PHILADELPHIA — Nolan Arenado sparked a record barrage of four straight home runs by St. Louis in the first inning, then hit a tiebreaking drive in the ninth that sent the Cardinals over the Philadelphia Phillies 7-6 Saturday.
With two outs in the first, Arenado, Nolan Gorman, Juan Yepez and Dylan Carson homered off Kyle Gibson. It was the first time in major league history a team connected for four homers in a row in the first inning.
The Cardinals tied the MLB record for any inning with four in a row. It was the first time they had done it, and the 11th time overall in big league history.
It was 6-all when Arenado led off the ninth by clearing the wall in left field off Seranthony Domínguez (4-2) for his 17th home run. Arenando hit for the cycle on Friday in the Cardinals’ 5-3 defeat to the Phillies.
Yairo Muñoz hit a two-run double, Matt Vierling had a pair of RBIs and Odúbel Herrera had three hits for the Phillies.
Cardinals closer Ryan Helsley (4-1) pitched a scoreless eighth and ninth.
CUBS 3, RED SOX 1
CHICAGO — Mark Leiter Jr. threw 5 1/3 solid innings of emergency relief, Nico Hoerner and Patrick Wisdom each had two hits and Chicago capitalized on a pair of Boston errors.
Four pitchers combined to limit the Red Sox to five hits as Chicago won for the fifth time in six games.
David Robertson got four outs for his 11th save in 14 opportunities. He gave up a double before striking out Rafael Devers and J.D. Martinez and worked around a walk, coaxing a fly out to end the game.
Chicago starter Alec Mills exited due to lower back pain after throwing just seven pitches. The 30-year-old Mills struck out Duran and left after allowing a double to Devers. Leiter Jr. came on and struck out J.D. Martinez and got Xander Bogaerts to fly out, ending the inning. Leiter Jr. (2-2) allowed three hits, struck out five and walked one.
Josh Winckowski (3-2) gave up two runs, one earned, and six hits in six innings. He struck out six and walked one.
DODGERS 7, PADRES 2
LOS ANGELES — Freddie Freeman, Will Smith and Justin Turner homered during a seven-pitch span in the first inning, Tyler Anderson struck out six and Los Angeles continued its dominance of San Diego.
Freeman, Smith and Turner all connected for solo shots off Padres starter Yu Darvish (7-4). It was the third time this season they have had three homers in an inning.
Anderson (9-1) allowed one run on six hits and struck out six in 6 1/3 innings to become the third NL pitcher to reach at least nine wins. Teammate Tony Gonsolin picked up his league-leading 10th on Friday night.
The Dodgers have won 14 of their last 15 against the Padres since getting swept in a three-game series last June in San Diego. They go for their first four-game sweep against the NL West rivals since 2009 on Sunday.
Luke Voit had two hits, including a solo shot in the eighth inning for the Padres, who have dropped three straight and six of their last seven to fall 4 1/2 games behind the Dodgers in the division.
RANGERS 7, METS 3
NEW YORK — Kole Calhoun homered twice and drove in four runs, and Martín Pérez won his seventh straight decision as Texas beat New York.
Calhoun hit a three-run shot off spot starter Trevor Williams in the second inning and third-year catcher Jonah Heim followed with his career-high 11th home run to give the Rangers a 4-2 lead.
Starling Marte launched an early two-run homer and Eduardo Escobar also went deep against Pérez (7-2), who had given up only two long balls in 15 starts covering 93 1/3 innings coming in. But the 31-year-old lefty yielded nothing else, permitting seven hits and two walks with four strikeouts in 6 2/3 innings. He is 7-0 in his last 11 starts, making a strong bid for his first All-Star selection this month.
Pérez is unbeaten in his last 14 starts — a career best. His seven-game winning streak matches a career high set in 2017. Texas has won 11 of his past 12 outings.
Williams (1-5) went 3 2/3 innings, allowing five runs and five hits in his seventh start of the year.
