Anthony Santander belted two of Baltimore’s four home runs Friday night as the Orioles returned from the All-Star break by thumping the Texas Rangers 9-1 in Arlington, Texas, to open a three-game series.
Adley Rutschman and Colton Cowser also homered for Baltimore, which has won two straight following a five-game slide. Gunnar Henderson went 4-for-5 with three runs scored as the Orioles won in their first game at Globe Life Field since their season-ending loss in Game 3 of last year’s American League Division Series.
Baltimore starter Corbin Burnes (10-4) limited Texas to one run on two hits over six innings. Burnes walked four and struck out six in his second outing in the Rangers’ home ballpark in four days. The right-hander pitched a scoreless first inning despite giving up a hit and a walk for the American League in Tuesday’s All-Star Game.
Texas starter Nathan Eovaldi (6-4) gave up six runs on eight hits over five innings. The right-hander struck out two without walking a batter, giving up three of the Orioles’ four homers.
Dodgers 4, Red Sox 1
Freddie Freeman hit a grand slam in the eighth inning to bring a stagnant offense to life as Los Angeles rallied to beat visiting Boston in the opener of a three-game series.
The Dodgers had just two hits through seven innings before loading the bases in the eighth on a walk to Miguel Vargas, a double from Shohei Ohtani and an intentional walk to Will Smith. Freeman followed with a blast into the Red Sox’s bullpen off left-hander Brennan Bernardino (3-3).
Rookie right-hander Gavin Stone gave up one run over five innings on six hits with no walks and three strikeouts as the Dodgers won after dropping six of their previous seven games. Left-hander Ryan Yarbrough (4-2) pitched a scoreless inning to pick up the victory, and right-hander Daniel Hudson pitched the ninth for his fifth save.
Astros 3, Mariners 0
Hunter Brown pitched six scoreless innings as Houston moved into first place in the American League West with a victory over host Seattle.
Yainer Diaz hit a two-run single in the third inning for the Astros, who were 10 games back in the division race on June 18. They’ve gone 18-6 since, the best record in the major leagues in that span, while the Mariners are 8-16, to move percentage points ahead of Seattle.
Brown (8-6) continued a remarkable run in which he has pitched at least six scoreless innings in five of his past eight starts. The right-hander allowed four hits, walked three and struck out five.
Pirates 8, Phillies 7
Nick Gonzales ripped a walk-off RBI single to cap a two-run ninth inning and lift host Pittsburgh over Philadelphia.
Oneil Cruz collected three hits, three RBIs and scored on the first two of three sacrifice flies by Rowdy Tellez. Bryan Reynolds also had three hits and Gonzales drove in another run for the Pirates, who overcame a three-run deficit with two runs in the seventh and ninth innings. The late uprising made a winner of Carmen Mlodzinski (2-3).
Philadelphia’s Weston Wilson highlighted his three-hit performance, a career high, with a solo home run in the third inning, his first of the season. Trea Turner launched a two-run homer, Nick Castellanos ripped a two-run double and Kyle Schwarber added a sacrifice fly for the Phillies. Jose Alvarado (1-4) retired only one batter in the ninth.
Athletics 13, Angels 3
Max Schuemann, JJ Bleday and Shea Langeliers hit home runs and Oakland thumped visiting Los Angeles to post its second straight double-digit scoring output.
Schuemann had Oakland’s biggest hit of the night, a three-run homer in a four-run fourth. The burst came after Zach Neto’s 13th blast of the season had drawn the Angels even at 2-2 in the top of the inning.
Schuemann added an RBI double in a seven-run sixth inning that broke the game open. The homers by Bleday and Langeliers contributed two runs apiece to the uprising, which followed Oakland’s 18-3 rout of the Philadelphia Phillies in the final game before the All-Star break.
Yankees 6, Rays 1
Juan Soto collected four hits, including a double in the fifth inning that saw him score thanks to two errors by the Rays, as host New York beat Tampa Bay.
Anthony Volpe hit a bases-clearing double in the third off Tampa Bay starter Zach Eflin (5-7) and Aaron Judge added an RBI single in the sixth after Soto doubled for his fourth hit. Soto got his second four-hit game of the season as the Yankees won for the third time in four games but just the ninth time in 27 contests.
New York ace Gerrit Cole (3-1) allowed one run on six hits in six solid innings to win his second straight start. In his sixth outing since returning from elbow inflammation, Cole struck out eight, walked one and threw 103 pitches.
Marlins 6, Mets 4
Jake Burger homered, doubled and drove in two runs as Miami built an early four-run lead and then held off visiting New York.
