Red-hot Rays keep Yankees reeling with 3-1 victory
NEW YORK (AP) — Rich Hill finished May with the lowest monthly ERA in 75 years of a pitcher in his 40s, and the Tampa Bay Rays won for the 16th time in 17 games by keeping up their domination of the reeling Yankees with a 3-1 victory Monday.
Hill (4-2), a 41-year-old left-hander who is the oldest player in Rays’ history, improved to 3-0 against the Yankees this season. Hill was 3-1 with a 0.78 ERA in six May starts.
Miguel Andújar homered in the seventh, just his second since 2018. J.P. Feyereisen, acquired May 21 from Milwaukee for shortstop Willy Adames, finished a five-hitter for his third save.
The AL East-leading Rays (35-20) improved to 7-3 against the Yankees this season.
New York (29-25) limped to the season’s one-third mark with its fourth straight defeat and sixth in seven games.
Jameson Taillon (1-4) lost to Hill for the second time this year. He allowed three runs and five hits in five-plus innings.
Manuel Margot hit an RBI double in the third. Austin Meadows homered into the right-field short porch in the fourth and Randy Arozarena had an RBI single in the fifth.
ASTROS 11, RED SOX 2
HOUSTON (AP) — Kyle Tucker had a season-best three hits and tied a career high with four RBIs as Houston handed former bench coach Alex Cora and the Boston Red Sox their most lopsided loss of the season.
This was the first time Cora, now managing the Red Sox again, had faced the Astros since being suspended last year for his role in Houston’s illegal sign-stealing scheme in 2017.
Cora helped Houston win the 2017 World Series as bench coach, then managed Boston to the 2018 championship. He was let go by the Red Sox following Major League Baseball’s investigation into the Astros, then suspended by MLB through the 2020 postseason before getting rehired in Boston last November.
Jose Urquidy (4-2) did his part in ending Boston’s three-game winning streak. He yielded three hits and one run, striking out nine in six innings in his return from the injured list.
Urquidy, who had been out since May 12 with shoulder inflammation, won his career-best fourth straight decision.
Eduardo Rodriguez (5-4) allowed a season-high six runs and seven hits in 4 1/3 innings to extend his losing streak to a career-long four games.
Jose Altuve hit a two-run homer and Alex Bregman drove in two runs for Houston.
DODGERS 9, CARDINALS 4
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Chris Taylor drove in three runs with a tiebreaking double that capped a 14-pitch at-bat in the sixth inning, rallying Los Angeles past St. Louis to snap a three-game skid.
Taylor fouled off nine pitches — four in a row twice — by Genesis Cabrera before delivering the two-out double for a 6-3 lead. Two batters earlier, Cabrera issued a bases-loaded walk to Will Smith that tied the game.
Taylor also homered and doubled, going 3 for 4 with four RBIs and two runs scored.
Trevor Bauer (6-3) allowed four runs — three earned — and five hits in 6 2/3 innings. Gavin Lux hit a pair of solo homers for the Dodgers on manager Dave Roberts’ 49th birthday.
Cardinals starter Jack Flaherty exited with left side tightness after five innings. He equaled his season high with nine strikeouts. The right-hander gave up two runs and two hits against his favorite team while growing up in nearby Burbank.
With Flaherty gone, the Dodgers batted around in the sixth. Ryan Helsley (3-3) took the loss.
CUBS 7, PADRES 2
CHICAGO (AP) — Javier Báez and Patrick Wisdom each homered twice, helping Kohl Stewart and Chicago beat San Diego.
Stewart pitched five innings of one-run ball in his first major league win since July 21, 2019, for Minnesota against Oakland. Stewart (1-0) opted out of last season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Kris Bryant also went deep as Chicago won for the seventh time in eight games.
San Diego dropped to 4-4 on its 10-game road trip. Fernando Tatis Jr. hit his 16th homer and Wil Myers drove in a run, but that was it for the Padres.
Chris Paddack (2-4) allowed five runs and six hits in 4 1/3 innings in his first loss since April 27. The right-hander struck out six and walked one.