TWINS 4, ORIOLES 3
MINNEAPOLIS — Jorge Polanco hit a tying homer and Jose Miranda delivered a game-ending single as Minnesota again rallied for two runs in the bottom of the ninth inning.
A day after Byron Buxton hit a two-run homer in the ninth off Jorge López for a 3-2 victory, Minnesota came back once more. Polanco began the ninth with a home run against López (4-4) that made it 3-all. Alex Kirilloff doubled with one out, Gary Sánchez singled and Miranda followed with a single to win it.
Miranda entered the game in the top of the ninth at third base after Gio Urshela was pulled for a pinch-runner in the eighth.
Minnesota starter Sonny Gray pitched five innings, allowing three runs on six hits and three walks. Jharel Cotton pitched three scoreless innings in relief and Emilio Pagán (4-4) worked the ninth.
Anthony Santander hit his 15th home run for Baltimore. Orioles star Trey Mancini was back in the lineup after being limited to pinch-hitting duties on Friday with a right hand injury and went 1 for 3. Nick Gordon hit a solo home run in the seventh, cutting the Twins’ deficit to 3-1.
MARLINS 5, NATIONALS 3
WASHINGTON — Jesús Aguilar hit a two-run home run in the first inning and scored in the seventh, Daniel Castano picked up his first win of the season and Miami continued its domination of Washington.
The Marlins have won 10 of 11 games against the Nationals in this season, but are 26-39 against everyone else.
Miami’s latest win came in a sloppy game that included four throwing errors and a couple of wild pitches. Washington’s Juan Soto also provided some holiday weekend fireworks with his 15th home run of the season.
Soto’s homer was the only earned run charged to Castano (1-1), who was solid in striking out three and allowing four hits in five-plus innings. He and the Marlins bullpen got run support thanks to Aguilar’s 2 for 5 performance, plus two runs driven in by Avisaíl García and another on a sacrifice fly by Miguel Rojas.
Second baseman Jon Berti also stole his major league-leading 25th base of the season, and designated hitter Garrett Cooper hit his 20th double. Tanner Scott pitched the ninth to pick up his ninth save of the year.
Nationals starter Jackson Tetreault (2-2) struggled with his command in giving up four earned runs on four hits and five walks in four innings.
YANKEES 13, GUARDIANS 4, 1st game
YANKEES 6, GUARDIANS 1, 2nd game
CLEVELAND — Anthony Rizzo and Giancarlo Stanton blasted consecutive homers, Nestor Cortes shut Cleveland down for six innings and New York continued its torrid winning pace by completing a doubleheader sweep.
Matt Carpenter homered twice and Gerrit Cole brushed off giving up back-to-back home runs in New York’s romp in the opener. The Yankees are 25-6 since May 31.
Cortes (7-3) allowed a homer in the first to Amed Rosario and little else. The left-hander gave up one run and three hits and struck out six, including Guardians star José Ramírez three times.
New York’s bullpen took it from there, but it wasn’t smooth. Michael King squirmed out of a bases-loaded jam in the seventh and worked the eighth. Wandy Peralta also filled the bases in the ninth, forcing manager Aaron Boone to bring in closer Clay Holmes to get pinch-hitter Steven Kwan for the final out and his 15th save.
At 58-21, New York is not only running away with the AL East, but has the second-best record after 79 games of any team in 93 years. Only the 1998 Yankees (59-20) were better, and this version is so far step for step with those World Series champions.
Rizzo and Stanton homered in the fourth off Aaron Civale (2-5), who held the Yankees without a hit the first time through their order. Rizzo and Stanton connected for two-out homers in the fourth, with Rizzo’s shot going 409 feet and Stanton’s 432.
Cole (7-2) was tagged for consecutive homers in the second inning by Josh Naylor and Franmil Reyes before settling in. The right-hander allowed Cleveland just one other hit and struck out six.
DJ LeMahieu added a solo shot off rookie Kirk McCarty (0-2) for the Yankees. Jose Trevino also homered.
