MIAMI (AP) — Joan Adon pitched six scoreless innings of two-hit ball as the Washington Nationals built a six-run lead and beat the sliding Miami Marlins 7-4 Friday night.
Carter Kieboom homered, Michael Chavis had two hits and Joey Meneses drove in three runs for the Nationals, who have won 10 of 13 and had a chance to move out of the NL East cellar.
Adon (2-0) kept Miami hitless until Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s two-out single in the sixth. Chisholm’s grounder, which got under shortstop CJ Abrams, originally was ruled an error but the scoring decision reversed after Luis Arraez lined a single to center.
Miami has lost five of six and is 12-25 since the All-Star break.
Joey Meneses had an RBI groundout in the first after Abrams’ leadoff single, and Kieboom’s second homer this season, a two-run drive off Braxton Garrett (7-5) built a 3-0 lead in the sixth. Washington doubled its lead in the seventh.
Miami snapped a 21-inning scoreless skid in the seventh on Jesús Sánchez’s two-run triple and Nick Fortes’ RBI double against Mason Thompson, who faced five batters without retiring any.
PIRATES 2, CUBS 1
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Mitch Keller pitched eight scoreless innings and Pittsburgh scored twice in the first inning before holding on to beat Chicago.
Keller (11-8) allowed four hits and one walk while striking out six in a 94-pitch outing. The All-Star won back-to-back starts for the first time since May 26 and 31.
The Cubs lost for the second time in seven games. They entered play Friday holding the second National League wild card and trailing first-place Milwaukee by three games in the NL Central.
Ian Happ hit a leadoff home run in the ninth inning off closer David Bednar to avoid the shutout and pull the Cubs within one. Bednar retired the next three batters for his 28th save in 31 chances.
The Pirates scored their runs within the first four batters of the game against Kyle Hendricks (5-7), who gave up six hits with four strikeouts and one walk in 5 2/3 innings.
ANGELS 3, METS 1
NEW YORK (AP) — Shohei Ohtani doubled to key a two-run third inning, leading the Angels to a win in the first game after Los Angeles announced the two-way superstar had torn an elbow ligament.
Ohtani, hurt while pitching Wednesday against Cincinnati, finished 1 for 2 with three walks.
New York (59-70) dropped below Washington into last place in the NL East — the latest the Mets have been in sole possession of the cellar this late in a season since 2005.
Patrick Sandoval (7-10) allowed one run over six innings of two-hit ball. He threw 107 pitches, his most since a career-high 115 on July 30, 2021. Carlos Estévez earned his 27th save with a one-hit ninth.
Francisco Lindor homered in the third to extend his hitting streak to 11 games — the longest for the Mets this season. Kodai Senga (10-7) gave up two runs and struck out 10 in 6 2/3 innings.
YANKEES 6, RAYS 2
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — DJ LeMahieu homered twice for the first time in two years, Gerrit Cole won on the road for the first time in two months and sliding New York got just their second win in 12 games.
LeMahieu put the last-place Yankees ahead with a fifth-inning homer off Zach Eflin (13-8) and homered in the eighth against Trevor Kelley. It was the seventh multihomer game for LeMahieu and first since May 5, 2021.
Cole (11-4) had been 0-2 in six road starts since beating the Los Angeles Dodgers on June 3. He matched his season high of 11 strikeouts, allowing two runs — one earned — and three hits in 7 2/3 innings. His AL-leading ERA dropped from 3.03 to 2.95.
After rookie Everson Pereira put the Yankees ahead 2-0 with an RBI single in the sixth, Yandy Díaz homered in the bottom half for the Rays. Tampa Bay’s second run off Cole was unearned and came around on Brandon Lowe’s RBI single in the eighth against Jonathan Loáisiga, who finished a four-hitter.
GUARDIANS 5, BLUE JAYS 2
TORONTO (AP) — Ramón Laureano homered and had three RBIs, and Tanner Bibee pitched six innings to win for the third time in four starts as Cleveland beat Toronto.
Andrés Giménez and Bo Naylor hit solo home runs to help the Guardians rebound after losing two straight.
Bibee (10-3) allowed two runs and six hits, including two home runs. He walked one and struck out five. Enyel De Los Santos and Trevor Stephan each worked one inning. Emmanuel Clase finished for his 34th save in 43 chances.
George Springer and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. both hit solo home runs for the Blue Jays but Toronto lost its third straight. The slumping Blue Jays have scored five total runs over the past three games.
Chris Bassitt (12-7) gave up four runs and seven hits, with two walks and five strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings.
DODGERS 7, RED SOX 4
BOSTON (AP) — Freddie Freeman had four hits, including a tie-breaking double, Mookie Betts doubled and scored two runs in his return to Fenway Park and Los Angeles beat Boston.