METS 6, DIAMONDBACKS 2
PHOENIX (AP) — Pete Alonso homered and had four RBIs in his return from the injured list, Jacob deGrom pitched six shutout innings and New York beat Arizona for its fifth straight victory.
Making his second start since coming off the IL, deGrom (4-2) allowed two hits while striking out eight and walking none. He lowered his ERA to 0.71, the lowest for a qualifying starter through May since Phillies left-hander Curt Short was at 0.64 in 1964.
The two-time Cy Young Award winner also had an RBI single for his ninth hit in eight starts this season. He has 84 strikeouts and a 0.53 WHIP in 51 innings.
Alonso hit a two-run single and a two-run homer off starter Merrill Kelly (2-5) for his first four-RBI game since his rookie season in 2019. The big first baseman had been sidelined since May 19 with a sprained right hand.
Mason Williams, just promoted from the minors, made a tough catch at the center-field wall in his Mets debut to stop the Diamondbacks as they tried to rally in the seventh against New York’s bullpen.
Kevin Pillar, wearing a protective mask on defense and the bases, came off the bench and singled in an inspirational return to the NL East leaders two weeks after getting hit square in the nose by a 95 mph fastball, causing multiple facial fractures.
Billy McKinney also went deep for New York.
Arizona, which snapped a 13-game skid Sunday, has lost 17 of 19. Eduardo Escobar hit his 13th homer for the Diamondbacks.
WHITE SOX 8, INDIANS 6, 8 INNINGS, 1ST GAME
INDIANS 3, WHITE SOX 1, 2ND GAME
CLEVELAND (AP) — José Ramírez’s two-run homer and a solid start by reliever Cal Quantrill led Cleveland over Chicago, giving the Indians their second straight doubleheader split in two days.
Ramírez connected in the third inning off Jimmy Lambert (0-1) to break a 1-all tie as the Indians, who rallied to win Game 2 on Sunday against Toronto, got back the game they dropped earlier to the AL Central-leading White Sox.
Phil Maton (1-0) was the winner in the nightcap. Emmanuel Clase struck out three in the seventh for his ninth save.
In the opener, Adam Eaton’s two-run homer off James Karinchak (2-2) and José Abreu’s sacrifice fly in the eighth led Chicago to the win. Indians starter Triston McKenzie struck out a club-record eight straight hitters, two short of the major league record set by Hall of Famer Tom Seaver in 1970.
Chicago starter Carlos Rodón shook off allowing back-to-back homers in the first inning and hung around for six. He pitched a no-hitter against the Indians on April 14.
Codi Heuer (4-1) worked the seventh and Aaron Bummer gave up a run in the eighth before getting his first save.
César Hernández homered twice but also made two errors for Cleveland.
Both games were scheduled for seven innings.
REDS 11, PHILLIES 1
CINCINNATI (AP) — Max Schrock homered, tripled and doubled before leaving with an apparent leg injury, Wade Miley pitched six solid innings and Cincinnati cruised past Philadelphia Phillies.
Kyle Farmer homered and drove in five runs as Cincinnati sent the Phillies to their third straight loss.
Miley (5-4) came off the 10-day injured list and showed no ill effects from a sore foot. He gave up a run and six hits while striking out six.
Schrock drove in three runs. He hit a two-run homer in a four-run second and an RBI triple in the fifth.
Vince Velasquez (2-1) allowed six runs and five hits and three walks in three innings.
BREWERS 3, TIGERS 2, 10 INNINGS
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Luis Urías hit a drive that bounced over the wall and brought home Omar Narváez with the winning run in the 10th inning and Milwaukee edged Detroit Tigers.
The Brewers won their fifth straight and snapped the Tigers’ three-game winning streak.
Willy Adames hit a two-run homer for the Brewers. Akil Baddoo had a game-tying solo shot for the Tigers in the seventh.
After falling behind 1-2 in the count with one out, Urías fouled off two pitches before his drive off José Cisnero (0-2) hit the warning track in right-center and bounced over the wall. Urías was credited with a single.
The Tigers started the top of the 10th by having Willi Castro bunt Jake Rogers over to third, but Robbie Grossman and Harold Castro struck out looking to end the sixth consecutive scoreless appearance for Brad Boxberger (2-1).
