Judge slugs 55th home run, Yankees complete doubleheader sweep of Twins
NEW YORK — Aaron Judge started the first-game comeback with his major league-leading 55th home run, Isiah Kiner-Falefa hit a go-ahead grand slam in the nightcap and the New York Yankees swept a doubleheader from the Minnesota Twins 5-4 and 7-1 on Wednesday.
Kiner-Falefa sparked a two-run 12th in the opener with a tying leadoff RBI single. He erased a 1-0 deficit in the fourth inning of the second game when he sent a belt-high slider from Joe Ryan (10-8) into the left-field seats. It was Kiner-Falefa’s first slam among 19 career home runs.
Oswaldo Cabrera stopped an 0-for-25 slide with a game-ending single in the opener.
Gerrit Cole (11-7) struck out a season-high 14 in the night game, allowing five hits and two walks in 6 2/3 innings. Lucas Luetge got his second save.
Carlos Correa hit a third-inning homer for the Twins.
New York (83-54) opened a five-game AL East lead over second-place Tampa Bay and clinched its 30th straight winning season despite an injury-depleted lineup. Giancarlo Stanton, Anthony Rizzo, DJ LeMahieu, Josh Donaldson, Andrew Benintendi and Matt Carpenter were among those hurt or unavailable.
In the opener, Judge homered for the fourth straight game, driving a changeup to left in the fourth inning, the only blemish of Louie Varland’s otherwise outstanding major league debut.
Judge set the Yankees record for right-handed hitters by surpassing the 54 homers hit by Alex Rodriguez in 2007.
Gleyber Torres hit a two-run homer and Greg Weissert (3-0) earned the win for the Yankees. Jose Miranda homered for Minnesota, and Trevor Megill (3-3) took the loss.
METS 10, PIRATES 0, 2ND GAME
METS 5, PIRATES 1, 1ST GAME
PITTSBURGH — Jacob deGrom threw seven dominant innings and New York completed a doubleheader sweep of Pittsburgh to move back into sole possession of first place in the NL East.
DeGrom (5-1) struck out eight and walked one to win his third straight start for New York, which rode seven strong innings from Chris Bassitt to a victory in Game 1.
The Mets piled on Pittsburgh starter Johan Oviedo (2-2) and a handful of relievers to pound out 17 hits in support of deGrom.
Francisco Lindor doubled twice and drove in three runs in Game 2. Jeff McNeil and Eduardo Escobar each added three hits in the nightcap. Escobar also homered earlier in the day and went 6 for 9 in the twinbill.
Bassitt (13-7) struck out 10 over seven innings in the opener, helping New York avoid its first four-game skid of the season.
Tyler Naquin hit a three-run homer for his 11th homer of the season.
Greg Allen hit an RBI double for last-place Pittsburgh. Duane Underwood Jr. (1-6) got the loss.
JAYS 4, ORIOLES 1
BALTIMORE — Alek Manoah retired 22 of his final 23 hitters in an impressive eight-inning performance, and Toronto wrapped up a successful series in Baltimore.
The Blue Jays won three of four to take a 4 1/2-game lead on Baltimore for the last wild card in the American League. Manoah (14-7) allowed a run in the first, but the Orioles didn’t manage another baserunner until the sixth.
Toronto scored three times in the fifth off Dean Kremer (6-5), who allowed two earned runs and six hits in 5 1/3 innings.
Manoah allowed three hits and a walk, striking out five. Jordan Romano struck out two in a perfect ninth for his 31st save in 35 chances.
CARDINALS 6, NATIONALS 5
ST. LOUIS — Tommy Edman hit a two-run, two-out double to cap St. Louis’ five-run ninth inning in a victory over Washington.
St. Louis moved 9 1/2 games ahead of Milwaukee for the NL Central lead, winning for the 20th time in 23 home games.
Edman doubled to left off reliever Kyle Finnegan (5-3) to cap the rally.
Paul Goldschmidt hit his 35th homer, a solo homer off Cory Abbott leading off the fourth. Goldschmidt leads the NL with 108 RBIs.
Jake Woodford (4-0) pitched the ninth for the victory.
Luke Voit hit a two-run homer for Washington.