TIGERS 4, ROYALS 3
DETROIT — Victor Reyes and Riley Greene hit back-to-back homers in the ninth inning to lift Detroit.
With one out in the ninth, Reyes tied the game off Royals reliever Joel Payamps (2-2). It was the first homer allowed by Payamps in 26 1/3 innings this season. Greene followed with the first homer of his career.
Tigers reliever Joe Jimenez (3-0) pitched a perfect ninth and earned the win as Detroit’s pitchers retired the last 17 batters they faced.
The Royals took a 2-0 lead on Hunter Dozier’s bases-loaded double in the first inning. In the bottom half of the winning, Greene led off with a triple and scored on Javy Baez’s sacrifice fly.
MARINERS 2, ATHLETICS 1
SEATTLE — Pinch-hitter Justin Upton homered to tie it in the eighth inning and Abraham Toro singled home the winning run in the ninth to lift Seattle.
The Mariners loaded the bases with no outs in the ninth when Lou Trivino (1-6) walked Eugenio Suarez, Carlos Santana singled and Cal Raleigh reached on shortstop Nick Allen’s error.
Toro then singled home pinch-runner Marcus Wilson for the victory.
Diego Castillo (6-1) got the win.
Upton sent the first pitch he saw from A’s reliever AJ Puk into Edgar’s Cantina in left field to tie it at 1. It was his first homer of the season and the 325th of his career.
WHITE SOX 5, GIANTS 3
SAN FRANCISCO — Gavin Sheets doubled twice and drove in two runs, and Chicago held on to beat San Francisco.
Dylan Cease allowed one run in five innings for his third consecutive win. The major league leader in strikeouts per nine innings, Cease (7-3) had only four against San Francisco — his fewest since May 24 — and overcame LaMonte Wade Jr.’s home run leading off the first to improve to 4-1 in seven road starts.
Tanner Banks followed Cease with two scoreless innings. Joe Kelly retired three hitters and Kendall Graveman pitched the ninth for his fifth save.
Tim Anderson added two hits for Chicago. Yoán Moncada and Leury García each drove in runs as the White Sox beat the Giants for the 10th time in 12 games.
San Francisco scored a run in the ninth and had the tying runners on base with two outs before Graveman got Mike Yastrzemski to ground out.
Logan Webb (7-3) allowed six hits and five runs (three earned) in six innings. He struck out five and walked one.
BRAVES 4, REDS 1
CINCINNATI — Spencer Strider allowed one hit over six innings and matched a career high with 11 strikeouts, and Austin Riley homered for the second straight game and drove in two runs to lead Atlanta.
Strider (4-2) didn’t allow a hit until there were two outs in the fifth inning when Nick Senzel’s single drove in Matt Reynolds, who entered the game when Kyle Farmer was hit by a pitch.
A.J. Minter pitched the seventh and Jesse Chavez the eighth before Will Smith pitched the ninth for his fourth save.
The Braves, in second place in the NL East behind the Mets, moved a season-high 13 games over .500 with their fourth win in five games and are 2 1/2 games behind New York.
The loss was Cincinnati’s fourth straight overall and 10th straight at home, the team’s longest home losing streak since an 11-game skid in 1986 at Riverfront Stadium.
ROCKIES 11, DIAMONDBACKS 7
DENVER — Brendan Rodgers homered, Connor Joe had a three-run triple and Colorado overcame a two-homer game by Arizona’s Christian Walker.
Kris Bryant had three hits and an RBI, C.J. Cron added a pair of RBI singles and Charlie Blackmon added a two-run double for the Rockies.
Ketel Marte homered, singled and drove in two runs, pinch-hitter Daulton Varsho hit a two-run homer in the ninth inning off Jhoulys Chacin, and Jordan Luplow added a pair of hits and an RBI for the Diamondbacks.
Trailing 7-2 going into the top of the sixth inning, the Diamondbacks scored three runs to cut their deficit to two runs. Luplow had an RBI single and Marte homered with two outs before Walker hit his second homer of the game and 21st of the season.
