NEW YORK — Aaron Judge became the second-fastest player in major league history to reach 200 career home runs, and the New York Yankees beat the Kansas City Royals 8-2 on Saturday.
Judge’s 200th homer came in his 671st career game, behind just Philadelphia’s Ryan Howard, who achieved the feat in 2009 in 658 games. The 6-foot-7 slugger has 42 homers this season.
DJ LeMahieu homered and had an RBI single, and Matt Carpenter homered for the 15th time in 40 games for New York, which won its third straight after dropping a pair of games to the New York Mets.
Yankees All-Star Nestor Cortes (9-3) allowed two runs in five innings. He struck out five and walked two for the AL-leading Yankees
Jonathan Heasley (1-6), who was reinstated from the injured list prior to the game after missing 17 games with right shoulder tendonitis, allowed six runs over 3 1/3 innings in his first start since July 9.
MARINERS 5, ASTROS 4
HOUSTON — Abraham Toro pinch-hit for All-Star Julio Rodriguez and delivered a two-run single with two outs in the ninth inning as Seattle rallied past AL-West leading Houston.
Rodriguez was hit on the hand as he swung at a pitch in the top of the eighth inning. He struck out, but played in the field in the bottom half of the inning before being lifted in the ninth. There was no immediate word on Rodriguez’s condition.
Astros closer Ryan Pressly (3-3) had his first blown save since June 23, which came against the New York Yankees.
Erik Swanson (2-0) pitched a scoreless eighth inning and earned the win, and Paul Sewald recorded his 13th save in 16 attempts.
Aledmys Diaz led off the fifth with a solo homer for Houston and finished 3 for 3 with two RBIs.
Trailing 3-2 in the seventh, Houston rallied with back-to-back doubles by Martín Maldonado and Jose Altuve and a single from Yuli Gurriel for a 4-3 lead.
METS 4, MARLINS 0
MIAMI — Carlos Carrasco earned his 100th career win, pitching four-hit ball into the eighth inning as New York beat Miami for its fifth straight victory.
Francisco Lindor had three hits, including his 17th homer, while Jeff McNeil and J.D. Davis also went deep for the NL East leaders.
Carrasco (11-4) walked two and struck out seven in 7 2/3 innings, becoming the eighth Venezuelan pitcher to reach 100 major league wins. Seth Lugo relieved Carrasco and got four outs to finish the four-hitter.
The Marlins lost their sixth in a row at home. They have not homered at home since July 5 — a stretch of 11 games.
Miami starter Nick Neidert (0-1) allowed two runs, five hits and struck out three in five innings.
BLUE JAYS 5, TIGERS 3
TORONTO — Teoscar Hernández hit a go-ahead, three-run home run in the sixth inning, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. scored twice and Toronto beat Detroit for its 11th win in 14 games.
Guerrero stayed in the game after being hit on the left wrist by a pitch from Detroit’s Derek Law in Toronto’s four—run sixth.
Trevor Richards (3-1) got two outs to earn the win and Jordan Romano finished for his AL-leading 23rd save in 26 chances.
Lourdes Gurriel Jr. added an RBI single and Bo Bichette added a sacrifice fly for Toronto.
Law (0-1) allowed four runs, all unearned, in one inning. Riley Green and Kody Clemens each drove in a run in the fifth and Jonathan Schoop added an RBI single in the sixth for the Tigers.
RAYS 6, GUARDIANS 4
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Brandon Lowe and Yandy Díaz homered as Tampa Bay snapped a two-game skid with a win over Cleveland.
Corey Kluber (7-6) allowed four runs and eight hits with a season-high 10 strikeouts in six innings. Pete Fairbanks earned his second save.
Andrés Giménez homered for the Guardians, who are 5-5 on an 11-game road trip.
Zach Plesac (2-9), winless over his last nine starts, gave up five runs and seven hits in five innings. Cleveland rookie Steven Kwan extended his hitting streak to 13 games with a fifth-inning double.
