Tigers become first team to reach 30 wins with 5-4 victory over Blue Jays

TORONTO (AP) — Riley Greene homered and drove in three runs, Javier Báez and Zach McKinstry also connected and the Detroit Tigers became the first team this season to reach 30 wins, beating the Toronto Blue Jays 5-4 on Friday night.

Jack Flaherty (2-5) allowed two runs in 5 2/3 innings and snapped a six-start winless streak with his first victory since April 4 against the White Sox.

Beau Brieske stranded two runners in the ninth to earn his first save as the Tigers (30-15) extended their winning streak to four.

Greene hit his 11th homer in the second inning and added a two-run double in the fifth.

Báez gave Detroit an insurance run with a two-out homer off Chad Green in the eighth, his sixth. The Tigers are 24-2 when they score five or more.

Daulton Varsho chased Flaherty with a two-run homer in the sixth. The longball was Varsho’s sixth in 12 games this season. He missed the start of the year while recovering from shoulder surgery.

Toronto’s Myles Straw hit an RBI single off Brenan Hanifee in the seventh and Bo Bichette made it 5-4 with a solo homer off Tommy Kahnle in the eighth.

Bowden Francis (2-6) gave up four runs and eight hits in 4 2/3 innings. Francis has allowed a major league-worst 14 homers this season.

CUBS 13, WHITE SOX 3

CHICAGO (AP) — Pete Crow-Armstrong homered and drove in a career-high six runs, helping the Chicago Cubs beat the Chicago White Sox in the first meeting of the season between the crosstown rivals.

Seiya Suzuki had two hits and two RBIs for the NL Central-leading Cubs on a warm and windy afternoon at Wrigley Field. Nico Hoerner scored three times, and Cade Horton (2-0) pitched five innings of three-run ball in his first career start.

The Cubs earned their sixth consecutive win against the White Sox, matching a franchise record for the series.

Miguel Vargas went deep twice for the White Sox in his first career multihomer game. He also matched a career high with four hits.

Vargas connected for a two-run drive in the first and a solo drive in the third. But the Cubs went ahead to stay with six runs in the second against Shane Smith (1-3).

REDS 5, GUARDIANS 4

CINCINNATI (AP) — Will Benson hit a three-run homer, Brady Singer earned his fifth win and Cincinnati hung on to defeat Cleveland.

Austin Hays also homered for the Reds, who have won two in a row after dropping three straight.

Singer (5-2) allowed three runs and three hits in five innings, struck out four and walked one to win his second start in a row. Emilio Pagán, the Reds’ fourth reliever of the game, retired the Guardians in order in the ninth for his 10th save.

Bo Naylor and José Ramírez homered for the Guardians.

Benson lined a three-run homer off Tanner Bibee (3-4) to put Cincinnati ahead 3-0 in the second inning. It was his second home run in as many games.

Hays’ fifth homer of the season on Bibee’s first pitch in the third made it 5-0. It was the 11th homer allowed this season by Bibee (3-4) who gave up five runs — four earned — and 10 hits in six innings.

BRAVES 4, RED SOX 2

BOSTON (AP) — Chris Sale struck out eight and pitched seven innings of one-run ball Friday night, leading Atlanta to a win over Boston.

Sale (2-3), who won a World Series with Boston, earned his first win since April 25. The 36-year-old left-hander allowed five hits and an earned run with two walks.

The reigning National League Cy Young winner lowered his ERA from 3.97 to 3.62. Also a Gold Glove winner for the first time in his career last season, Sale went down to his knees on a comebacker by Boston’s Nick Sogard and got up and made the play for the first out of the fifth.

Sale spent six seasons with the Red Sox (2017-23) and recorded the final out that clinched Boston’s 2018 championship. He is 2-0 against the Red Sox since getting traded to Atlanta during the 2023-24 offseason.

Matt Olson and Sean Murphy hit consecutive homers in the second inning for Atlanta and the Braves added two runs in the ninth when Red Sox reliever Brennan Bernardino issued back-to-back walks with the bases loaded.