ROCKIES 8, BREWERS 4
DENVER — Eric Lauer exited in the third inning with left elbow tightness, and the Brewers hurt their fading playoff hopes.
Recent call-ups Michael Toglia and Alan Trejo homered for the last-place Rockies. Kyle Freeland (8-9) threw six innings of one-run ball.
Andrew McCutchen and Luis Urías homered for Milwaukee in the ninth. Lauer (10-7) was tagged for seven runs in 2 2/3 innings.
The Brewers fell four games behind Philadelphia and San Diego for the final NL wild card. They finished a 2-5 trip with concerns surrounding Lauer as they scramble to make the postseason for a fifth straight year.
BRAVES 7, ATHLETICS 3
OAKLAND, Calif. — Rookie Spencer Strider (10-4) overcame a rough start to strike out nine and win his third straight start, Vaughn Grissom and Dansby Swanson homered and Atlanta won its seventh in a row.
Robbie Grossman, Marcell Ozuna and Ronald Acuña Jr. also drove in runs for Atlanta, which beat Oakland for the 11th straight time dating to 2008.
The Braves began the day tied with the New York Mets for the NL East lead.
Seth Brown homered for the A’s, who struck out 16 times and had three hits. Oakland has lost six of seven. Ken Waldichuk (0-1) allowed three runs on three hits with two strikeouts in his second career start and home debut.
DODGERS 7, GIANTS 3
LOS ANGELES — Trea Turner doubled in the go-ahead run, Max Muncy added a three-run homer in the eighth inning and Los Angeles reduced its magic number in the NL West to six games.
Muncy homered off Zack Littell (2-3) and went 3 for 4. Justin Turner hit a three-run homer in the fifth.
David Villar homered twice and drove in all of the runs for the Giants, who led 2-0 in the fifth.
Evan Phillips (6-3) got the win with 1 1/3 innings of relief. Clayton Kershaw allowed two runs and five hits in six innings and struck out eight in his third straight no-decision.
WHITE SOX 9, MARINERS 6
SEATTLE — Eloy Jiménez drove in three runs with a homer and double and Chicago took advantage of three errors in the come-from-behind win over Seattle.
The White Sox took two of three in the series and stayed on the heels of Cleveland and Minnesota in the crowded AL Central race.
Aaron Bummer (1-1) claimed the win, and Liam Hendriks struck out the side the ninth for his 31st save.
Seattle starter Luis Castillo tied an American League record by striking out the first seven batters to start the game and set a franchise record with the feat. He finished with eight strikeouts and only three of the six runs allowed were earned.
The Mariners got a pair of home runs by Eugenio Suárez for hits Nos. 1,000 and 1,001 of his career. Diego Castillo (7-3) was the loser in relief as Seattle lost for just the fourth time in 15 games. The Mariners are vying with Tampa Bay and Toronto for the top wild-card spot in the AL.
RAYS 1, RED SOX 0
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Yonny Chirinos pitched three spotless innings in relief to win his first major league outing in two years, leading Tampa Bay past Boston.
Taylor Walls drove in the only run with an infield single in the fifth, and the Rays won for the eighth time in nine games. They lead the American League wild-card race and began the day 4 1/2 games behind the first-place Yankees in the AL East.
Chirinos (1-0), who had Tommy John surgery following his previous appearance for the Rays on Aug. 16, 2020, struck out four and got the win. He gave up four hits and a walk. Pete Fairbanks pitched the ninth for his sixth save in six attempts.
Boston starter Nick Pivetta (9-11) went to full counts on 10 of the first 13 hitters he faced, but did not give up a hit until Francisco Mejia led off the fifth with a double.
PHILLIES 4, MARLINS 3
PHILADELPHIA — Edmundo Sosa homered for the second straight game and finished with three hits and three RBIs, and Bailey Falter earned his fourth straight win as a starter, lifting Philadelphia over Miami.
Jean Segura also homered for the Phillies, who are in a virtual tie with San Diego in the race for the second and third NL wild-card spots. Milwaukee is four games back of each.
Jacob Stallings had two hits, including a solo homer in the ninth off reliever Connor Brogdon that pulled Miami within a run. Brogdon allowed the tying run on base before closing out his second save of the season.
