed only one run as he scattered eight hits and walked none to help the Pirates sweep the three-game series. Felipe Vazquez survived a shaky ninth inning, allowing Dilson Herrera’s pinch-hit RBI double with none out, before earning his 30th save.
Bailey (1-14) lost his ninth straight decision. The Reds are 1-19 in his starts this season.