Jazz Chisholm Jr. also had two hits and stole his 19th base for Miami, which took a 4-3 lead in the season series. Anthony Bender (4-2) pitched two-thirds of an inning to pick up the win, and closer Tanner Scott got the final four outs for his 15th save.
Sean Manaea (6-4) gave up five runs on eight hits and a walk over five innings, fanning one. Marlins starter Edward Cabrera was removed one out shy of qualifying for a win, giving up five hits and two runs, one earned, in 4 2/3 innings. He walked five and struck out one. New York wasted a two-homer game from Jeff McNeil.
Rockies 7, Giants 3
Jake Cave hit a tiebreaking three-run homer in a four-run eighth inning and Colorado rallied to beat San Francisco in Denver.
Brenton Doyle and Ezequiel Tovar also went deep and finished with two hits each and Jalen Beeks (6-4) got the win in relief for Colorado. The game was tied entering the bottom of the eighth but reliever Tyler Rogers (1-3) gave up an infield single and a double before Cave hit a full-count slider into the seats in right. It was his third home run of the season. Tovar added a solo home run, his 15th, off Luke Jackson.
Thairo Estrada had a two-run triple and starter Kyle Harrison allowed a hit and struck out six in five scoreless innings for San Francisco.
Tigers 5, Blue Jays 4
Mark Canha and Wenceel Perez hit two-run home runs and visiting Detroit defeated Toronto in the opener of a three-game series.
The Tigers, who have won three in a row, opened a seven-game road trip with the win. Detroit right-hander Jack Flaherty (7-5) allowed two runs, three hits and one walk while striking out eight in 5 2/3 innings.
Toronto right-hander Chris Bassitt (8-8) allowed five runs, seven hits and one walk with six strikeouts in 6 2/3 innings. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and George Springer hit two-run home runs for the Blue Jays, who began a nine-game homestand.
Guardians 7, Padres 0
Tanner Bibee allowed two hits over 5 2/3 innings and Jose Ramirez’s two-RBI single highlighted a six-run eighth as Cleveland beat visiting San Diego.
Bibee (8-4) walked three and struck out three to outduel San Diego’s Matt Waldron (5-9), who lasted six innings and struck out five without a walk. But one of the six hits he surrendered was a fifth-inning RBI double by rookie Daniel Schneemann.
David Fry added three hits, two runs and an RBI, and Steven Kwan singled twice to raise his average to a majors-best .354 for American League Central-leading Cleveland. The Guardians entered the break on a 7-11 rut but improved to 31-11 at home.
Diamondbacks 5, Cubs 2
Ryne Nelson struck out a career-high nine batters in 5 2/3 innings to help visiting Arizona earn a win over Chicago in the opener of their three-game series.
Nelson (7-6) allowed one run on three hits and two walks for Arizona, which won for the fifth time in six games. Gabriel Moreno had three hits with an RBI and scored twice, while Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Ketel Marte each had two hits and a run scored for the Diamondbacks. Randal Grichuk added two hits and an RBI.
Cubs left-hander Justin Steele (2-4) allowed five runs and a season-high nine hits in 4 2/3 innings. He struck out six and walked two. Nico Hoerner had three hits to extend his hitting streak to 12 games for Chicago, which had won six of eight and eight of 11 entering the All-Star break.
Nationals 8, Reds 5
Juan Yepez went 2-for-4 with a three-run homer to help Washington beat visiting Cincinnati in the opener of their three-game set. Washington has won three of its past four games.
Nationals starter Patrick Corbin (2-9) was solid over six innings, allowing only one run on three hits with six strikeouts and no walks. Reliever Kyle Finnegan faced two batters in the ninth, walking one to bring the tying run to the plate but retiring Elly De La Cruz for his 26th save.
Frankie Montas (4-8) was tagged for seven runs on six hits in 4 2/3 innings as Cincinnati lost its second straight after winning five of six.
Royals 7, White Sox 1
Bobby Witt Jr. went 3-for-3 with a home run and two RBIs to lift host Kansas City past lowly Chicago to open a three-game series. Witt scored twice and also walked as Kansas City won for the fifth time in seven games. Michael Massey also drove in two runs for the Royals.
The White Sox, who own the worst record in the majors, lost their fifth straight game and eighth in their last nine.
Kansas City starter Michael Wacha (7-6) won his third straight start by logging seven scoreless innings. He gave up four hits, walking one and striking out seven. Chicago starter Chris Flexen (2-9) gave up seven runs and four hits in 4 2/3 innings. He issued five walks and fanned four.
Braves-Cardinals (ppd.)
The opener of the three-game series between Atlanta and St. Louis was postponed because of heavy rain in the Atlanta area. The game will be made up on Saturday as part of a split double-header. The first game will begin at 1 p.m. local time with the nightcap scheduled for 7:20 p.m.