Charles Leblanc and Garrett Cooper each had two hits for Miami, which has lost nine in a row for the first time since May 2013.
Falter (4-3) allowed two earned runs in 5 1/3 innings. All seven of Miami’s hits off Falter were singles.
TIGERS 5, ANGELS 4
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout homered in the same game for the eighth time this season, but rookies Kerry Carpenter and Ryan Kreidler hit back-to-back homers in the ninth inning in the win for Detroit.
Kreidler hit his first career homer off José Quijada (0-4) four pitches after Carpenter tied it with a homer down the left field line.
Eric Haase went 5 for 5 with a homer and two doubles in the majors’ 12th five-hit game of the season, and former No. 1 overall draft pick Spencer Torkelson homered as the Tigers snapped a four-game skid and avoided a series sweep with a 13-hit attack.
José Cisnero (1-0) earned the win and Gregory Soto picked up his 25th save.
Trout homered in his fourth consecutive game for his 32nd of the season. Ohtani hit his 33rd in the seventh inning.
REDS 7, CUBS 1
CHICAGO — Aristides Aquino hit two more home runs and Jake Fraley added a solo shot, helping Cincinnati pull away from Chicago.
Mike Minor (4-10), pitching at Wrigley Field for the first time since 2014 with Atlanta, gave up 10 hits in 5 2/3 innings but just one run.
Chicago took a 1-0 lead in the second on consecutive singles by Nelson Velasquez, Yan Gomes and P.J. Higgins. The Cubs hit into three double plays and lost for the fourth time in five games.
Aquino continued his power surge against the Cubs, hitting a leadoff home run in the third against rookie starter Javier Assad (0-1) that traveled an estimated 438 feet. He capped the Reds’ scoring with his seventh home run, a leadoff drive in the ninth against rookie Jeremiah Estrada. Aquino has two multi-homer games this season and three in his career. Aquino has hit 12 homers in 84 career at-bats against the Cubs.
ASTROS 4, RANGERS 3, 10 INNINGS
HOUSTON — José Altuve scored the winning run on a wild pitch with two outs in the 10th inning as Houston rallied past Texas.
Texas intentionally walked Yordan Alvarez to load the bases with two outs, and Jonathan Hernández (1-2) uncorked a wild first pitch to Alex Bregman, allowing Altuve to sprint home.
Hector Neris (5-4) pitched a perfect 10th for the win.
Yuli Gurriel hit an RBI single in the fourth, and Kyle Tucker added a two-run homer in the sixth for Houston.
Nathaniel Lowe hit a solo home run to right in the first and Marcus Semien and Kole Calhoun added RBI singles in the third for the Rangers.
PADRES 6, DIAMONDBACKS 3
SAN DIEGO — Yu Darvish pitched six solid innings for his 13th victory, Jurickson Profar hit a two-run home run and San Diego beat Arizona in a game that featured three homers by each team.
The Padres came into the day in a virtual tie for the second NL wild-card spot with the Philadelphia Phillies, who beat Miami. San Diego opened a four-game lead in the wild-card race over fading Milwaukee, which lost to Colorado.
Arizona’s Daulton Varsho hit two solo homers to give him 24 for the season. Corbin Carroll hit his first homer in the second inning, going back-to-back with Varsho.
Darvish (13-7) gave up the three Diamondbacks home runs. He lasted six innings, allowing five hits. Josh Hader earned his 31st save — and second with the Padres.
In addition to Profar’s homer, the Padres got solo shots from Jake Cronenworth (3 for 3) and by Wil Myers (150th career homer).
Diamondbacks starter Tommy Henry (3-4) allowed giving up five runs and seven hits in 4 1/3 innings.
ROYALS 2, GUARDIANS 1
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Salvador Perez’s sacrifice fly in the ninth gave Kansas City a win over Cleveland.
The Royals entered the ninth trailing 1-0, but Emmanuel Clase walked the first two batters he faced. MJ Melendez drove home Kyle Isbel with the tying run and Perez drove in Nicky Lopez with the game-winner.
Scott Barlow (6-4) earned the win. Clase (2-4) took the loss.
The Guardians scored first on an RBI single by Owen Miller.
