Bo Naylor’s sac fly in 9th sends Guardians to 7-6 win over lowly White Sox

CLEVELAND (AP) — Pinch-hitter Bo Naylor delivered a sacrifice fly to center field with one out in the ninth inning, sending the Cleveland Guardians to a 7-6 win over the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night.

Andrés Giménez opened the ninth with a single off Michael Kopech (2-7), went to second on a groundout to first and took third on a wild pitch by the right-hander.

Naylor, who has bumped his average over .200 by hitting .304 in his last 15 games, then lifted a 3-2 pitch deep enough to score Giménez without a throw from center fielder Luis Robert Jr.

Rookie Daniel Schneemann and Tyler Freeman hit two-run homers for the Guardians, who won their seventh straight at Progressive Field and improved MLB’s best home record to 27-9.

They also evened their record this season to 4-4 against the lowly White Sox, who have the majors’ worst record (24-63).

Cleveland closer Emmanuel Clase (4-1) pitched a 1-2-3 ninth, helped by a diving catch from Freeman in center.

CARDINALS 7, PIRATES 4

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Nolan Gorman hit his second career grand slam, and St. Louis beat Pittsburgh.

Matt Carpenter dropped a soft single into left to load the bases with no outs in the fourth inning. Gorman followed with his 17th homer of the season, a 415-foot drive to left-center on a 1-2 sweeper from Mitch Keller (9-5).

Gorman hit his previous grand slam in a 14-5 win against the Arizona Diamondbacks on April 19, 2023.

Cardinals starter Kyle Gibson (6-3) gave up four runs, all in the fifth, and five hits in five innings. He struck out eight and walked one.

Ryan Helsley struck out one in a perfect ninth inning, earning his major league-leading 31st save in 32 opportunities.

RED SOX 8, MARLINS 3

MIAMI (AP) — Kutter Crawford gave up three hits and one run over six solid innings, Ceddanne Rafaela and Jarren Duran homered and Boston beat Miami.

Masataka Yoshida had three hits and Rafael Devers singled twice and drove in two runs for the Red Sox. Each player in Boston’s lineup had at least one hit.

Crawford (4-7) struck out seven. It was the right-hander’s sixth consecutive start of at least six innings and his 12th this season.

Devers’ two-run single in the first gave Boston the early lead. Duran walked and Wilyer Abreu doubled before Devers hit a hard smash that bounced off first baseman Jake Burger’s glove and rolled to right field.

The Red Sox increased their lead in the fourth when Rafaela hit a three-run homer, driving a fastball from Marlins starter Valente Bellozo (0-1) over the wall in left.

Burger put Miami on the board with his leadoff homer in the fifth.

BLUE JAYS 7, ASTROS 6

TORONTO (AP) — George Springer hit a three-run home run against his former team, Spencer Horwitz added a solo homer and Toronto held on to beat Houston.

Yordan Alvarez homered and scored twice as Houston almost came back from a 7-0 deficit, but the Astros lost for just the second time in their last 12 games.

José Berríos (8-6) pitched five innings to win back-to-back starts for the first time since a three-start winning streak between April 8 and 20. The right-hander allowed five runs and five hits.

Chad Green pitched around Jemery Peña’s leadoff double in the ninth for his third save in three chances.

Houston’s Jose Altuve had three hits but flied out to center to end it.

METS 7, NATIONALS 2, 10 INNINGS

WASHINGTON (AP) — Brandon Nimmo had two RBIs and the New York Mets beat Washington for their second consecutive extra-innings victory.

Nimmo, who cut his forehead when he fainted and fell Sunday night, entered in the fourth inning after Harrison Bader was pulled following a collision with the wall in right-center field. In the eighth, he drove in Francisco Lindor for a tying RBI single, and then was part of a barrage of hits against Robert Garcia (0-3) once the game went to extras.

As part of a five-run 10th, José Iglesias doubled to put the Mets ahead, Nimmo also doubled and Pete Alonso crushed his 18th homer. Lindor homered earlier for New York’s first run of the game.

Lindor’s 14th homer in the sixth was the only blemish against Nationals rookie DJ Herz, who struck out 10 while pitching 5 2/3 innings of five-hit ball. Herz joined Stephen Strasburg as the only pitchers since 1901 to have two 10-strikeout, no-walk games in his first six major league starts.

But Washington’s bullpen let him down, first when Hunter Harvey got knocked around in the eighth and then when Garcia was lit up for the loss.

REDS 5, YANKEES 4

NEW YORK (AP) — Elly De La Cruz tripled and homered in his first game at Yankee Stadium, helping the Cincinnati overcome Aaron Judge’s major league-leading 32nd home run in a victory over New York.

Will Benson and De La Cruz hit two-run homers in a four-run fifth as the Reds built a 5-0 lead over the Yankees, who have lost 11 of their last 15 games.

Judge homered in the seventh off Sam Moll for his third hit. He leads the major leagues in batting average (.321), homers and RBIs (83).

De La Cruz, appearing in his 183rd big league game, has tripled and homered together five times, matching Ted Williams for the most since 1901 in a player’s first 185 games.

Graham Ashcraft (5-4) had a shutout before the Yankees’ three-run sixth and won his third straight start. Alexis Díaz pitched a perfect ninth for his 18th save in 20 chances.

Rookie Luis Gil (9-4) lost his third straight start, allowing four runs and two hits in four-plus innings with three walks and two hit batters. After going 9-1 with 2.03 ERA in his first 14 outings, Gil is 0-3 with a 14.90 ERA in his last three.

TWINS 5, TIGERS 3

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Manny Margot and Carlos Correa went deep to keep Minnesota’s club-record home run streak going at 20 games, and the Twins beat Detroit.

Byron Buxton scored the go-ahead run in the seventh with a head-first dive into home plate after leading off the inning with a double, and Royce Lewis hit a two-run double off Tigers ace Tarik Skubal before departing with tightness in his left groin muscle.

After rookie Simeon Woods Richardson pitched two outs into the sixth to match Skubal, who has quietly become one of the most dominant pitchers in the majors, the Twins got shutdown relief from Jorge Alcala (2-3), Griffin Jax in the eighth and closer Jhoan Duran in a perfect ninth for his 13th save in 14 attempts.

Justyn-Henry Malloy homered and Ryan Kreidler hit a two-run shot off Woods Richardson for the Tigers (38-47), who lost for the 17th time in their last 24 games.

GIANTS 5, BRAVES 3

ATLANTA (AP) — Jorge Soler and LaMonte Wade Jr. hit back-to-back homers to help San Francisco beat Atlanta Braves.

Heliot Ramos also went deep as San Francisco won for the sixth time in eight games. Mike Yastrzemski went 2 for 2 in his return from a strained left oblique.

Hayden Birdsong (1-0) pitched five innings of two-run ball in his first big league win. The right-hander struck out five and walked two in his second major league start.

Camilo Doval earned his 15th save with a perfect ninth inning.

Austin Riley and Sean Murphy hit back-to-back homers off Birdsong in the second. Ozzie Albies added an RBI single for the Braves in the eighth.

PHILLIES 6, CUBS 4

CHICAGO (AP) — Trea Turner hit two long home runs, and the major league-leading Philadelphia hung on to beat the struggling Chicago Cubs.

The Phillies were rolling along with a 6-1 lead before the Cubs made things interesting in the ninth. José Ruiz came in and gave up singles to Michael Busch and Cody Bellinger before Seiya Suzuki smacked a three-run homer. Jeff Hoffman then struck out Ian Happ and Christopher Morel before retiring Dansby Swanson on a line drive to right for his seventh save.

Michael Mercado (1-0) pitched two-hit ball over five innings to earn his first career win in his first major league start. And Hoffman closed it out for a Phillies team playing without injured sluggers Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber.

The Cubs have dropped seven of nine.

RANGERS 7, PADRES 0

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Nathaniel Lowe hit a pair of two-run homers, Nathan Eovaldi allowed one hit over seven innings and Texas beat San Diego to end their 11-game losing streak in the series.

Eovaldi (5-3) struck out six while retiring 21 of the 22 batters he faced. The right-hander threw 61 of his 92 pitches for strikes.

Jonathan Hernández gave up a hit over the final two innings to wrap up the Rangers’ eighth shutout this season. San Diego, which had won nine of its previous 11 games, was held scoreless for the sixth time.

BREWERS 4, ROCKIES 3

DENVER (AP) — Willy Adames hit a tying sacrifice fly in the ninth inning, Rhys Hoskins was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to score the go-ahead run, and Milwaukee rallied past Colorado.

Brenton Doyle homered for the third time in two games and had an RBI double for the Rockies. Colorado left fielder Nolan Jones recorded another sizzling outfield assist with a 100.8 mph throw to the plate to deny the Brewers a run in the seventh inning and keep the game tied at 2-2.

