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A's rout Astros, move into first-place tie
August 18, 2018
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) Trevor Cahill pitched one-hit ball for seven shutout innings and the Oakland Athletics, far behind in the AL West standings earlier this summer, tied Houston for the division lead by beating the Astros 7-1 Saturday.
Khris Davis, Matt Olson, Josh Phegley and Stephen Piscotty each hit two of Oakland's team record-tying eight doubles as the A's won for the sixth time in seven games. The Athletics trailed the defending World Series champion Astros by 11 1/2 games on June 24 and were still 10 out on July 10.
Houston has lost seven of eight and dropped 12 of 19 since owning a six-game lead on July 24. The next day, reigning AL MVP Jose Altuve went on the disabled list, and the star second baseman is still out.
Cahill (5-2) struck out seven, walked one and retired 14 straight batters during one stretch.
Tony Kemp homered in the ninth for Houston's only other hit. Dallas Keuchel (9-10) gave up five runs in 5 2/3 innings.
ROCKIES 5, BRAVES 3, 10 INNINGS
ATLANTA (AP) - Colorado struck for three runs with two outs in the ninth inning, and then DJ LeMahieu homered over the center field wall in the 10th to help beat Atlanta.
Fill-in closer A.J. Minter came in with a 3-0 lead to begin the ninth and retired the first two Colorado batters. But the Rockies followed with four straight hits off him, including a two-run double by Ian Desmond and a tying single by pinch-hitter Gerardo Parra.
LeMahieu hit his 10th homer with one out in the 10th off Luke Jackson (1-1). Carlos Gonzalez followed with a double and scored on Nolan Arenado's single.
The Braves stranded a runner at third base in the ninth when Adam Ottavino (5-2) struck out Dansby Swanson to end the inning. Wade Davis pitched the 10th for his 34th save.
The Rockies have won the first three games of the four-game series to stay close to NL West-leading Arizona. The NL East-leading Braves remained one-half game ahead of second-place Philadelphia.
YANKEES 11, BLUE JAYS 6
NEW YORK (AP) - Giancarlo Stanton hit one of New York's four homers, and Luis Severino struck out eight while pitching into the sixth inning.
Didi Gregorius, Miguel Andujar and Greg Bird also connected as New York moved 31 games over .500, matching a season high. Andujar had three hits and three RBIs, and Gregorius also drove in three runs.
Toronto has lost three straight and four of six. Billy McKinney, who came over when the Blue Jays traded J.A. Happ to the Yankees last month, had two hits and two RBIs against his former team, but Sean Reid-Foley (0-2) was hit hard in his second major league start.
Severino (16-6) won for just the second time in his last seven starts. The All-Star right-hander allowed two runs and six hits in five-plus innings.
CARDINALS 7, BREWERS 2
ST. LOUIS (AP) - Marcell Ozuna homered, Miles Mikolas tossed six effective innings and St. Louis beat Milwaukee to slide into position for the second NL wild card.
St. Louis moved a half-game ahead of Milwaukee and within four of the first-place Chicago Cubs in the NL Central.
The Cardinals, who are a half-game behind wild card-leading Philadelphia, have won 10 of their last 11 and captured their seventh straight series after winning the opener of the three-game set on Friday.
Travis Shaw and Christian Yelich homered for the Brewers, who have lost six of eight.
Ozuna hit his 15th homer of the season in the second off Wade Miley (2-2).
Mikolas (13-3) gave up one run on five hits. He struck out seven and did not walk a batter in winning his fifth consecutive decision.
METS 3, PHILLIES 1
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Mets ace Jacob deGrom pitched his first complete game of the season and lowered his major league-leading ERA to 1.71.
DeGrom (8-7) allowed only an unearned run, the result of his own error. He struck out nine and walked none.
It appeared that deGrom's day might be cut short due to a 41-minute rain delay that began in the middle of the fourth. But the right-hander came back after the stoppage as strong as before it.
Philadelphia's Jake Arrieta (9-8) allowed one run and four hits in six strong innings.
Rhys Hoskins and Maikel Franco each doubled among their two hits for the Phillies, who began the day a half-game behind Atlanta in the NL East and leading the NL wild-card race.
RED SOX 5, RAYS 2
BOSTON (AP) - David Price pitched seven solid innings, J.D. Martinez hit his major league-leading 38th homer, and Boston jumped to a quick lead to beat Tampa Bay for its 17th victory in 20 games.
