Loaisiga impressive in debut, Yankees down Rays
NEW YORK (AP) Jonathan Loaisiga pitched three-hit ball over five impressive innings to win his major league debut, and the New York Yankees beat the Tampa Bay Rays 5-0 on Friday night.
Didi Gregorius homered off ex-Yankee Nathan Eovaldi, and Gary Sanchez broke out of a long slump with a three-run double in the eighth. Giancarlo Stanton had a sacrifice fly for New York, which improved the best record in the majors to 45-20.
Jonathan Holder, David Robertson, Dellin Betances and Adam Warren each worked an inning to finish the four-hitter.
Loaisiga (1-0) was called up from Double-A Trenton to fill in for injured starter Masahiro Tanaka. The 23-year-old righty, who walked only four batters in 45 minor league innings this year, struggled a little with his command, issuing four walks while striking out six.
Pitching against his former team, Eovaldi (1-2) allowed only two runs over the first seven innings until the Yankees chased him in the eighth. He was charged with five runs and eight hits in 7 1/3 innings during his first career outing against New York. He struck out five and walked one.
CLEVELAND (AP) - Corey Kluber had a rare rocky performance, lasting just five innings and losing for the first time in seven starts as Kyle Gibson outpitched the Cy Young winner and Brian Dozier hit a two-run homer to lead Minnesota past Cleveland.
Kluber (10-3) allowed a homer on his fourth pitch of the game to Eddie Rosario and was pulled after throwing just 65 pitches by manager Terry Francona. It was the shortest outing this season for the All-Star, who came in 5-0 with a 0.76 ERA against AL Central teams and was riding several other impressive streaks.
Gibson (2-4) limited the Indians to one run and three hits in seven innings and got his first win since his season debut on March 31.
Yan Gomes homered in the ninth and the Indians closed to 6-3 before closer Fernando Rodney struck out Francisco Lindor with one on for his 15th save.
ST. LOUIS (AP) - Kris Bryant ended a 24-game homerless drought, the longest of his career, and Ian Happ and Kyle Schwarber also went deep as Chicago routed St. Louis.
Bryant drilled a two-run shot off an ineffective Michael Wacha for his first home run since May 14. The 2016 NL MVP capped a six-run fifth inning with an RBI single and added a sacrifice fly in the seventh. His four RBIs were a season high.
Jon Lester ran his scoreless streak to 17 innings before giving up a solo home run to Marcell Ozuna in the fourth as the Cubs won for the first time in four tries at Busch Stadium this season. Lester (8-2) allowed two runs in six innings to earn his fourth straight win.
Anthony Rizzo had three hits and Schwarber launched a three-run homer that traveled a projected 465 feet to straightaway center.
Wacha (8-2) gave up a career-high nine runs, eight earned, in a season-low four-plus innings.
Matt Carpenter homered and drove in two runs, but the Cardinals lost their third consecutive game.
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Ross Stripling pitched four-hit ball over 6 1/3 innings, Enrique Hernandez and Matt Kemp went deep to give the Dodgers a major league-leading 32 homers this month, and Los Angeles beat rival San Francisco in their series opener.
The Dodgers improved to 10-2 in June while sending the Giants to a 17th loss in their last 23 road games.
Stripling (6-1) extended his career-best winning streak to six games and is 4-0 at home this season. The right-hander gave up a two-run homer to Pablo Sandoval and had six strikeouts with no walks.
Kenley Jansen earned his 16th save.
Derek Holland (4-7) gave up three runs - two earned - in five innings. He struck out seven.
Earlier in the day, Kemp was suspended for one game and fined an undisclosed amount for his involvement in a scuffle with Texas catcher Robinson Chirinos on Wednesday. Kemp appealed the punishment, so he's allowed to play until the process is completed.
SEATTLE (AP) - Denard Span's pinch-hit double in the eighth inning drove in two runs, leading Seattle over Boston.
Span, hitting for Guillermo Heredia with one out, hit a liner into the right-field corner after Ryon Healy walked and Ben Gamel singled.
Rob Whalen pitched four shutout innings of relief for the Mariners. Ryan Cook (1-0) earned the win with a scoreless eighth and Edwin Diaz earned his major league-leading 26th save.
