PCA’s first walk-off lifts Cubs past White Sox
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CHICAGO (AP) -- Pete Crow-Armstrong hit his first career walk-off homer, a two-run shot in the 10th inning, and the Chicago Cubs rallied for a 7-5 win over the crosstown White Sox Monday night at Wrigley Field.
The All-Star center fielder and MVP contender hit his fifth leadoff homer of the season to start the game. Then he ended it when he led off the 10th by driving a 2-1 slider from Hagen Smith (2-1) deep into the right-field patio area. It was the 30th homer of the season for Crow-Armstrong, one short of his career best from last year. With 31 stolen bases this year, he also has back-to-back 30-30 seasons.
Crow-Amstrong took his left hand off the bat after he connected and pointed it skyward as he began walking down the first-base line. He turned toward the dugout and celebrated before starting his slow, exuberant home run trot.
Seiya Suzuki also homered for the Cubs and Jacob Webb (5-2) left the bases loaded in the top of the 10th to set the stage for Crow-Armstrong, who drove in automatic runner Carson Kelly. The Cubs’ leadoff batter finished 4 for 5 with a walk.
The Cubs snapped a two-game skid and ended the White Sox’s three-game winning streak. Randal Grichuk and Andrew Benintendi homered for the White Sox, who had won six of eight and took two of three from the Cubs on the South side earlier this season.
Nico Hoerner’s RBI single tied the game in the bottom of the ninth. In the eighth, pinch-hitter Benintendi sent Ryan Zeferjahn’s first offering into the right-field basket for a two-run homer to give the White Sox a 5-4 lead.
Crow-Armstrong drove Luis Castillo’s first pitch down the right-field line and out. Suzuki belted one to deep left center four pitches later. Grichuk’s three-run homer, his 10th, put the White Sox ahead 3-2 in the fourth.
Cubs starter Shota Imanaga allowed three runs on two hits and struck out 10 -- one off his season high -- in six innings.
DODGERS 11, ROCKIES 5
DENVER (AP) -- Shohei Ohtani homered twice to help spark a slumping Dodgers offense, Blake Snell struck out five over six innings, and Los Angeles beat the Colorado Rockies 11-5 on Monday night.
Max Muncy added a three-run homer as the Dodgers found the perfect way to break out of their recent funk -- playing at hitter friendly Coors Field. They entered Monday averaging 3.4 runs per game over a stretch that saw them lose 11 of 16.
The 11 runs were the most by LA since a 12-7 win over San Diego on July 2.
Snell (1-1) allowed two hits and one run in his second start since returning from elbow surgery that sidelined him for three months. The lefty ran his scoreless innings streak against the Rockies to 27 before allowing a run in the third. Colorado scored on three walks and a fielder’s choice.
Muncy extended the lead to 5-0 in the third with a homer that went an estimated distance of 461 feet. Ohtani had a solo shot in the fifth and a two-run homer in the sixth. He finished 4 for 5.
Ohtani has now hit safely in 21 straight games at Coors Field. Over the streak, he has nine homers and 24 RBIs while hitting .413.
Tomoyuki Sugano (12-6) lasted five innings and allowed six runs. The righty continues to struggle against his fellow countryman Ohtani, who went 2 for 3 against Sugano with a homer. He’s now 7 for 11 with four homers when facing Sugano.
Infielder/outfielder Troy Johnston pitched a scoreless ninth that included a walk and hitting Tommy Edman. Dodgers reliever Edwin Díaz gave up three runs in the ninth.
TWINS 4, BRAVES 2
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Josh Bell’s two-run double started the scoring in a four-run first inning, and the Minnesota Twins held on to beat the Atlanta Braves 4-2 on Tuesday night.
The first six batters reached against Atlanta starter Martín Pérez (8-7), with the first four in the order scoring. Bell’s flare down the right-field line fell just inside the chalk and bounced into the stands for a ground-rule double. Royce Lewis and Kody Clemens followed with RBI singles.
Bell and Clemens each finished with a pair of hits for Minnesota, which let a five-run lead slip away Sunday in a 7-5 loss to Philadelphia for a three-game Phillies sweep. The bullpen made the lead stand this time after starter Bailey Ober could only last 4 1/3 innings.
