Yainer Diaz homers as the Astros beat the Nationals to stop a 5-game slide
HOUSTON (AP) — Yainer Diaz and Mauricio Dubon each had three hits, and the Houston Astros beat the Washington Nationals 7-4 on Tuesday night to stop a five-game slide.
Christian Walker had two hits and two RBIs for the AL West-leading Astros. Bennett Sousa (5-0) got four outs for the win, and Josh Hader struck out the side in the ninth for his 28th save.
Luis García Jr. hit a two-run drive for last-place Washington, which had won three straight and five of seven overall. CJ Abrams had three hits.
García connected for his ninth homer in the third inning, lifting the Nationals to a 2-1 lead. But Diaz responded with a solo shot in the fourth for his 14th homer.
Walker singled and scored on Cooper Hummel's pinch-hit single in the fifth, and the Astros grabbed control with three more runs in the sixth.
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San Francisco Chronicle
11 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Royals score 5 runs in 10th, overwhelm Blue Jays 7-4
TORONTO (AP) — Kyle Isbel hit an RBI double in the 10th inning, and the Kansas City Royals rallied to beat the Toronto Blue Jays 7-4 on Sunday. Vinnie Pasquantino hit a tying single with two out in the eighth, and Kansas City scored five in the 10th while taking two of three from the AL East-leading Blue Jays. The Royals are 24-12 in series finales, winning their past nine. Hunter Harvey (1-0) pitched one inning for the win as Kansas City returned to .500 at 56-56. Nathan Lukes and Addison Barger cut into Kansas City's lead with RBI singles in the bottom of the 10th, but Toronto (65-48) lost a home series for the first time since losing two of three to the White Sox from June 20-22. Isbel drove in the winning run with a double down the line against Seranthony Domínguez (2-4). Jonathan India walked and Bobby Witt Jr. was hit by a pitch before Tyler Tolbert added a two-run single. Witt scored on a throwing error by catcher Alejandro Kirk, and Maikel Garcia capped the rally with a sacrifice fly. Blue Jays outfielder Joey Loperfido had two hits, including an RBI single in the fifth. GIANTS 12, METS 4 NEW YORK (AP) — Rafael Devers snapped out of a slump with a homer and four RBIs in San Francisco's victory over New York. Rookie Carson Whisenhunt (1-0) threw 5 1/3 innings for his first win in the majors to help the Giants take two of three from the Mets following a six-game losing streak. New York dropped a half-game behind Philadelphia for the NL East lead. The Mets have lost five of six. Making his second career start, Whisenhunt allowed two runs — one earned — on three hits, including Francisco Lindor's first-inning homer. Devers' three-run homer capped a four-run third against Frankie Montas (3-2). The 403-foot blast to right was just the fifth homer for Devers since he was acquired from Boston on June 15. Devers closed out a three-run fourth with a run-scoring single. The Giants piled on in the ninth. Dominic Smith had a two-run single, and Casey Schmitt hit a three-run homer off Ryne Stanek. Backup catcher Luis Torrens got the final out. BOSTON (AP) — Trevor Story and Ceddanne Rafaela had consecutive RBI singles in a six-run fourth inning filled with five Houston mistakes, Lucas Giolito pitched a season-high eight stellar innings, and Boston beat the Astros to complete a series sweep. Connor Wong added a sacrifice fly and Wilyer Abreu was credited with a sacrifice on a safety squeeze for an RBI during the inning, sending Boston to its third straight win over the AL West leaders and fifth in a row overall. Giolito (8-2) gave up the run on three hits with four strikeouts and a walk, eclipsing his previous season-high innings of 7 2/3 on July 4. Carlos Correa, acquired from Minnesota at the trade deadline, hit a homer for Houston, which has lost eight of 10. The game's first pitch was 11:38 a.m. EDT, the third time this season the Red Sox began a game in the morning. The others: their annual Patriots' Day game when they beat the White Sox and the Independence Day victory at the