Matt Barnes (0-2) took the loss.
Xander Bogaerts hit a three-run homer as part of a six-run third that gave Boston a 6-3 lead, but a spectacular defensive play by Seattle second baseman Dee Gordon on a hard-hit ball up the middle by Bogaerts that ended the sixth kept Boston from adding another run.
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) - Ian Kinsler homered and drew a bases-loaded walk, Mike Trout had three hits and a sacrifice fly, and injury-plagued Los Angeles beat Oakland to snap a four-game skid.
Tyler Skaggs (6-4) struck out eight over seven strong innings, allowing no earned runs and seven hits with one walk. He improved to 3-0 with a 0.45 ERA in June.
The Angels placed four more players on the disabled list, bringing their total to a franchise-record 15 at one time and leaving just 12 members of the opening day roster active.
Jose Briceno and Jose Miguel Fernandez had RBI singles in the third as Los Angeles bounced back with a big offensive night after having lost four straight following a six-game winning streak. The Angels avoided matching their longest skid of the season.
Oakland starter Chris Bassitt (0-2) was done after four innings after he allowed six runs - only two earned on a sloppy night of fielding for the home team.
PITTSBURGH (AP) - Chad Kuhl pitched six solid innings to win for the first time in more than a month, and Pittsburgh edged Cincinnati and Matt Harvey.
Kuhl (5-4) gave up two runs, one earned, and six hits while striking out six and walking three. It was his first win since May 6 at Milwaukee, a span of seven starts, though Kuhl allowed no more than three runs in any of his previous four outings.
The Pirates pulled ahead 3-2 in the sixth on consecutive sacrifice flies by Starling Marte and Colin Moran off reliever Michael Lorenzen. The runs were charged to Harvey (1-5), who allowed three runs on four hits with two strikeouts and two walks. The former New York Mets ace is 1-3 with a 5.09 ERA in seven starts since being traded to Cincinnati on May 8 after being designated for assignment.
Felipe Vazquez held on in the ninth for his 13th save in 17 opportunities.
BALTIMORE (AP) - Jose Urena pitched eight innings of three-hit ball, Lewis Brinson tripled twice and Miami beat Baltimore stretch the Orioles' losing streak to a season-high eight games.
In an interleague matchup between two offensively challenged last-place teams, the Marlins scratched out a couple of runs against Kevin Gausman (3-6) for their fourth win in five games.
It's Baltimore's longest skid since a nine-game slide in July 2011. The Orioles have lost 15 of 17 overall and 10 straight at home, scoring only 14 runs.
Urena (2-8) struck out four and walked one in his longest outing of the season. Urena, who started for Miami on opening day, is 2-1 in June after an 0-7 start. Kyle Barraclough worked a perfect ninth for his fifth save.
TORONTO (AP) - Yangervis Solarte homered from both sides of the plate, Devon Travis also connected and Toronto beat Washington for its fifth straight home victory.
Justin Smoak broke a 3-3 tie with a sacrifice fly in the seventh inning and Solarte, batting left-handed, followed with a two-run shot off right-hander Justin Miller. Solarte was batting right-handed when he homered in Toronto's three-run third, a solo blast off left-hander Gio Gonzalez (6-3).
Solarte is the ninth player in Blue Jays history to homer from both sides of the plate. The last to do it was Justin Smoak against Boston on July 1, 2015. The homers were Solarte's 13th and 14th of the season, extending his team lead.
Seunghwan Oh (2-2) pitched one inning for the win and Ryan Tepera stranded the potential tying run at third base in the ninth to earn his fourth save in seven opportunities.
ATLANTA (AP) - Hunter Renfroe hit a go-ahead, two-run single in San Diego's five-run seventh inning, Freddy Galvis had a three-run homer and went 5 for 5, and the Padres beat Atlanta.
Freddie Freeman's 15th homer gave Atlanta a 3-2 lead in the fifth. Jose Pirela hit a two-run homer for San Diego in the first.
Clayton Richard (6-6) allowed three runs, two earned, on six hits in six innings. Luis Castillo closed the game with two scoreless innings, and Galvis had a run-scoring single, giving him four RBIs, in the ninth. The five hits were a career high.
Sam Freeman (1-3) gave up three runs in the seventh and took the loss in relief of Brandon McCarthy, who allowed two runs and eight hits in 5 2/3 innings.
Freeman's homer gave him hits in 25 of his last 26 games. He led the NL with his .342 batting average entering the game.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - Evan Gattis hit a go-ahead grand slam, Alex Bregman and Carlos Correa also went deep and Houston beat Kansas City for its ninth consecutive win.
Charlie Morton (8-1) overcame another bout of wildness, at one point walking three straight batters, to last six innings for Houston. He allowed four hits and four walks while striking out nine.
Brad Peacock, Tony Sipp and Collin McHugh each contributed a scoreless inning in relief.
Jakob Junis (5-7) served up all three Houston homers, getting tagged for six runs on seven hits and a walk. It was his fourth straight loss, his last win coming against the New York Yankees on May 18.
All but one of the Astros' wins during their streak has come on the road.
MILWAUKEE (AP) - Brent Suter drove in two runs and pitched a season-high seven innings, Christian Yelich, Hernan Perez and Jesus Aguilar homered and Milwaukee beat Jake Arrieta and Philadelphia.
Suter (7-4) allowed one run on six hits to win his fifth start in the last six, including a 12-3 victory over the Phillies six days ago. He pushed the Brewers to 43-27 for the best record in the NL.
Milwaukee has scored 40 runs against the Phillies in four games, including 27 in three at Citizens Bank Park. Philadelphia has 13 in that span.
Arrieta (5-5) came in 3-0 with a 2.03 ERA in five career starts at Miller Park, but the Brewers snapped that streak by reaching him for eight runs - four earned - on seven hits in 3 1/3 innings. He walked two and struck out one.
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) - Ian Desmond homered twice and Trevor Story had a pair of RBI hits in his first game near home as Colorado overcame a quick five-run deficit to beat Texas.
It was Desmond's first game in Texas since the converted shortstop was an All-Star center fielder in his only season with the Rangers in 2016.
Texas has a seven-game losing streak, its longest of the season. The Rockies had lost five of their previous six games.
Jurickson Profar and Joey Gallo each hit two-run homers in the first when the Rangers jumped out to 5-0 lead against Chad Bettis (5-1), another Texas native.
Desmond homered to lead off a six-run second against Yohander Mendez (0-1), the lefty making his first big league start.
DIAMONDBACKS 7, METS 3
PHOENIX (AP) - Paul Goldschmidt and Daniel Descalso homered, Zack Godley pitched effectively into the seventh inning and Arizona beat the staggering Mets.
The NL West leaders have won seven of eight and 11 of 14. New York has dropped four straight, 12 of 13 and 19 of 23.
After starting the season 11-1, the Mets (28-38) have gone from 10 games over .500 to 10 games under earlier than any team in major league history. The previous mark was held by the 2011 Marlins, who did it in their 76th game.
New York's stagnant offense has mustered just 21 runs in the last 13 games, scoring three or fewer in 11 straight.
Goldschmidt has nine homers and 21 RBIs in his past 20 games. He also singled twice and drove in two runs.
Descalso had a sacrifice fly to go with a two-run homer off Seth Lugo (2-2) that put Arizona up 5-2 in the fifth. Jon Jay added three hits.
Dominic Smith homered and doubled for the Mets on his 23rd birthday.
Godley (7-5) went 6 2/3 innings, allowing two runs and five hits while striking out eight. Brad Boxberger got one out for his 16th save.
CHICAGO (AP) - John Hicks homered and scored the go-ahead run on a fielder's choice in the eighth inning as Detroit edged Chicago.
Victor Martinez had a two-run double to help the Tigers improve to 4-0 at Guaranteed Rate Field this season, and 6-1 overall against the White Sox. James McCann had three hits.
Buck Farmer (2-3) got an out in the seventh for the win and Alex Wilson pitched out of a one-out, bases-loaded jam in the eighth. Shane Greene pitched a scoreless ninth for his 18th save in 21 chances as the Tigers won their third straight.
Omar Narvaez hit a three-run homer for the White Sox. Juan Minaya (0-1) took the loss.
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