Yankees' losing streak hits 9 games for the first time in 41 years following 2-1 loss to Nationals

Washington Nationals shortstop CJ Abrams (5) celebrates with third base coach Gary Disarcina (10) as he runs the bases on a home run against the New York Yankees during the eighth inning of a baseball game Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2023, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

By The Associated Press undefined

NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Yankees’ losing streak hit nine games for the first time in 41 years as Tommy Kahnle allowed a go-ahead homer to CJ Abrams with two outs in the eighth inning and the Washington Nationals claimed a 2-1 win on Tuesday night.

Winless since beating the Marlins on Aug. 11 in Miami, the Yankees are on their first nine-game skid since Sept. 13-21, 1982 — the final month of a 79-win season when they employed three managers (Bob Lemon, Gene Michael and Clyde King).

Abrams snapped a 1-1 tie by hitting a first-pitch changeup from Kahnle (1-2) off the right field foul pole for his 13th homer of the season.

Mason Thompson (4-4) earned the win and Kyle Finnegan picked up his 22nd save in 29 chances.

Carter Kieboom homered in the third for Washington.

GUARDIANS 8, DODGERS 3

CLEVELAND (AP) — Kole Calhoun’s three-run homer capped a five-run seventh inning as Cleveland sent Los Angeles to just its third loss in the month of August.

The Dodgers are 17-3 in August and 25-10 since the All-Star break.

Oscar Gonzalez also homered for the Guardians. Sam Hentges (2-2), Trevor Stephan and Emmanuel Clase each pitched one inning as Cleveland held the Dodgers’ power-packed lineup to just six hits.

Dodgers catcher Will Smith hit his 17th homer and rookie starter Bobby Miller (7-3) took the loss.

REDS 4, ANGELS 3

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Graham Ashcraft racked up a career-high 10 strikeouts over seven innings, and Cincinnati spoiled Mike Trout’s return to the Los Angeles lineup by scoring three unearned runs in the fifth inning to beat the Angels.

Elly De La Cruz scored the tiebreaking run from first on Spencer Steer’s double just moments after Angels rookie first baseman Nolan Schanuel made a two-run error on what should have been an inning-ending grounder by De La Cruz.

Ashcraft (7-8) allowed five hits, although three were solo homers. Alexis Díaz pitched the ninth for his 34th save in 35 chances.

Matt McLain homered for the Reds in the opener of a 10-game West Coast trip.

Brandon Drury and Mike Moustakas hit back-to-back homers in the second inning for the Angels (61-65). Shohei Ohtani went 0 for 3 with a walk and two strikeouts. Lucas Giolito (7-10) yielded five hits and struck out nine over six innings.

DIAMONDBACKS 6, RANGERS 3

PHOENIX (AP) — Zac Gallen struck out 11 over six stellar innings, Alek Thomas had a spectacular diving catch on the warning track for the first out of the ninth and Arizona held off skidding Texas.

Tommy Pham extended his hitting streak to 13 games for the D-backs, who swept the two-game series and have won five straight games, helping their cause in a crowded National League wild-card race. They’re currently a half-game ahead of the Giants and Reds for the final spot.

The Rangers have lost six straight and are just a half-game ahead of the Astros for first place in the AL West.

Arizona led 6-1 after six innings, but Texas cut the margin to 6-3 in the seventh on Corey Seager’s two-run single. The Rangers loaded the bases with one out in the ninth, and closer Paul Sewald struck out Mitch Garver and coaxed a groundout from Travis Jankowski to get his 27th save.

Gallen (14-5) bullied a potent Rangers for most of the night. The only blemish was a solo homer surrendered to Garver in the sixth.

BRAVES 3, METS 2

ATLANTA (AP) — Eddie Rosario hit a two-run homer in the second inning, Marcell Ozuna had a solo shot in the fifth and major league-leading Atlanta held on to beat New York.

The Braves took a 2-0 lead on Rosario’s 20th homer. Ozuna made it 3-0 with his 27th homer and third in the last two games.

New York’s Daniel Vogelbach connected for a two-run shot to trim the lead to 3-2 in the sixth, but Joe Jiménez, A.J. Minter and closer Raisel Iglesias held the Mets to two hits and one walk over the last three innings as Atlanta snapped a two-game skid.

New York (59-68) had won seven of nine but dropped 23 games back and are in fourth place in the NL East.

Bryce Elder (10-4) allowed one run and two hits with three walks and three strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings. Tylor Megill (7-7) was charged with three runs and eight hits with four wild pitches in 4 2/3 innings.

MARINERS 6, WHITE SOX 3

CHICAGO (AP) — Josh Rojas hit a two-run homer and six relievers combined for five effective innings, helping Seattle beat Chicago for its season-high eighth straight win.

After Bryan Woo tossed four innings of one-run ball in his return from the injured list, Seattle’s bullpen took over. Justin Topa (3-3) got four outs for the win, and Andrés Muñoz earned his eighth save by striking out Luis Robert Jr. with a runner on first.

The Mariners (71-55) moved a season-best 16 games over .500. They stayed in third in the AL West, a half-game back of Houston.

Andrew Benintendi went deep and Andrew Vaughn had two of Chicago’s 10 hits, including an RBI single. Mike Clevinger (5-6) allowed four runs and six hits in five innings.

Right before its eighth loss in 10 games, Chicago announced that executive vice president Ken Williams and general manager Rick Hahn had been fired. The White Sox (49-77) began the year with playoff aspirations, but they got off to a 7-21 start and never recovered.

BLUE JAYS 6, ORIOLES 3, 10 INNINGS

BALTIMORE (AP) — Brandon Belt homered on Mike Baumann’s first pitch in the 10th inning, Daulton Varsho hit a two-run home run in the second and Toronto defeated Baltimore.

The loss ended the Orioles’ three-game winning streak and cut their lead in the AL East over second-place Tampa Bay to two games.

With Bo Bichette on second base as the automatic runner in the 10th, Belt hit a liner into the right-field seats for his 14th homer, the third in two games. The Blue Jays have won five of seven and hit seven home runs in their last two games.

Toronto added a run in the 10th on a wild pitch by Baumann (9-1), the first reliever in Orioles history to win his first nine decisions.

Tim Mayza (3-1) worked a perfect ninth and Jordan Romano got three outs for his 31st save in 34 tries.

PHILLIES 4, GIANTS 3

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Trea Turner had a two-run single in the ninth inning that bounced off Camilo Doval’s glove and into center field, giving Philadelphia a victory over San Francisco.

Philadelphia increased its lead to four games over San Francisco in the National League wild-card race. The Giants have lost 12 of their last 16 games.

Bryce Harper hit his 11th homer of the season and went 2 for 3 with a walk. Craig Kimbrel (7-3) got the victory with an inning of relief.

Thairo Estrada had three hits in the game and Joc Pederson had two for San Francisco. Doval, who entered with 33 saves, saw his record slip to 5-4. Kyle Harrison, San Francisco’s top pitching prospect, made his major league debut, going 3 1/3 innings and allowing five hits and two earned runs in a no-decision on 65 pitches.

TIGERS 8, CUBS 6

DETROIT (AP) — Andy Ibañez had his first two-homer game, leading Detroit past Chicago.

Tyler Holton (3-2) got the victory with 1 1/3 innings of relief. Alex Lange pitched the ninth for his 19th save.

Former Tiger Drew Smyly (9-9) took the loss, allowing seven runs on eight hits and three walks in 3 2/3 innings.

Dansby Swanson hit a two-run homer for Chicago.

RAYS 12, ROCKIES 4

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Osleivis Basabe hit a grand slam for his first major league homer and capped a nine-run eighth inning for AL wild card-leading Tampa Bay.

Basabe is filling at shortstop for Wander Franco, who is on MLB’s administrative list while authorities in the Dominican Republic investigate him for an alleged relationship with a minor.

Yandy Díaz went 3 for 5 in his career-best fifth straight multi-hit game, raising his AL-leading average to .328. Andrew Kittredge (1-0) worked a scoreless eighth to get his win since returning from Tommy John surgery this month.

