BALTIMORE (AP) — George Kirby pitched seven three-hit innings, and the Seattle Mariners beat the Baltimore Orioles 1-0 on Tuesday night for their eighth victory in a row.
Seattle pulled within a half-game of AL West-leading Houston, with the Astros playing at Boston on Tuesday night. Josh Naylor’s RBI single in the first inning was all the scoring the Mariners needed.
Kirby (8-5) struck out seven without a walk. Eduard Bazardo and Gabe Speier worked the eighth, and Andrés Muñoz labored through the ninth for his 28th save in 34 chances.
The Orioles had the top of the order batting in the ninth, but Jackson Holliday grounded softly to the pitcher and Jordan Westburg struck out swinging. Gunnar Henderson walked, and then there was a lengthy delay as Muñoz was tended to on the mound. He eventually took a drink from a cup — as the crowd booed — and then Adley Rutschman singled.
Ryan Mountcastle came within a few feet of giving Baltimore its first walk-off win of the year, but his drive to left field curled foul. He then hit a routine grounder to the shortstop.
Dean Kremer (8-9) was a hard-luck loser after allowing a run and five hits in eight innings.
REDS 6, PHILLIES 1
CINCINNATI (AP) — Brady Singer pitched six shutout innings, Spencer Steer drove in three runs and Cincinnati beat NL East-leading Philadelphia, halting the Phillies’ four-game win streak.
Singer (10-9) gave up three of the Phillies’ four hits, struck out six and didn’t walk a batter. The 29-year-old right-hander faced the minimum of 17 batters over the first 5 2/3 innings with the only hit allowed being a single by Nick Castellanos, whose grounder deflected off the glove of shortstop Elly De La Cruz. Castellanos was erased on a double play in the fifth.
Bryce Harper spoiled the Reds’ shutout bid with a two-out homer, his 18th, off Sam Moll during a downpour in the ninth inning.
Ranger Suárez (8-6) gave up a season-high 10 hits and six runs over 5 1/3 innings. He struck out three and walked two.
GUARDIANS 4, MARLINS 3
CLEVELAND (AP) — José Ramírez became Cleveland’s leader in multi-home run games with a drive to right field in the eighth inning as the Guardians defeated Miami.
Ramírez had three hits and Kyle Manzardo also went deep as the Guardians won for the sixth time in seven games.
Ramírez, who snapped an 0-for-12 skid with a solo shot in the first inning, lined a cutter from Calvin Faucher (3-3) just over the wall in right field with one out in the eighth to put Cleveland back on top.
It was the 27th multihomer game of Ramírez’s 13-year majors career, surpassing Hall of Famer Jim Thome and Albert Belle for the franchise lead. It was also his second this season.
Cade Smith (5-4) threw 1 1/3 scoreless innings for the win.
BLUE JAYS 5, CUBS 1
TORONTO (AP) — Ernie Clement and Daulton Varsho homered, and Toronto became the first AL team to reach 70 wins by beating Chicago.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. had three hits as the AL East-leading Blue Jays (70-50) improved to 23-11 against NL opponents.
The Cubs have dropped five of seven. In those five losses, they scored a total of six runs.
Toronto right-hander José Berríos (9-4) allowed two hits, both singles, in 5 1/3 scoreless innings. He walked four and struck out three.
Pitching in front of a season-high crowd of 43,003, Berríos won his fourth straight decision. He is 7-1 with a 3.62 ERA in his past 10 starts.
Starting for the first time since Sept. 25, 2024, at Philadelphia, Cubs right-hander Javier Assad (0-1) allowed four runs and eight hits in four innings.
METS 13, BRAVES 5
NEW YORK (AP) — Pete Alonso broke the Mets’ franchise home run record, going deep twice and knocking in three runs as New York beat Atlanta.
Alonso’s first homer, a two-run shot off Spencer Strider (5-10) in the third inning, was his 253rd. He moved past Darryl Strawberry, who had held the team mark since 1988. Following the homer, the Mets displayed a graphic on the scoreboard with the number 253, alongside pictures of Alonso and polar bears in honor of the slugger’s nickname.
Alonso homered again off Austin Cox in the sixth for his franchise-record 25th career two-homer game, three more than Strawberry.
Brandon Nimmo hit a tiebreaking three-run homer in the fourth for the Mets, who snapped a seven-game skid with just their second win in 13 games. Francisco Alvarez also homered twice and Brett Baty also went deep as New York moved within five games of NL East-leading Philadelphia.
The Mets hit all six of their homers with two outs, tying the mark for a single game in the expansion era.
YANKEES 9, TWINS 1
NEW YORK (AP) — Aaron Judge hit his first homer in nearly three weeks, Giancarlo Stanton had his first four-hit game in nearly two years, and Carlos Rodón allowed one hit in seven innings as New York routed Minnesota.
Stanton went 4 for 5 for his first four-hit game since Aug. 24, 2023 against Washington. He doubled in his first at-bat, homered in the fifth and singled in his final two at-bats before getting lifted for a pinch runner following a two-run single.
Rodón (12-7) allowed a leadoff single to Austin Martin and cruised after a 31-pitch first inning. He became the first Yankee to complete seven innings since the left-hander pitched eight against the Cubs on July 11.
The Yankees won their third series since the All-Star break and won the first two games of a series for the first time since sweeping Seattle July 8-10.
Adams allowed four runs and four hits in 2 1/3 innings.
The Associated Press