Reds beat Blue Jays 1-0 on Christian Encarnacion-Strand’s HR in 9th inning

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This article was published 18/08/2023 (811 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

CINCINNATI (AP) — Christian Encarnacion-Strand homered in the ninth inning, and the Cincinnati Reds beat the Toronto Blue Jays 1-0 on Friday night in the opener of an interleague series between playoff contenders.

Encarnacion-Strand drove a 2-2 pitch from Jordan Hicks (2-8) deep to left for his fourth homer. It was Cincinnati’s fourth hit of the game.

Fighting for positioning in the NL playoff standings, the Reds (64-59) won for the third time in four games.

Toronto wasted a terrific performance by José Berríos, who struck out eight in 5 2/3 innings. The right-hander allowed one hit — Matt McLain’s one-out single in the sixth — and walked four.

The Blue Jays (67-56), who are in the mix for an AL wild card, dropped their second straight game.

BRAVES 4, GIANTS 0

ATLANTA (AP) — Spencer Strider struck out 10 and allowed one hit in seven innings in becoming the first 14-game winner in the majors and Atlanta blanked San Francisco for its third straight shutout.

It marked the first time since the final three games of 2015 against St. Louis that the Braves blanked an opponent in three straight games. Atlanta has five shutouts in its last eight games.

Matt Olson, Eddie Rosario, Austin Riley and Michael Harris II each drove in a run as the major league-leading Braves improved to 79-42. Harris went 4 for 5 with a double and a triple.

Strider (14-4) added to his MLB-leading strikeout total of 227, which is 40 more than the second-place Kevin Gausman of Toronto.

San Francisco managed just two hits. Alex Cobb (6-5) allowed four runs and eight hits in 5 2/3 innings.

RAYS 9, ANGELS 6, 10 INNINGS

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Harold Ramírez had three hits and Josh Lowe drove in three runs as the Tampa Bay rallied to beat Los Angeles in 10 innings.

Shohei Ohtani’s second career grand slam in the second inning gave the Angels a 5-1 lead, but they were unable to make it stand. The Rays appeared as if they might take the lead in the ninth inning, but the Halos turned their first triple play in 26 years to keep it tied at 6.

The Rays finally broke through with three in the 10th. Pinch-runner Jose Siri started on second as the automatic runner and advanced to third on a wild pitch by Carlos Estevez (5-4).

Luke Raley drove in Siri for the go-ahead run while Lowe and Rene Pinto also had RBI base hits.

Andrew Kittredge worked the 10th for his first save. Pete Fairbanks (1-4) got the win.

TIGERS 4, GUARDIANS 2, 1st game; GUARDIANS 4, TIGERS 1, 2nd game

CLEVELAND (AP) — Will Brennan hit a tiebreaking two-run double in Cleveland’s four-run eighth inning, and the Guardians earned a doubleheader split.

Brennan’s rocket to center against José Cisnero drove in Kole Calhoun and rookie Brayan Rocchio, lifting Cleveland to a 3-1 lead. Rocchio hit a tying RBI single before Brennan delivered, and Gabriel Arias tacked on another run-scoring single.

In the opener, Miguel Cabrera drove in a run to tie Mel Ott for 11th place on the career RBIs list, and Akil Baddoo homered on the second pitch of Detroit’s 4-2 win.

But Cleveland bounced back in the nightcap, earning its first victory in eight doubleheader games this season. Enyel De Los Santos (5-2) got the win and All-Star closer Emmanuel Clase worked a clean ninth for his 33rd save.

Cisnero (2-4) allowed three runs in one inning, spoiling a terrific performance by starter Joey Wentz.

Cabrera’s first-inning double in the first game scored Kerry Carpenter, giving him 1,868 RBIs in 21 major league seasons. It also was his 3,148th hit, putting the 40-year-old within four of tying Paul Waner for 18th all-time.

Baddoo’s leadoff homer came off rookie Gavin Williams (1-4), whose winless streak reached seven starts. The right-hander went five innings, allowing three runs, and struck out four.

Tarik Skubal (3-2) pitched a season-high six innings of one-run ball in his first win over Cleveland in seven career outings. Jason Foley gave up a run while earning his sixth save.

NATIONALS 8, PHILLIES 7

WASHINGTON (AP) — CJ Abrams hit a three-run homer to cap a six-run fourth inning, and Washington defeated Philadelphia, spoiling Michael Lorenzen’s first start since throwing a no-hitter nine days earlier.

