Salvador Perez etched his name into Kansas City Royals history Saturday, and Nick Loftin provided the winning blow as the visiting Royals edged the Detroit Tigers 3-2.
In the seventh inning, Perez launched his 318th career home run, moving him past Hall of Famer George Brett to become the franchise’s all-time home run leader. The blast also marked Perez’s 31st career homer against Detroit specifically.
With the game knotted at 2-2 heading into the ninth, Loftin stepped up and drove an 0-2 offering from Jacob Waguespack (0-1) over the left field wall to give Kansas City the lead for good. Detroit’s Riley Greene opened the bottom of the ninth with a single, but the Tigers could not push the tying run across the plate, ending their three-game winning streak in the process.
For Detroit, Hao-Yu Lee accounted for both runs, contributing a double and a solo home run. Tigers starter Casey Mize held the Royals to one run on three hits across six innings of work. Kansas City’s Michael Wacha went seven innings, surrendering two runs on six hits.
Padres 7, Marlins 2
Ty France drove in three runs as visiting San Diego handed Miami its franchise-record-tying 11th consecutive loss in the middle game of their three-game series. Jackson Merrill collected two doubles and a single while scoring twice, and Jake Cronenworth added a single, two walks, an RBI and two runs scored for the Padres. San Diego’s Randy Vasquez and JP Sears (3-3) combined to limit the Marlins to one run on two hits over six innings. Esteury Ruiz had two hits and scored both Miami runs. Eury Perez (5-8) went seven innings before Dax Fulton gave up four runs in the final two frames. Miami has suffered 11-game losing streaks three other times in team history, most recently in June 2011.
Yankees 3, Phillies 1
Austin Wells and Jasson Dominguez each went deep, and Ryan Weathers pitched into the sixth inning as New York continued Philadelphia’s post-All-Star break struggles. Cody Bellinger drove in the go-ahead run for the Yankees, who have now won five of their last six. Weathers (4-7) gave up one run and six hits over 5 2/3 innings, walking one and striking out seven. He allowed a run in the first after hitting Trea Turner, giving up a double to Kyle Schwarber and then surrendering Bryce Harper’s sacrifice fly. Philadelphia used opener Tim Mayza for two scoreless innings before 32-year-old Brian Keller made his big league debut, allowing one run over three innings. Seven pitchers total took the mound for the Phillies, who fell to 2-6 since the All-Star break.
Dodgers 4, Mets 3
Kyle Tucker homered for the second game in a row and Yoshinobu Yamamoto held New York to just one run over six innings as Los Angeles claimed its fourth straight victory by beating the host Mets. Tucker led off the third with a 392-foot home run off Nolan McLean (7-7) that struck the right field foul pole — his first homer since June 27 before Friday’s game. Bo Bichette went 2-for-5, and Tyrone Taylor delivered a pinch-hit two-run double for New York. Yamamoto (11-6) struck out five and allowed five hits and three walks, securing his eighth win in his last 10 starts.
Nationals 5, Diamondbacks 3
CJ Abrams collected three hits including a home run, Foster Griffin pitched into the seventh and Washington snapped visiting Arizona’s four-game winning streak. Abrams tied the game with a two-run double in the third, then hit his 25th homer in the fifth to give him a major league-leading 79 RBIs. He also singled and stole his 17th base. Griffin (12-2), who could be making his final start for Washington with the trade deadline approaching, allowed three runs on six hits after surrendering exactly one run in each of his previous eight outings. Clayton Beeter worked a 1-2-3 ninth for his ninth save.
Giants 9, Angels 2
Jung Hoo Lee hit a three-run homer as part of a five-run third inning, Rafael Devers went deep for the second day in a row and host San Francisco made it two consecutive wins over Los Angeles. Robbie Ray (9-6) tossed six shutout innings for the Giants. Lee’s blast capped a big third inning that started with hits from Luis Arraez and Heliot Ramos, followed by RBI singles from Devers and Casey Schmitt. Arraez singled again in the fourth before Devers launched a three-run shot to push the lead to 9-0. Angels starter Ryan Johnson (2-5) was pulled one out into the fourth, charged with eight runs on eight hits in 3 1/3 innings. Los Angeles avoided a shutout in the seventh when Mike Trout grounded into a bases-loaded double play, scoring Jose Siri.
Blue Jays 6, Red Sox 0
Dylan Cease threw a one-hitter and George Springer crushed a three-run home run as visiting Toronto blanked Boston. Cease (7-5), who took a no-hitter into the ninth against San Francisco on July 8, allowed just four Red Sox batters to reach base. He was perfect until walking Caleb Durbin with two outs in the fifth and did not surrender a hit through five innings. Boston starter Sonny Gray (12-2) gave up five runs on 10 hits over five innings, striking out three without issuing a walk on 75 pitches. Boston is 11-2 in its last 13 games against the American League East and has won 16 of its last 18.
