BOSTON — Luis Robert hit a two-run homer over the Green Monster and Vince Velasquez halted a rough road stretch by pitching five solid innings to lead the Chicago White Sox past the struggling Boston Red Sox 4-2 on Friday night for their fourth straight victory.
Tim Anderson had three singles, and Reese McGuire and José Abreu each contributed a sacrifice fly for the defending AL Central champions (12-13), who moved a step closer to .500 after an eight-game losing streak last month.
Jackie Bradley Jr. had an RBI double for Boston (10-17), which has lost 12 of 16.
Velasquez (2-2) held Boston’s slumbering offense to three hits and a run. Liam Hendricks struck out three in the ninth for his eighth save.
ANGELS 3, NATIONALS 0
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Mike Trout hit a two-run double and Jhonathan Díaz pitched five strong innings in his first start of the season, leading Los Angeles past Washington.
Shohei Ohtani also drove in a run for the Angels in their third straight victory and 10th in 13 games. Four relievers combined to finish the Angels’ fifth shutout of the season and second in a row.
The Nationals managed four hits while getting shut out for the second time this season. They’ve lost three straight and 12 of 15.
Díaz (1-0) yielded three hits and four walks. Joan Adon (1-5) struck out six over five innings of three-hit, three-run ball for the Nats.
PADRES 3, MARLINS 2
SAN DIEGO — Manny Machado got another big hit for San Diego and Yu Darvish pitched seven strong innings in a win over Miami.
Machado reached base three times and had two hits, including a critical RBI single, as the Padres won for the fourth time in five games while handing the Marlins their sixth straight loss.
The star third baseman gave San Diego a 3-0 lead with his two-out single in the fifth. That run proved to be huge after Darvish gave up Jesús Aguilar’s monster two-run homer to left field in the sixth.
Darvish (3-1) allowed five hits in his longest outing of the year. He struck out three and walked none. Rookie reliever Steven Wilson pitched the ninth for his first career save.
BREWERS 6, BRAVES 3
ATLANTA — Eric Lauer allowed one earned run, Christian Yelich’s infield single was the big hit in a four-run sixth inning and four Milwaukee pitches combined for a three-hitter in a win over Atlanta.
The NL Central-leading Brewers have won four straight and nine of 10.
Atlanta’s Ronald Acuña Jr. opened the fourth with a 450-foot homer to center field — his first since returning from knee surgery. Dansby Swanson added an eighth-inning homer for Atlanta.
Lauer (3-0) gave up two runs, one earned, on two hits and three walks with eight strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings. Josh Hader pitched the ninth for his 11th save.
TWINS 2, ATHLETICS 1
MINNEAPOLIS — Byron Buxton hit his ninth home run of the season and Jose Miranda connected for the first homer of his career, backing another sharp start by rookie Josh Winder and sending Minnesota over Oakland.
Twins reliever Emilio Pagán escaped a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the ninth inning and sent the A’s to their seventh straight loss.
Making just his second major league start, Winder (2-0) allowed three hits and one unearned run in six innings while striking out eight and walking none.
Zach Logue (1-1) made his first major league start for the Athletics after Cole Irvin was placed on the injured list before the game. Logue gave up two runs on five hits and two walks in five innings.
ASTROS 3, TIGERS 2
HOUSTON — Chas McCormick and Martín Maldonado hit consecutive homers and Luis Garcia worked seven strong innings as Houston stretched its winning streak to a season-high five games with a victory over Detroit.
McCormick’s two-run homer to center in the second inning put the Astros up 2-1. Maldonado followed with a solo shot that just cleared the wall in right field.
Garcia (2-1) had his best outing of the season, allowing two runs, one earned, on two hits. He struck out nine, matching his career high. Rafael Montero retired the three batters he faced in the ninth for his third save.
Detroit starter Beau Brieske (0-2) surrendered three runs on five hits with three walks and three strikeouts in five innings.
DIAMONDBACKS 4, ROCKIES 1
PHOENIX — Merrill Kelly came within one out of his first complete game, Daulton Varsho and David Peralta hit home runs in the eighth inning and Arizona beat Colorado for its fourth straight win.
It was tied at 1 in the eighth when Varsho hit a high 98 mph fastball from Carlos Estévez over the right field wall. Two batters later, Peralta added a two-run drive that pushed the D-backs ahead 4-1.
Kelly (3-1) needed 106 pitches to navigate his 8 2/3 innings, giving up one run on seven hits and two walks while striking out eight.
The Rockies took a 1-0 lead in the first when C.J. Cron’s double landed on the left field foul line, scoring Connor Joe.
CARDINALS 3, GIANTS 2
SAN FRANCISCO — Dylan Carlson hit an RBI single in the ninth inning to give St. Louis a win over San Francisco.
Designated hitter Juan Yepez doubled with one out off Camilo Doval (0-1) in the ninth. Carlson’s timely hit scored pinch runner Brendan Donovan.
Ryan Helsley (1-0) pitched 1 2/3 innings and earned the win. Giovanny Gallegos picked up his sixth save.
After four scoreless innings, each team scored in the fifth.
Harrison Bader launched a two-run homer to left field for the Cardinals. The Giants countered in the bottom half when pinch-hitter Darin Ruf delivered a two-runs single.
RAYS 8, MARINERS 7
SEATTLE — Pinch-hitter Manuel Margot launched a go-ahead, three-run homer in the ninth inning and Tampa Bay rallied to beat scuffling Seattle for its seventh straight road win.
Mariners pinch-hitter Jarred Kelenic put Seattle up 6-5 in the eighth with a two-run homer. But the Rays jumped on reliever Paul Sewald (0-1) for a pair of one-out singles from Randy Arozarena and Brandon Lowe in the ninth. Sewald then served up Margot’s first homer of the season.
Ty France hit a solo homer in the ninth, but the Mariners couldn’t catch the Rays.
Ryan Thompson (2-1) picked up the win. Brooks Raley earned his third save.
Seattle, which also got a homer from Eugenio Suárez, has dropped five in a row and nine of 10. Tampa Bay has won five straight — all on the road — and is 8-3 in a stretch of 16 games in as many days.
Arozarena had four hits, scored twice and drove in a run. Yandy Diaz had two hits and an RBI for the Rays.