Right-hander Dylan Cease pitched a one-hit shutout, falling one out short of a no-hitter, and Elvis Andrus launched a grand slam as the host Chicago White Sox routed the Minnesota Twins 13-0 on Saturday night.
Cease narrowly missed the 21st no-hitter in club history, allowing a single to American League batting leader Luis Arraez with two outs in the ninth. Also the major league leader in walks, Cease (13-6) issued free passes to Jake Cave leading off the third inning and Gilberto Celestino in the sixth in addition to striking out seven.
The White Sox scored four runs in the first inning against Twins starter Tyler Mahle, three on a home run by Eloy Jimenez to right-center field. White Sox rookie Romy Gonzalez connected for a three-run home run in the fourth, his first homer in the majors.
Mahle recovered to retire six of the next seven batters he faced to close an abbreviated night. Making his first appearance since landing on the injured list with right shoulder inflammation, Mahle (6-8) allowed four runs and five hits in two innings while throwing 37 pitches. He left the game after aggravating the injury.
Giants 5, Phillies 4
Joc Pederson continued his RBI rampage with three more and San Francisco made it two straight wins over visiting Philadelphia.
After two lead changes and four ties, the Giants scored what proved to be the difference-making run when Pederson drew a two-out, bases-loaded walk from Brad Hand (3-2) for a 5-4 lead in the sixth.
Bryson Stott and Jean Segura had big games for the Phillies. Stott had a homer, two singles and three runs, while Segura slashed two doubles, a single and notched two RBIs.
Red Sox 5, Rangers 3
Brayan Bello pitched six shutout innings and Rafael Devers drove in two runs as Boston held on to beat visiting Texas.
Bello (1-4) allowed just three hits and a walk while striking out five en route to his first career major league win, leading Boston to its fourth consecutive triumph.
Devers, Xander Bogaerts and Trevor Story all went 2-for-4. Bogaerts scored twice, while Story hit two doubles to reach 20 on the season. Devers hit a run-scoring double in the first inning to ignite Boston’s offense, reaching base for a seventh straight plate appearance since breaking a career-long 0-for-24 skid on Thursday.
Rays 2, Yankees 1
Corey Kluber pitched seven stellar innings and host Tampa Bay moved within four games of slumping New York in the American League East with a victory.
The Rays won their fifth straight and are their closest to the lead since May 11. Tampa Bay improved to 16-4 since Aug. 13. Yandy Diaz hit a two-run single off New York fill-in starter Clarke Schmidt (5-4) as the Rays beat the Yankees for the fourth time in the past five meetings. New York is 1-6 in its past seven games.
Aaron Judge hit his major-league-leading 52nd homer leading off the ninth, matching his career high from his rookie season in 2017. Schmidt allowed two runs on four hits in 4 1/3 innings. He struck out two and walked none.
Royals 12, Tigers 2
Four Kansas City players hit home runs in their win in Detroit.
MJ Melendez went 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs for Kansas City. Nick Pratto went 2-for-4 with a home run, Bobby Witt Jr. had a three-run home run, Kyle Isbel hit a grand slam and Nick Eaton went 4-for-5 with two RBIs to lead the Royals’ 15-hit attack.
Jonathan Heasley (3-7) pitched seven innings to earn the win, allowing two runs and eight hits.
Nationals 7, Mets 1
Luis Garcia had four hits, including a home run, and Lane Thomas homered as part of his three-hit night to lead Washington past host New York.
Patrick Corbin, who leads the majors in losses, had one of his best outings of the season. The left-hander (6-17) allowed just a run on three hits with five strikeouts and a walk in seven innings before being relieved by Carl Edwards Jr. in the bottom of the eighth.
Mets starter Max Scherzer didn’t factor in the decision after allowing a run on three hits with five strikeouts and a walk in five innings before being relieved by Tommy Hunter. Scherzer was seeking to join Justin Verlander (242 wins) and Zack Greinke (223) as the lone active pitchers with at least 200 victories.
Blue Jays 4, Pirates 1
Bo Bichette hit a tiebreaking three-run double in the seventh inning to lift visiting Toronto to a win over Pittsburgh.
The Blue Jays have won 11 of 16 as they fight for one of the final playoff spots in the American League. Toronto went with a bullpen game, with Trevor Richards opening. He pitched two scoreless innings, giving up one hit and no walks, with three strikeouts. Yimi Garcia (4-4) pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings, and Jordan Romano pitched the ninth for his 29th save.
