Chris Bassitt threw six strong innings to remain undefeated on the road while Mitch Moreland homered twice as the visiting Oakland Athletics won their seventh straight, 17-0, to complete a three-game sweep of the Cleveland Indians on Thursday.
The All-Star Bassitt (12-3) yielded the only three hits Cleveland could muster and walked two while striking out six to improve to 8-0 away from home in 2021.
Starling Marte and Mark Canha each had three RBIs. Marte stayed hot with two more hits while Matt Olson, Sean Murphy, Elvis Andrus and Stephen Piscotty each had two RBIs for the A’s, who scored their most runs since a 21-7 victory at Houston on Sept. 10, 2019, to win for the 11th time in 13 contests.
Cleveland’s Eli Morgan (1-5) was tagged for five runs while giving up three hits, walking three and hitting two batters over four innings. The Indians, whose pitchers issued 10 walks to conclude a 3-4 homestand and allowed their most runs at home since a 17-0 loss to the Chicago Cubs on June 17, 2015, have dropped seven of 10 overall.
Mets 4, Nationals 1 (Game 1)
Marcus Stroman pitched 5 1/3 effective innings and Brandon Nimmo hit a three-run homer as New York beat visiting Washington in the first game of a doubleheader.
The Mets won consecutive games for the first time since July 21-23 and assured they will head into a stretch of 13 straight games against the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants over .500.
Stroman (8-11) allowed one run and three hits while taking a shutout into the sixth. He struck out eight, walked two and threw 85 pitches. It was his first win in four starts since his one-hitter in Cincinnati on July 21.
Mets 5, Nationals 4 (Game 2)
Pete Alonso hit a walk-off home run in the seventh inning as host New York completed a doubleheader and series sweep of Washington.
The Mets carried a 4-1 lead into the seventh inning before the Nationals tied it against Trevor May and Jeurys Familia.
But Alonso, who was hitless in 29 plate appearances entering Tuesday’s series opener, hit a one-out, sky-high fly to left off Kyle Finnegan (4-4) that just cleared the fence and the grasp of Andrew Stevenson. Alonso finished 3-for-4 in the second game and was 6-for-12 in the series.
Cardinals 7, Pirates 6
Paul DeJong and Lars Nootbaar homered as visiting St. Louis completed a three-game series sweep of Pittsburgh, holding on in the ninth for the win.
Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt each added an RBI double for the Cardinals.
St. Louis starter Wade LeBlanc allowed three runs and three hits before leaving after two innings because of left elbow pain. T.J. McFarland (2-0) replaced LeBlanc and pitched a scoreless third. Alex Reyes got his 27th save despite allowing two runs in the ninth.
Phillies 2, Dodgers 1
Bryce Harper homered, walked twice and scored two runs to help Philadelphia beat visiting Los Angeles and avoid a three-game sweep.
Phillies left-hander Ranger Suarez made just his third start of the season in 30 appearances, allowing one run in a season-high 4 1/3 innings. He surrendered three hits, struck out four and walked two to lower his ERA to 1.07. Hector Neris retired the side in order in the sixth, Archie Bradley (7-1) did the same in the seventh and eighth, and Ian Kennedy stranded the bases loaded in the ninth for his 19th save.
After Harper crushed a 421-foot home run in the first inning, the Phillies tacked on another run in the fourth when Harper and Didi Gregorius walked and Ronald Torreyes’ two-out single scored Harper.
Brewers 17, Cubs 4
Milwaukee had four innings in which it scored three runs or more as it swept a four-game series by drubbing host Chicago.
Luis Urias, Jace Peterson and Manny Pina combined for 15 RBIs, 11 runs and 13 of the Brewers’ 22 hits.
The Brewers outscored the Cubs 37-9 in the series. The slumping Cubs have now not only lost eight straight games, but they have dropped their past 10 games at Wrigley Field for the first time since setting a franchise record with 12 consecutive home losses in 1994.
Tigers 6, Orioles 4
Renato Nunez and Victor Reyes blasted two-run homers during a five-run fourth, and Detroit completed a three-game sweep of host Baltimore.
Robbie Grossman also homered for Detroit, while Jeimer Candelario had two extra-base hits and drove in a run. Willi Castro added two hits and scored a run.
Tigers starter Matt Manning (3-5) gave up three runs on eight hits but didn’t issue a walk in six innings. Michael Fulmer pitched the last two innings for his seventh save. Detroit slugger Miguel Cabrera, who hit the 499th homer of his career on Wednesday, did not play.
Mariners 3, Rangers 1
Marco Gonzales pitched a two-hit complete game and tied a career-high with nine strikeouts as Seattle defeated visiting Texas.
J.P. Crawford and Jake Fraley hit solo home runs for the Mariners, who took two of three games in the series between the American League West rivals.
Gonzales (4-5) walked one and faced the minimum of three batters in eight innings. It was the Mariners’ first complete game of the season and the first time a Seattle pitcher accomplished the feat since Gonzales did so last Aug. 31 against the Los Angeles Angels.
Rays 8, Red Sox 1
Wander Franco hit a tiebreaking two-run homer in a three-run sixth inning as Tampa Bay topped host Boston in the rubber match of a three-game series.
Mike Zunino had a three-run blast and Brandon Lowe and Manuel Margot drove in one run apiece for the Rays. Collin McHugh (4-1) earned the win after tossing two scoreless innings with three strikeouts.
With their sixth win in their last seven games, the Rays moved five games ahead of the second-place Red Sox atop the American League East standings. Rafael Devers drove in the lone run for Boston, which has dropped 12 of its last 16 games.
Reds 12, Braves 3
Jesse Winker’s grand slam — one of five Cincinnati homers — paved the way for visiting Cincinnati to beat Atlanta and end a three-game losing streak.
Cincinnati salvaged the finale of the three-game set but lost the season series to the Braves 4-3.
The Reds started the second-inning rally with two outs on a pair of singles and a walk. Winker then drove a slider from Atlanta starter Kyle Muller into the right-field stands for his second career grand slam. It was his 24th homer.
–Field Level Media