Nationals. Framber Valdez (11-5) gave up six runs, four earned, over six innings, ending his personal 10-game winning streak. He entered 10-0 with a 1.84 ERA in his previous 14 starts. DODGERS 3, RAYS 0 TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Freddie Freeman scored one run and drove in another to snap Los Angeles' 18-inning scoreless drought and lead the Dodgers over Tampa Bay. Andy Pages singled off Mason Englert (0-1) in the sixth to drive in Freddie Freeman, who extended his on-base streak to 18 games with a first-inning single and added another RBI single in the seventh to make it 2-0. He had three hits on the day and seven RBIs in the series, which the Dodgers won two games to one. Shohei Ohtani doubled and scored on Mookie Betts' sacrifice fly in the ninth. Yoshinobu Yamamoto (10-7) held the Rays scoreless over 5 2/3 innings, scattering five hits and striking out six. Ben Casparius earned his second big-league save, coming in with the bases loaded in the ninth to get Yandy Diaz out. Dodgers second baseman Tommy Edman left the game in the fifth with a right ankle sprain. Tampa Bay starter Joe Boyle held the Dodgers scoreless for five innings, working around three hits and two walks. He struck out two. BRAVES 4, REDS 2 BRISTOL, Tenn. (AP) — Eli White hit a three-run homer and a solo shot, helping Atlanta beat Cincinnati in the rain-delayed MLB Speedway Classic at Bristol Motor Speedway. White's first homer of the afternoon gave Atlanta a 3-1 lead in the second inning at the historic racetrack. The ball hit the safer barrier after clearing the outfield wall and the track itself. He added his sixth homer of the season on a leadoff shot in the seventh. Cincinnati went 1 for 8 with runners in scoring position and left 12 on base. Brent Suter (1-2) got the loss. Atlanta came in having clinched the season series, winning four of the first six games. The teams split the first two in Cincinnati before coming to Bristol. The game was scheduled for Saturday, but it was suspended in the first inning because of persistent rain. Hurston Waldrep (1-0) was on the mound for Atlanta when play resumed. The right-hander was brought up from Triple-A Gwinnett and traveled about 250 miles to Bristol Motor Speedway early Sunday morning. He pitched 5 2/3 innings of one-run ball for his first career win. TWINS 5, GUARDIANS 4 CLEVELAND (AP) — Trevor Larnach had a two-run single in a four-run first inning and Minnesota beat Cleveland to avoid a three-game sweep. Matt Wallner and Royce Lewis also drove in runs in the first against Joey Cantillo (2-2), who struck out a season-high nine over 5 2/3 innings. Kody Clemens' bunt single in the eighth plated DaShawn Keirsey Jr. with an insurance run. The Guardians trailed 5-2 going into the ninth, but Brayan Rocchio's pinch-hit single off Michael Tonkin scored Nolan Jones and C.J. Kayfus. Erasmo Ramírez entered and retired Daniel Schneemann and José Ramírez in order to close out the win. Minnesota snapped a four-game losing streak. Kody Funderburk (2-1) tossed two scoreless innings of relief, and Ramírez earned the save in his first big-league appearance since Aug. 30, 2024, with Tampa Bay. José Ramírez hit a two-run homer in the first and Schneemann had three hits for the second day in a row for Cleveland, which had won four straight. Kayfus doubled for his first hit in the majors, one day after being recalled from Triple-A Columbus. José Ureña, pitching for his sixth team in three years, started and gave up two runs in four innings for the Twins. Wallner and Clemens had two hits apiece. MARLINS 7, YANKEES 3 MIAMI (AP) — Kyle Stowers hit a three-run homer and Miami completed the first sweep of New York in franchise history. The Marlins (55-55) won all three games against the Yankees (60-52) to reach .500 for the first time since April 15. They became the first major league team to go from 16 or more games under .500 to a .500 record since the Rays in 2014. Stowers made it 6-1 when he connected on an 0-2 fastball from Brent Headrick, who entered in the fourth with two on after starter Luis Gil (0-1) was lifted 3 1/3 innings into his season debut. Gil, the reigning AL Rookie of the Year, struck out three and surrendered five runs and five hits while issuing four walks in his return from a high-grade lat strain. He threw 77 pitches. Marlins starter Edward Cabrera (5-5) pitched six innings of two-hit ball with seven strikeouts and one walk. His only blemish came against the first batter he faced. Trent Grisham drove Cabrera's 98.1 mph four-seam fastball to right-center. Miami rookie Jakob Marsee, who made his major league debut on Friday, was 2-for-4 and finished a single short of the cycle. Jazz Chisholm Jr. launched a two-run homer off Josh Simpson that pulled New York within 6-3 in the seventh, as 'Let's go Yankees!' chants erupted at loanDepot Park. Marsee then ripped an RBI triple to center in the bottom half that stretched the lead to four. Xavier Edwards had two hits, including an RBI single. Troy Johnston had a run-scoring double. BREWERS 14, NATIONALS 3 WASHINGTON (AP) — Brice Turang hit two two-run homers, and Milwaukee completed its first season sweep of Washington with a win. Milwaukee set a club record for a three-game series with 56 hits. The Brewers scored 60 runs in their six wins over the Nationals this season. Christian Yelich went 2 for 3 and walked three times, giving the Brewers the lead for good with an RBI single in the first against rookie Brad Lord (2-6). Turang hit his seventh homer in the second, a 399-foot shot to right-center. He also went deep against Ryan Loutos in Milwaukee's seven-run seventh, belting a 396-foot shot to right. Joey Ortiz had four RBIs as the Brewers upped the majors' best record to 67-44. Caleb Durbin had two of Milwaukee's 16 hits. Milwaukee's Logan Henderson was called up from Triple-A Nashville to start in place of All-Star rookie Jacob Misiorowski, who was placed on the 15-day injured list with a left shin contusion. Henderson allowed one run and three hits in 4 1/3 innings. Aaron Ashby (2-1) got five outs for the win. Drew Millas had two hits and two RBIs for the Nationals in their fifth straight loss. CUBS 5, ORIOLES 3 CHICAGO (AP) — Justin Turner hit a two-run homer in the ninth inning to give Chicago a victory over Baltimore. Leading off the ninth, Dansby Swanson reached on a throwing error on third baseman Jordan Westburg. Manager Craig Counsell then sent Turner to the plate to hit for Michael Busch. Turner drove the first pitch he saw from Keegan Akin (3-1), a 92.8 mph fastball, deep to left-center for the game-ending shot. It was Turner's third homer of the season. Chicago took two of three in the weekend set against Baltimore. The Cubs stayed two games back of NL Central-leading Milwaukee, which won 14-3 at Washington. PIRATES 9, ROCKIES 5 DENVER (AP) — Spencer Horwitz homered twice and drove in a career-high six runs to lead Pittsburgh to a win over Colorado, avoiding a series sweep. Horwitz hit a two-run homer in the second inning, added a three-run shot in the sixth and knocked in his sixth run with a ground out in the eighth. The Pirates' 27-year-old leadoff hitter has five homers and 31 RBIs in 61 games this season. Nick Gonzales knocked in a run with an infield single in the first inning before Tommy Pham hit a two-run homer, his fifth, for Pittsburgh. Pirates starter Mitch Keller (5-10) worked five innings and allowed seven hits and five earned runs with four strikeouts. Mickey Moniak (two RBIs), Hunter Goodman and Jordan Beck (two RBIs) hit consecutive homers in the bottom of the sixth inning as the Rockies closed within 8-5. Colorado starter Bradley Blalock (1-3) allowed seven earned runs on six hits in 5 2/3 innings, with two strikeouts and four walks. MARINERS 5, RANGERS 4 SEATTLE (AP) — Julio Rodriguez homered to become the first player in major league history with 20 or more home runs and 20 or more stolen bases in each of his first four seasons, and Seattle beat Texas. Rodriguez hit a two-run shot in the third inning — his 100th career homer — and the slugging and speedy center fielder also added his 21st stolen base of the season after singling in