Brendan Donovan hit a two-run homer and an RBI single to propel the St. Louis Cardinals to a 6-5 victory over the San Francisco Giants on Thursday in Birmingham, Ala., as Major League Baseball paid tribute to the Negro Leagues.
The contest, played at historic Rickwood Field, wound up serving as a memorial for Giants legend Willie Mays. The Alabama native died Tuesday at age 93.
Donovan finished with three hits, Nolan Gorman drove in two runs and Alec Burleson had two hits and three runs for the Cardinals, who won for the sixth time in nine games.
Heliot Ramos hit a three-run homer for the Giants, who lost their third consecutive game.
Diamondbacks 5, Nationals 2
Christian Walker hit his 17th home run, Ryne Nelson pitched seven strong innings and Arizona beat host Washington.
Jake McCarthy had three hits, stole two bases and scored twice, and Randal Grichuk had a two-run double among his two hits as the Diamondbacks won the decisive game of the three-game series. Nelson (5-5) allowed two runs on three hits, and Paul Sewald pitched the ninth for his eighth save.
Lane Thomas and Jesse Winker homered for the Nationals. Washington starter MacKenzie Gore (6-6) gave up four runs on 10 hits in five innings.
Guardians 6, Mariners 3
Andres Gimenez’s two-out, two-run go-ahead homer highlighted a three-run fifth inning, and Will Brennan went deep twice as Cleveland beat visiting Seattle.
Brennan clubbed solo homers in the second and eighth, and the Guardians’ Steven Kwan extended his hitting streak to 14 games and his on-base streak to 25 straight.
Logan Allen (8-3) yielded three runs in six innings for the Guardians, who took the final two of this three-game set after losing three in a row. Luis Castillo (6-8) allowed five runs in five innings for the Mariners, who had just five hits.
Rays 7, Twins 6 (10 innings)
Jonny DeLuca hit a go-ahead single in the top of the 10th inning and Tampa Bay held on for a win over Minnesota in Minneapolis.
Yandy Diaz went 2-for-5 with a double and a two-run home run for Tampa Bay, which won twice in the three-game series. Jose Siri went 2-for-5 with a solo homer.
Jose Miranda hit a three-run home run with two outs in the ninth for the Twins to tie the game. Royce Lewis and Carlos Santana each hit a solo homer.
Astros 5, White Sox 3
Yordan Alvarez went 3-for-5 with a home run and two RBIs, sparking visiting Houston to a win over Chicago.
Alex Bregman also tallied three hits for Houston, which took two of three from Chicago.
Houston reliever Tayler Scott (3-2) got the win. White Sox starter Chris Flexen threw six innings of one-run ball before Steven Wilson (1-4) took the loss.
Dodgers 5, Rockies 3
Will Smith and Freddie Freeman hit back-to-back homers in the fourth inning, Shohei Ohtani also went deep and Los Angeles beat host Colorado.
Teoscar Hernandez had three hits and Evan Phillips pitched a perfect ninth to pick up his 12th save for the Dodgers, who took three of four in the series. Ryan McMahon homered among his two hits and Jake Cave had two hits and drove in two for the Rockies.
Los Angeles’ Gavin Stone (8-2) gave up two runs on four hits in 5 1/3 innings. Colorado’s Ty Blach (3-5) allowed five runs on 10 hits over four innings.
Royals 3, Athletics 2
Freddy Fermin hit two home runs, Bobby Witt Jr. broke an eighth-inning tie with a long ball and Kansas City avoided a three-game sweep at Oakland.
Fermin had three of the Royals’ seven hits as Kansas City snapped a three-game skid. Seeking his 11th win, Seth Lugo took a 2-0 lead into the seventh before Zack Gelof homered for the third straight day, a two-out, two-run shot that drew the A’s even.
Lugo was charged with two runs in 6 2/3 innings, while A’s starter Mitch Spence allowed two runs in six innings. James McArthur (4-3) got the win over Vinny Nittoli (0-1), and Chris Stratton got the final two outs for his fourth save.
Orioles 17, Yankees 5
Cedric Mullins hit a two-run home run to spark a six-run second inning as Baltimore rolled past host New York.
Ryan Mountcastle and Ryan O’Hearn each drove in four runs while Anthony Santander and Austin Hays also went deep for the Orioles, who set season highs for runs and hits (19).
The Yankees got home runs from Aaron Judge, back after missing a day with a sore hand, and Gleyber Torres. Judge also had an RBI single. Torres was pulled after the fifth due to right groin tightness. Luis Gil (9-2) allowed seven runs in a career-low 1 1/3 innings.
Padres 7, Brewers 6
Jake Cronenworth belted San Diego’s fourth homer of the game with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, lifting the Padres past visiting Milwaukee.
Cronenworth pounced on a 3-2 slider from Joel Payamps (1-3), lacing it just inside the right field foul pole for his 11th homer. It was San Diego’s third straight walk-off win at home, all on tiebreaking solo homers. Milwaukee had tied the game with two ninth-inning runs against Jeremiah Estrada (3-1).
Fernando Tatis Jr. went 4-for-5 with a homer as the Padres posted a second straight win overall. Brice Turang collected three hits for Milwaukee, which had won four of its previous five games.