Jake Alu also drove in two runs for Washington, which has won 11 of 15 overall and 15 of 18 at home since July 8.

Kyle Schwarber homered twice for the Phillies, who have lost four of their last five games.

Lorenzen (7-8) didn’t make it out of the fourth inning in his first outing since no-hitting Washington on Aug. 9. The right-hander allowed seven runs, six earned and eight hits in 3 1/3 innings.

Jose A. Ferrer (3-0) , one of seven National pitchers in the game, worked the fifth. Kyle Finnegan picked up his 20th save.

ROYALS 4, CUBS 3

CHICAGO (AP) — Bobby Witt Jr. hit a go-ahead home run and Cole Ragans pitched six effective innings to help Kansas City end a three-game skid.

Ragans (4-4) struck out nine while allowing eight hits and all three Chicago runs. He struck out three straight batters to end his final inning.

The Cubs started the day 2 1/2 games behind Milwaukee in the NL Central standings and missed a chance to creep closer after striking out 13 times. Carlos Hernández, the last of four Royals relievers, pitched the ninth for his second save in five chances.

Jameson Taillon (7-8) was charged with two earned runs after allowing six hits and striking out three in the first six innings.

RED SOX 8, YANKEES 3

NEW YORK (AP) — Rookie Masataka Yoshida hit a three-run homer four batters into the game and drove in four runs, and Brayan Bello pitched six innings to lead Boston past skidding New York.

Justin Turner singled in each of his first three at-bats and hit a pair of RBI singles. Alex Verdugo also had an RBI single to start Boston’s three-run second that followed a fielding error by New York second baseman Gleyber Torres.

Aaron Judge hit a two-run homer in the eighth off Garrett Whitlock, but the Yankees dropped their sixth straight — their longest skid since losing seven in a row Sept. 4-10, 2021. New York also dropped two games under .500 this late in a season for the first time since it was 57-59 following an 11-6 win over the Angels on Aug. 31, 1995.

The Red Sox took a 4-0 lead 19 pitches in against rookie Jhony Brito (4-6) when they opened with four straight hits, including Turner’s RBI single and Yoshida;s 13th homer.

Bello (8-7) allowed one run and six hits to win for the third time in four starts.

MARLINS 11, DODGERS 3

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jorge Soler hit two of Miami’s season-high five homers off Tony Gonsolin, and the Marlins snapped Los Angeles’ 11-game winning streak.

Jake Burger hit a three-run homer and Jacob Stallings added a two-run shot while the Marlins scored six runs on three homers in the third.

Jazz Chisholm Jr.‘s three-run shot in the fourth finally chased Gonsolin (8-5), who gave up a career-worst 10 runs while getting only 10 outs. He tied Don Sutton’s record for homers allowed in a start during the Dodgers’ Los Angeles era.

Mookie Betts set a franchise record with his 11th leadoff homer of the season for the NL West-leading Dodgers, who lost for only the second time in 17 games in August. Max Muncy and James Outman also homered while the Dodgers got more hits (10) than Miami (nine), but Los Angeles couldn’t overcome Gonsolin’s calamitous start.

Sandy Alcántara (6-4) yielded three solo homers while pitching six innings of seven-hit ball for the Marlins, who opened a six-game West Coast trip with their first five-homer game since 2012.

MARINERS 2, ASTROS 0

HOUSTON (AP) — Julio Rodríguez and Mike Ford homered, Bryce Miller threw 6 1/3 shutout innings and Seattle extended its winning streak to four games in beating Houston.

Rodríguez continued to swing a hot bat, finishing with four hits, including a solo home run to left field in the third. He had five hits and drove in five RBIs on Thursday. Rodríguez tied a club record by hitting safely in nine straight at-bats, but that run was halted on a fielding error by Jeremy Peña in the seventh.

Miller (8-4) scattered two hits and struck out two. Andrés Muñoz earned his sixth save.

J.P. France (9-4) surrendered two runs on seven hits with seven strikeouts in six innings.

BREWERS 9, RANGERS 8

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Carlos Santana hit a go-ahead, three-run homer in the seventh inning to lead Milwaukee past Texas in a matchup of division leaders.

The NL Central-leading Brewers rallied after the AL West-leading Rangers took a 4-3 lead in the sixth inning. Milwaukee went on to score six unanswered runs over the next two innings.