the fifth inning. Jorge Polanco added a solo shot in the second and shortstop J.P. Crawford smacked a two-run blast in the fourth against Rangers starter Jacob deGrom (10-4), who became the fastest pitcher in major league history to reach 1,800 career strikeouts by games and innings on Sunday. The Rangers kept things close by pushing across three runs against Mariners starter Logan Evans (5-4), but only tallied one run against the Mariners bullpen before closer Andrés Muñoz locked down his 25th save of the season. DIAMONDBACKS 6, ATHLETICS 4 WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Blaze Alexander homered to help Arizona beat the Athletics. Alek Thomas and Geraldo Perdomo each had three hits as Arizona won the rubber game of the weekend set. Tyler Locklear had two hits and scored two runs. Eduardo Rodriguez (4-7) pitched five innings of two-run ball in his first win since June 23. The left-hander was 0-3 with a 6.23 ERA in his previous five starts. Kyle Nelson handled the ninth for his first save of the season. JJ Bleday hit a one-out solo homer for the A's, but Nelson closed it out when Gio Urshela flied to center and Max Schuemann struck out swinging. PADRES 7, CARDINALS 3 SAN DIEGO (AP) — Dylan Cease allowed one hit over five innings, Jake Cronenworth and Ramon Laureano homered as San Diego beats St. Louis. Cease (4-10) struck out nine with a walk as the Padres (62-50) won for the seventh time in eight games and moved three games behind the NL West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers (65-47). Jason Adams, Jeremiah Estrada and David Morgan followed Cease and put the Cardinals down in order in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings. Robert Suarez worked one inning and earned his 32nd save. Cronenworth opened the scoring with a two-run homer, his ninth, in the fourth. Laureano added a solo shot, his 16th, in the eighth inning. Jackson Merrill had a three-run triple in the seventh to extend the Padres' lead to 6-0. Cardinals starter Andre Pallante (6-8) allowed two runs on five hits with three walks and four strikeouts in five innings. Gordon Graceffo gave up four runs on four hits in two innings before giving way to Roddery Munoz. The Cardinals got on the board at the top of the ninth on bases-loaded singles by Nolan Gorman and Jordan Walker. ANGELS 8, WHITE SOX 5 ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Taylor Ward hit a game-ending three-run homer in the ninth inning, Zach Neto had a home run and three RBIs and Los Angeles beat Chicago to avoid a three-game sweep. In a tie game, Nolan Schanuel doubled with one out in the ninth before Mike Trout was walked intentionally. Ward went deep against left-hander Tyler Alexander (4-10) to set a career high with 26 home runs. Right-hander Kenley Jansen (4-2) pitched a scoreless ninth for Los Angeles. Colson Montgomery hit a three-run home run and drove in four runs for the White Sox. They lost for just the third time in their last 12 road games. The White Sox took a 4-0 lead in the first inning when Robert had an RBI single and Montgomery followed with a three-run home run against Jack Kochanowicz Chicago made it 5-0 in the third on Montgomery's RBI single. The Angels started their rally in the sixth with a leadoff home from Neto. Ward had an RBI single, and Trout scored on a wild pitch. The Angels tied it in the seventh on a two-run double from Neto. PHILLIES 2, TIGERS 0 PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Cristopher Sánchez pitched eight sparkling innings, Kyle Schwarber hit his 38th homer and Philadelphia beat Detroit. Philadelphia took two of three in the weekend series to move back into first place in the NL East, a half-game better than the New York Mets. Sánchez (10-3) surrendered five hits, struck out six and walked one. He allowed only one baserunner to reach third. Jhoan Duran handled the ninth for his second save with the Phillies and No. 18 overall. The hard-throwing closer, who was acquired in a trade with Minnesota on Wednesday, fanned Riley Greene with a 102.5 mph fastball for the final out.
