Ian Anderson returned from the injured list to throw 5 2/3 strong innings as the Atlanta Braves cruised to a 9-0 victory over the visiting San Francisco Giants on Sunday afternoon in a battle of first-place clubs.
Anderson (6-5) had not pitched since the All-Star break, missing 39 games because of shoulder inflammation. He allowed only four hits and two walks in his first career start against the Giants. The Atlanta bullpen permitted just one hit the rest of the way to secure the team’s 15th shutout of the season.
The Atlanta offense staked Anderson to an early 3-0 lead in the fourth inning. Jorge Soler hit a long solo shot into the second deck in left field for his 20th homer and seventh since joining the Braves. Austin Riley followed with a two-run shot for his 28th homer of the season and 14th since the All-Star Game.
Those runs came against San Francisco starter Anthony DeSclafani (11-6), who made his first start since missing eight games with right ankle inflammation. The Braves have won 11 of their last 14 games, while San Francisco had its stretch of consecutive series victories end at nine.
Athletics 3, Yankees 1
Tony Kemp lined a two-out, two-run home run to break an eighth-inning tie as Oakland salvaged a split in its series with visiting New York with a second straight win.
Each team had cashed in an unearned run before Mark Canha lashed a double over the head of left fielder Joey Gallo with two outs in the eighth. Kemp, who entered as a pinch hitter an inning earlier, then smacked the next Chad Green (7-6) offering over the fence in right field for his fifth homer of the season.
Deolis Guerra (2-1), who pitched a scoreless top of the eighth, was credited with the win. Yankees starter Jordan Montgomery left after six innings, trailing 1-0, after allowing six hits. He struck out three without allowing a walk.
Phillies 7, Diamondbacks 4
Freddy Galvis drove in three runs to help Philadelphia to a win against visiting Arizona in the finale of their four-game series.
Jean Segura added two hits and scored two runs, and Bryce Harper and Rafael Marchan contributed two hits apiece for the Phillies, who won the final three games of the series.
Phillies starter Ranger Suarez (6-4) allowed one run and five hits over 5 1/3 innings to earn his first win as a starter since his major league debut on July 26, 2018. Nick Ahmed had two hits and three RBIs and Jake McCarthy collected his first two major league hits for the Diamondbacks.
Pirates 4, Cardinals 3
Yoshi Tsutsugo hit a three-run homer with one out in the ninth inning on Sunday to give Pittsburgh a dramatic win over visiting St. Louis.
With Pittsburgh trailing 3-1 against Cardinals closer Alex Reyes (5-7), Bryan Reynolds walked, Colin Moran struck out and Jacob Stallings walked before Tsutsugo launched his fifth homer, a towering shot to right, to win it. The win gave the Pirates a split in the four-game series.
Tommy Edman hit a two-run homer and doubled and scored, and Tyler O’Neill had an RBI triple for the Cardinals.
Rays 12, Orioles 8
Tampa Bay swept its series with host Baltimore to win its seventh consecutive game, the Rays’ second-longest winning streak of the season.
The Rays, who won 11 straight from May 13-24, were paced offensively by Joey Wendle, who hit a pair of home runs — including a grand slam in the seventh — with six RBIs.
Baltimore, which has now lost 22 of its past 24 games, lost 18 of 19 to the Rays this season. The Rays are 29-11 since the All-Star break.
Mets 9, Nationals 4
Javier Baez hit a long go-ahead two-run homer in the fourth inning and close friend Francisco Lindor hit a two-run double in the eighth as New York enjoyed a rare offensive outburst in a victory over visiting Washington.
Jonathan Villar contributed three hits, including a two-run homer in the sixth, as the Mets won for only the fourth time in 16 games and scored their most runs since a 15-11 win at Cincinnati on July 19.
Josh Bell recorded his sixth career multi-homer game, hitting a two-run homer off New York’s Tylor Megill (2-3) in the fourth and a solo shot in the eighth. Juan Soto also connected for a solo homer — and those home runs represented all three of the Nationals’ hits.
Marlins 2, Reds 1
Jesus Luzardo allowed just one hit in six scoreless innings and rookie Jesus Sanchez homered in the first inning for the second straight game, leading host Miami over Cincinnati.
It was the second straight loss for the Reds. Cincinnati managed just two hits off three Marlins pitchers, including a double by the game’s first batter, Jonathan India.
