BALTIMORE (AP) — The Tampa Bay Rays took a combined perfect game into the ninth inning before Hanser Alberto beat the shift with a leadoff single against Ryan Yarbrough, wrecking history in the making and taking some of the edge off their 4-1 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday.
Ryne Stanek pitched the first two innings before Yarbrough took over.Yarbrough was literally unhittable — until the ninth.
Tampa Bay’s try for the first combo perfect game in the majors came two days after a pair of Los Angeles Angels pitchers teamed up for a no-hitter.
Alberto pushed a grounder to the right side, precisely where the second baseman usually stands. Stevie Wilkerson followed with a single, and an RBI single by Anthony Santander off Oliver Drake enabled Baltimore to break up the shutout.
YANKEES 5,
BLUE JAYS 2
NEW YORK (AP) — Masahiro Tanaka pitched six strong innings, Gio Urshela drove in two runs, and New York beat Toronto.
Tanaka (6-5) allowed two runs, four hits and struck out five without a walk. Aroldis Chapman pitched a perfect ninth for his 25th save in 28 chances.
PHILLIES 4,
NATIONALS 3
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Maikel Franco homered with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning and Philadelphia avoided a sweep by Washington.
J.T. Realmuto, who had an RBI single in the fourth, also homered for the Phillies, who also got a two-run single from Jean Segura.
INDIANS 4, TWINS 3
CLEVELAND (AP) — Carlos Santana hit a solo home run that broke a seventh-inning tie and Cleveland avoided a sweep against AL Central-leading Minnesota.
Santana lined an 0-2 pitch from Trevor May (3-2) into the right-field seats for his 21st homer of the season.
ANGELS 6,
MARINERS 3
ANAHEIM (AP) — Rookie Matt Thaiss hit a tiebreaking three-run homer in the eighth inning, and Los Angeles completed a three-game sweep.
Mike Trout left the game before the third inning due to right calf tightness, but the Angels (48-46) kept rolling two days after their cathartic no-hit victory in their first home game since the death of pitcher Tyler Skaggs.
BRAVES 4, PADRES 1
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Freddie Freeman hit a three-run homer in the eighth inning and All-Star rookie Mike Soroka struck out a career-high nine to win his 10th straight decision as Atlanta finished off a three-game sweep.
The NL East-leading Braves have won seven of eight.
Soroka (10-1) lost his season debut on April 18 against Atlanta but has won each of his last 10 decisions since April 24, a span of 15 starts.
ASTROS 12,
RANGERS 4
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Justin Verlander followed a two-run first inning with five no-hit innings and José Altuve hit Houston’s franchise-record ninth grand slam of the season.
Verlander (11-4) gave up four hits, all singles, and struck out seven. He retired his last 15 batters following a leadoff walk in the second inning as the Astros salvaged a split of the four-game series after losing the first two games.
ROCKIES 10, REDS 9
DENVER (AP) — Ryan McMahon singled, doubled, tripled and drove in three runs to lead Colorado.
A day after the Reds romped 17-9, Colorado bounced back with a couple of big innings.
METS 6, MARLINS 2
MIAMI (AP) — Robinson Cano homered for the second consecutive game, helping New York beat Miami.
Cano finished 4 for 5 for his first four-hit game since May 7 at San Diego.
Jacob deGrom (5-7) pitched five innings and allowed six hits and one run for the Mets. He struck out six and walked three.
CARDINALS 5,
DIAMONDBACKS 2
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Paul Goldschmidt homered, Adam Wainwright pitched seven scoreless innings, and St. Louis held on to beat Arizona.
Wainwright (6-7) allowed four hits, walked one and struck out seven. Carlos Martinez earned his fifth save.
TIGERS 12, ROYALS 8
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Jeimer Candelario hit a bases-clearing double and Gordon Beckham added a two-run homer during a seven-run third inning, and Detroit beat Kansas City.
Harold Castro had a pair of hits during the marathon fame, when the Tigers trotted 11 batters to the plate against fill-in starter Brian Flynn (2-1).
CUBS 8, PIRATES 3
CHICAGO (AP) — Jason Heyward, Albert Almora Jr. and Kyle Schwarber hit home runs and Chicago completed a three-game sweep of Pittsburgh.
The NL Central leaders posted their first series win since taking all three from St. Louis on June 7-9.