Orioles 3, Braves 2
Dylan Beavers singled home the winning run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth as Baltimore defeated visiting Atlanta. Gunnar Henderson added his 18th homer to help the Orioles even the series at one game each after failing to protect a late lead for the second straight day. Brandon Young gave up one run on four hits over 6 1/3 innings. Ozzie Albies homered for the Braves, who lost for just the third time in their last 10 games, as Didier Fuentes (4-1) suffered his first loss of the season in his 35th appearance.
Cubs 11, Pirates 0
Pete Crow-Armstrong put together a remarkable performance — going 4-for-5 with three runs, two doubles, a two-run home run, three RBIs and a stolen base — to power Chicago past host Pittsburgh. Dansby Swanson chipped in two hits, two runs and an RBI, while Miguel Amaya scored twice and drove in two. Michael Busch went 3-for-6 with two RBIs and Seiya Suzuki also knocked in two in the Cubs’ 16-hit attack. Shota Imanaga (7-8) threw six shutout innings on four hits, and Javier Assad earned his first career save with three scoreless frames. Pirates starter Paul Skenes (9-9) allowed five runs on six hits, walked two and struck out 11 in 5 1/3 innings.
Rays 3, Guardians 0
Nick Martinez threw six shutout innings and Yandy Diaz recorded his 1,000th career hit as Tampa Bay shut out Cleveland in St. Petersburg. Martinez (10-2) allowed four singles with no walks and five strikeouts, lowering his ERA to 2.45, second-best in the American League. Bryan Baker worked around a one-out single in the ninth for his 27th save. Diaz lined a leadoff single to right field in the first inning against Tanner Bibee (4-10), becoming the fourth player in franchise history to reach 1,000 hits with the team. Cleveland has lost four straight and scored just four combined runs over its last three games.
Brewers 8, Rockies 5
Rookie Cooper Pratt homered and drove in three runs, Robert Gasser pitched six solid innings and host Milwaukee topped Colorado. Luis Lara had two hits and three RBIs, Jake Bauers contributed two hits and scored three times, and Brice Turang added two hits for the Brewers. Gasser (3-4) allowed two runs on five hits without issuing a walk. Jake McCarthy extended his on-base streak to 19 games with a single and Kyle Karros had two hits for Colorado.
Astros 4, White Sox 1
Hunter Brown allowed just two hits over seven shutout innings and Isaac Paredes drove in three runs as Houston won at Chicago. Jeremy Pena went 3-for-4 with two runs scored for the Astros, who have now won five in a row. A three-run sixth inning broke the game open, fueled by Paredes’ RBI single and a fielding error by Braden Montgomery. Brown (2-1) retired the final 12 batters he faced, and Josh Hader got the last two outs for his 12th save. Chicago managed five hits and scored its only run in the ninth on Colson Montgomery’s RBI single, having lost three of its last four. Sean Burke (7-5) worked five scoreless innings before giving up three runs in the sixth.
Twins 2, Athletics 0
Alan Roden delivered a two-run single in the sixth inning to provide all the offense Minnesota needed in a low-scoring win over the Athletics in Minneapolis. Ryan Kreidler doubled and stole a base for the Twins, who evened the series at one win apiece. Left-hander Taylor Rogers (6-3) earned the win with two scoreless relief innings, following starter Kendrys Rojas, who gave up just one hit in four shutout frames. Jeff McNeil accounted for two of the Athletics’ three hits with a pair of doubles. Bulk reliever Mason Barnett (1-1) surrendered both runs on four hits over 3 1/3 innings.
Rangers 7, Mariners 1
Nathan Eovaldi delivered seven strong innings as Texas beat Seattle in Arlington, extending its lead over the defending American League West champion to 2.5 games. The Rangers’ top three hitters — Joc Pederson, Wyatt Langford and Ezequiel Duran — combined to go 8-for-13 with three doubles, a triple, three RBIs and four runs. Eovaldi (10-8) allowed one run on three hits, walked one and struck out eight. Texas scored three in the first and two more in the second against Seattle’s Bryan Woo (7-7), who gave up five runs on nine hits over five innings. Woo fell to 1-7 in road games this season with a 6.52 ERA.
Cardinals 7, Reds 0
St. Louis erupted for six runs in the sixth inning to back right-hander Andre Pallante in a shutout win over visiting Cincinnati. Alec Burleson, Ivan Herrera and Blaze Jordan all delivered key hits for the Cardinals, who entered having dropped seven of their last nine. Pallante (11-6) held the Reds to two hits over seven innings, finishing with eight strikeouts — one short of his career best. St. Louis scored an unearned run in the first against Cincinnati’s Hunter Greene before tagging him for seven runs on eight hits over 5 1/3 innings in the sixth. The Reds loaded the bases with no outs in the ninth but failed to score, falling victim to two strikeouts and a groundout.