Luzardo (5-7) dominated after that, tying his career high with eight strikeouts while allowing just one walk. Acquired from the Oakland Athletics last month, Luzardo had struggled in his previous five starts with the Marlins, posting a 9.67 ERA while allowing 12.5 hits and 6.9 walks per nine innings.
Blue Jays 2, Tigers 1
Kevin Smith hit his first major league home run, Jose Berrios tossed seven dominant innings and visiting Toronto downed Detroit.
Bo Bichette also homered for Toronto among three hits. Berrios (9-7) only allowed an unearned run while striking out 11. Tim Mayza got the last four outs to collect his first career save.
Detroit starter Matthew Boyd (3-7), making his first start since coming off the 60-day injured list, gave up two runs on four hits and struck out five in four innings.
Indians 7, Red Sox 5
Yu Chang plated the go-ahead run with an eighth-inning double after Austin Hedges hit a tying home run as Cleveland rallied past visiting Boston to avoid a three-game sweep.
Hedges’ seventh homer of the season tied the game at 5-5. Oscar Mercado singled and was awarded home plate on Chang’s double after Red Sox second baseman Yairo Munoz interfered with him on the base path. Myles Straw tacked on an RBI single to make it a two-run game.
Jose Ramirez had a solo home run and two RBIs and Wilson Ramos knocked a two-run single for Cleveland, which returned to .500 with its sixth win in nine games. Rafael Devers hit a pair of solo homers and Bobby Dalbec had a solo shot for Boston, which had its three-game winning streak snapped.
White Sox 13, Cubs 1
Luis Robert homered twice, Brian Goodwin, Eloy Jimenez and Yasmani Grandal added one home run apiece, and the Chicago White Sox cruised past the visiting Chicago Cubs.
Jose Abreu added a two-run double for the White Sox, who won two of three games in the series. Abreu surpassed 100 RBIs for the sixth time in eight seasons.
Frank Schwindel hit a solo home run for the Cubs, who fell to 1-5 against their crosstown rivals in 2021.
Rangers 13, Astros 2
Adolis Garcia’s grand slam highlighted an eight-run fifth inning as Texas rolled over visiting Houston at Arlington, Texas.
Garcia finished with three hits and five RBIs, while DJ Peters also homered during the breakout fifth and recorded three RBIs to help the Rangers snap a four-game skid. The Rangers avoided being swept in this three-game set and snapped a five-game home slide.
Zack Greinke (11-5) was roughed up for six runs and yielded nine hits over four-plus innings for Houston, which saw its four-game winning streak come to a halt. Yordan Alvarez homered while Jake Meyers had an RBI for the Astros.
Brewers 6, Twins 2
Rowdy Tellez belted a three-run homer as Milwaukee snapped a three-game losing streak with a victory over Minnesota in Minneapolis.
Luis Urias also went deep and Kolten Wong had two doubles and two RBIs for Milwaukee. Christian Yelich and Jackie Bradley Jr. each added a double and had two hits for the Brewers, who extended their National League Central lead to 8 1/2 games over Cincinnati.
Miguel Sano homered for the fourth time in the last eight games and Josh Donaldson also had two hits for Minnesota, which won four of the six meetings with Milwaukee.
Rockies 5, Dodgers 0
C.J. Cron stayed red hot with a home run and Antonio Senzatela pitched seven shutout innings as visiting Colorado won just its second road series of the season in beating Los Angeles.
Cron’s three-run home run in the first inning was his 10th in August alone and also increased his major league-leading RBI total for the month to 33. Senzatela (3-9), who entered with a career 7.08 ERA against the Dodgers, gave up just two hits with a walk and five strikeouts.
Despite the loss, the Dodgers are still 17-4 since Aug. 7, but two of those defeats came over a three-day span to the Rockies. Colorado has just 17 road victories this season, tied with the Arizona Diamondbacks for the fewest in the National League.
Mariners 4, Royals 3
Kyle Seager hit a two-run home run with two outs in the seventh inning to break a tie and lead host Seattle to a victory over Kansas City, despite another home run by the Royals’ Salvador Perez.
Jarred Kelenic also homered and left-hander Marco Gonzales (6-5) pitched seven strong innings for Seattle, which salvaged the finale of the four-game series.
Perez homered for a fifth consecutive game, eclipsing his previous career best set in 2017. It was his 38th of the season.
–Field Level Media