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    Tuesday, April 23, 2024

    Major League Baseball roundup

    Atlanta mobs Brian McCann after he hit a walk-off two-run single in the ninth inning of Friday's game to beat Philadelphia, 9-8, in Atlanta. (John Bazemore/AP Photo)

    National League

    Braves 9, Phillies 8

    This is why Brian McCann came back to play for his hometown Atlanta Braves, to deliver with his bat in a big spot.

    "That was one of the best moments I've ever had," McCann said. "To be able to get the win and the fashion that it happened is something I'll always remember."

    McCann capped Atlanta's three-run ninth inning with a two-run single off Héctor Neris, and the Braves beat the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday night for their eighth straight win.

    Atlanta improved to 23-9 since May 10 and opened a 2 1/2-game lead over Philadelphia in the NL East. It was the first game between the division rivals since the Phillies swept three games from the Braves in late March.

    Most of the sellout crowd of 41,975, the largest of the season at SunTrust Park, stood on its feet after Dansby Swanson led off the ninth with a single. Nick Markakis walked with two outs, and Swanson scored on rookie Austin Riley's double.

    McCann then reached down and drove an opposite-field single into the gap in left-center, giving him 1,000 RBIs for his career.

    McCann, a seven-time All-Star who grew up in the Atlanta suburbs, spent the last five seasons in the AL, but decided to return to the team that drafted him so he could help the Braves win a World Series.

    "This is home for me," he said. "This town, this city means a lot to me. It's where I grew up. To be able to come back home and do this is right up there with one of the best moments I've ever had."

    He compared this year's Braves to his former club in Houston, which won the World Series in 2017.

    "It's very special," McCann said. "I just think the way we show up every day. The way guys go about their business, to the preparation, we show up ready to win every single day."

    Neris (1-3) was attempting to go 15 for 15 in save chances this year but couldn't find the formula on his 30th birthday. He recorded two outs and allowed three hits in Philadelphia's fourth loss in five games.

    "I have the highest level of trust in him in that situation," manager Gabe Kapler said. "We felt really good in the dugout about it. It's just a devastating loss. We'll lick our wounds, come back and be ready to fight again."

    Jerry Blevins (1-0) pitched the ninth for the win.

    Bryce Harper and Rhys Hoskins each hit a two-run homer for the Phillies, and Scott Kingery added a solo drive.

    Philadelphia dropped to 34-7 this season when scoring at least four runs. It had won 15 of its last 17 previous such games.

    Harper, booed all night long, put Philadelphia up 3-1 in the third with his 12th homer, which sailed into the Atlanta bullpen in right-center. Kingery's eighth homer landed in the left-field seats in the fourth.

    Hoskins' 15th homer, coming off Dan Winkler, made it 7-2 in the seventh. Kingery, who went 3 for 4, doubled in the eighth and scored on a sacrifice fly to make it 8-4.

    Phillies starter Nick Pivetta allowed four runs and eight hits in 6 2/3 innings.

    Atlanta starter Max Fried was chased with two outs in the fifth. He was charged with five runs and seven hits, leaving him with a 7.52 ERA in his last four starts.

    McCann, Freddie Freeman and Josh Donaldson each hit a solo shot for the Braves. Ozzie Albies and Ronald Acuña Jr. each had two hits.

    The Braves, who have scored at least six runs in six straight games, own their first eight-game winning streak since May 17-25, 2013.

    Dodgers 5, Cubs 3

    Rich Hill pitched seven strong innings and singled in the go-ahead run in the fourth inning, helping Los Angeles beat Chicago for its seventh straight home win.

    The NL West-leading Dodgers rebounded from an early deficit for the second straight game, getting two-out homers from Matt Beaty — a two-run shot that was the first of his career — and Justin Turner that tied it up.

    Hill (4-1) allowed three runs and seven hits, striking out seven and walking none. Kenley Jansen worked the ninth for his 20th save.

    The Cubs led 2-0 in the first on Anthony Rizzo's 18th homer down the right field line. Kris Bryant's 15th homer gave Chicago its last lead at 3-2 in the third.

    Kyle Hendricks (7-5) gave up five runs and six hits in 4 1/3 innings — his shortest outing since lasting four innings at Milwaukee in his second start of the season. The right-hander struck out one and walked two.

    Padres 16, Rockies 12, (12 innings)

    Hunter Renfroe hit his third homer of the game in the 12th inning after Fernando Tatis Jr. tied it as part of a six-run rally in the ninth and San Diego stunned Colorado in a game that lasted more than five hours.

    Tatis led off the 12th with a triple and scored on pinch-hitter Austin Allen's double off reliever Jairo Diaz (1-1). Manny Machado added an RBI double and Renfroe hit a two-run homer to wrap up an improbable win. Renfroe also had a solo shot in the second and two-run homer in the ninth for his second career three-homer game.

    Craig Stammen (5-3) pitched a scoreless 11th for the win in the marathon that featured a combined 39 hits, 16 pitchers and plenty of dramatic twists.

    Machado had four hits, including a solo homer. Rockies outfielder David Dahl had a two-run shot. Ian Desmond added a three-run, inside-the-park homer during a five-run sixth inning.

    Trevor Story collected three hits before leaving the game in the eight after a grounder took a bad hop, glanced off his glove and struck him in the head.

    Charlie Blackmon had four hits, including a solo homer in the 12th.

    Giants 5, Brewers 3

    Pablo Sandoval, Kevin Pillar and Mike Yastrzemski homered, and Drew Pomeranz pitched into the sixth inning as San Francisco beat Milwaukee.

    Yastrzemski's two-run drive to center off Alex Claudio made it 5-2 in the seventh. It was the second homer for the grandson of Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski since making his major league debut May 25.

    Last-place San Francisco earned its third straight win and seventh in 11 overall. Pomeranz (2-6) allowed two unearned runs in five-plus innings in his first win since April 24.

    Milwaukee right-hander Zach Davies (7-1) permitted three runs and six hits in five innings in his first loss since Sept. 22 at Pittsburgh. Davies was the first Brewers starter to open a season with seven straight winning decisions.

    Pirates 11, Marlins 0

    Steven Brault scattered eight hits over six innings, and Pittsburgh stopping a seven-game slide by routing Miami.

    Brault (3-1) was hit on his left leg by Starlin Castro's line drive in the first, but it didn't seem to affect him very much. The left-hander struck out six and walked none. He also went 2 for 2 at the plate.

    Colin Moran drove in a career-high five runs with two singles and a homer and Bryan Reynolds had a career-best four hits for the Pirates, who got their first win since June 6 against Atlanta. They finished with 18 hits, matching a season high.

    The Pirates broke it open with a four-run fifth off Trevor Richards (3-7). He allowed five runs and 11 hits in five innings.

    American League

    Indians 13, Tigers 4

    Cleveland's Jake Bauers hit for the cycle, and the Indians routed Detroit after scoring eight runs in the fourth inning.

    Bauers singled and tripled in that inning. He also hit a double in the second and a two-run homer in the eighth, becoming the first Cleveland player to hit for the cycle since New London's Rajai Davis did it at Toronto on July 2, 2016.

    Leonys Martin's three-run homer highlighted Cleveland's eight-run fourth. The Indians sent 13 men to the plate that inning, turning a 3-2 deficit into a 10-3 advantage. The first six batters of the inning reached base.

    Adam Plutko (3-1) allowed two earned runs and five hits in six innings for Cleveland. He walked one and struck out six.

    Ryan Carpenter (1-4) threw 92 pitches but only lasted three-plus innings. He allowed six earned runs, eight hits and four walks.

    Miguel Cabrera and Brandon Dixon hit consecutive homers for Detroit in the second.

    Rays 9, Angels 4

    Tommy Pham hit a pair of RBI singles as Tampa Bay overcame another subpar start by Blake Snell and rallied past Los Angeles.

    Held to one hit through five innings and trailing 4-0, the Rays scored five times in sixth and added four more runs in seventh. Pham singled home runs in both bursts.

    Snell (4-5) lasted just 3 1/3 innings, giving up four runs, five hits and four walks during a 79-pitch outing.

    Ji-Man Cho hit a two-run homer in the seventh as the Rays tagged Cody Allen and pulled away.

    Reliever Emilio Pagan (2-1) worked 1 1/3 scoreless innings.

    Astros 15, Blue Jays 2

    Robinson Chirinos hit his first grand slam and finished with a career-high six RBIs and Gerrit Cole struck out 10 as Houston topped Toronto.

    The Astros won their 13th straight series opener and improved to 9-3 in June.

    Cole (6-5) allowed two runs and three hits while increasing his MLB-leading strikeout total to 140.

    Cavan Biggio, son of Astros Hall of Fame second baseman Craig Biggio, knocked in both Toronto runs with a double in the fifth inning.

    Alex Bregman hit a three-run homer, his 19th of the season, and Tony Kemp hit a two-run shot.

    Sanchez (3-8) allowed eight runs on six hits and three walks before being replaced in the fourth.

    Rogelio Armenteros worked three innings and earned a save in his MLB debut.

    Twins 2, Royals 0

    Mitch Garver's two-run homer in the eighth inning snapped a scoreless tie, and Kyle Gibson gave up two hits in eight innings in Minnesota's win over Kansas City.

    Garver's 11th home run of the season was deep to the berm in center field off Kansas City reliever Jake Diekman (0-4) after Max Kepler had walked. Minnesota has won 16 of its past 22 games.

    Gibson (7-3) struck out six in his longest outing of the season. Taylor Rogers secured his seventh save in nine chances.

    Minnesota has a home run in 12 straight games.

    Mariners 9, Athletics 2

    Omar Narváez hit a two-run homer, J.P. Crawford drove in three runs after coming off the injured list, and Seattle beat Oakland.

    Narváez finished with three hits and scored three times. Mallex Smith also homered for Seattle, and Kyle Seager added a sacrifice fly to tie Raúl Ibañez for sixth place in franchise history with 612 RBIs.

    Mariners left-hander Marco Gonzales (7-6) allowed one earned run and seven hits in seven innings. He struck out three and walked two to beat the A's for the second time this season.

    Matt Chapman tripled and made another dazzling defensive play for Oakland. Jurickson Profar added two hits.

    A's starter Chris Bassitt (3-3) allowed four runs, three earned, and five hits in 5 2/3 innings in his first appearance against Seattle since 2016.

    Interleague

    Rangers 7, Reds 1

    Roughned Odor hit his fourth career grand slam, Delino DeShields singled and drove in a run during a reunion with his dad, and Texas rode its bullpen to victory over Cincinnati.

    Odor's homer off Wandy Peralta highlighted a game full of Rangers moments that included Elvis Andrus' second theft of home on the back end of a double steal.

    DeShields was participating in a game with his father — Reds first base coach Delino — for the first time in the majors. He singled off Tyler Mahle (2-7) to start a two-run rally in the first inning, scored a run and added a sacrifice fly.

    The Rangers went with a bullpen day. Brett Martin (1-0) got his first major league win as four Rangers relievers combined on a five-hitter. Drew Smyly pitched the last three for his first save.

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