Mitch Moreland added an RBI double during Boston's four-run first inning. The Red Sox improved to a season-high 52 games over .500 and maintained their 10+-game lead over the second-place New York Yankees in the AL East.
C.J. Cron hit a two-run homer for the Rays.
Price (13-6) gave up two runs on five hits, striking out eight, walking two and hitting a batter. He is 3-0 with a 1.35 ERA in his five starts since the All-Star break.
Tyler Glasnow (0-1), making his fourth start since being acquired from Pittsburgh at the non-waiver trading deadline, gave up five runs, four earned, and three hits. He walked three and struck out four in 6 2/3 innings.
Craig Kimbrel got the final three outs for his 37th save.
MARLINS 7, NATIONALS 5, 10 INNINGS
WASHINGTON (AP) - Isaac Galloway hit a two-run single in the 10th inning, JT Riddle homered and drove in four runs and Miami beat Washington.
The Nationals intentionally walked Riddle to load the bases with two outs in the 10th. Galloway delivered with a hit to center off Koda Glover (0-2).
Both teams scored in the ninth. Riddle's drive into the right-field stands off Nationals reliever Justin Miller put Miami up 5-4. Washington's Adam Eaton tied it with a homer off Drew Steckenrider leading off the bottom of the inning.
Trea Turner homered and drove in three runs for the Nationals.
Steckenrider (4-2) blew the save but finished the ninth to pick up the win. Brett Graves recorded the final three outs for his first career save.
ORIOLES 4, INDIANS 2
CLEVELAND (AP) - Alex Cobb pitched a five-hitter for his first complete game in five years, and Baltimore snapped Cleveland's six-game win streak.
Cobb (4-15), the major league leader in losses, struck out three and walked one in his fourth career complete game. The right-hander threw 100 pitches, 69 for strikes, while going the distance for the first time since Aug. 31, 2013, for Tampa Bay against Oakland.
Jonathan Villar hit a three-run homer in the third for Baltimore. Rookie Cedric Mullins hit his first major league home run in the eighth.
Cleveland right-hander Adam Plutko (4-3) allowed three hits in seven innings. He was called up from Triple-A Columbus to step into the rotation for Trevor Bauer, who is out with a stress fracture in his right leg.
The Indians retired Hall of Famer Jim Thome's No. 25 before the game, drawing a crowd of 35,003 for Cleveland's eighth sellout of the season.
PIRATES 3, CUBS 1
PITTSBURGH (AP) - Joe Musgrove cruised through seven innings, and Pittsburgh beat Chicago to snap a five-game skid.
Musgrove (5-7) allowed one run on five hits with seven strikeouts. He has gone seven innings and surrendered two runs or fewer in four of his past five starts.
Pittsburgh won for the second time in eight games. The first-place Cubs had their three-game winning streak snapped.
Felipe Vazquez retired the side in order with two strikeouts in the ninth inning for his 27th save.
The Pirates' three runs came in the second inning, when Adam Frazier had an RBI double off Tyler Chatwood (4-6) after Josh Bell and Francisco Cervelli walked to start the inning. That ended Pittsburgh's streak of 24 innings without a run scored.
PADRES 7, DIAMONDBACKS 6
SAN DIEGO (AP) - Christian Villanueva had a walk-off pinch-hit single in the ninth inning, and San Diego beat Arizona to end a five-game skid.
Travis Jankowski led off the ninth with a walk against Andrew Chafin (1-4) and advanced to second on a groundout by Eric Hosmer.
Villanueva hit for Craig Stammen (6-2) and drove a 2-2 pitch into left field to score Jankowski and give San Diego its first win against Arizona at Petco Park this season. Stammen worked two scoreless innings.
Paul Goldschmidt had four hits and drove in four runs while tying a Diamondbacks record by reaching base safely in nine straight plate appearances. Goldschmidt also extended his hitting streak to 11 games.
The Diamondbacks' three-game winning streak ended, and their NL West lead over the Colorado Rockies fell to one-half game.
REDS 7, GIANTS 1
CINCINNATI (AP) - Matt Harvey took a no-hit try into the sixth inning, Jose Peraza and Dilson Herrera backed him with home runs and the Cincinnati dominated Madison Bumgarner and San Francisco.
