Major league-leading Rays get 3 home runs, beat Brewers 8-4

Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco (5) celebrates with center fielder Jose Siri after the team defeated the Milwaukee Brewers during a baseball game Saturday, May 20, 2023, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Harold Ramírez, Yandy Díaz and Christian Bethancourt homered, and the major league-leading Tampa Bay Rays beat the Milwaukee Brewers 8-4 on Saturday.

Zach Eflin (6-1) allowed three runs, four hits and struck out eight for the Rays (34-14), who improved to 21-3 at home this season. Despite the great start, the Rays hold just a 3 1/2 game lead over Baltimore (30-16) in the tough AL East.

Jason Adam entered with two on in the ninth and retired both his batters to get his sixth save.

The Brewers (24-21), tied with Pittsburgh for first in the NL Central, got homers from Owen Miller and Brian Anderson. Milwaukee has lost four of five.

ORIOLES 6, BLUE JAYS 5, 10 INNINGS

TORONTO (AP) — Ryan Mountcastle scored the go-ahead run in the 10th inning when third baseman Matt Chapman’s throw hit him in the back on Austin Hays’ grounder, and Baltimore became the second team to reach 30 wins.

Ryan O’Hearn tied his career high with four RBIs, including a three-run homer in the eighth off Jordan Romano that tied the score 5-5. Cedric Mullins hit a solo homer as the Orioles (30-16) won for the fourth time in five games.

George Springer hit a two-run home run and Danny Jansen hit a solo homer for the Blue Jays. Toronto has lost three straight and five of six since sweeping a three-game series against Atlanta last weekend.

Félix Bautista (3-1) pitched the last two innings and struck out his final four batters.

RANGERS 11, ROCKIES 5

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Corey Seager had a two-run home run among three hits and Jon Gray won in his first start against his former club as Texas (28-17) is one win short of the franchise’s best record through the first 45 games.

The Rangers, averaging a major league-best 6.20 runs per game, knocked out Kyle Freeland (4-5) after two innings — scoring four runs in each. Freeland allowed six earned runs and nine hits with no strikeouts.

Gray (4-1), who spent his first seven big-league seasons with Colorado before signing with Texas in December 2021, allowed one run and five hits in five innings, throwing 93 pitches. He struck out six and walked two.

YANKEES 7, REDS 4, 10 INNINGS

CINCINNATI (AP) — Aaron Judge had a go-ahead single in the 10th inning for his fourth hit of the game, and New York beat Cincinnati after cutting outfielder Aaron Hicks.

New York overcame a 4-1 deficit in a three-run fifth inning against Luke Weaver on Isiah Kiner-Falefa’s homer, Judge’s RBI double off the left-field wall and Anthony Rizzo’s run-scoring single.

Greg Allen opened the 10th as the automatic runner on second. He advanced on Gleyber Torres’ flyout and scored on Judge’s single off Ian Gibaut (3-1). Anthony Rizzo followed with a two-run homer.

Clay Holmes (2-2) allowed a walk in a scoreless ninth, and Ryan Weber pitched the 10th to give the Yankees seven pitchers with saves, the most of any big league team.

RED SOX 4, PADRES 2

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Emmanuel Valdez hit a three-run homer and Chris Sale allowed just three hits — two of them home runs — in seven innings and Boston sent San Diego to its fourth straight loss and 11th in 13 games.

The 34-year-old Sale (4-2) had his fourth strong start and helped the Red Sox win their fourth straight game. The lefty allowed homers to Juan Soto and Fernando Tatis Jr. but otherwise shut down a superstar-studded offense with baseball’s third-highest payroll that continues to look lost at the plate.

Sale got all the backing he needed when Valdez drove a pitch from Joe Musgrove (1-2) several rows into the right field seats with one out in the second, his third. Sale allowed Soto’s shot to right-center leading off the second, his eighth, and Tatis’ 440-foot shot into the second deck in left leading off the sixth, his seventh.

Kenley Jansen, who blew each of his previous two save opportunities, walked two in the ninth before closing it out for his 10th save and first since he earned his 400th career save on May 10.

ASTROS 3, ATHLETICS 2

HOUSTON (AP) — Yordan Alvarez hit a tiebreaking home run in the eighth inning to propel Houston over Oakland.

The game was tied at 2-2 with no outs in the eighth when Alvarez sent a pitch from Richard Lovelady (0-2) into the seats in right field for his team-leading 10th homer this season.

Jose Altuve doubled in a two-run first inning for Houston for his first hit of the year after going 0 for 4 in his season debut Friday night. Altuve missed the first 43 games after fracturing his right thumb in the World Baseball Classic.

Hector Neris (3-1) allowed one hit in a scoreless eighth for the win. Ryan Pressly pitched a scoreless ninth for his eighth save.

DIAMONDBACKS 4, PIRATES 3

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pavin Smith hit a go-ahead, two-run homer in the seventh inning to lift Arizona over Pittsburgh.