The Brewers (66-57) have a two-game lead over the Cincinnati Reds in their division.

Nathaniel Lowe and Mitch Garver homered for Texas (72-50), which lost a series opener for the first time in August. The Rangers hold a 2 1/2 game lead over Houston, which also lost Friday night, in the division. Josh Sborz (5-5) took the loss.

Brewers starter Brandon Woodruff allowed four runs on three hits and two walks, with four strikeouts in 5 ⅓ innings. Elvis Peguero (3-4) was the winner.

PADRES 4, DIAMONDBACKS 0

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Fernando Tatis Jr. capped San Diego’s four-run eighth inning with a two-run homer, and the Padres beat Arizona.

San Diego won for the third time in four games, improving to 3-2 on a 10-game homestand. The Padres (59-64) need a strong finish and some help to rally to an NL wild card.

Robert Suarez (2-2) got three outs for the win, and Josh Hader struck out the side in the ninth.

Diamondbacks rookie Brandon Pfaadt pitched seven crisp innings. He struck out five and walked three. Pfaadt was working on a no-hitter before Juan Soto doubled with one out in the seventh. The right-hander remains winless in 12 career starts.

Gabriel Moreno had two of Arizona’s six hits. The Diamondbacks (62-61) had won three in a row and five of six overall.

ORIOLES 9, ATHLETICS 4

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Gunnar Henderson hit a two-run homer in the second and added an RBI single to back Kyle Gibson’s winning start, and Baltimore beat Oakland.

Gibson (12-7) struck out six and didn’t walk a batter, allowing four runs on nine hits over five innings coming off his first loss in seven starts. He is one win from matching his career high done twice previously and last in 2019 with Minnesota.

Cedric Mullins hit a two-run double in the Orioles’ three-run first that also featured an RBI single by Ryan Mountcastle. Adam Frazier contributed an RBI double, while Jordan Westburg had a run-scoring single and sacrifice fly in Baltimore’s balanced offensive attack.

The A’s got one back in the bottom half of the first on Seth Brown’s RBI double and he hit an RBI single in the fifth. Tony Kemp and Brent Rooker added run-scoring doubles.

Oakland changed its pitching plan Thursday to go with opener Francisco Pérez (0-1), the 15th time the A’s used an opener and they fell to 0-5.

TWINS 5, PIRATES 1

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Pablo López pitched six scoreless innings and Michael A. Taylor hit a two-run homer to send Minnesota past Pittsburgh.

López (9-6) allowed six hits and walked two, and extended his scoreless inning streak to a career-best 19 innings. He had seven strikeouts. He hasn’t allowed a run in his last three starts.

The Twins won for the fourth time in five games and extended their lead in the AL Central to five games over Cleveland.

Andre Jackson (0-1) gave up two runs on four hits and three walks in 4 1/3 innings for Pittsburgh, which has lost four of five.

Pittsburgh went 1 for 14 with runners in scoring position and left 10 runners on base.

METS 7, CARDINALS 1

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Brandon Nimmo hit a leadoff home run, Jeff McNeil had a three-run shot and New York got its third straight win.

Joey Lucchesi (2-0) allowed four hits, walked two and struck out five in 5 2/3 scoreless innings in his first major league start since May 13 at Washington.

Nimmo drove the third pitch he saw from Zack Thompson (2-5) into the center-field bleachers for his 18th home run. It was his fourth leadoff home run this season and the 11th of his career, and gave him a 10-game hitting streak.

Thompson allowed two runs on six hits and walked a batter in five innings in his second major league start of the season for the Cardinals. They dropped their third straight.

ROCKIES 14, WHITE SOX 1

DENVER (AP) — Ezequiel Tovar, Elias Díaz and Ryan McMahon all homered, Peter Lambert pitched seven strong innings, and Colorado beat Chicago.

The Rockies finished with a season-high scoring total after coming in having lost seven of their past eight games and 15 of 21.

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Tovar and Díaz each hit two-run home runs as part of a five-run first inning that gave Colorado a comfortable lead. Ryan McMahon got his team-leading 21st homer on a 433-foot shot in the fourth inning.

Lambert (3-4) gave up Elvis Andrus’ 100th career home run on the first pitch of the game before he settled in to allow just four hits and no runs over the next six innings.

Michael Kopech (5-11) gave up a career-worst nine runs over four innings for the White Sox, who have lost five of six and 17 of their last 24.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb