Verlander earns win No. 250
NEW YORK – Justin Verlander earned his 250th career victory in what could be his final start for New York, as the Mets defeated Washington, 5-2, on Sunday at Citi Field.
Francisco Lindor homered and had three hits for the fourth-place Mets, who took three of four from last-place Washington. Pete Alonso drove in two runs.
Verlander (6-5) allowed one run in 5 1/3 innings to become the 49th major league pitcher to reach 250 wins.
Alonso had an RBI single and lifted one of New York’s two sacrifice flies in a three-run third against former teammate Trevor Williams (5-6).
Lindor homered in consecutive games for the fourth time this year. He reached base four times. Jeff McNeil hit a go-ahead triple and Omar Narváez also had a sacrifice fly in the third.
Braves 9, Brewers 6: Matt Olson drove in five runs with two homers, including a go-ahead, two-run blast in the eighth, and the Atlanta Braves beat the Milwaukee Brewers to cap their sweep of the high-scoring series.
Orlando Arcia led off the eighth with a double to left field off Joel Payamps (4-2). With one out, Olson’s 35th homer landed in the Atlanta bullpen in right-center, giving the Braves the lead. It was the first earned runs allowed by Payamps, who took a 1.68 ERA into the game, since June 8.
Kirby Yates (5-0) pitched a scoreless eighth. Raisel Iglesias earned his 20th save by striking out the side in the ninth.
Reds 9, Dodgers 0: Elly De La Cruz, Joey Votto and Matt McLain homered, and Cincinnati took over sole possession of first place in the NL Central.
De La Cruz went 4 for 5 and scored twice as the Reds rapped out 14 hits in taking two of three from the NL West-leading Dodgers. It was LA’s worst loss since a 15-0 defeat to San Francisco on June 17.
Graham Ashcraft (6-7) scattered five hits over six innings and struck out two.
Dodgers starter Michael Grove (2-3) got hit hard over the first three innings. Grove gave up eight runs and 10 hits in six innings.
Padres 5, Rangers 3: Gary Sanchez homered twice, Juan Soto doubled in Fernando Tatis Jr. from first base and left-hander Blake Snell had another strong start for San Diego, who beat Texas for a three-game sweep.
Josh Hader retired Josh Jung with the bases loaded in the ninth inning for his 25th save in 29 chances.
Snell (8-8), who has been mentioned as a trade possibility, along with Hader, lowered his big league-leading ERA to 2.50 by holding the Rangers to an unearned run and four hits in five innings. He struck out nine and walked four. The only run he allowed came on his throwing error in the fourth.
Cardinals 3, Cubs 0: Steven Matz and two relievers combined on a five-hitter, and St. Louis snapped Chicago’s eight-game winning streak.
Tyler O’Neill, Andrew Knizner and Paul Goldschmidt drove in runs in the first two innings for the Cardinals before the pitchers took it from there.
Matz (2-7) allowed four hits in six innings with two strikeouts and no walks. He has not allowed an earned run over his last two starts, covering 12 innings. Giovanny Gallegos tossed two hitless innings. JoJo Romero threw a scoreless ninth to pick up his first save.
St. Louis salvaged the final game of the four-game set and had lost its previous six home games to the Cubs.
American League
Rays 8, Astros 2: Brandon Lowe hit a two-run homer and drove in three, Josh Lowe capped a four-run first with a three-run double and Tampa Bay beat Houston.
The Rays got to Houston starter Brandon Bielak (5-6) for four runs in the first, with Yandy Díaz scoring on a fielding error by José Abreu before Josh Lowe hit his three-run double. Bielak allowed six runs – three earned – on eight hits with four strikeouts in five innings.
Zack Littell (1-2), making his fourth start of the season, yielded two runs on eight hits with four strikeouts in a career-high five innings.
Angels 3, Blue Jays 2, 10 innings: Hunter Renfroe hit a two-run home run in the 10th inning and Los Angeles beat Toronto to avoid a three-game sweep.
Renfroe’s 17th home run of the season came off Blue Jays right-hander Yimi García (3-4). It was the Angels’ first hit with a runner in scoring position in the series. Renfroe went 3 for 4 and drove in all three runs.
Carlos Estévez (5-1) pitched the final two innings for the win. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. drove in automatic runner Bo Bichette with a leadoff single in the 10th, but the Blue Jays couldn’t tie it.
Royals 2, Twins 1: Freddy Fermin hit a homer, Maikel Garcia had an RBI double, Ryan Yarbrough gave up one run over seven innings and Kansas City completed a sweep of Minnesota.
Yarbrough (4-5) had his best start of the season going seven innings, allowing one earned run and giving up seven hits while fanning five.
Kenta Maeda (2-6) went five innings and gave up two earned runs on four hits and struck out seven. It’s the first time in over a month that the Twins lost a game he started.
Guardians 5, White Sox 0: José Ramírez homered twice and drove in three runs, helping Aaron Civale and Cleveland earned a split of the four-game series.
Steven Kwan also homered in manager Terry Francona’s 1,927th win, breaking a tie with Casey Stengel for 13th on the career list.
Civale (5-2), a potential trade target ahead of Tuesday’s deadline, pitched six innings in his second straight win. He allowed three hits, struck out four and walked two.
White Sox right-hander Michael Kopech (4-10) allowed three runs and four hits in five innings. He struck out two and walked five.
Interleague
Giants 4, Red Sox 3, 10 innings: Joc Pederson singled in Patrick Bailey in the 10th inning, and San Francisco earned its first home series win against Boston since 2004.
Bailey began the inning at second base. After Casey Schmitt was hit by a pitch from Mauricio Llovera (1-1), Brandon Crawford attempted to sacrifice the runners over. But Boston catcher Connor Wong was unable to field the ball and Crawford reached on an infield single. Pederson then lined a 1-2 sinker from Llovera into right field.
Boston missed a chance to take the lead in the top of the 10th when Tristan Beck (2-0) got Yu Chang to strike out swinging with two runners on.
Marlins 8, Tigers 6: Garrett Cooper and Jean Segura homered, newly acquired relievers Jorge López and David Robertson played key roles and Miami beat Detroit.
López (5-2) got the last two outs in the seventh and Robertson closed with a perfect ninth in his Marlins debut for his 16th save.
Tigers star slugger Miguel Cabrera doubled and walked in his last appearance in Miami. The 40-year-old Cabrera, who will retire at the end of the season, played his first five seasons with the Marlins. He was replaced for a pinch-runner after reaching on a walk in the seventh and received one final round of cheers.
Mariners 4, Diamondbacks 0: Luis Castillo threw six sharp innings, J.P. Crawford connected for a solo homer and Seattle took two of three games in the weekend series.
Castillo (7-7) gave up just two hits, striking out seven and walking one while throwing 102 pitches. The right-hander has a 2.88 ERA this season.
Crawford homered in the second – his ninth long ball of the season – to make it 3-0. The shortstop added a double in the ninth and scored for the third time on Eugenio Suárez’s single.
Rockies 2, Athletics 0: Ty Blach tossed five strong innings, Ryan McMahon had two hits and drove in both runs, and Colorado salvaged the final game of the series.
Matt Koch, Brent Suter and Daniel Bard each pitched an inning before Justin Lawrence capped the shutout with a clean ninth to earn his eighth save.
Ramón Laureano had two hits and Luis Medina (3-8) allowed two runs in 5 1/3 innings for the Athletics.
Blach (1-0), making his second straight start, went a season-high five innings and threw just 11 balls in his 52 pitches.