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Rendon helps Nats sweep Cubs 7-5 in 11 for 5th straight victory
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CHICAGO (AP) — Anthony Rendon homered and had four hits, including an RBI single in the 11th inning, and the Washington Nationals beat the Chicago Cubs 7-5 on Sunday for their fifth straight victory.

Juan Soto added three hits and Stephen Strasburg struck out 10 in six innings, helping Washington finish off its first sweep of Chicago since September 2012. The Nationals outscored the Cubs 23-10 in a three-game series between the top two teams in the NL wild-card standings.

Kyle Schwarber, Addison Russell and Victor Caratini homered for Chicago, which had won five in a row before Washington rolled into town. The Cubs fell 2½ games behind first-place St. Louis in the NL Central.

The Nationals grabbed the lead for good when Howie Kendrick scored on Tyler Chatwood’s wild pitch with Rendon at the plate in the 11th. Rendon then drove in Trea Turner with a single off Chatwood (5-2).

YANKEES 5, 

DODGERS 1

LOS ANGELES (AP) — DJ LeMahieu, Aaron Judge and Mike Ford homered, Domingo Germán outdueled Clayton Kershaw for his major league-leading 17th win, and New York defeated Los Angeles.

The Yankees set a major league record for most homers in a month with 61 in August. They slugged nine in taking two of three games in a potential World Series preview to remain tied with Houston for the best record in the American League at 85-47.

Germán (17-3) allowed one run and five hits in six innings.

CARDINALS 11, ROCKIES 4

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Matt Carpenter broke out of his slump with a homer and three hits, Dexter Fowler drove in three runs and St. Louis cruised past Colorado after a long rain delay.

The streaking Cardinals, who have won seven of eight and 13 of 16, swept the four-game series by a combined score of 31-12. They are a season-high 13 games over .500.

Nolan Arenado and Garrett Hampson homered for the Rockies, who have dropped six of seven. Arenado reached 100 RBIs for the fifth successive season.

BRAVES 2, METS 1

NEW YORK (AP) — Josh Donaldson hit two more home runs against the Mets, Dallas Keuchel pitched his best game of the season and Atlanta won its eighth in a row by holding off New York.

Braves relievers set an Atlanta record by extending their string to 25 scoreless innings before the Mets scored in the ninth. Mark Melancon got pinch-hitter Joe Panik to ground out with two on to end it.

The NL East leaders completed a three-game sweep and matched their longest winning streak of the season. The Mets dropped to 5-11 against Atlanta, long their nemesis.

TWINS 7, TIGERS 4

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — C.J. Cron and Jonathan Schoop homered, Martín Pérez pitched six solid innings and Minnesota beat last-place Detroit to increase its AL Central lead to 3½ games over Cleveland.

Cron’s three-run shot broke open a 2-0 game in the fourth and gave Pérez (9-5) plenty of cushion to work with. The left-hander allowed two runs and five hits for his first win since July 5.

Tigers lefty Matthew Boyd (6-10) permitted just four hits but was tagged for seven runs in six innings. He walked a season-high five.

ROYALS 9, INDIANS 8, 10 INNINGS

CLEVELAND (AP) — Ryan O’Hearn led off the 10th inning with his second homer of the game, sending Kansas City to a wild win over the Cleveland Indians, whose playoff hopes were rocked by losing third baseman Jose Ramírez to a broken right hand.

The Indians tied it in the ninth against Ian Kennedy (1-2) on a solo homer by Francisco Lindor and Franmil Reyes’ stunning three-run shot with two outs. Reyes also homered leading off the eighth.

ASTROS 11, ANGELS 2

HOUSTON (AP) — Jose Altuve homered to cap a seven-run eighth inning, Framber Valdez grinded through six gritty innings and Houston beat Los Angeles.

Alex Bregman, Abraham Toro, Josh Reddick and Altuve all drove in runs in the eighth. Altuve’s homer was his 24th, tying a career high. Houston has won seven of eight. The club entered the day tied with the Yankees for the best record in the AL at 84-47.

Valdez (4-6) gave up one run, two hits and five walks but struck out eight.

DIAMONDBACKS 5, BREWERS 2

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Robbie Ray returned from the injured list and pitched five scoreless innings, Eduardo Escobar and Christian Walker each homered, and Arizona beat Milwaukee to avoid a series sweep.

Ray (11-7) had been out since Aug. 14 due to lower back spasms. He allowed three hits, walked four and struck out six in five innings. The left-hander has thrown 18 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings against the Brewers..

PADRES 3, RED SOX 1

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Manny Machado hit a two-run homer — his first in more than three weeks — and left-hander Joey Lucchesi pitched five decent innings for San Diego in a victory over Boston to avoid a three-game sweep.

Machado, the $300 million slugger, drove a pitch from left-hander Brian Johnson (1-3) for his 27th homer to give the Padres a 3-0 lead. It was the third straight hit off Johnson to open the game. It was the Padres’ 190th homer of the season, setting the franchise’s season record.

MARLINS 3, 

PHILLIES 2

MIAMI (AP) — Starlin Castro’s two-run double in the sixth inning capped a comeback by Miami, who rallied against Aaron Nola (12-4) to beat Philadelphia.

Four Miami pitchers combined on a four-hitter and allowed one walk after giving up 10 bases on balls in each of the first two games of the series.

PIRATES 9, REDS 8

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Trevor Bauer had another rocky outing for Cincinnati, allowing eight runs in three innings as Pittsburgh swept a three-game series.

Since being acquired from the Cleveland Indians prior to the July 31 trade deadline, Bauer (10-11) is 1-3 with a 7.62 ERA in five starts. Seven of the runs charged to him Sunday were earned, and he had two walks and two strikeouts.

ORIOLES 8, RAYS 3

BALTIMORE (AP) — Anthony Santander went 5 for 5 with a homer, Renato Núñez drove in three runs and Baltimore beat Tampa Bay for a split of the four-game series.

Rays opener Diego Castillo (2-7) gave up one run over two innings before Jalen Beeks was roughed up for seven runs and 11 hits in five innings.

WHITE SOX 2, 

RANGERS 0

CHICAGO (AP) — Reynaldo López (8-11) pitched five no-hit innings before leaving with dehydration and flu-like symptoms and Chicago beat Texas.

José Abreu drove in both runs to reach 100 RBIs for the fifth time in six seasons. Alex Colomé worked around a walk in the ninth to earn his 25th save after Aaron Bummer allowed Texas’ first hit in the sixth.

MARINERS 3, 

BLUE JAYS 1

SEATTLE (AP) — Marco Gonzales (14-10) pitched three-hit ball over seven innings to get his career-best 14th win, Dylan Moore hit a solo homer and Seattle beat Toronto.

Matt Magill allowed a one-out double to Derek Fisher in the ninth but struck out Teoscar Hernandez and got Brandon Drury to fly out to first baseman Austin Nola in foul territory for his fourth save.