The St. Louis Cardinals overcame a grand slam with help from a crucial error in the top of the ninth inning, holding on for a 10-9 win over the host Cincinnati Reds on Thursday afternoon.
With St. Louis trailing 5-4 and down to its final out, JJ Wetherholt’s routine fly ball to left-center field hit off the glove of Reds center fielder Dane Myers, allowing the tying and go-ahead runs to score. The Cardinals then teed off on Reds reliever Brock Burke, who had trouble with command after the Myers gaffe. Burke (5-5) was charged with six unearned runs on two hits in two-thirds of an inning.
The Reds rallied for four runs in the bottom of the ninth to cut the Cardinals’ lead to one, but left the bases loaded when reliever Riley O’Brien got Matt McLain to line out to right field to end the game.
Jordan Walker homered for the Cardinals, who won the rubber match of the rare five-game series. McLain provided Cincinnati’s go-ahead grand slam in a five-run sixth, but the Reds have lost five of their last seven games.
Angels 18, Astros 3
Zach Neto paired a five-hit game with a career-best seven RBIs to pace visiting Los Angeles to a dismantling of Houston in the rubber match of a three-game intradivision series.
The Angels recorded 18 hits en route to a season-high run total. Neto finished 5-for-6, while Vaughn Grissom went 3-for-6 with three RBIs. Right-hander Grayson Rodriguez (4-5) allowed two unearned runs in the bottom of the first but cruised the rest of his outing, allowing five hits over seven innings.
Astros right-hander Peter Lambert (8-7) was saddled with nine runs on eight hits in 3 2/3 innings. He surrendered season highs in runs and hits while retiring a season-low 11 batters. The Astros have dropped consecutive series at home to opponents with losing records.
Guardians 5, Giants 2
Gavin Williams fired 11 strikeouts and Patrick Bailey had two hits and an RBI against his former team, sparking host Cleveland past San Francisco.
Williams (12-7) went 5 2/3 innings, giving up two runs on four hits. It was the Guardians’ first home series victory since June 26-28 against the Seattle Mariners. Cade Smith walked two in the ninth before retiring Rafael Devers on a fly to center for the final out, earning his 32nd save.
Giants starter Landen Roupp (7-13) allowed four runs (three earned) on five hits over 5 1/3 innings. He was charged with his final run when Sam Hentges gave up an RBI single to Steven Kwan.
Blue Jays 5, Rays 1
Kazuma Okamoto led a three-home-run attack, Shane Bieber topped Tampa Bay for the second time this season and visiting Toronto claimed a series win as the Blue Jays improved to 9-4 in their past 13 contests.
Okamoto went 2-for-5 with a double and his second homer of the series. Daz Cameron and Nathan Lukes added solo shots for the Blue Jays. Bieber (5-2) went seven innings and allowed a run on four hits.
Yandy Diaz was 2-for-4 and Chandler Simpson singled to extend their hitting streaks to 11 games apiece, but the American League’s top club managed just five hits and finished their seven-game homestand with a 2-5 record.
Braves 2, White Sox 0
Austin Riley had two hits and two RBIs and Grant Holmes pitched six-plus innings to spark a combined one-hitter as visiting Atlanta defeated Chicago in a makeup game from June.
Holmes (8-5) took a no-hit bid into the seventh inning before Andrew Benintendi lined an opposite-field single to left after a leadoff walk. Didier Fuentes entered and kept the Braves’ shutout intact with three straight strikeouts. Raisel Iglesias struck out two in a perfect ninth to earn his 26th save.
White Sox starter Anthony Kay (9-6) yielded two runs and five hits in six innings.
Royals 6, Athletics 2
Bobby Witt Jr. homered among his two hits and scored three times, while Salvador Perez and Michael Massey each had three hits to propel Kansas City to a four-game sweep of the visiting Athletics — the first time that’s happened since 1994.
Nick Loftin added an RBI triple in the Royals’ 12-hit attack. Starting pitcher Randy Dobnak scattered six hits across four scoreless innings. Left-hander Connor Thomas (1-1) pitched 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief.
Carlos Cortes and Lawrence Butler had two hits for the A’s. Starting pitcher Gage Jump (5-8) allowed five runs on eight hits in four innings.
Brewers 7, Mariners 4
Garrett Mitchell had two doubles, a home run and three RBIs for host Milwaukee against Seattle in the rubber game of their three-game series.
Gary Sanchez drove in two runs and David Hamilton had two hits and an RBI for the Brewers, who have won four of five and own the best record in MLB at 79-49. Chad Patrick (7-4) and Aaron Ashby combined for 4 1/3 innings of scoreless relief before Trevor Megill pitched the ninth for his 23rd save of the season.
Mariners starter George Kirby (8-10) was roughed up for six runs, all in the first inning, and nine hits in 3 1/3 frames. Brendan Donovan had two hits and two RBIs for Seattle, which had won three of four.
Yankees 6, Orioles 1
Gerrit Cole pitched six strong innings, Luis Garcia Jr. and Spencer Jones homered and New York completed a three-game sweep of host Baltimore and won its fourth straight contest — all on the road.
Cole (7-6) held the Orioles to one run on four hits while striking out eight. Reliever Ryan Yarbrough matched his longest outing of the season with three hitless innings to pick up his third save out of the Yankees’ bullpen. Garcia and Jones each posted three hits and two runs.
Dylan Beavers homered for the second game in a row, but Baltimore’s losing streak reached four games. Teammate Pete Alonso had two hits. Kyle Bradish (7-12) went 5 2/3 innings as the Orioles’ starter, with only three of the five runs charged as earned. He gave up eight hits.
Rangers 2, Nationals 0
Jacob deGrom recorded his 2,000th career strikeout while pitching six one-hit innings as Texas beat Washington in Arlington, Texas.
deGrom (9-8), who allowed just a one-out single by Brady House in the second inning, tied his season high with 10 strikeouts. Three relievers finished the combined one-hitter, with Jacob Latz pitching the ninth for his 25th save. deGrom reached 2,000 K’s by fanning the first two batters of the game, hitting the mark when Abimelec Ortiz went down swinging.
Washington starter Andrew Alvarez (2-5) gave up a run on four hits over five innings. House also walked twice for the Nationals, who have lost five of six. The Rangers have alternated losses and wins for six games.
