Aaron Judge blasted a pair of solo home runs to raise his season total to 59 and move within two of the single-season American League record as the visiting New York Yankees avoided a series sweep with a 12-8 comeback victory over the Milwaukee Brewers.
Judge homered in the third and again in the seventh to pull within two of the AL and Yankees team record of 61, set by Roger Maris in 1961. Judge also hit a two-run double in the ninth.
Gerrit Cole (12-7) earned the win with four hits, four runs, three walks and eight strikeouts in five innings. Hoby Milner (3-3) took the loss after earning two runs on one hit and one walk.
Milwaukee, which is two games out of the third National League wild-card spot, got two runs in the ninth on Jace Peterson’s pinch-hit ground-rule double, but the Brewers left the bases loaded.
Astros 11, Athletics 2
Framber Valdez set a single-season record for consecutive quality starts and Yordan Alvarez and Martin Maldonado drove in four runs apiece as Houston pummeled visiting Oakland.
Valdez (16-5) surrendered two runs on four hits and a walk while striking out seven in six innings to lower his season ERA to 2.57.
The Astros, runaway leaders in the American League West, lowered their magic number to clinch the division to one, with the second-place Seattle Mariners losing to the Los Angeles Angels.
White Sox 11, Tigers 5
Andrew Vaughn blasted his first career grand slam to cap a five-run outburst in the fifth inning and visiting Chicago defeated Detroit.
Eloy Jimenez had three hits, including a two-run home run, and drove in three runs. Gavin Sheets supplied two hits, two runs and two RBIs for Chicago. Tanner Banks (2-0), who pitched the last three innings and only allowed one run, was credited with the victory.
Willi Castro hit a two-run homer and Javier Baez had a solo shot for the Tigers. Detroit starter Drew Hutchison (2-9) was charged with six runs and seven hits in 4 2/3 innings.
Rays 5, Rangers 3
Christian Bethancourt and Jose Siri hit back-to-back homers in host Tampa Bay’s win over Texas.
The duo went deep in the second inning for a 2-1 lead that the Rays never relinquished.
Rookie Josh Jung was 2-for-4 with a homer, run and two RBIs, and Corey Seager also went deep for the Rangers, who had just six hits for the second straight game.
Red Sox 13, Royals 3
Rafael Devers went 4-for-6 with three RBIs while Tommy Pham and Reese McGuire were 3-for-4 as Boston cruised over visiting Kansas City.
Bookending the Boston (71-75) lineup, which recorded 20 hits, Pham drove in three runs and scored two more, and McGuire had two RBIs and scored two runs.
Xander Bogaerts (2-for-4) became the fourth Red Sox player to record 1,400 career hits before turning 30. He reached the milestone on an RBI double in the first inning.
Braves 5, Phillies 2
Robbie Grossman drove in a pair of runs to spark host Atlanta to a win and a three-game sweep over Philadelphia.
Spencer Strider fanned 10 to become the first Atlanta rookie to record 200 strikeouts in the modern era. Strider (11-5) did not allow a hit until Alec Bohm delivered a solo homer with two outs in the sixth. Center fielder Michael Harris II made a leaping effort to catch the ball and barely missed depriving Bohm of his 12th homer.
Philadelphia starter Bailey Falter went 4 2/3 innings and allowed one run on four hits and two walks with three strikeouts. Phillies first baseman Rhys Hoskins was back in the lineup after missing two games with a bruised right hand and went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.
Mets 7, Pirates 3
Brandon Nimmo had three hits, including the RBI single that snapped an eighth-inning tie, to help lift host New York past Pittsburgh.
Tomas Nido led off the eighth by singling off Robert Stephenson (2-2). Pinch runner Terrance Gore then swiped second and advanced to third on catcher Jason Delay’s throwing error. Nimmo followed with his single to shallow left. Joely Rodriguez (1-4) retired all six batters he faced to earn the win.
Cruz had two hits for the Pirates, including a game-tying three-run homer off Mets starter Jacob deGrom. deGrom struck out 13 in five-plus innings.
Marlins 3, Nationals 1
Right-hander Sandy Alcantara strengthened his case for the National League’s Cy Young Award. His fifth complete game — more than any team in the majors — led Miami past host Washington.
Garrett Cooper hit the go-ahead solo home run in the sixth inning, and Bryan De La Cruz had Miami’s two other RBI.
Helped by three double plays, Alcantara allowed one walk, striking out seven batters as he lowered his ERA from 2.43 to 2.37.