Raisel Iglesias allowed an RBI single to Boston’s Trevor Story in the ninth inning and earned his eighth save.

The Braves (23-22) became the fifth team to move above .500 after losing 7 or more consecutive games to open a season.

YANKEES 6, METS 2

NEW YORK (AP) — Juan Soto had a quiet night with three walks, a groundout and a flyout in his return to the Bronx, Carlos Rodón won his fourth straight decision and the New York Yankees beat the Mets 6-2 in the first of six Subway Series games this season.

Paul Goldschmidt had two RBIs and Cody Bellinger had three hits before a sellout crowd of 47,700.

Soto, who left the Yankees for a record $765 million, 15-year contract with the Mets, was booed loudly by fans who rose to their feet when he batted in the first inning. He responded by taking off his helmet, tipping it to the crowd and touching it against his heart.

Rodón (5-3) allowed one run and two hits in five innings. Brandon Nimmo hit an RBI single in the fourth that drove in Soto.

Jonathan Loáisiga pitched a scoreless, one-hit sixth in his first big league appearance since April 3 last year after recovering from reconstructive elbow surgery. After Francisco Lindor’s two-out RBI double off Yerry De Los Santos, Luke Weaver retired Soto on a fly to center with two on for his fifth save in six chances.

Goldschmidt put the Yankees ahead with a run-scoring single in a four-run third as Lindor’s off-balance throw from shortstop bounced off first baseman Pete Alonso’s glove for an error that allowed a second run to score. Anthony Volpe added a sacrifice fly and Oswaldo Peraza had a bases-loaded walk.

Tylor Megill (3-4) allowed four runs, four hits and five walks in a season-low 2 2/3 innings, dropping to 0-2 in his last four starts — all Mets defeats.

MARLINS 9, RAYS 4

MIAMI (AP) — Eric Wagaman had three hits and two RBIs, Connor Norby added a three-run double, and Miami beat Tampa Bay.

Norby’s two-bagger gave the Marlins a 5-1 lead in the fourth inning. Wagaman had a sacrifice fly in the first against Taj Bradley (3-3), then added an RBI single in a four-run sixth after Tampa Bay had pulled within 5-4.

Tampa Bay’s Yandy Díaz returned to the lineup after missing a three-game series at Toronto because of a passport issue. He had an RBI single in the third that made it 1-1.

Miami’s Max Meyer (3-4) allowed four runs in five innings. Ronny Henriquez, Lake Bachar and Tyler Phillips closed it out.

Bradley surrendered five runs in four innings. Montgomery retired one batter and was tagged for three runs.

José Caballero had an RBI double, Simpson singled in a run and Josh Lowe added a two-out RBI single in the Rays’ three-run fifth.

NATIONALS 4, ORIOLES 3

BALTIMORE (AP) — José Tena came around from second base to score the tiebreaking run on an infield hit by Nasim Nuñez in the ninth inning, and Washington got home runs from Nathaniel Lowe and James Wood in a victory over Baltimore.

After reaching on a walk from Félix Bautista (0-1) and taking second on a groundout, Tena was off and running when Nuñez hit a grounder to first baseman Ryan Mountcastle. Nuñez beat the throw to Bautista by a step before Tena came home.

Jorge López (6-0) worked the eighth and Kyle Finnegan got three outs to earn his 14th save.

Baltimore stranded 15 runners on base and went 4 for 15 with runners in scoring position.

Nationals starter MacKenzie Gore compiled some unusual numbers over 3 2/3 innings. The left-hander threw 102 pitches and struck out nine but yielded 10 hits, two walks and two runs.

ASTROS 6, RANGERS 3

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Christian Walker hit a three-run homer to cap a six-run seventh inning for Houston in its win over Texas that ended its six-game winning streak.

Walker’s 410-foot blast to left-center immediately followed Isaac Paredes’ two-run single that put Houston ahead 3-2. Walker was mired in an 0-for-16 slump before a single in the first inning, and also had a walk.

Lance McCullers allowed two unearned runs over four innings in only his third start for Houston since the 2022 World Series. Shawn Dubin, Kaleb Ort (1-0), Bryan King, Bryan Abreu each then pitched a perfect inning before closer Josh Hader, in a non-save situation, allowed a solo homer to Josh Jung in the ninth.

