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    Sunday, May 12, 2024

    Major League Baseball roundup

    Colorado's Gerardo Parra, left, hugs Trevor Story, who returned to the dugout after hitting a solo home run off San Francisco's Andrew Suarez, during the first inning of Wednesday's game in Denver. Story homered in his first three at-bats, including one projected at more than 500 feet, in Colorado's 5-3 win. (David Zalubowski/AP Photo)

    Rockies 5, Giants 3

    Carlos Gonzalez waited patiently as Trevor Story finished his postgame interviews, a beer in hand to congratulate his Colorado teammate on his huge night.

    More games like that from Story, and Gonzalez will be pouring champagne all over him at the end of September.

    Story homered in his first three at-bats, including one projected at more than 500 feet, and the Rockies beat San Francisco on Wednesday in a game delayed 68 minutes by rain at the start.

    "That was awesome," Colorado manager Bud Black said. "Trevor took the game over."

    The All-Star shortstop had a chance to tie the major league record of four homers in a game but struck out in his final at-bat in the eighth inning.

    "Everybody's expecting a home run," Gonzalez said. "I was like, 'Just hit something.' When you're having that kind of night, I guarantee he wasn't trying to hit the ball over the fence, and it was just clicking."

    Story powered Colorado to its fifth straight win, and the Rockies increased their NL West lead to 1 1/2 games over Arizona and Los Angeles. The Diamondbacks were off, and the Dodgers lost to the New York Mets.

    Colorado has been to the postseason four times but has never won a division title in its 26-year history.

    "I'm more excited about the win at this point," Story said. "Every win from here on out is huge."

    It was the first three-homer game of Story's career and his fifth multihomer game this season. The outburst came at the expense of Giants starter Andrew Suarez (6-10).

    Story's first home run, a 459-foot shot to left field, according to Statcast, gave the Rockies a 2-1 lead in the first inning.

    He topped that with another solo homer in the fourth that traveled an estimated 505 feet. It was the longest homer in franchise history and the longest since Statcast began tracking distances in 2015. It just edged out the 504-foot drive Giancarlo Stanton hit in Denver when he played for Miami.

    "As soon as it came off the bat I was like, 'Oh my god, it's going to hit the scoreboard. It's going to go straight to my Lamborghini in the parking lot,'" Gonzalez said.

    Story's last home run — his 31st of the season — soared a projected 416 feet and gave Colorado a 4-3 lead. He popped out of the dugout for a curtain call as the crowd of 24,790 cheered.

    "When you have a night like tonight it's hard to explain," Story said. "You kind of get these feelings, these intuitions, and you try to act on them, not outthink yourself."

    Suarez wasn't unhappy with his outing despite the big night from Story.

    "It's crazy how baseball works," he said. "I threw well, and one guy beat me."

    Harrison Musgrave (2-3) got the win and Adam Ottavino pitched the ninth for his sixth save.

    Aramis Garcia went deep for San Francisco, which has lost five in a row.

    Story's first home run had a little twist to it. After he connected, he lost his balance and fell to the ground as the ball landed on the concourse in left field.

    "That first one was a little different," he said. "I've never fallen down like that. Maybe on a swing and a miss."

    Rockies outfielder Charlie Blackmon gave his team a scare when he was hit in the helmet on a line drive off the bat of teammate Antonio Senzatela in the third inning. Blackmon was on deck when the ball hit him near the team logo in the front of his helmet. He was looked at by a trainer and Black but was able to stay in the game. Blackmon received a loud ovation when he came to bat.

    Angels 9, Rangers 3

    Shohei Ohtani homered twice on a huge night at the plate after getting bad news about his pitching arm, and Los Angeles beat Texas.

    Perhaps headed for Tommy John surgery, the two-way rookie sensation went 4 for 4 with three RBIs, four runs and a stolen base to power the Angels. About two hours before the game, the team announced Ohtani has new damage in his right elbow and ligament-replacement surgery has been recommended.

    The club said the Japanese star had an MRI earlier in the day that revealed the problem in his ulnar collateral ligament.

    Ohtani's homers were towering drives into the right-field seats. With his second two-homer game, the designated hitter tied Kenji Johjima's 2006 major league record of 18 homers by a Japanese rookie.

    Andrelton Simmons also homered for the Angels and drove in three runs.

    Adrian Beltre hit a two-run shot for Texas, the 472nd homer of his career, in the sixth inning against Jim Johnson. Three of Beltre's 10 homers this season have come in the last five games.

    Los Angeles rookie Jaime Barria (10-8) beat Texas for the third time and 45-year-old Bartolo Colon (7-12) for the second.

    Cubs 6, Brewers 4

    Daniel Murphy and Kyle Schwarber homered to back a solid start from Jose Quintana, and Chicago held off Milwaukee to avert a three-game sweep.

    Pedro Strop closed out a tense ninth inning as Chicago boosted its NL Central lead to four games over the second-place Brewers. Quintana (12-9) allowed two runs in 6 2/3 innings, improving to 3-1 at Miller Park with the Cubs. Strop allowed a walk and a single to open the ninth but got the final three outs, striking out Curtis Granderson with two runners on to preserve the win.

    Granderson belted his first home run as a member of the Brewers in a pinch-hit role in the seventh, a two-run shot that cut Chicago's lead to 6-4.

    The Cubs finally broke their string of 16 scoreless innings against Milwaukee right-hander Jhoulys Chacin (14-6) when Murphy led off the fourth with an opposite-field homer.

    Astros 9, Twins 1

    Alex Bregman homered and had five RBIs, and Evan Gattis hit his 25th home run to help Houston rout Minnesota.

