Pujols hits 3-run homer as Cardinals beat Blue Jays 6-1
TORONTO — Albert Pujols hit a three-run homer and finished with three hits, and the St. Louis Cardinals stopped Toronto’s seven-game win streak with a 6-1 victory over the Blue Jays on Wednesday night.
Adam Wainwright pitched seven sparkling innings to help St. Louis earn a split of the two-game set while playing without unvaccinated sluggers Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado. Nolan Gorman homered, and Dylan Carlson and Lars Nootbaar each hit an RBI double.
Foreign nationals who aren’t vaccinated against COVID-19 are not allowed to enter Canada, save for limited exceptions that require a 14-day quarantine. Unvaccinated baseball players are placed on the restricted list, where they are not paid and do not accrue major league service time.
Pitching in Toronto for the first time since June 24, 2010, Wainwright (7-8) allowed one run and five hits for his first victory since June 27 against Miami.
Bo Bichette’s two-out RBI single in the fourth scored Toronto’s lone run. Kevin Gausman (7-8) allowed five runs in 4 2/3 innings.
METS 3, YANKEES 2
NEW YORK — Starling Marte singled home the winning run in the ninth inning, and the Mets beat the Yankees for a two-game sweep of their Subway Series.
Max Scherzer was marvelous on his 38th birthday, striking out Aaron Judge three times to help the Mets take a 2-0 lead into the eighth. Gleyber Torres tied it with a two-run homer off David Peterson.
Pete Alonso homered early off Domingo Germán, and Francisco Lindor had an RBI single for the Mets before a sellout crowd at Citi Field. Seth Lugo (2-2) struck out three in 1 2/3 scoreless innings for the win.
Wandy Peralta (2-3), who entered in the ninth on his 31st birthday, surrendered Marte’s game-ending hit.
Less than an hour after the game, the slumping Yankees boosted their lineup by acquiring outfielder Andrew Benintendi from Kansas City in a trade for three minor leaguers.
ATHLETICS 4, ASTROS 2
OAKLAND, Calif. — Cole Irvin allowed four hits over seven innings, and Oakland earned its first winning sweep in 32 series this season.
Oakland, an AL-worst 38-63, won three in a row from AL West-leading Houston (64-35) and has won six of its last eight against the Astros. Houston was swept in a series for the first time since last Sept. 24-26, also at Oakland.
Stephen Vogt and Stephen Piscotty homered on back-to-back fastballs in the second from Cristian Javier (6-6). Tony Kemp had three hits, including an RBI double.
Irvin (6-7) struck out four and walked one. A.J. Puk pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his second save, finishing a five-hitter.
MARINERS 3, RANGERS 2
SEATTLE — Julio Rodríguez hit a go-ahead, three-run homer in the seventh off Jon Gray (7-5), a day after the 21-year-old rookie sensation had a leadoff home run in the first, and Seattle finished a three-game sweep.
Marco Gonzales (6-10) allowed two runs and four hits in seven innings, and Matt Festa pitched a scoreless ninth inning for his second save.
Seattle is 11-2 against the Rangers this year.
DODGERS 7, NATIONALS 1
LOS ANGELES — Hanser Alberto had a two-run double during a six-run first as Los Angeles avoided a three-game sweep.
Gavin Lux had three hits and drove in two runs, while Mookie Betts reached base four times for the NL-leading Dodgers (65-32), who have won 19 of 21 before losing twice to major league-worst Nationals (34-66). Alex Vesia (3-0) pitched a scoreless sixth.
Patrick Corbin (4-14) got two outs in the shortest of his 250 starts, allowing six runs, seven hits and a walk.
BREWERS 10, TWINS 4
MILWAUKEE — Rowdy Tellez hit a pair of three-run homers, Corbin Burnes won his fifth straight decision and Milwaukee swept a two-game series between Central Division leaders.
Tellez homered off Chris Archer (2-5) for a 3-0 lead in the first and against Jharel Cotton for an 8-3 advantage in a five-run fourth. Tellez has 20 homers, one shy of his career high in 2019 with Toronto.
Burnes (8-4) struck out 11 in six innings, reaching double digits for the eighth time this year. Archer tied his career high with six walks.