Betts, back on the field in Boston for the first time since he was traded by the Red Sox in 2020, was given a standing ovation prior to his first at-bat and went 1 for 4 against the franchise where he spent his first six major league seasons.
Dodgers starter Lance Lynn (10-9) allowed four runs and 10 hits over six-plus innings, yielding two home runs. Evan Phillips allowed a hit and struck out two in the ninth to get his 20th save.
The NL West-leading Dodgers have won five of six. Max Muncy added three RBIs, including a two-run double in the seventh inning that made it 6-3.
Nick Pivetta (9-7) allowed four runs over two relief innings to take the loss for Boston, which had won its previous two.
TIGERS 4, ASTROS 1
DETROIT (AP) — Rookie Parker Meadows hit his first career homer with two out in the ninth inning, lifting Detroit to the win.
The Astros led 1-0 going into the ninth and Houston closer Ryan Pressly struck out the first two batters. Miguel Cabrera, Zach McKinstry and Javier Báez then singled, and pinch-runner Carson Kelly scored from second on Báez’s liner into center.
Meadows, playing his fourth career game, then homered to right field.
Alex Lange (6-3) worked the ninth for the win. It was the fifth blown save for Pressly (3-4) in 33 opportunities.
Houston wasted a stellar start by Framber Valdez, who struck out six and walked five in seven hitless innings.
ORIOLES 5, ROCKIES 4
BALTIMORE (AP) — Gunnar Henderson hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning, and Baltimore rallied against Colorado’s struggling bullpen.
Ryan Mountcastle and Austin Hays homered for the AL East-leading Orioles, who moved three games in front of Tampa Bay. Shintaro Fujinami (6-8) worked two innings for the win.
Baltimore’s victory was marred by an apparent injury to closer Félix Bautista, who slipped awkwardly off the mound after delivering a pitch with two outs in the ninth. Danny Coulombe finished for his second save.
Ezequiel Tovar hit his 15th homer for the Rockies. Brent Suter (4-3) got the loss.
Colorado has lost five straight when tied or leading in the eighth inning, the first time that’s happened in the big leagues since the Montreal Expos did it in 1970.
PHILLIES 7, CARDINALS 2
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Cristopher Sanchez shrugged off an early homer to pitch six strong innings, Alec Bohm and Kyle Schwarber homered and Philadelphia beat St. Louis.
Sanchez (2-3) and three relievers retired the final 21 Cardinals hitters. Nine of those outs came on strikeouts.
Garrett Stubbs added an RBI double for the Phillies, who remained atop the National League wild-card standings while gaining ground on second-place Chicago — increasing that margin to three games.
Paul Goldschmidt hit his 21st homer of the season in the first inning for St. Louis’ only runs of the night. Third baseman Nolan Arenado left in the seventh inning with what the club described as lower-back tightness.
Miles Mikolas (6-10) gave up five runs and eight hits with three strikeouts in six innings for the Cardinals.
Bryce Harper had two hits and scored two runs for Philadelphia. Brandon Marsh had two and scored a run.
ATHLETICS 12, WHITE SOX 4
CHICAGO (AP) — Nick Allen homered and drove in a career-high five runs, Zach Neal won his first start in seven years and Oakland beat Chicago.
The Athletics tagged Dylan Cease (5-7) for a career-high nine runs on the way to their fourth win in five games. Chicago lost for the 10th time in 13 games.
Allen hit RBI singles in a five-run second and in the fourth before chasing Cease with a two-run single in the fifth. Allen and Ryan Noda hit consecutive homers in the seventh, the sixth time this season Oakland went deep back to back.
Neal (1-0) gave up four runs — two earned — and five hits in five innings while making first start since Sept. 6, 2016, for Oakland against Baltimore.
Cease gave up eight earned runs and nine hits in 4 1/3 innings. Lenyn Sosa and Eloy Jiménez homered for the White Sox, who committed three errors — two by left fielder Andrew Benintendi in the second.
TWINS 12, RANGERS 2
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota Twins took advantage of erratic pitching early, drawing four walks and scoring four runs in the first inning en route to a big win.
The AL West-leading Rangers lost their season-high eighth straight game.
Rangers starter Dane Dunning walked three of the first four batters he faced and eventually walked the bases loaded. Matt Wallner delivered a bases-loaded triple to put the AL Central-leading Twins up 3-0 in the first inning.
Ryan Jeffers added an RBI single in the four-run first. Jeffers was later hit by Dunning (9-6) in the third inning, which started a string of events that eventually led to the benches and bullpens clearing in the top of the fourth. Prior to the benches clearing, Twins center fielder Joey Gallo and manager Rocco Baldelli were ejected by home plate umpire Carlos Torres. Gallo was tossed for arguing balls and strikes, just the third ejection of his nine-year career. For Baldelli, it was his 14th career ejection, and fifth this season.
Minnesota broke open the open with a six-run seventh.
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