San Francisco Chronicle
11 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Cristopher Sánchez and Kyle Schwarber lead the Phillies past the Tigers 2-0
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Cristopher Sánchez pitched eight sparkling innings, Kyle Schwarber hit his 38th homer and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Detroit Tigers 2-0 on Sunday night. Philadelphia took two of three in the weekend series to move back into first place in the NL East, a half-game better than the New York Mets. Sánchez (10-3) surrendered five hits, struck out six and walked one. He allowed only one baserunner to reach third. Jhoan Duran handled the ninth for his second save with the Phillies and No. 18 overall. The hard-throwing closer, who was acquired in a trade with Minnesota on Wednesday, fanned Riley Greene with a 102.5 mph fastball for the final out. Schwarber made it 2-0 when he connected against Tyler Holton with two down in the eighth, hitting a 435-foot drive to center. Schwarber is tied with Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani for the NL lead in home runs. It was Schwarber's 15th homer this season off a lefty, which leads all of baseball and matches a career high for the slugger. Detroit wasted a sharp performance by Charlie Morton (7-9), who pitched six innings of one-run ball. The veteran right-hander was acquired in a trade with Baltimore on Thursday.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Pagliuca's $325M bid to buy and move Connecticut Sun not yet approved by WNBA
Boston Celtics minority owner Steve Pagliuca said the potential deal to buy the Connecticut Sun for a record amount and move the team still needs approval from the WNBA Board of Governors. Pagliuca released a statement through his group on social media on Sunday confirming an offer had been made to buy the team and move it out of Mohegan Sun Arena, but said there were still approvals that had not been obtained from the WNBA. A person with knowledge of the sale had said Saturday that Pagliuca has reached a deal to buy the Connecticut Sun for a record $325 million and move the team to Boston. The franchise wouldn't play in its new home until the 2027 season. Pagliuca also would contribute $100 million for a new practice facility in Boston for the team, the person said. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity on Saturday because the deal hasn't been publicly announced. 'Central to our proposal is enabling the Sun to play in larger capacity arenas in New England,' Pagliuca wrote. 'We believe our record-setting offer and deep commitment to growing the WNBA in the region that is home to the most passionate basketball fans in the nation will significantly benefit the league, the team, and all its fans." The sale is pending approval of the league and its Board of Governors. 'Our offer is subject to obtaining the required league approvals, as is the case for all such transactions,' Pagliuca wrote on social media. 'This approval has not been obtained thus far, and we cannot proceed without it. We will respect, cooperate with, and abide by all league rules and decisions on these matters.' The league put out a statement Saturday, saying that moving a team was at the discretion of the WNBA and not individual franchises. 'Relocation decisions are made by the WNBA Board of Governors and not by individual teams,' the league said in a statement. The Sun have played one regular season game at TD Garden each of the last two years, including one against Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever in July. The league has announced five expansion teams that will begin play over the next five seasons with Portland (2026), Toronto (2026), Cleveland (2028), Detroit (2029) and Philadelphia (2030) joining the WNBA. Each paid a then-record $250 million expansion fee. Nine other cities bid for expansion teams, including Houston, which the league singled out as getting a team in the future when it announced Cleveland, Detroit and Philadelphia in June. Boston did not. 'No groups from Boston applied for a team at that time and those other cities remain under consideration based on the extensive work they did as part of the expansion process and currently have priority over Boston. Celtics' prospective ownership team has also reached out to the league office and asked that Boston receive strong consideration for a WNBA franchise at the appropriate time.' The Boston Globe first reported the sale. The Sun are owned by the Mohegan Tribe, which runs the casino where the team has played since 2003. The Tribe bought the franchise for $10 million and relocated it from Orlando that year. The Connecticut franchise was the first in the league to be run by a non-NBA owner and also became the first to turn a profit. The team announced in May that it was searching for a potential buyer for the franchise and had hired investment bank Allen & Company to conduct the probe. The WNBA has experienced rapid growth the last few seasons and ownership groups have been investing more into their teams, including player experiences. That has come in the way of practice facilities. The Sun are one of the few teams in the league that haven't announced any plans for a new training facility. Connecticut practices either at the arena in the casino or a local community center. Despite the lack of facilities, the Sun have been one of the most successful teams in the league, making the postseason in 16 seasons, including a run of six straight semifinal appearances. But the team was hit hard this offseason with the entire starting five from last season leaving either via free agency or trade. Connecticut is currently in last place in the WNBA at 5-22. The team sent out a letter to season ticket holders last week saying they'd still be playing at the casino next year. The last team to be sold in the WNBA was in 2021 when real estate investor Larry Gottesdiener led a group that bought the Atlanta Dream for under $10 million. A year earlier, Mark Davis paid roughly $2 million for the Las Vegas Aces. ___ AP WNBA:
