Jeff McNeil drove home the go-ahead run and clubbed one of seven New York homers as the visiting Mets outlasted the Cincinnati Reds 15-11 in an 11-inning slugfest that featured 34 hits Monday night.
Michael Conforto homered twice and Kevin Pillar belted a three-run homer in the 11th as the Mets connected for a season-high seven long balls. The seven homers match the most the Reds have allowed this season, as they also surrendered seven to the Philadelphia Phillies in a 17-3 loss on June 1.
James McCann, Dominic Smith and Pete Alonso also homered for the Mets, who overcame four errors in the first two innings, including three by shortstop Luis Guillorme.
Tyler Naquin had five hits and four RBIs for the Reds, who got three hits apiece from Jesse Winker and Joey Votto.
Tigers 14, Rangers 0
Miguel Cabrera smacked a three-run double and a two-run single and host Detroit stretched its winning streak to four games by putting up a season-high run total in a rout of Texas.
Akil Baddoo supplied a two-run homer, a two-run single and three runs. Victor Reyes contributed four hits and three runs while Jonathan Schoop had two hits, two runs and two RBIs. Joe Jimenez (4-1) struck out three in one inning of relief and was credited with the win.
Kyle Gibson (6-2) surrendered eight runs on 10 hits in five-plus innings as the Rangers lost their sixth straight.
Red Sox 13, Blue Jays 4
Hunter Renfroe hit a grand slam in an eight-run first inning, Enrique Hernandez had two homers, a double and three RBIs and visiting Boston defeated Toronto in Buffalo, N.Y.
Danny Santana added a solo home run and a two-run double and Jarren Duran hit a two-run homer for Boston in the opener of a three-game series. Rafael Devers socked a solo homer and J.D. Martinez added four hits and a walk for the Red Sox.
Cavan Biggio hit a solo homer for the Blue Jays, who had a four-game winning streak end. Boston starter Nick Pivetta (8-4) gave up four runs, 11 hits and two walks in 6 2/3 innings. He struck out four. Toronto starter Ross Stripling (3-6) allowed six runs, four hits and two walks in one-third of an inning.
Nationals 18, Marlins 1
Jon Lester pitched seven shutout innings and hit one of Washington’s six home runs and the Nationals beat visiting Miami with ease.
Juan Soto continued his post-All Star game push with two home runs, a double and five RBIs, giving him five homers and 11 RBIs in four games.
In his longest outing of the season, Lester (3-4) allowed six hits while striking out a season-high seven batters without a walk. Trea Turner, Josh Bell and Tres Barrera also homered for Washington. Miami starter Ross Detwiler (1-1) was lifted with no outs in the second after allowing eight runs on seven hits, four of them home runs.
Giants 7, Dodgers 2
Buster Posey returned from a two-week absence and blasted a two-run homer in his first at-bat to help visiting San Francisco earn a win against Los Angeles in the opener of a four-game series.
Posey, a seven-time All-Star catcher who had been out since injuring his left thumb on July 4, was one of four Giants with multiple hits. The first-place Giants expanded their lead in the National League West to two games over the second-place Dodgers.
Giants starter Kevin Gausman came in with the second-lowest ERA in the majors (1.73), but he experienced his shortest outing of the season. He went three innings, allowing two runs and three hits. Dodgers starter Tony Gonsolin (1-1) went 3 1/3 innings, allowing three runs and five hits.
A’s 4, Angels 1
All-Star Game starter Shohei Ohtani pitched six shutout innings, but Ramon Laureano greeted reliever Steve Cishek with a three-run home run in the seventh as Oakland outlasted visiting Los Angeles.
A’s starter Cole Irvin (7-8) threw seven scoreless innings and combined with closer Lou Trivino on an eight-hitter.
Matt Olson also homered for the A’s. The Angels got three hits and an RBI from Brandon Marsh.
Twins 3, White Sox 2 (Game 1, 8 innings)
Nelson Cruz hit a sixth-inning homer and drove in the go-ahead run with an eighth-inning sacrifice fly to lead visiting Minnesota past Chicago in the first game of a doubleheader.
Minnesota’s Jorge Polanco added an RBI single in the top of the eighth. Chicago’s Jose Abreu responded with a run-scoring double in the bottom of the inning, but he was stranded at second base.
Luis Arraez, Ryan Jeffers and Polanco each had two hits for Minnesota, which snapped a three-game losing streak and improved to 3-10 against the White Sox this season.
White Sox 5, Twins 3 (Game 2)
Gavin Sheets drilled a walk-off three-run home run off Jose Berrios (7-4) and Jose Abreu and Yoan Moncada also homered as host Chicago defeated Minnesota to salvage a doubleheader split.
Limited to two hits in their first six innings, the White Sox opened the seventh with a single and a walk, with the runners moving into scoring position on a wild pitch from Berrios.
Berrios allowed five runs on four hits in six-plus innings with one walk and eight strikeouts. Aaron Bummer (2-4) was the winner in relief, striking out one in a scoreless seventh.
Cardinals 8, Cubs 3
Dylan Carlson homered and drove in four runs as St. Louis opened a four-game series against visiting Chicago with a convincing victory.
Paul Goldschmidt followed Carlson’s two-run homer in the sixth inning with a solo blast for the Cardinals, who won their third in a row while capitalizing on four Chicago errors.
Cardinals starter Jake Woodford (2-1) allowed one run on six hits with no walks over 5 2/3 innings while matching a career high with six strikeouts. Patrick Wisdom had three hits and belted a solo homer for the Cubs, who have lost 21 of their past 29 games.
Astros 4, Indians 3
Yordan Alvarez slugged his first home run in nearly two weeks and Houston edged visiting Cleveland.
Alvarez finished 2-for-3 with a double and a walk for his first multi-hit game since he homered twice against the Oakland A’s on July 6. Over the subsequent eight games, Alvarez went 2-for-30 with no RBIs and 15 strikeouts.
Zack Greinke (9-3) threw 5 1/3 innings of two-run ball, and Ryan Pressly tossed a scoreless ninth for his 17th save. Franmil Reyes hit a solo homer and an RBI single for the Indians.
Orioles 6, Rays 1
Spenser Watkins fired six sharp innings of one-run baseball in his third major league start as Baltimore solved division rival Tampa Bay for the first time this year and won easily in St. Petersburg, Fla.
The 28-year-old right-hander (2-0), who made his big-league debut on July 2 in relief, faced the Rays for the first time and limited them to four hits, struck out seven and walked two while making 92 pitches. He lowered his ERA to 1.65.
The victory was Orioles’ first in seven tries against the Rays, who lost for just the third time in their past 11 games overall. Tampa Bay’s Randy Arozarena went 2-for-4 with an RBI double. All-Star catcher Mike Zunino (hip flexor tightness) and designated hitter Yandy Diaz (neck spasms) left the game with injuries.
Diamondbacks 4, Pirates 2
Eduardo Escobar smacked a two-run homer and Caleb Smith won for the first time since April 29 as Arizona beat Pittsburgh in Phoenix.
Pavin Smith and Josh VanMeter slugged back-to-back homers for the Diamondbacks in the second inning. Caleb Smith (3-6) was charged with two runs and six hits in 6 2/3 innings. He struck out seven and walked two. Joakim Soria worked the ninth for his fifth save.
Ke’Bryan Hayes and Bryan Reynolds each had two hits and one RBI for the Pirates, who have lost two straight after winning seven of their previous 10 games. Jared Oliva also had two hits.
–Field Level Media