Shawn Armstrong (1-1), the second of three Texas relievers, allowed the homer to Walker and didn’t record an out against the four batters he faced.

Jonah Heim had a two-run single with two outs in the Rangers second. That came three batters after shortstop Jeremy Peña was charged with an error when he failed to catch a throw from McCullers, who was trying to get the lead runner at second base after fielding a comebacker.

CARDINALS 10, ROYALS 3

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Iván Herrera had three hits and four RBIs, Andre Pallante allowed two runs in seven innings, and St. Louis beat Kansas City.

Willson Contreras doubled twice and drove in a run for the Cardinals, who have won 11 of 12. The Royals have dropped five of six since a seven-game winning streak.

Contreras doubled and scored on a two-out wild pitch by Cole Ragans (2-3) in the second. Brendan Donovan doubled leading off the fourth and scored on a one-out double by Contreras for a two-run lead. Herrera singled in Contreras to make it 3-0.

Vinnie Pasquantino homered in the fourth against Pallante (4-2). Kyle Isbel tripled in the fifth and scored on a balk.

Pallante threw 100 pitches. He gave up seven hits, struck out four and walked none.

PHILLIES 8, PIRATES 4

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Bryce Harper reached 1,000 RBIs and was part of a wild seventh inning rally in which Philadelphia scored four runs on just one hit in a victory over Pittsburgh.

Harper, who had three hits and reached base four times, picked up his milestone RBI with a bloop single to left field off Pirates starter Andrew Heaney. Harper is one of eight active players with 1,000 RBIs.

The Phillies scored four runs in the seventh inning when six consecutive batters — including Harper — reached base against three relievers. Only one — Trea Turner — had a hit. The others all reached base via a walk or a hit by pitch and three of the four runs scored without a ball being put in play.

Philadelphia tacked on three more runs in the eighth inning. Turner had an RBI triple, and Harper added No. 1,001 with a single.

Ranger Suarez (2-0) pitched seven innings and allowed three runs on six hits. Jose Alvarado retired the final two batters to clean up a bases loaded jam for his seventh save.

Alexander Canario provided most of the offense for Pittsburgh when he hit a three-run homer off Suarez.

Ryan Borucki (0-1) didn’t get an out and allowed two runs.

TWINS 3, BREWERS 0

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Joe Ryan allowed two hits and struck out nine in six innings, and Minnesota extended its streak of holding opponents scoreless to 24 innings while winning its 12th straight game, beating Milwaukee.

Ryan (4-2) walked one in a 99-pitch outing for the Twins, who haven’t allowed a run since giving up six in the third inning of an 8-6 win at Baltimore on Wednesday. They blanked the Orioles 4-0 on Thursday.

Minnesota (25-20) was seven games under .500 when it began its winning streak. The Twins, who also won 12 in a row last season, became the first team to win a dozen straight in back-to-back years since Cleveland in 2016 and ’17. Minnesota’s longest winning streak is 15 in a row by the 1991 team that went on to win the World Series.

Brock Stewart, Griffin Jax and Cole Sands closed it out — with Sands getting his second save — as the Brewers were shut out for the third time in four games.

Ty France and Kody Clemens had RBI singles in the first inning against Chad Patrick (2-4). The Twins added a run in the second on a double-play grounder.

Patrick allowed three runs in six innings.

MARINERS 5, PADRES 1

SAN DIEGO (AP) — J.P. Crawford homered on Stephen Kolek’s first pitch and Rowdy Tellez and Cal Raleigh each added a two-run shot for Seattle, who beat San Diego in the opening game of the inaugural Vedder Cup.

Rookie Logan Evans (2-1) pitched six strong innings for the Mariners, who took a 1 1/2-game lead over the Texas Rangers in the AL West. The Padres came in trailing the Los Angeles Dodgers by one game in the NL West.