    The defending champs have won five straight, finishing a 10-game homestand with a 7-3 record. Houston has won 12 of its last 15 games entering a three-game series in major league-leading Boston.

    Bregman gave the Astros a 2-0 lead in the third inning with his 29th homer of the season, a line-drive shot off Jake Odorizzi into the left-field Crawford Boxes. He added a three-run double off the left-field wall with the bases loaded in the eighth inning, his 47th double, to put Houston up 9-1.

    Gattis extended Houston's lead to 4-0 with a two-run homer in the fourth inning off Odorizzi.

    Houston went up 5-1 with an RBI single to right from Yuli Gurriel off Odorizzi (5-10).

    Houston starter Framber Valdez (3-1) went 5 1/3 innings, allowing one run on five hits and three walks while striking out five.

    Indians 3, Royals 1

    Corey Kluber became the first 18-game winner in the majors this season, striking out 10 in Cleveland's victory over Kansas City.

    The Indians moved closer to the third straight AL Central title, reducing their magic number for clinching the division to nine.

    Kluber (18-7) allowed one run and two hits in 6 2/3 innings. The reigning AL Cy Young Award winner was pulled after 105 pitches. Cleveland used three relievers to complete the two-hitter. Brad Hand struck out the side in the ninth for his eighth save since being acquired San Diego and 32nd this season.

    Jason Kipnis had the go-ahead sacrifice fly in the eighth and two hits.

    Brad Keller (7-6) lost for the first time since Aug. 7.

    Cardinals 7, Nationals 6

    Matt Adams homered twice against his former team, Marcell Ozuna tied his career high with four hits and St. Louis held off Washington.

    One night after bashing five homers against Washington, St. Louis settled for three in the rubber game of the series as Yairo Munoz had a solo shot in the sixth.

    Miles Mikolas (14-4) worked 6 2/3 innings and was charged with four runs on 12 hits. Carlos Martinez worked the final two innings for his first save since 2014, getting three straight outs in the ninth after the first two batters reached.

    Bryce Harper had three hits for Washington on a day when general manager Mike Rizzo responded that he hasn't considered any other scenario when asked if manager Dave Martinez will return in 2019.

    Tanner Roark (8-15) gave up six runs on 10 hits over five innings.

    Mariners 5, Orioles 2

    Nelson Cruz and Denard Span hit back-to-back home runs, and Seattle overcame sloppy infield defense to beat Baltimore.

    Despite winning a home series for the first time since July 22, the Mariners failed to gain ground on Oakland in the AL wild-card race. They still trail by 5½ games with 22 remaining.

    Mike Leake (9-9) gave up two unearned runs in six innings to earn his first victory since Aug. 15. Edwin Diaz locked down his major league-leading 53rd save, tied for fifth-most in one season.

    Andrew Cashner (4-14) gave up three runs in 4 2/3 innings.

    Tigers 10, White Sox 2

    Ronny Rodriguez hit a two-run homer and Jeimer Candelario, Mikie Mahtook and JaCoby Jones each added a solo shot, powering Detroit to a rout of Chicago and prized pitching prospect Michael Kopech.

    The game was delayed twice by rain for a total of 61 minutes.

    Nicholas Castellanos went 3 for 4 with a walk and an RBI, and Victor Martinez had a two-run single as the Tigers pounded out 16 hits and won for the eighth time in nine games at Guaranteed Rate Field.

    Jordan Zimmermann (7-6) allowed just two hits in five shutout innings and returned following both delays.

    Kopech (1-1) was tagged for seven runs and nine hits in 3 1/3 innings. He served up all four Detroit homers as his ERA jumped from 0.82 to 5.02. He had allowed just one run over 11 innings in his first three starts in the majors, including two cut short by rain delays.

    Blue Jays 10, Rays 3

    Aledmys Diaz hit a three-run homer in a seven-run first inning, Aaron Sanchez won for the first time in three months and Toronto beat Tampa Bay to prevent a three-game sweep.

    Billy McKinney added a solo homer as Toronto had 16 hits and improved to 3-9 against the Rays this season. Tampa Bay's four-game winning streak was snapped.

    Rays outfielder Kevin Kiermaier hit two solo home runs for his third career multihomer game. He also did it against the Blue Jays on Aug. 23, 2017.

    Sanchez (4-5) permitted three runs and six hits over six innings, including both of Kiermaier's homers, to win for the first time since June 3 at Detroit. He matched a season high with eight strikeouts.

    Tyler Glasnow (1-5) was the loser.

    Marlins 2, Phillies 1

    Sandy Alcantara pitched shutout ball into the eighth inning in his second career start, Austin Dean drove in a pair of runs and Miami beat Philadelphia.

    Alcantara (2-0) allowed three hits, walked two and struck out six. Drew Steckenrider allowed a walk and a single with one out in the ninth but finished off his fourth save with a pair of strikeouts.

    Nick Pivetta (7-11) was the loser. The Phillies have lost four of five. They remained three games behind Atlanta in the NL East race.

    Pirates 3, Reds 2

    Jameson Taillon pitched five effective innings and helped send Homer Bailey to yet another loss in Pittsburgh's victory over Cincinnati.

    Taillon (12-9) allowed only one run as he scattered eight hits and walked none to help the Pirates sweep the three-game series. Felipe Vazquez survived a shaky ninth inning, allowing Dilson Herrera's pinch-hit RBI double with none out, before earning his 30th save.

    Bailey (1-14) lost his ninth straight decision. The Reds are 1-19 in his starts this season.

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