Brent Suter (4-1) took the loss for NL-worst Colorado, which has lost nine of its last 12 games.

PIRATES 6, CARDINALS 3

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Andrew McCutchen’s two-run homer was the 299th of his career and capped a five-run fifth inning against struggling Adam Wainwright, and Pittsburgh sent St. Louis to its sixth loss in seven games.

Wainwright remained stuck on 198 career. He retired the side in order in the first three innings but was charged with six runs in 4 2/3 innings, giving up seven hits, striking out three and walking one.

Acquired from the Cardinals last season, Johan Oviedo (7-13) allowed one run and four hits in five innings with five strikeouts and one walk. David Bednar worked a scoreless ninth for his 27th save in 30 opportunities.

Richie Palacios led off the fifth inning with his first career home run for St. Louis.

BREWERS 7, TWINS 3

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Tyrone Taylor hit a go-ahead RBI single and highlighted a five-run sixth inning as Milwaukee beat Minnesota in an interleague matchup of division leaders.

Willy Adames of NL Central-leading Milwaukee and Christian Vázquez of AL Central-best Minnesota hit two-run homers.

The Brewers rallied against reliever Dylan Floro (4-6) after getting held in check by starter Bailey Ober, who left after throwing 78 pitches.

Ober retired the last eight men he faced before departing with a 3-2 lead at the end of five innings. Floro allowed hits to six of the first seven batters he faced, with five of them scoring.

Milwaukee’s Bryse Wilson (5-0), Hoby Milner and Trevor Megill combined for four innings of shutout relief. Wilson struck out three and didn’t allow a base runner in two innings.

ASTROS 7, RED SOX 3

HOUSTON (AP) — Kyle Tucker hit a two-run homer and Justin Verlander threw six scoreless innings to help Houston beat Boston.

Boston manager Alex Cora and right fielder Alex Verdugo were ejected for arguing balls and strikes as the Red Sox lost a second straight game at Houston.

Verlander (9-6) allowed five hits and struck out a season-high nine in his fourth start since returning to the Astros in a trade with the Mets.

Tanner Houck (3-7) allowed four hits and three runs in five innings in his first start since June 16.

Adam Duvall, who had a three-run shot Monday night, hit a solo homer in the eighth inning for the Red Sox, who have at least one home run in 11 straight games. Justin Turner drove in two runs for Boston with a single in the ninth.

MARLINS 3, PADRES 0

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Jesús Luzardo threw a two-hit shutout over six innings and Jorge Soler hit his 33rd homer of the season to lead Florida past San Diego in a matchup of National League wild-card hopefuls.

The Marlins (62-52) entered the game having lost five of their last six games and moved five games ahead of the Padres (60-67) in the race for a wild-card spot. The teams play the finale of the three-game series on Wednesday.

Luzardo (9-8) worked six innings, giving up no runs and two hits while striking out seven. Andrew Nardi, Tanner Scott and closer David Robertson each pitched an inning of scoreless relief. Robertson earned his 18th save.

Padres starter Blake Snell (10-9) came in as the MLB leader in ERA (2.65), but was roughed up in the third, giving up three runs. Soler hit a mammoth 442-foot solo homer off a 97.3-mph fastball to center field.

ATHLETICS 5, ROYALS 4

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Shea Langeliers homered for the second consecutive game, and Oakland spoiled the return of former Cy Young Award winner Zack Greinke in beating Kansas City.

Aledmys Díaz added three RBIs for the A’s, and Brent Rooker had two hits a day after hitting his second game-ending home run of the season.

Greinke had been out for two weeks with a right elbow injury before being activated off the injured list prior to Tuesday’s game. The 39-year-old looked sharp while throwing 53 pitches and allowing two hits in four scoreless innings. He had five strikeouts and allowed one runner past first base.

The last-place A’s have won two straight against the Royals and four of five overall this season.

Hogan Harris (3-6) got the win despite an erratic outing in which he allowed four runs in 3 2/3 innings. Trevor May earned his 13th save.

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