The annual interleague series between the teams that share a spring training complex was informally known since 2011 as the Vedder Cup, a reference to Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder. Vedder, who is actually a Chicago Cubs fan, spent some formative years in San Diego before moving to Seattle and joining the fledgling band in 1990. The two teams formalized the competition in March, with the winner getting a trophy featuring a guitar provided by Vedder. Pearl Jam was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2017.

The teams play again in Seattle Aug. 25-27.

The Padres and Mariners will support EB Research Partnership, a charity co-founded by Eddie and Jill Vedder dedicated to funding research to discover treatments and cures for Epidermolysis Bullosa.

Crawford’s homer was his fourth. Tellez also connected to right with two outs in the fourth, with Raleigh aboard on a walk. It was his seventh. Raleigh homered to left, his 14th, after Julio Rodriguez singled leading off the sixth.

Evans held the Padres to seven hits while striking out three and walking one. Only four Padres reached scoring position.

Kolek (2-1) was coming off his first career complete game in a 21-0 win at Colorado last Saturday. He allowed five runs and eight hits in five innings, with four strikeouts and one walk.

DIAMONDBACKS 8, ROCKIES 0

PHOENIX (AP) — Corbin Burnes struck out a season-high 10 batters over six masterful innings, Eugenio Suárez and Geraldo Perdomo each had three RBIs and Arizona beat struggling Colorado.

The Rockies fell to 7-37 for the worst start in the big leagues through 44 games since 1901. They’ve lost four straight and 12 of 13.

Interim manager Warren Schaeffer is 0-4 since taking over for Bud Black, who was fired on Sunday.

Burnes (3-1) navigated his outing without much trouble, giving up two hits and walking three. It’s his second straight scoreless outing after skipping a turn in the rotation due to shoulder inflammation.

Rockies lefty Carson Palmquist (0-1) made his big-league debut, giving up five runs on six hits and a walk over four innings. The 24-year-old is the team’s No. 8 prospect, according to MLB.com.

The D-backs scored two runs in the second, one in the third and two more in the fourth to pull away for a 5-0 lead. Suárez added a two-run single in the seventh for a 7-0 advantage.

Gabriel Moreno reached base four times with two doubles, a single and a walk. Josh Naylor, Randal Grichuk and Corbin Carroll all had two hits.

ANGELS 6, DODGERS 2

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jack Kochanowicz tossed one-run ball over 6 2/3 innings, Yoán Moncada hit a two-run homer and the Los Angeles Angels beat the Los Angeles Dodgers in the Freeway Series opener.

The last-place Angels led 2-0 on Moncada’s homer on his first pitch from Dustin May in the first inning.

May hit Matthew Lugo and Tim Anderson back-to-back before Zach Neto’s two-run double to left extended the lead to 4-0 in the fourth.

Kochanowicz (3-5) allowed one run, struck out five and walked four in winning back-to-back starts for the first time this season.

The Dodgers closed to 4-2 on Shohei Ohtani’s 16th homer off Ryan Zeferjahn in the eighth. Max Muncy’s RBI double provided their first run.

The Angels answered with Nolan Schanuel’s two-run single that made it 6-2 in the ninth.

May (1-4) gave up four runs and six hits in five innings. He struck out eight and walked two.

GIANTS 9, ATHLETICS 1

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Wilmer Flores homered three times — including a grand slam — and drove in eight runs to back a strong start by Logan Webb, leading San Francisco past the Athletics.

Flores, who set single-game career highs for homers and RBIs, hit his seventh slam in the third inning off A’s starter JP Sears. He had a three-run shot against Michel Otañez in the sixth, then added a solo shot off Anthony Maldonado in the eighth.

That was more than enough support for Webb (5-3), who carried a shutout into the eighth inning. The 2024 All-Star allowed one run and five hits in eight innings with four strikeouts and two walks. The Giants ace has allowed two runs over his last four home starts covering 28 1/3 innings for a 0.64 ERA.

Camilo Doval struck out the side in the ninth to wrap up the win in the Giants’ first game against the A’s this season in the former Bay Bridge Series.

Sears (4-3), who gave up one run in 14 2/3 innings covering his previous two starts, allowed four runs and six hits in four innings.