Oneil Cruz hit an RBI triple for the Pirates, who have lost three straight and 17 of 21. Pittsburgh starter Roansy Contreras allowed one run and four hits in six innings, with five strikeouts and two walks, while Duane Underwood Jr. (1-4) took the loss.
Cardinals 8, Cubs 4
Yadier Molina hit a three-run double and Paul Goldschmidt laced a two-run homer as St. Louis rallied past visiting Chicago.
Tommy Edman and Tyler O’Neill hit solo homers for the National League Central-leading Cardinals, who won for the sixth time in seven games. They improved to 44-22 at home and 37-20 within their division.
Cardinals starting pitcher Adam Wainwright (10-9) allowed four runs on nine hits and two walks in five innings. Wainwright and Molina made their 323rd career start as battery mates, one behind Bill Freehan and Mickey Lolich of the Detroit Tigers for most in baseball history.
Orioles 8, Athletics 1
Ryan Mountcastle hit a pair of two-run homers and Baltimore defeated visiting Oakland for its fourth straight win.
Cedric Mullins, Anthony Santander and Adley Rutschman also went deep as the Orioles matched their season high with five home runs.
Baltimore starter Austin Voth was lifted after 70 pitches with the bases loaded and one out in the fourth, and Keegan Akin (3-1) worked two scoreless innings for the win.
Mariners 4, Guardians 0
Robbie Ray threw six shutout innings to help visiting Seattle to a win over Cleveland.
Ray (12-8) allowed six hits, struck out three and didn’t walk a batter in the middle game of the three-game series. It was the reigning AL Cy Young winner’s second consecutive appearance against the Guardians, having blanked them on three hits over seven innings in a 4-0 win on Aug. 28.
Ty France homered for the Mariners, who have won six in a row to tighten their grip on an AL wild-card spot. Steven Kwan and Owen Miller had two hits each for the Guardians, who have combined for one run while losing their past four games but remain a game ahead of the Minnesota Twins for first place in the AL Central.
Braves 2, Marlins 1
Robbie Grossman drew a walk-off walk and Austin Riley homered for his fourth straight game, leading Atlanta past visiting Miami.
Working against reliever Steven Okert (5-2) in the ninth inning, Matt Olson singled and reached third on Michael Harris II’s one-out double. After Vaughn Grissom was intentionally walked and Travis d’Arnaud lined out, Grossman took a 3-1 pitch low.
Miami’s Edward Cabrera allowed just four hits and one run while striking out seven batters in five innings. However, he walked three batters, driving up his pitch count (98) and forcing his early exit.
Dodgers 12, Padres 1
Mookie Betts set his career high for home runs in a season and Julio Urias went six strong innings as Los Angeles earned a victory over visiting San Diego to end a three-game losing streak.
Trea Turner, Justin Turner and Will Smith also hit home runs as the Dodgers improved to 24-8 since July 31 despite their recent skid.
Manny Machado hit a home run for the Padres, while starter Sean Manaea (7-8) was roughed up for eight runs on nine hits and three home runs over 4 1/3 innings. San Diego saw its four-game winning streak come to an end.
Brewers 8, Diamondbacks 6 (10 innings)
Tyrone Taylor hit a pair of homers — including a two-run blast in the top of the 10th inning — as Milwaukee rallied to beat host Arizona.
After dropping the first two games of the four-game set, Milwaukee trailed 6-5 with one out in the ninth inning before pinch hitter Rowdy Tellez deposited a solo homer into the center field seats against Ian Kennedy.
Taylor had three hits and scored three runs, and he capped the comeback with his leadoff homer in the 10th against Joe Mantiply (2-5), scoring automatic runner Esteury Ruiz. Devin Williams (6-3) pitched a scoreless ninth inning for the win, and Taylor Rogers picked up his 30th save.
Angels 2, Astros 1 (12 innings)
Matt Duffy’s two-out single in the bottom of the 12th inning drove home Taylor Ward from second base to lift Los Angeles over Houston in Anaheim, Calif.
Duffy hit a full-count pitch from Astros reliever Seth Martinez into shallow right-center, where center fielder Mauricio Dubon made a diving attempt to catch the ball. A replay review confirmed that Dubon short-hopped the ball, giving the Angels the win.
Angels reliever Ryan Tepera (3-2) pitched a scoreless 12th inning to get the victory over Will Smith (0-2). Tepera and the Angels escaped a jam in the top of the 12th. The Astros had runners on the corners with no outs when they hit into a double play, but the runner was unable to score from third, and the next batter was retired to end the threat.
–Field Level Media