Smith’s third homer of the season came off Robert Stephenson (0-2) and helped the Diamondbacks overcome a 3-2 deficit after Pirates ace Mitch Keller was pulled following six strong innings.

Ketel Marte also homered for Arizona, which won for the sixth time in its last eight games.

Ke’Bryan Hayes accounted for all the Pirates’ scoring with a bases-loaded triple that brought home two runs. He has back-to-back games with at least three RBIs for the first time in his career.

The home run made a winner of Kyle Nelson (4-1), who retired three batters after relieving rookie starter Brandon Pfaadt. Miguel Castro worked around a leadoff walk to Rodolfo Castro in the ninth for his fourth save.

MARLINS 1, GIANTS 0

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Braxton Garrett and three relievers combined on a three-hitter, and Miami scored an unearned run in the eighth inning on a Jon Berti single to beat San Francisco.

Miami scored in the eighth against Tyler Rogers (0-4). Garrett Hampson reached on third baseman J.D. Davis’s fielding error, Xavier Edwards sacrificed and Berti followed with a single past first baseman LaMonte Wade Jr.

Garrett allowed one hit in 6 1/3 innings, a single to Thairo Estrada on his first pitch of the day. He walked one and struck out eight for the second straight start, matching his season high.

J.T. Chargois (1-0) got two outs for the win.

PHILLIES 12, CUBS 3

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Aaron Nola (4-3) struck out 10 in seven sharp innings, Kyle Schwarber hit a grand slam and Philadelphia snapped a five-game losing streak.

Kody Clemens also went deep in Philadelphia’s six-run first inning, and Bryce Harper singled, doubled, walked twice and had an RBI for the defending NL champs. The Phillies had scored a total of 11 runs in losing seven in a row to the Cubs before eclipsing that just in Saturday’s outburst.

Dansby Swanson and Christopher Morel homered for Chicago.

Singles by Bryson Stott and Nick Castellanos and Harper’s walk loaded the bases with no outs against Jameson Taillon (0-3). Taillon threw 10 balls in his first 15 pitches. After an out, Schwarber launched his fifth career grand slam 435 feet into the second deck in right field.

NATIONALS 5, TIGERS 2

WASHINGTON (AP) — Patrick Corbin won consecutive starts for the first time since last summer and Lane Thomas had a go-ahead, two-run single in the fifth inning that stopped Washington’s four-game losing streak.

Corbin (3-5) allowed two runs and six hits in six innings against the Tigers, the only big league team he had never faced. He struck out three, reaching 1,500 in his career when he fanned Jonathan Scoop in the sixth.

Carl Edwards Jr., Hunter Harvey and Kyle Finnegan finished with hitless relief, with Finnegan getting his ninth save in 11 chances to finish a game that took 2 hours, 3 minutes.

Jeimer Candelario homered and hit a run-scoring double for Washington, which fell behind when Spencer Torkelson hit a two-run homer in the first.

Alex Faedo (0-2) gave up three runs and five hits in five innings. Detroit had won three of four.

WHITE SOX 5, ROYALS 1

CHICAGO (AP) — Jake Burger hit a three-run double in the sixth inning, helping Lucas Giolito and Chicago beat Kansas City.

Yoán Moncada had two RBIs as Chicago won for the fourth time in five games. Andrew Benintendi and Luis Robert Jr. each scored two runs.

Giolito (3-3) permitted one run and six hits in six innings. The right-hander has a 2.66 ERA his last eight starts.

Salvador Pérez hit his 10th homer in Kansas City’s sixth loss in eight games. Pérez finished with three hits.

Royals right-hander Jordan Lyles (0-8) was charged with five runs, four earned, and four hits in five-plus innings.

CARDINALS 6, DODGERS 5

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Nolan Gorman hit a tiebreaking, three-run homer (1-1) off Victor González in the eighth following an intentional walk to Paul Goldschmidt.

Giovany Gallegos relieved Ryan Helsley (2-2) in a two-run ninth and threw a called third strike past Mookie Betts to strand the potential tying run on second and get his fourth save.

St. Louis (20-27) has won 10 of 13 following an eight-game losing streak and moved into fourth place in the NL Central, percentage points ahead of Cincinnati (19-26). J.D. Martinez hit a tying, three-run homer for the Dodgers.

MARINERS 7, BRAVES 3

ATLANTA (AP) — Logan Gilbert (2-2) gave up Matt Olson’s two-run homer in the first inning, then retired 15 consecutive hitters.

Eugenio Suárez hit a two-run homer for the Mariners and J.P. Crawford had two hits, including a run-scoring single in a three-run fourth. Taylor Trammell hit an RBI single in the fourth against Michael Tonkin (3-2).

TWINS 6, ANGELS 2

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Joey Gallo homered for the fourth time in seven games, his 11th this season.

Shohei Ohtani hit his 11th home run of the season for the Angels, a night before he takes a 5-1 record to the mound for the rubber game.

Louie Varland (2-0) gave up two runs and six hits in five innings.

Patrick Sandoval (3-3) allowed three runs, five hits and four walks in 4 2/3 innings.

___

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports