Four major league baseball teams experienced the thrill of walk-off victories Friday night, with dramatic home runs deciding contests across the country.
In Pittsburgh, Bryan Reynolds delivered a two-run blast in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Pirates a 6-5 victory over the Minnesota Twins. Reynolds connected with one out against Taylor Rogers (1-2) for his second career game-ending homer.
Oneil Cruz also homered for Pittsburgh, while Gregory Soto (4-0) earned the win with a scoreless ninth inning. Pirates starter Jared Jones made his return after being sidelined 20 months following elbow surgery, surrendering five runs in 4 1/3 innings.
For Minnesota, Trevor Larnach and Kody Clemens went deep, but the Twins dropped their third consecutive game. Taj Bradley allowed four runs over four innings in the loss.
White Sox 4, Tigers 3 (10 innings)
Miguel Vargas connected for a two-run homer in the 10th inning off Drew Anderson to lift host Chicago over Detroit. The White Sox have now won three straight games despite losing slugger Munetaka Murakami to hamstring tightness in the third inning.
Chicago forced extra innings through aggressive baserunning in the ninth after being stymied by Tigers starter Troy Melton. Bryan Hudson (3-1) took the loss after allowing an unearned run in the 10th on a Zack Short sacrifice fly.
Detroit has now lost three straight and 11 of their last 13 games. Anderson (2-2) surrendered the fourth walk-off homer against the Tigers this season. Riley Greene collected two singles for Detroit, which was outhit 10-4.
Mets 9, Marlins 7 (10 innings)
MJ Melendez launched his first career walk-off home run as New York overcame a blown four-run lead to defeat visiting Miami. Austin Warren (1-1) delivered a perfect 10th inning, stranding automatic runner Jakob Marsee at third base.
Freddy Peralta surrendered four runs (two earned) on seven hits over 4 2/3 innings for the Mets, who captured their second straight victory following a six-game slide.
Owen Caissie tied the game with a two-run homer in the eighth for Miami, which has dropped three consecutive contests. Max Meyer gave up six runs (five earned) on six hits over six innings.
Rockies 8, Giants 6
Hunter Goodman and Ezequiel Tovar homered during a five-run ninth inning rally as Colorado stunned San Francisco in Denver. Goodman’s three-run shot off Caleb Kilian (1-3) knotted the score, and three batters later, Tovar delivered the game-winning two-run blast.
Willi Castro, Jake McCarthy, Tyler Freeman, Goodman and Tovar each collected two hits for Colorado. Juan Mejia (1-4) earned the victory for the Rockies, who ended a five-game losing streak.
Jung Hoo Lee recorded four hits and scored twice for San Francisco, which has lost four in a row. Logan Webb made his first appearance since May 5, lasting 4 1/3 innings after returning from right knee bursitis. He allowed one run on three hits.
Blue Jays 6, Orioles 5
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. drove in two runs with a go-ahead double in the eighth inning as Toronto erased a five-run deficit to shock host Baltimore. Charles McAdoo homered in his major league debut, while Kazuma Okamoto also went deep during the comeback.
The Blue Jays have won eight of their past 10 games. Toronto reliever Mason Fluharty (3-0) threw 1 1/3 hitless innings, and Braydon Fisher earned his first career save despite a two-out error in the ninth.
Jackson Holliday, Pete Alonso and Samuel Basallo hit solo homers for Baltimore, which has lost back-to-back games to Toronto following a three-game sweep of the American League-best Tampa Bay Rays.
Cardinals 6, Cubs 5
Ivan Herrera belted a go-ahead solo homer in the fifth inning as host St. Louis defeated Chicago to snap a four-game skid. Nelson Velazquez hit a three-run homer in his Cardinals debut, and Thomas Saggese also went deep.
St. Louis used seven pitchers, with reliever Gordon Graceffo (4-1) earning the win and Riley O’Brien recording his 14th save. The Cubs’ Ian Happ homered for the third straight game, connecting for a three-run blast in the first inning. Shota Imanaga (4-6) allowed three homers and five runs in 5 1/3 innings.
Additional Friday results included Milwaukee defeating Houston 5-4 in 10 innings, Los Angeles Dodgers beating Philadelphia 4-2, Texas routing Kansas City 9-1, San Diego rallying past Washington 7-5, New York Yankees crushing Oakland 8-2, Seattle edging Arizona 7-6 in 10 innings, Tampa Bay stopping Los Angeles Angels 8-5, Atlanta topping Cincinnati 8-3, and Cleveland defeating Boston 4-3.
