Will Smith hit a pinch-hit walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth inning as the Los Angeles Dodgers avoided a three-game sweep at the hands of the visiting Arizona Diamondbacks with a 5-4 victory on Sunday.
Right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto matched a career high with 10 strikeouts and tied a season high with seven innings, while Freddie Freeman had an RBI double in the first inning and Andy Pages drove in two runs as the Dodgers went 4-2 on the just-completed homestand.
Yamamoto gave up one run on four hits without a walk as he helped Los Angeles avoid a series sweep for his second consecutive start.
Smith’s pinch-hit home run to lead off the ninth came against Diamondbacks right-hander John Curtiss (2-1). Adrian Del Castillo drove in a run for Arizona and had two hits, while right-hander Brandon Pfaadt gave up four runs on eight hits over 4 1/3 innings.
Rockies 6, Cubs 5
Mickey Moniak lined a triple into the right field corner to drive in Ryan Ritter and give Colorado the walk-off win over Chicago in Denver.
Tanner Gordon allowed five hits and two runs over six innings while striking out nine — the most for a Rockies starter this season. Orlando Arcia posted three hits while Braxton Fulford and Ritter notched two apiece. Juan Mejia (2-1) threw a perfect ninth.
Cubs starter Matthew Boyd gave up six hits and four runs in six innings, but Ian Happ roped a three-run homer in the eighth to forge a 5-5 tie before Daniel Palencia (1-5) gave up Moniak’s game-winner. Kyle Tucker contributed three hits and Seiya Suzuki drove in two runs.
Reds 7, Cardinals 4
Austin Hays hit a tie-breaking two-run home run in the fifth inning to help host Cincinnati end a five-game losing streak with a win over St. Louis.
Winner Brady Singer (12-9) went six innings, giving up five hits and three runs. The right-hander struck out eight and had no walks in 102 pitches. It was Singer’s 13th quality start and the Reds have won 11 of those games. Matt McLain also homered for Cincinnati for the 13th time, and second time in two games, in the bottom of the eighth.
Cardinals starter Andre Pallante (6-13) took the loss, going five innings, allowing six hits and five runs, only two of which were earned. St. Louis rookie catcher Jimmy Crooks recorded his first major league hit with a leadoff home run in the seventh.
Blue Jays 8, Brewers 4
Nathan Lukes and Myles Straw each had two RBIs to help Toronto defeat visiting Milwaukee and salvage the finale of a three-game series.
Blue Jays starter Max Scherzer was removed from the game due to upper back tightness, but five relievers scattered four hits without a walk over five scoreless innings.
William Contreras hit a two-run home run and Brice Turang added a solo shot for the Brewers. Contreras finished with three RBIs and Jackson Chourio added four hits for Milwaukee.
Red Sox 5, Pirates 2
Jarren Duran’s three-run, inside-the-park home run punctuated a four-run fifth inning, helping Boston salvage its weekend series with a win over visiting Pittsburgh.
Duran reached base in all four of his plate appearances, going 2-for-2 with a double and two walks alongside the home. Nathaniel Lowe also had two hits as the Red Sox supported starter Lucas Giolito (10-2), who worked around five walks to finish six innings of three-hit, one-run ball with six strikeouts.
Alexander Canario was 2-for-4 with a homer for Pittsburgh. Mitch Keller (6-13) allowed four unearned runs, but struck out seven and gave up four hits.
Rays 7, Nationals 4
Brandon Lowe hit a grand slam, Josh Lowe had two hits and Tampa Bay defeated host Washington, completing a much-needed three-game sweep. The Rays play their next seven games against Seattle and Cleveland, two teams ahead of them in the American League wild-card race.
Tampa Bay starter Ian Seymour (3-0) allowed four runs (one earned) over five innings while striking out eight with one walk. Pete Fairbanks pitched the ninth for his 24th save. Brandon Lowe has homered in three of his past four games while driving in eight runs.
Brady House and Daylen Lile each had two hits for the Nationals, who struck out 16 times while losing their eighth straight game.
Twins 7, Padres 2
Byron Buxton went 2-for-5 with a homer, a double and two RBIs, and Minnesota pulled away against San Diego to win the rubber match of the three-game series.
Twins right-hander Joe Ryan (13-7) tossed seven scoreless innings to earn the victory. He limited the Padres to five hits, walked one and struck out eight. Royce Lewis finished 2-for-4 with a pair of RBIs for Minnesota. Luke Keaschall added an RBI and scored two runs.
Freddy Fermin doubled and drove in a run for San Diego. Bryce Johnson also had an RBI.
Marlins 5, Mets 1
Sandy Alcantara continued his post All-Star break turnaround by pitching seven stellar innings, and visiting Miami earned a series victory over New York.
Alcantara (8-11) allowed one run on four hits while completing seven innings for a season-high third straight outing. He had just two seven-inning starts all season before this streak.
Kodai Senga (7-6) allowed five runs on seven hits in 4 2/3 innings for the Mets. The right-hander struck out six, walked two and did not complete five innings for the sixth time in nine starts since returning from a hamstring injury on July 11.
Mariners 4, Guardians 2
Julio Rodriguez connected for a go-ahead two-run RBI single in the seventh to help Seattle rally for a 4-2 win and avoid a sweep against host Cleveland.
Starting pitcher Bryce Miller (4-5) allowed two runs on two hits and struck out three in six innings for the Mariners, who had lost three of their past four games. Andres Munoz got the Guardians out in order in the ninth for save No. 32. Randy Arozarena crushed his 26th home run of the season, a two-run shot to supply the other two runs for Seattle.
Tanner Bibee (9-11) was tagged for four runs on six hits with four strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings for Cleveland, which had its four-game winning streak snapped.
Angels 3, Astros 0
Jose Soriano allowed just one hit over seven innings to lead visiting Los Angeles past Houston.
Soriano (10-9) fanned eight and walked three during his eighth scoreless start this season. Oswald Peraza poked a solo homer in the fifth while Mike Trout’s second double of the day drove in an insurance run in the eighth.
Astros ace Hunter Brown (10-7) allowed just one run and three hits over six innings. Yordan Alvarez singled off Soriano in the first and Ramon Urias doubled in the eighth. On Urias’ hit, Angels left fielder Taylor Ward crashed face-first into the metal out-of-town scoreboard and was taken to a local hospital for observation.
White Sox 3, Yankees 2
Lenyn Sosa went 2-for-4 and hit a go-ahead solo home run in the eighth inning to lift host Chicago to a victory against New York.
The White Sox salvaged the finale of the four-game series to stop a five-game losing streak while ending the Yankees’ season-best winning streak at seven. Mike Vasil recorded his third save, retiring the final three after Cam Booser walked the leadoff hitter in the ninth.
Aaron Judge went 3-for-5 and finished a triple short of the cycle for the Yankees. His first-inning homer was the 358th of his career, tying Hall of Fame catcher Yogi Berra for fifth in franchise history. New York starter Luis Gil worked 5 1/3 innings of two-run, four-hit ball with two walks and seven strikeouts.
Rangers 9, Athletics 6
Jacob deGrom threw five scoreless innings and Joc Pederson homered and drove in three runs to help Texas post a victory over the Athletics and complete a three-game sweep in West Sacramento, Calif.
deGrom (11-6) allowed just two hits, while striking out six and walking one for the Rangers, who won their fifth straight game and their eighth in nine tries. Josh Smith went 2-for-2 and reached on three walks in the leadoff spot for Texas.
J.T. Ginn (2-6) threw six innings for the Athletics, allowing five runs on five hits, striking out seven and walking a pair. Jacob Wilson went 3-for-5 with two RBIs for the A’s, who dropped their third straight after a three-game winning streak.
Tigers 5, Royals 0
Tarik Skubal allowed four hits over seven strong innings and backup catcher Jake Rogers’ two-run triple highlighted a four-run fifth as Detroit blanked host Kansas City.
Colt Keith and Gleyber Torres also drove in runs as the Tigers took the rubber match of the three-game set.
Maikel Garcia had two doubles for the Royals, who are trying to reach wild-card position in the American League and had won five consecutive home series. Bobby Witt Jr. went 0-for-4 to see his 18-game hitting streak come to an end.
Giants 13, Orioles 2
Justin Verlander (3-10) worked a laborious five innings to earn his third win of the season, Rafael Devers did the heaviest offensive lifting with three hits, including a home run, and San Francisco blasted Baltimore in the finale of a high-scoring, three-game series.
Rookie Drew Gilbert had his first three-hit game, featuring his first triple, and Heliot Ramos lashed three singles for the Giants, who sandwiched Saturday’s 11-1 loss with 15-8 and 13-2 triumphs.
Gunnar Henderson, Ryan Mountcastle and Luis Vazquez had two hits each for the Orioles, who lost for the ninth time in their last 11 games.