TWINS 7, PADRES 4
SAN DIEGO — All-Star Byron Buxton hit a tying homer in the fourth inning off Joe Musgrove, and Carlos Correa gave Minnesota some breathing room with a two-run shot during a five-run eighth in a win over San Diego.
The Twins handed Musgrove (8-4) his fourth straight loss. Musgrove, who earned his first All-Star selection this year, and the Padres are on the cusp of finalizing a $100 million, five-year contract that would start next year.
The Twins got an RBI single by Jose Miranda and a run-scoring double by Nick Gordon.
San Diego’s Jurickson Profar hit a three-run homer in the ninth, his 10th.
Sonny Gray (6-3) allowed a solo home run to Manny Machado with two outs in the third. He allowed five hits while striking out five and walking one.
ROCKIES 5, DODGERS 3
DENVER — Kyle Freeland outpitched Clayton Kershaw, and Brendan Rodgers had three hits as Colorado snapped a six-game skid against Los Angeles.
Freeland (6-7) allowed three runs and six hits in six innings. He struck out six without walking a batter. Daniel Bard, who agreed to a two-year contract with the Rockies earlier in the day, gave up a two-out double in the ninth but earned his 22nd save.
Trea Turner homered for the Dodgers to extend his hitting streak to 17 games.
Kershaw (7-3) was tagged for the second time this season in Denver. The three-time Cy Young Award winner gave up five runs — three earned — in 5 1/3 innings.
BREWERS 6, RED SOX 4
BOSTON — Hunter Renfroe hit a two-run homer over the Green Monster, Eric Lauer pitched five innings of one-run ball for his first victory in over a month and Milwaukee sent Boston to its 13th loss in 16 games.
Omar Narváez and Tyrone Taylor each added a solo shot, and Rowdy Tellez had three hits and drove in a run for the NL Central-leading Brewers, who are 7-1 since the All-Star break.
Christian Vázquez and Xander Bogaerts each had an RBI single for Boston, which is last in the AL East and has dropped seven of nine in a season-long 10-day game homestand.
REDS 8, ORIOLES 2
CINCINNATI — Tyler Mahle recovered from a rocky start to pitch well in a potential trade deadline audition and Joey Votto hit one of Cincinnati’s three homers in a win over Baltimore.
Jonathan India and Jake Fraley also connected for Cincinnati, which is selling pieces to contenders after dealing Luis Castillo to Seattle on Friday night. Mahle could be the next player out before Tuesday’s deadline.
Mahle’s outing got off to a rough start when he allowed three straight singles and balked in a run, giving the Orioles a 2-0 lead in the first inning. Those were the only runs Mahle (5-7) allowed. He struck out seven and did not walk batter. He retired his final 13 batters.
Dean Kremer (3-3) allowed six earned runs in 4 1/3 innings.
BRAVES 6, DIAMONDBACKS 2
ATLANTA — William Contreras homered twice, Ian Anderson allowed one hit in six scoreless innings and Atlanta beat Arizona.
The victory was Atlanta’s second straight and the defending World Series champion Braves stayed three games behind the New York Mets in the NL East.
Matt Olson hit his 21st homer, a 415-foot shot into left-center. Contreras homered in the second and fourth innings. Eddie Rosario added an RBI triple and Orlando Arcia added an RBI single.
Corbin Martin (0-1) gave up the three homers and allowed six hits and four runs in four innings.
Anderson (9-6) retired the first 14 batters he faced and finished with one walk and nine strikeouts.
PHILLIES 2, PIRATES 1, 10 INNINGS
PITTSBURGH — Didi Gregorious raced home when an ambitious throw from first to third by Pittsburgh’s Michael Chavis leading off the top of the 10th inning sailed wide of the target, helping the Phillies win their fourth straight.
Corey Knebel (3-5) earned the win by working two scoreless innings. He began the top of the 10th by picking off Pirates rookie Oneil Cruz at second base, then retired the final two batters.