The Rockies responded with another four-run inning in their half of the sixth, extending their lead to 11-5. Bryant’s third hit of the game drove in the first run, Blackmon followed with a two-run double and Cron hit his second run-scoring single.
Austin Gomber (4-7) went 5 2/3 innings and allowed four runs on six hits. Arizona starter Dallas Keuchel (2-6) worked five innings and allowed seven runs, six earned, and six hits.
ASTROS 9, ANGELS 1
HOUSTON — Martín Maldonado homered twice and Jose Altuve, Kyle Tucker and Chas McCormick added a home run each as Houston built a big lead early and didn’t let up.
The Astros followed up their 8-1 win in the opener with another lopsided victory to extend their winning streak to five games.
Houston starter José Urquidy (7-3) yielded two hits and a run with eight strikeouts in six innings to improve the team’s starters to 7-0 in the last nine games.
The Astros were already up 3-0 when Maldonado, who had just one hit in his previous four games, connected off Patrick Sandoval (3-3) to start the second inning. In the sixth, Maldonado hit the first pitch from Andrew Wantz over the wall in straightaway center field to make it 6-1 for his fourth career multi-homer game.
Four pitches later, Altuve gave Houston back-to-back homers when he hit an opposite field shot to the seats in right field.
Taylor Ward hit a solo home run in the third for the Angels, who continue to struggle offensively. Mike Trout went 0 for 4 with four strikeouts and is 0 for 7 with seven strikeouts in this series.
RAYS 6, BLUE JAYS 2, 1st game
RAYS 11, BLUE JAYS 5, 2nd game
TORONTO — Francisco Mejía homered twice, Isaac Paredes had three hits and five RBIs, and Tampa Bay swept a doubleheader.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit a solo blast for his 19th home run and Bradley Zimmer added a two-run homer in the second game, but couldn’t keep Toronto from getting swept at home for the first time in five doubleheaders.
Left-hander Shane McClanahan (9-3) shut down the Blue Jays in the opener, allowing one run and three hits over seven innings and lowering his AL-leading ERA to 1.74. That win snapped the Rays’ season-high four-game losing streak.
Toronto right-hander Kevin Gausman left Game 1 after he was hit in the right ankle by a 100 mph line drive off the bat of Wander Franco in the second inning. While X-rays were negative, the Blue Jays said Gausman had a right ankle contusion and that his status for his next start is uncertain.
Casey Lawrence (0-1), who joined the Blue Jays as the 27th man Saturday, replaced Gausman in the third and allowed six runs and seven hits in 5 2/3 innings.
In Game 2, Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo and first base coach Mark Budzinski both left the dugout in the third inning after a brief huddle with the coaching staff. Bench coach John Schneider replaced Montoyo and bullpen catcher Luis Hurtado coached first. No explanation was given for the absences.
All nine Rays starters had at least one hit in Game 1. Tampa Bay finished with 13 hits in Game 1 and had 14 in Game 2.
The Rays pounded Triple-A callup Thomas Hatch (0-1) in the nightcap, racking up 10 runs and 12 hits in 4 2/3 innings against the Blue Jays right-hander, who was making his first big league appearance of 2022.
PIRATES 7, BREWERS 4
PITTSBURGH — Oneil Cruz got his 12th RBI in 13 games this season to help Pittsburgh bounce back from a blowout loss.
The 23-year-old prospect put the Pirates up 4-1 with two outs in the fourth on a 392-foot solo blast to right with a 112.3 mph exit velocity that chased Brewers starter Aaron Ashby (1-6).
It was Cruz’s third homer of the year. He has at least one RBI in eight games since being recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis on June 20, and at least one in each of his first nine games at PNC Park.
Cruz also used his glove to help Pirates right-hander Bryse Wilson (1-4) pick up his first win since Sept. 18, 2021. The shortstop stretched every bit of his 6-foot-7 frame to snag a line drive from Christian Yelich with two men in scoring position before trotting to third, finishing a double play to end the second inning.