REDS 5, MARLINS 3
CINCINNATI — Luis Castillo pitched seven effective innings in likely his final start with Cincinnati.
Castillo is one of the top players on the market ahead of Tuesday’s trade deadline. The Reds are last in the NL Central, and the talented right-hander could help push a contender over the top.
Castillo (4-4) allowed three runs — including JJ Bleday’s first big league homer — and six hits. He also struck out eight and walked one in his first start since July 14.
Nick Fortes also homered for Miami, which has dropped seven of 10. Braxton Garrett (2-4) struck out eight in five innings, but was charged with five runs and seven hits.
After Castillo departed, Alexis Díaz got three outs before Hunter Strickland earned his sixth save.
PHILLIES 7, BRAVES 2
PHILADELPHIA — Alec Bohm hit a go-ahead single in a five-run fifth and added an RBI double in the sixth, helping Philadelphia take two of three from Atlanta.
Kyle Gibson (6-4) allowed two runs and four hits in six innings.
Errors by Charlie Morton (5-5) and second baseman Robinson Canó contributed to the Phillies’ fifth-inning rally capped by J.T. Realmuto’s two-run single.
Morton allowed five runs — four earned — and six hits in five innings.
RAYS 6, ORIOLES 4, 10 INNINGS
BALTIMORE — Randy Arozarena hit a two-run double off All-Star reliever Jorge López in the 10th inning, and Tampa Bay Rays stopped a four-game losing streak.
Baltimore’s Jorge Mateo sent the game into extra innings with a one-out solo shot in the ninth off Colin Poche (3-1). One night earlier, Poche entered in the eighth inning with a one-run lead and yielded a two-run homer.
This time, however, Tampa Bay rebounded from his mistake.
An infield hit and a walk loaded the bases for Arozarena, who ripped a pitch from López (4-6) to the base of the right-field wall.
Pete Fairbanks got three straight outs in the bottom half for his first save.
GUARDIANS 7, RED SOX 6
BOSTON — Josh Naylor hit a solo homer in the ninth inning, and Cleveland took advantage of three errors by Boston first baseman Franchy Cordero.
Bobby Dalbec hit two homers and drove in five runs for the Red Sox, who have lost seven of eight and 15 of 19.
Naylor connected for his 14th homer with one out off Tanner Houck (5-4).
Enyel De Los Santos (2-0) pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings for the win. Emmanuel Clase worked a scoreless ninth for this 21st save.
ANGELS 4, ROYALS 0
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Janson Junk (1-0) pitched five-plus innings of four-hit ball for the Angels, earning his first major league win.
Shohei Ohtani reached base three times and drove in a run, and the Angels got their first series win since June 27-29 against the Chicago White Sox.
Brad Keller (5-11) allowed three runs on six hits and three walks in six innings.
TIGERS 4, PADRES 3
DETROIT — Victor Reyes hit a two-out, two-run double in the ninth off Taylor Rogers (1-5), a drive over right fielder Nomar Mazara.
Michael Fulmer (3-4) pitched a scoreless ninth. The Padres are 14-21 since June 16.
DIAMONDBACKS 5, GIANTS 3
PHOENIX — Josh Rojas homered and Arizona scored two runs on Jose Herrera’s squeeze bunt in the seventh inning to extend San Francisco’s losing streak to seven.
Noé Ramirez (3-3) allowed a run on one hit in 1 1/3 innings and Mark Melancon worked around two runners for his 14th save.
Logan Webb (9-4) Webb allowed four runs and four hits in 6 1/3 innings.
ROCKIES 6, WHITE SOX 5
DENVER — Elias Díaz hit a two-run single after Kendall Graveman (3-2) walked the bases loaded in the ninth inning.
Colorado starter Anthony Senzatela, making his second start since returning from a shoulder injury, left after 6 2/3 innings when Leury García hit a comebacker off the pitcher’s left shin that rolled away for a single. Lucas Gilbreath allowed Tim Anderson’s RBI single and AJ Pollock’s two-run single as the White Sox went ahead 5-3.
José Iglesias had an RBI single in the bottom half off José Ruiz. Robert Stephenson (2-1) pitched a perfect ninth as Colorado won for the second time in seven games.