TWINS 3, ORIOLES 2, 10 INNINGS
BALTIMORE (AP) — Rob Refsnyder bounced back from a run-in with the center-field fence to score the go-ahead run in the 10th inning on a wild pitch and Minnesota handed Baltimore its 14th consecutive loss.
The Orioles’ skid ties for second-longest in team history — they also dropped 14 in a row in 1954, the season the club moved from St. Louis to Baltimore. The Orioles’ worst losing streak came in 1988 when they lost their first 21 games of the year.
The Twins have beaten Baltimore 16 consecutive times, one away from Minnesota’s franchise-record against one opponent. The Twins topped Boston 17 straight times in 1965-66.
Refsnyder smacked into the padded wall chasing Ryan Mountcastle’s home run in the fifth that flew well over the fence. Refsnyder went down hard on the warning track, but stayed in the game.
It was 1-all when Refsnyder began the 10th as the automatic runner at second base. He moved to third on Kyle Garlick’s grounder and scored easily with a headfirst slide when Adam Plutko (1-2) threw a pitch in the dirt.
Jorge Polanco followed with a homer over the right- field scoreboard.
After Taylor Rogers (1-2) contained the Orioles in the ninth, DJ Stewart had an RBI single off Hansel Robles in the extra frame. After Stewart moved to third on a wild pitch, Robles got out of the jam and earned his fourth save with two strikeouts and a flyball.
GIANTS 6, ANGELS 1
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Evan Longoria hit a two-run homer before leaving with a sore muscle on his right side, and Johnny Cueto pitched seven stellar innings in San Francisco’s victory over Los Angeles.
LaMonte Wade Jr. also went deep for the Giants, his first major league home run since hitting two for the Twins in 2019. Cueto (4-1) allowed five hits and one run, struck out five and didn’t walk a batter.
Mauricio Dubon launched a two-out homer in the sixth to chase Angels starter Dylan Bundy (0-6). The Giants, who took three of four on the road from the rival Dodgers to complete a 5-1 trip, have multiple home runs in six straight games.
BRAVES 5, NATIONALS 3
ATLANTA (AP) — Ronald Acuña Jr. hit his 16th home run to tie for the big league lead in Atlanta’s win over Washington.
Acuña went deep to match Toronto’s Vladimir Guerrero Jr., San Diego’s Fernando Tatis Jr. and Texas’ Adolis Garcia for most in the majors.
The Braves have won six of seven against the Nationals this season and outscored them 33-21. Washington has lost five in a row overall.
Charlie Morton (4-2) gave up three runs, six hits and three walks with six strikeouts in five innings. Will Smith earned his ninth save in nine chances.
Joe Ross (2-5) fell behind 3-0 in the first, when William Contreras had a two-run single.
Josh Bell hit a two-run homer for the Nationals.
MARINERS 6, ATHLETICS 5, 10 INNINGS
SEATTLE (AP) — Ty France hit a tying single and scored on Tom Murphy’s sacrifice fly in the 10th inning as Seattle rallied past Oakland for its fifth straight win.
The Mariners improved to 5-0 in extra innings this season.
Oakland took a 5-4 lead in the top of the 10th on a two-out single by Aramís García off Daniel Zamora (2-0).
The Mariners pulled even on France’s one-out single off Lou Trivino (2-2). J.P. Crawford followed with a one-hopper that first baseman Matt Olson couldn’t handle for an error, and the ball rolled down the right field line. France was held at third, but he scored easily on Murphy’s deep fly to right.
ROYALS 7, PIRATES 3
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Adalberto Mondesi hit a two-run homer and Mike Minor pitched six solid innings to send Kansas City past Pittsburgh.
The Royals have won 10 of 16 to get back to .500 for the first time since an 11-game losing streak dropped them four games below.
Minor (4-2) allowed two runs and five hits. He struck out seven and walked one.
Chad Kuhl (0-2) took the loss in his return from the injured list. He gave up three runs and six hits in four innings.
Bryan Reynolds homered and drove in two runs for the Pirates.
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