Ronald Acuña Jr.’s two-run single chased Ober in the fifth, but left-hander Taylor Rogers retired lefty batters Matt Olson and Michael Harris II to end the inning.
Travis Adams (3-0) pitched two perfect innings with three strikeouts. Jeff Hoffman allowed two runners in the eighth but escaped the jam, in part, due to Clemens making a diving stop on a hard grounder by Harris. Yoendrys Gómez walked the leadoff batter in the ninth but picked up his 17th save in as many chances after the Twins failed to score with the bases loaded and no outs in the bottom of the eighth.
Pérez, who had pitched 18 straight scoreless innings, surrendered nine hits and two walks in five innings, striking out three.
The game’s start was delayed 51 minutes, but no rain fell.
PHILLIES 6, MARLINS 5
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Cristopher Sánchez struck out six over six solid innings and became baseball’s first 16-game winner as the Philadelphia Phillies outlasted the Miami Marlins 6-5 on Monday night.
Sánchez (16-4) allowed one run on eight hits for the Phillies (68-58), who moved into the second NL wild-card spot, one game ahead of San Diego.
The Marlins scored two runs on an unusual play in the seventh inning that led to manager Clayton McCullough being ejected. With the bases loaded, Javier Sanoja hit a low, opposite-field line drive that landed on the foul line in the outfield grass just past first base.
The hit was initially declared foul. Phillies right fielder Bryce Harper didn’t field the ball, and all three runners crossed the plate. After a replay review, umpires ruled it fair but declared that only two runners scored, getting Miami within 4-3.
McCullough argued that the call cost the Marlins a run and was tossed. It was one of four times Miami moved within one run but could not take the lead. Brian Navarreto hit his first homer of the season, a solo shot off Brooks Raley in the eighth inning to get the Marlins within 5-4.
Phillies closer Jhoan Duran gave up an RBI single to Otto Lopez in the ninth but retired the next two batters for his 27th save.
The Phillies backed Sánchez in the third inning when they sent eight batters to the plate and scored twice. Trea Turner and Luis Arraez each hit RBI singles off Marlins starter Janson Junk (6-8).
Philadelphia nearly turned an around-the-horn triple play in the fifth on Heriberto Hernández’s sharp grounder to third with runners on first and second. Hernández just beat second baseman Arraez’s relay throw at first.
RED SOX 11, D-BACKS 1
BOSTON (AP) -- Willson Contreras and Mickey Gasper homered, all nine Boston starters drove in at least one, and the Red Sox dismantled the Arizona Diamondbacks 11-1 on Monday night in the first game of a three-game series.
Boston, which scored in six straight innings, did not have a strikeout in the game and finished with 16 hits to maintain a six-game lead for the second AL wild card.
Brayan Bello (5-6) worked 4 2/3 innings of relief, striking out three and allowing a run on three hits. Bello has a 0.85 ERA in 11 relief appearances (52 2/3 innings) this season.
Wyatt Olds made his major league debut for Boston and got his first career strikeout.
Boston jumped to a 4-0 lead after four innings as Eli White and Caleb Durbin drove in runs with singles, while Nick Sogard and Ceddanne Rafaela added RBI doubles.
Boston stretched its lead to 7-0 in the fifth on Contreras’ 342-foot homer, Andruw Monasterio’s sacrifice fly and Gasper’s RBI groundout.
Arizona got on the board with Geraldo Perdomo’s sacrifice fly in the sixth.
Wilyer Abreu and Adley Rutschman answered with RBI hits before Gasper’s first Red Sox homer sneaked around Pesky’s Pole in the seventh and Abreu hit an RBI single.
Mitch Bratt (1-2) pitched three innings of three-run ball for Arizona. Zack Littell gave up the final eight runs on 11 hits without a strikeout.
METS 2, PADRES 1
NEW YORK (AP) -- Right fielder Carson Benge threw out two San Diego Padres runners at home plate on consecutive plays in the first inning, fellow rookie A.J. Ewing cut down another from left field moments later, and the New York Mets held on for a 2-1 victory Monday night.