Orioles 5, Blue Jays 4
Adley Rutschman hit a go-ahead two-run single in a three-run ninth inning and visiting Baltimore defeated Toronto.
The Orioles, who turned a triple play in the third inning, salvaged the final game of the three-game series and finished a 3-2 road trip. Jordan Romano (5-4) allowed singles to pinch hitters Kyle Stowers and Ramon Urias and a walk to Cedric Mullins to open the ninth before Rutschman’s late heroics.
Felix Bautista, who earned his 14th save, walked pinch hitter Cavan Biggio with two outs in the bottom of the ninth and George Springer hit an RBI double. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. walked, but Bo Bichette grounded out to end the game. Danny Jansen and Guerrero hit solo home runs for Toronto. Aguilar hit a solo home run for Baltimore.
Twins 3, Guardians 0
Joe Ryan scattered three hits over 7 2/3 scoreless innings as visiting Minnesota snapped an eight-game losing streak to Cleveland.
Ryan (12-8), who was pulled after throwing seven no-hit innings in his previous start against Kansas City, picked up where he left off before Tyler Freeman had a single in the fifth. That ended a streak of 12 no-hit innings for Ryan dating back to his Sept. 7 start at the New York Yankees when he retired the final two batters he faced.
Ryan walked two and struck out five on Sunday while throwing 95 pitches, 64 for strikes. Cleveland’s Cody Morris (1-1), making his fourth major league start, took the loss despite allowing one run on six hits over six innings. He walked one and struck out six.
Reds 3, Cardinals 0
Luis Cessa and three relievers combined on a two-hitter as visiting Cincinnati recorded a shutout win over St. Louis.
Stuart Fairchild belted a two-run homer for the Reds, who snapped a three-game losing streak and won for just the second time in 11 games.
The Cardinals lost for just the third time in nine games.
Rockies 3, Cubs 0
Connor Joe homered and Randal Grichuk drove in two runs as host Colorado beat Chicago for a rare road series victory.
Ryan Feltner (3-8) allowed three runs over 5 1/3 innings for Colorado, which recorded just its fifth road series win of the season. Three relievers followed Feltner before Daniel Bard retired the Cubs in order in the ninth for his 32nd save in 35 opportunities.
Yan Gomes went 3-for-4 with a home run and three RBIs for Chicago, which has lost two straight following a four-game winning streak.
Padres 6, Diamondbacks 1
Yu Darvish retired the first 13 hitters he faced and Manny Machado hit a two-run home run in the first inning as visiting San Diego scored a win over Arizona.
The Padres finished the season series with three straight wins against the Diamondbacks and a 14-5 mark against Arizona (68-78). The win also moved the Padres past Philadelphia into second in the National League Wild Card race and widened their edge over Milwaukee to 2 1/2 games.
Darvish improved to 15-7. He allowed one hit and one walk with eight strikeouts over six innings. Robert Suarez and Adrian Morejon finished the game.
Angels 5, Mariners 1
Luis Rengifo homered twice and Reid Detmers threw six effective innings to lead host Los Angeles to a victory over Seattle.
The Angels also got an impressive performance from shortstop Livan Soto, just called up Saturday from Double-A Rocket City (Ala.). Soto got his first career major league hit, a single in the third, then hit his first home run, a two-run blast just inside the right field foul pole in the seventh.
Rengifo got the Angels going immediately, hitting Gonzales’ second pitch of the game for a homer. The Mariners responded against Detmers in the second, starting a two-out rally with the bases empty. Dylan Moore doubled and scored on a single by Adam Frazier, tying the game at 1.
Dodgers 4, Giants 3
Mookie Betts ignited a two-run 10th inning with an RBI double and visiting Los Angeles completed a season-series demolition of San Francisco with a victory in a rain-delayed game.
Andrew Heaney threw four shutout innings sandwiching a 20-minute delay and Justin Bruihl escaped a bases-loaded jam in the last of the 10th for his first career save, sending the Dodgers to a 3-0 series sweep and a 15th win in 19 meetings with the defending National League West champions.
The Giants got within a run in their half of the 10th when Wilmer Flores singled in automatic runner Heliot Ramos with one out, and San Francisco later loaded the bases with two outs against Andre Jackson. But Bruihl came on to retire LaMonte Wade Jr. on a full count for just the Dodgers’ fifth win in 13 extra-inning affairs this season. Craig Kimbrel (5-6), who pitched a 1-2-3 bottom of the ninth, was credited with the win.
–Field Level Media