Juan Soto delivered when it mattered most, connecting for a decisive seventh-inning home run that lifted the New York Mets to a 5-4 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday, preventing a series sweep at home.
Soto finished the day with two hits in four at-bats, while Bo Bichette and Jared Young both launched home runs in the opening frame to give the Mets an early advantage.
New York starter Christian Scott struggled through 4 2/3 innings, surrendering four runs on seven hits before giving way to the bullpen. Brooks Raley (2-1) earned the victory with a clean seventh inning, and Devin Williams closed out the game with a perfect ninth for his ninth save of the season.
The Cardinals got home runs from Alec Burleson, Lars Nootbaar and Jimmy Crooks, but their six-game winning streak came to an end. Burleson’s homer extended his hitting streak to 11 consecutive games. JoJo Romero (0-2) took the loss after allowing Soto’s go-ahead blast.
In Los Angeles, Shohei Ohtani continued his hot streak with another home run, his second in consecutive games, as the Dodgers defeated Pittsburgh 8-6. Ohtani reached base four times before leaving the game with left knee inflammation.
Dodgers starter Justin Wrobleski departed in the fifth after taking a line drive off his leg and colliding with a runner at first base, resulting in a right hamstring contusion. Manager Dave Roberts minimized concerns about both injuries after the game. Kyle Tucker and Miguel Rojas each contributed two RBIs for Los Angeles, which captured the series finale.
Pittsburgh’s Rafael Flores Jr. recorded his first major league home run, while he and Jake Mangum each added RBI doubles in the eighth inning. Pirates starter Mitch Keller (5-4) allowed five runs on seven hits over four innings.
Detroit dominated Minnesota 11-0, with Colt Keith launching his first homer of the season and driving in three runs as the Tigers secured their third consecutive series win at home.
The Tigers’ offensive explosion included home runs from Spencer Torkelson, Wenceel Perez, Riley Greene, Gleyber Torres and Zach McKinstry. Dillon Dingler contributed three hits and scored once. Keider Montero (3-4) limited the Twins to four hits across 6 1/3 innings, with Tyler Holton and Beau Brieske completing the shutout.
Minnesota starter Zebby Matthews (2-4) was tagged for seven runs and nine hits, including three homers, over six innings. Royce Lewis collected two of the Twins’ five hits.
Miami extended its winning streak to five games with a 2-0 shutout victory over Arizona at home. Tyler Phillips threw five-plus scoreless innings to improve to 1-1, allowing just two hits and two walks while striking out five batters. His ERA dropped to 1.86.
Xavier Edwards drove in the game’s first run with a sacrifice fly in the opening inning, and Jakob Marsee added an RBI single in the fourth. The Marlins have now won eight of their last nine contests. Merrill Kelly (5-5) gave up two runs on four hits in six innings for Arizona, which has been shut out in consecutive games and holds a 3-10 record over its past 13 outings.
Chicago salvaged the final game of its series in Denver, defeating Colorado 9-3 behind Seiya Suzuki’s grand slam. Alex Bregman and Carson Kelly also went deep for the Cubs.
Pete Crow-Armstrong and Michael Busch each recorded two hits to support Edward Cabrera (4-3), who allowed two runs on five hits in 5 1/3 innings. Brett Sullivan had a career day for the Rockies with two home runs and a single, marking his first multi-homer performance. Cole Carrigg hit his first career home run and added a single, while Troy Johnston collected three hits and Willi Castro singled twice.
Texas returned to .500 for the first time since May 1 with a 4-2 victory over Kansas City, despite a rain delay that lasted 2 hours and 20 minutes. Corey Seager homered for the Rangers, who won the series rubber match and have taken three of their last four games.
Ezequiel Duran went 2-for-4 with two runs scored, and Brandon Nimmo finished 2-for-4 with an RBI for Texas. Reliever Jacob Latz (2-1) struck out three batters over two hitless innings to earn the win. Kansas City starter Michael Wacha (4-5) surrendered four runs and nine hits in seven innings.
Baltimore split its four-game series with Seattle, winning 7-5 as Adley Rutschman drove in three runs. Colton Cowser and Pete Alonso homered for the Orioles, who have won two straight after a four-game losing streak.
Tyler Wells (1-1) picked up the victory with three innings of hitless relief work, while Andrew Kittredge earned his first save of the season with a scoreless ninth. Cole Young led off the game with a home run and finished with three hits for Seattle, while Julio Rodriguez added two hits. The Mariners also got back-to-back homers from Luke Raley and Dominic Canzone. Bryan Woo (5-5) lasted five innings, allowing seven runs and seven hits.