Scooter Gennett had three hits for the second straight night and scored three runs, Peraza had two hits and scored twice and Brandon Dixon drove in two runs with a bases-loaded double. Cincinnati sent the Giants to their third straight loss after winning three in a row.
Harvey (6-7) didn't give up a hit until there were two outs in the sixth, when Joe Panik beat out a grounder that shortstop Peraza backhanded deep in the hole.
Harvey threw 6 1/3 shutout innings, allowing four hits and a walk with five strikeouts.
Bumgarner (4-5) turned in the worst of his 14 starts this season, setting season highs by allowing six runs and eight hits in six innings.
ROYALS 3, WHITE SOX 1
CHICAGO (AP) - Alex Gordon homered, Jorge Bonifacio had a go-ahead RBI single in the decisive sixth inning, and Kansas City rallied past Chicago.
Rookie Brad Keller pitched five solid innings for the Royals, who won for the third time in their past nine games. The White Sox had their win streak stopped at three.
Nicky Delmonico homered in the second inning off Keller (6-5), driving a changeup over the right-center field fence. That was the only blemish against Keller, who allowed seven hits, struck out five and walked none.
Dylan Covey (4-10) returned to the form he had displayed the first 2+ months of the season but remained winless in five starts since July 21. The right-hander allowed two runs on four hits and three walks in 5 2/3 innings.
Five Royals relievers combined for four scoreless innings. The last, Wily Peralta, worked a perfect ninth for his eighth save in as many tries.
TIGERS 7, TWINS 5
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Mikie Mahtook hit a tiebreaking three-run homer in the fifth inning, rookie Ryan Carpenter earned his first big league win and Detroit beat Minnesota.
Joe Mauer, Tyler Austin, Miguel Sano and Mitch Garver homered for the Twins, who had won four straight.
Mahtook's homer was his second of the year and came off reliever Tyler Duffey (1-2).
Carpenter (1-1) was making just his fifth major league start and first since May 31. The Twins had him on the ropes early, as the first three batters reached base, but Carpenter limited the damage and survived to pitch into the sixth.
Four relievers combined to close it out, with Shane Greene picking up the last four outs for his 26th save in 29 chances.
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August 18, 2018
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) Trevor Cahill pitched one-hit ball for seven shutout innings and the Oakland Athletics, far behind in the AL West standings earlier this summer, tied Houston for the division lead by beating the Astros 7-1 Saturday.
Khris Davis, Matt Olson, Josh Phegley and Stephen Piscotty each hit two of Oakland's team record-tying eight doubles as the A's won for the sixth time in seven games. The Athletics trailed the defending World Series champion Astros by 11 1/2 games on June 24 and were still 10 out on July 10.
Houston has lost seven of eight and dropped 12 of 19 since owning a six-game lead on July 24. The next day, reigning AL MVP Jose Altuve went on the disabled list, and the star second baseman is still out.
Cahill (5-2) struck out seven, walked one and retired 14 straight batters during one stretch.
Tony Kemp homered in the ninth for Houston's only other hit. Dallas Keuchel (9-10) gave up five runs in 5 2/3 innings.
ROCKIES 5, BRAVES 3, 10 INNINGS
ATLANTA (AP) - Colorado struck for three runs with two outs in the ninth inning, and then DJ LeMahieu homered over the center field wall in the 10th to help beat Atlanta.
Fill-in closer A.J. Minter came in with a 3-0 lead to begin the ninth and retired the first two Colorado batters. But the Rockies followed with four straight hits off him, including a two-run double by Ian Desmond and a tying single by pinch-hitter Gerardo Parra.
LeMahieu hit his 10th homer with one out in the 10th off Luke Jackson (1-1). Carlos Gonzalez followed with a double and scored on Nolan Arenado's single.
The Braves stranded a runner at third base in the ninth when Adam Ottavino (5-2) struck out Dansby Swanson to end the inning. Wade Davis pitched the 10th for his 34th save.
The Rockies have won the first three games of the four-game series to stay close to NL West-leading Arizona. The NL East-leading Braves remained one-half game ahead of second-place Philadelphia.
YANKEES 11, BLUE JAYS 6
NEW YORK (AP) - Giancarlo Stanton hit one of New York's four homers, and Luis Severino struck out eight while pitching into the sixth inning.
Didi Gregorius, Miguel Andujar and Greg Bird also connected as New York moved 31 games over .500, matching a season high. Andujar had three hits and three RBIs, and Gregorius also drove in three runs.
Toronto has lost three straight and four of six. Billy McKinney, who came over when the Blue Jays traded J.A. Happ to the Yankees last month, had two hits and two RBIs against his former team, but Sean Reid-Foley (0-2) was hit hard in his second major league start.
Severino (16-6) won for just the second time in his last seven starts. The All-Star right-hander allowed two runs and six hits in five-plus innings.
CARDINALS 7, BREWERS 2
ST. LOUIS (AP) - Marcell Ozuna homered, Miles Mikolas tossed six effective innings and St. Louis beat Milwaukee to slide into position for the second NL wild card.
St. Louis moved a half-game ahead of Milwaukee and within four of the first-place Chicago Cubs in the NL Central.
The Cardinals, who are a half-game behind wild card-leading Philadelphia, have won 10 of their last 11 and captured their seventh straight series after winning the opener of the three-game set on Friday.
Travis Shaw and Christian Yelich homered for the Brewers, who have lost six of eight.
Ozuna hit his 15th homer of the season in the second off Wade Miley (2-2).
Mikolas (13-3) gave up one run on five hits. He struck out seven and did not walk a batter in winning his fifth consecutive decision.
METS 3, PHILLIES 1
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Mets ace Jacob deGrom pitched his first complete game of the season and lowered his major league-leading ERA to 1.71.
DeGrom (8-7) allowed only an unearned run, the result of his own error. He struck out nine and walked none.
It appeared that deGrom's day might be cut short due to a 41-minute rain delay that began in the middle of the fourth. But the right-hander came back after the stoppage as strong as before it.
Philadelphia's Jake Arrieta (9-8) allowed one run and four hits in six strong innings.
Rhys Hoskins and Maikel Franco each doubled among their two hits for the Phillies, who began the day a half-game behind Atlanta in the NL East and leading the NL wild-card race.
RED SOX 5, RAYS 2
BOSTON (AP) - David Price pitched seven solid innings, J.D. Martinez hit his major league-leading 38th homer, and Boston jumped to a quick lead to beat Tampa Bay for its 17th victory in 20 games.
Mitch Moreland added an RBI double during Boston's four-run first inning. The Red Sox improved to a season-high 52 games over .500 and maintained their 10+-game lead over the second-place New York Yankees in the AL East.
C.J. Cron hit a two-run homer for the Rays.
Price (13-6) gave up two runs on five hits, striking out eight, walking two and hitting a batter. He is 3-0 with a 1.35 ERA in his five starts since the All-Star break.
Tyler Glasnow (0-1), making his fourth start since being acquired from Pittsburgh at the non-waiver trading deadline, gave up five runs, four earned, and three hits. He walked three and struck out four in 6 2/3 innings.
Craig Kimbrel got the final three outs for his 37th save.
MARLINS 7, NATIONALS 5, 10 INNINGS
WASHINGTON (AP) - Isaac Galloway hit a two-run single in the 10th inning, JT Riddle homered and drove in four runs and Miami beat Washington.
The Nationals intentionally walked Riddle to load the bases with two outs in the 10th. Galloway delivered with a hit to center off Koda Glover (0-2).
Both teams scored in the ninth. Riddle's drive into the right-field stands off Nationals reliever Justin Miller put Miami up 5-4. Washington's Adam Eaton tied it with a homer off Drew Steckenrider leading off the bottom of the inning.
Trea Turner homered and drove in three runs for the Nationals.
Steckenrider (4-2) blew the save but finished the ninth to pick up the win. Brett Graves recorded the final three outs for his first career save.
ORIOLES 4, INDIANS 2
CLEVELAND (AP) - Alex Cobb pitched a five-hitter for his first complete game in five years, and Baltimore snapped Cleveland's six-game win streak.
Cobb (4-15), the major league leader in losses, struck out three and walked one in his fourth career complete game. The right-hander threw 100 pitches, 69 for strikes, while going the distance for the first time since Aug. 31, 2013, for Tampa Bay against Oakland.
Jonathan Villar hit a three-run homer in the third for Baltimore. Rookie Cedric Mullins hit his first major league home run in the eighth.