In the ninth, the Brewers loaded the bases with one out against reliever Nick Mears (1-4), who allowed Adames’ deep fly to center to even the score at 3-all. Mears re-loaded the bases with a walk and was replaced by Justin Lawrence, who threw a 3-2 pitch inside that clipped Hoskins on his upper body.

NL Central-leading Milwaukee had lost its previous six games at Colorado.

Rob Zastryzny (1-0) got the last two outs in the eighth and Trevor Megill worked the ninth for his 18th save in 19 opportunities.

ATHLETICS 7, ANGELS 5

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Lawrence Butler and Brent Rooker hit home runs, Mitch Spence gave up one hit over 5 1/3 innings, and Oakland beat the Los Angeles Angels.

Brett Harris added a two-run double for Oakland, which had lost seven of its previous eight games and 17 of 21.

Nolan Schanuel had two hits and four RBIs for Los Angeles, which had won six of its previous seven games.

Butler and Rooker homered off Angels starter José Soriano in a four-run fourth inning.

Rooker’s 16th homer came on an 0-2 knuckle curve Soriano left over the plate. Butler’s opposite field shot barely grazed the left field foul pole.

Harris’ two-run double in the sixth highlighted a three-run inning in which Oakland extended its lead to 7-1.

Los Angeles closed to within 7-3 in the seventh on Schanuel’s two-run single.

Schanuel doubled in a run off A’s closer Mason Miller, who gave up two runs in the ninth in a non-save situation.

ORIOLES 2, MARINERS 0

SEATTLE (AP) — Grayson Rodriguez allowed just two hits over 6 1/3 shutout innings, and Anthony Santander drove in the go-ahead run with a fourth-inning RBI single as Baltimore beat.

Rodriguez (10-3) was dominant against Seattle’s struggling offense, retiring the first eight batters of the game and allowing just one hit through five innings. The Orioles have won five of their last six games after dropping five in a row.

The Mariners threatened twice, but Rodriguez got an inning-ending double play off the bat of Jorge Polanco in the fourth inning and struck Cal Raleigh out in the sixth to escape both jams unscathed.

Josh Rojas had both hits for Seattle, with singles in the third and sixth innings.

Yennier Cano and Cionel Pérez combined for two perfect innings of relief, and Craig Kimbrel pitched the ninth for his 20th save.

RAYS 5, ROYALS 1

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Zack Littell pitched five innings of four-hit ball before rain arrived, four Tampa Bay relievers allowed one run the rest of the way once play resumed, and the Rays beat beat Kansas City in a game that ended just after midnight Wednesday.

Brandon Lowe homered, Isaac Paredes drove in a pair of runs, and Richie Palacios had three hits, drove in a run and scored from third on a wild pitch by Brady Singer (4-5), the only run either team scored before the 2 1/2-hour delay.

Littell (3-5) completely flustered the Royals, wiggling out of one last jam just as thunder began to sound through Kauffman Stadium. MJ Melendez had hit a two-out pitch to right in the fifth and CJ Alexander followed with his first career big league hit, only for Littell to strike out Kyle Isbel and leave runners on the corners.

Sheets of rain began to fall moments after the teams walked off the field.

When the game continued, the trio of Kevin Kelly, Colin Poche and Jason Adam surrendered just one run — Bobby Witt Jr.‘s homer in the sixth — before handing the ball to Pete Fairbanks. The Rays’ closer took care of the ninth to wrap up the win.

DODGERS 6, DIAMONDBACKS 5

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Teoscar Hernández singled in the go-ahead run in the ninth inning for his third RBI of the game, and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat Arizona.

The Dodgers scored two runs with two outs to salvage a game in which they owned leads of 2-0 and 4-3.

Paul Sewald (0-1) struck out Gavin Lux and Shohei Ohtani before Will Smith doubled to center on a ball that caromed off the wall. Smith scored the tying run on Freddie Freeman’s double to right, handing Sewald his first blown save in 12 chances this season.

Joc Pederson’s solo shot on an 0-2 pitch from Evan Phillips (1-0) in the top of the ninth put Arizona ahead, 5-4.

The D-backs tied the game in the eighth. Gabriel Moreno walked and pinch-hitter Jake McCarthy followed with a bunt single to reliever Blake Treinen, who was slow to field the ball. Moreno scored the go-ahead run on Treinen’s throwing error to second.

In the seventh, Ohtani blasted a two-run drive that lifted the Dodgers to a 4-3 lead. His 27th homer of the season traveled 433 feet to right-center on Japanese Heritage Night. Lux, who drew a leadoff walk from Justin Martinez, also scored.