Nolan McLean recovered from a shaky start to last six effective innings as the last-place Mets (57-69) won their fourth straight game. They are a major league-best 10-3 since selling big at the Aug. 3 trade deadline.
Bo Bichette had an RBI single in the first, Luis Robert Jr. added a sacrifice fly and New York cooled off the Padres, who are one game ahead of Arizona for the final National League wild card.
San Diego is 17-6 since July 24, the top record in the majors during that stretch.
McLean (9-8) gave up six hits and walked four. He allowed seven straight batters to reach base and needed 45 pitches to get through the first two innings. But thanks in large part to his outfielders, the rookie right-hander limited the damage to a deep sacrifice fly by Fernando Tatis Jr. with the bases loaded in the second that made it 2-1.
Ewing ended the inning when he threw out Xander Bogaerts at home plate on Jake Cronenworth’s single.
Jonathan Pintaro got four outs in relief and Nate Lavender retired both batters he faced. With new closer Kodai Senga receiving a rest, Daniel Duarte struck out two in the ninth for his third career save and second this season.
Padres starter Walker Buehler (7-6) gave up two hits -- both singles in the first -- and two walks over six innings. He struck out four and retired his last 10 batters.
The early throws by Benge and Ewing made the Mets the only major league team since at least 1920 with three outfield assists at the plate in the first two innings of a game, according to SNY.
RAYS 7, ORIOLES 6
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) -- Pinch-hitter Jonny DeLuca put the Rays in front with a two-run single in the seventh inning, and AL-best Tampa Bay rallied for a 7-6 win over the Baltimore Orioles on Monday night to avoid a four-game sweep.
Yandy Díaz, Ryan Vilade and Jorge Mateo homered for Tampa Bay. Mateo’s two-run shot with two out in the fourth was his first for the Rays and gave them a 4-3 lead.
Coby Mayo hit a 468-foot homer, and Pete Alonso and Christian Encarnacion-Strand also went deep for Baltimore (61-64), which moved into the AL’s third wild-card spot by taking the first three games against its division rival at Tropicana Field.
Jonathan Aranda’s RBI single against Yennier Cano (2-3) got the Rays within 6-5 in the seventh. After Junior Caminero hit an infield single to load the bases, Josh Walker came in and gave up DeLuca’s go-ahead single to center, the last of four lead changes in the game.
All-Star Bryan Baker got the final five outs for his majors-leading 35th save. Left-hander Cam Booser (1-0) struck out the side in the seventh and earned his first win in a Rays uniform.
Alonso tied it at 4-all with his homer in the fifth, and Encarnacion-Strand made it 6-4 with his two-run shot in the sixth. He finished with three hits and four RBIs.
Reinstated Monday from the injured list, Rays starter Shane McClanahan made just one big mistake, a fastball down the middle that Mayo crushed to left in the second. Manager Kevin Cash lifted McClanahan with one out in the fourth, opting not to push the left-hander. Casey Legumina came in and allowed two inherited runners to score on a single by Encarnacion-Strand.
ROYALS 9, ATHLETICS 5
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Bobby Witt Jr. had a two-run homer, an RBI double and scored four times, leading the Kansas City Royals to a 9-5 victory over the Athletics on Monday night.
Witt’s 15th home run of the year was an estimated 390 feet to left-center field to give Kansas City a 5-1 lead. He added the double in the eighth inning.
After falling behind when Jeff McNeil homered on the first pitch of the game, the Royals went ahead when Maikel Garcia hit an RBI single and Salvador Perez added a two-run single to make it 3-1.
Jac Caglinone hit two RBI singles for the Royals, one in the sixth and the other in the eighth to make it 9-4. Kyle Isbel added one in the third.
Michael Wacha (6-8) pitched the first five innings for the Royals. He gave up six hits, four earned runs and struck out three. Steven Cruz earned his fourth save of the season, getting the Royals out of the game after Lucas Erceg failed to record an out and loaded the bases.
Tommy White and Brian Serven both hit home runs in the fifth inning for the A’s. White’s solo shot went 401 feet into left center and Serven’s two-run homer cut it to 6-4.
Mason Barnett (1-3) pitched 2 2/3 innings, giving up seven hits and six earned runs. He walked four and struck out two.