Cleveland right-hander Adam Plutko (4-3) allowed three hits in seven innings. He was called up from Triple-A Columbus to step into the rotation for Trevor Bauer, who is out with a stress fracture in his right leg.
The Indians retired Hall of Famer Jim Thome's No. 25 before the game, drawing a crowd of 35,003 for Cleveland's eighth sellout of the season.
PIRATES 3, CUBS 1
PITTSBURGH (AP) - Joe Musgrove cruised through seven innings, and Pittsburgh beat Chicago to snap a five-game skid.
Musgrove (5-7) allowed one run on five hits with seven strikeouts. He has gone seven innings and surrendered two runs or fewer in four of his past five starts.
Pittsburgh won for the second time in eight games. The first-place Cubs had their three-game winning streak snapped.
Felipe Vazquez retired the side in order with two strikeouts in the ninth inning for his 27th save.
The Pirates' three runs came in the second inning, when Adam Frazier had an RBI double off Tyler Chatwood (4-6) after Josh Bell and Francisco Cervelli walked to start the inning. That ended Pittsburgh's streak of 24 innings without a run scored.
PADRES 7, DIAMONDBACKS 6
SAN DIEGO (AP) - Christian Villanueva had a walk-off pinch-hit single in the ninth inning, and San Diego beat Arizona to end a five-game skid.
Travis Jankowski led off the ninth with a walk against Andrew Chafin (1-4) and advanced to second on a groundout by Eric Hosmer.
Villanueva hit for Craig Stammen (6-2) and drove a 2-2 pitch into left field to score Jankowski and give San Diego its first win against Arizona at Petco Park this season. Stammen worked two scoreless innings.
Paul Goldschmidt had four hits and drove in four runs while tying a Diamondbacks record by reaching base safely in nine straight plate appearances. Goldschmidt also extended his hitting streak to 11 games.
The Diamondbacks' three-game winning streak ended, and their NL West lead over the Colorado Rockies fell to one-half game.
REDS 7, GIANTS 1
CINCINNATI (AP) - Matt Harvey took a no-hit try into the sixth inning, Jose Peraza and Dilson Herrera backed him with home runs and the Cincinnati dominated Madison Bumgarner and San Francisco.
Scooter Gennett had three hits for the second straight night and scored three runs, Peraza had two hits and scored twice and Brandon Dixon drove in two runs with a bases-loaded double. Cincinnati sent the Giants to their third straight loss after winning three in a row.
Harvey (6-7) didn't give up a hit until there were two outs in the sixth, when Joe Panik beat out a grounder that shortstop Peraza backhanded deep in the hole.
Harvey threw 6 1/3 shutout innings, allowing four hits and a walk with five strikeouts.
Bumgarner (4-5) turned in the worst of his 14 starts this season, setting season highs by allowing six runs and eight hits in six innings.
ROYALS 3, WHITE SOX 1
CHICAGO (AP) - Alex Gordon homered, Jorge Bonifacio had a go-ahead RBI single in the decisive sixth inning, and Kansas City rallied past Chicago.
Rookie Brad Keller pitched five solid innings for the Royals, who won for the third time in their past nine games. The White Sox had their win streak stopped at three.
Nicky Delmonico homered in the second inning off Keller (6-5), driving a changeup over the right-center field fence. That was the only blemish against Keller, who allowed seven hits, struck out five and walked none.
Dylan Covey (4-10) returned to the form he had displayed the first 2+ months of the season but remained winless in five starts since July 21. The right-hander allowed two runs on four hits and three walks in 5 2/3 innings.
Five Royals relievers combined for four scoreless innings. The last, Wily Peralta, worked a perfect ninth for his eighth save in as many tries.
TIGERS 7, TWINS 5
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Mikie Mahtook hit a tiebreaking three-run homer in the fifth inning, rookie Ryan Carpenter earned his first big league win and Detroit beat Minnesota.
Joe Mauer, Tyler Austin, Miguel Sano and Mitch Garver homered for the Twins, who had won four straight.
Mahtook's homer was his second of the year and came off reliever Tyler Duffey (1-2).
Carpenter (1-1) was making just his fifth major league start and first since May 31. The Twins had him on the ropes early, as the first three batters reached base, but Carpenter limited the damage and survived to pitch into the sixth.
Four relievers combined to close it out, with Shane Greene picking up the last four outs for his 26th save in 29 chances.
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