J.T. Realmuto had two of Philadelphia’s six hits, including his 10th home run of the season leading off the sixth.
Pittsburgh’s Cal Mitchell tied the game in the seventh with his fourth home run. Yerry De Los Santos took the loss (0-3). The Pirates, who were limited to four hits, have dropped six consecutive games and 11 of 13.
WHITE SOX 3, ATHLETICS 2
CHICAGO — Gavin Sheets hit a tying, two-run homer in the seventh inning and scored the winning run on a wild pitch in the ninth in Chicago’s win over Oakland.
Sheets lined a leadoff double against Zach Jackson (2-3) in the ninth and advanced to third on Josh Harrison’s sacrifice bunt before Jackson bounced a slider with Tim Anderson at the plate.
Liam Hendricks (2-3) worked around Elvis Andrus’ double in the top of the ninth for the win.
Seth Brown hit a long solo shot for his third homer in two days and Paul Blackburn worked five shutout innings, but Oakland’s season-high four-game winning streak ended. Sean Murphy also went deep for the A’s.
NATIONALS 7, CARDINALS 6
WASHINGTON — Josh Bell hit a three-run homer in the seventh inning and Washington rallied past St. Louis.
Bell , likely on his way out as the Major League Baseball trade deadline nears, hit his 14th homer of the season off Génesis Cabrera (3-2).
Juan Soto, who could be the biggest name dealt before next week’s deadline, finished 1 for 1 with three walks and scored twice for Washington, which has the worst record in baseball at 35-67.
Erasmo Ramírez (3-1) earned the win. Kyle Finnegan got the last five outs for his fourth save of the season.
The Cardinals’ Nolan Arenado hit his 19th homer of the season in the second. It was his first since July 13.
ANGELS 9, RANGERS 7
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Luis Rengifo and David Fletcher each had a two-run double during a five-run eighth inning, Shohei Ohtani hit his 21st homer and Los Angeles rallied to beat Texas.
Marcus Semien and Meibrys Viloria homered for the Rangers, who won the first two games of the series.
The Angels trailed 7-4 going into the eighth before coming back. Fletcher lined a two-run double to the left-field wall with one out to bring Los Angeles within 7-6. After pinch-hitter Kurt Suzuki struck out, Ohtani was intentionally walked and Taylor Ward drew a walk from Brett Martin (0-7). Fletcher tied it at 7 when he scored on a wild pitch, and Rengifo followed with a line drive into the right-center gap to put the Angels on top.
Max Stassi added two hits and an RBI for the Angels. Touki Toussaint (1-0), who came on for starter Chase Silseth in the fifth, got the win in his Halos debut after allowing two runs in four innings.
Silseth (1-4) , recalled form Double-A Rocket City for his third stint with the Angels this season, allowed five runs and five hits with five strikeouts.
GIANTS 5, CUBS 4
SAN FRANCISCO — Luis González and Joey Bart homered on consecutive pitches in the fourth inning and San Francisco held off a late rally by Chicago.
Austin Slater doubled home Darin Ruf in the bottom of the third to start the scoring for San Francisco. Yermín Mercedes followed with an RBI single to make it 2-0. After David Villar led off the bottom of the fourth with a single, González hit a two-run homer off Cubs starter Drew Smyly. On the next pitch, Bart homered to left to give the Giants a 5-0 lead.
Chicago charged back beginning in the seventh inning when Nelson Velazquez drove in a run with a pinch-hit single. The Cubs rallied in the ninth, loading the bases with no outs. Chicago scored twice on fielder’s choice grounders by Velazquez and Willson Contreras, and added another run on an RBI groundout by Seiya Suzuki.
Tyler Rogers (2-3) pitched two perfect innings of relief and earned the win. Dominic Leone earned his third save in six chances.
Smyly (3-6) allowed five earned runs in four innings against his former team. He allowed seven hits and two walks, striking out five.