Messick pitches 7 shutout innings as Guardians beat Rays

By Canadian Press on August 26, 2025.

CLEVELAND (AP) — Parker Messick pitched seven shutout innings in his second big league start, and the Cleveland Guardians snapped a six-game losing streak and a 28-inning scoreless drought with a 3-0 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday night.

Messick (1-0) allowed four hits, struck out six and didn’t issue a walk. He pitched 6 2/3 innings and left with a 2-1 lead in his debut against Arizona before the Diamondbacks rallied for a 3-2 win in 10 innings.

Hunter Gaddis pitched a scoreless eighth and Cade Smith closed it out for his eighth save.

RED SOX 5, ORIOLES 0

BALTIMORE (AP) — Lucas Giolito allowed four hits in eight innings, Trevor Story and David Hamilton both homered, and Boston blanked Baltimore.

Kyle Bradish (0-1) struck out 10 in six innings in his return from Tommy John surgery, but the Orioles gave him no run support. Story and Hamilton went deep leading off the second and third innings, and that was enough for Boston. The Red Sox added another run in the eighth, then two more in the ninth when rookie left fielder Dylan Beavers overran Hamilton’s shallow fly with two outs, resulting in a two-run double.

Boston entered the night as the American League’s top wild card, five games behind AL East-leading Toronto. The Red Sox have won five of six since the Orioles swept two games in Boston last week.

Giolito (9-2) looked like he might be on his way to a shutout after needing only four pitches to get through the seventh, but he threw 21 in the eighth, which included his only walk of the night. Giolito battled his way to an 11-pitch strikeout of Jeremiah Jackson to end that inning.

BRAVES 11, MARLINS 2

MIAMI (AP) — Ozzie Albies homered twice, doubled and drove in four runs and Atlanta used a nine-run ninth inning to beat Miami.

Drake Baldwin and Eli White each drove in two runs for the Braves.

Tyler Kinley (3-3) pitched a scoreless eighth to earn the win. Atlanta starter Hurston Waldrep gave up a run on eight hits with a walk in 5 1/3 innings.

Marlins starter Sandy Alcantara gave up two runs in seven innings. Tyler Zuber (0-1) allowed two runs and recorded an out in the ninth.

YANKEES 5, NATIONALS 1

NEW YORK (AP) — Giancarlo Stanton hit a 451-foot, two-run homer in the sixth inning and drove in five runs for the first time since 2022 to lead New York to a victory over Washington.

The Yankees won their third straight and remained a half-game behind Boston for the AL’s top wild-card spot.

Stanton gave the Yankees a 5-1 lead when he lifted a slider from Orlando Ribalta about halfway up the left field bleachers for his fifth homer in seven games.

Stanton’s 446th career homer was the highlight of his first game with at least five RBIs since May 12, 2022 against the White Sox. It was his eighth game with at least five RBIs and one shy of his career high.

Stanton also hit a bases-clearing double off the top of the left field fence with two outs in the third to give the Yankees a 3-1 lead off Washington starter MacKenzie Gore (5-13).

New York starter Luis Gil (2-1) allowed five hits and one run in five innings. He walked four for the third time since returning from a lat strain, and struck out five.

TWINS 7, BLUE JAYS 5

TORONTO (AP) — Mickey Gasper hit a game-tying home run in the ninth inning, Matt Wallner added a go-ahead homer and Minnesota rallied to beat Toronto.

Blue Jays closer Jeff Hoffman came on in the ninth with Toronto leading 4-3, but Gasper greeted him with a game-tying homer, the first of his career.

Four batters later, Wallner gave the Twins the lead with a two-run homer, his 20th. Wallner homered twice in Monday’s 10-4 loss.

The Twins snapped a three-game losing streak and won for the third time in 12 games.

The blown save was Hoffman’s seventh in 35 chances. Hoffman has allowed 12 home runs.

PIRATES 8, CARDINALS 3

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Henry Davis homered, Bryan Reynolds hit a pair of doubles and Pittsburgh beat St. Louis.

Mitch Keller (6-12) allowed three runs on three hits and struck out nine in six innings for the Pirates, who have won five of six.

Andre Pallante (6-12) allowed eight runs (seven earned) on eight hits and a walk in five innings. He is 0-4 with a 11.65 ERA over 17 innings in his last four starts.

Nolan Gorman hit a two-run homer for the Cardinals, his 13th of the season.

Davis hit his sixth home run of the season in the third inning to give Pittsburgh an 8-0 lead.

METS 6, PHILLIES 5

NEW YORK (AP) — Brandon Nimmo singled home the winning run in the ninth inning, Pete Alonso had four hits and New York beat Philadelphia.

Alonso delivered a two-run double in a five-run fifth that gave New York a 5-2 lead. Harrison Bader tied it for Philadelphia with a two-run homer in the eighth off struggling reliever Ryan Helsley, booed off the mound by the Citi Field crowd of 41,914.

Juan Soto and Mark Vientos each provided an RBI single for the Mets, who won for the fourth time in five games following a 5-16 stretch. They pulled within five games of first-place Philadelphia in the NL East by winning their ninth straight against the rival Phillies at home — including last year’s playoffs.

Bader and Bryce Harper each had three hits for the Phillies, who have lost 23 of 29 in Queens, counting the 2024 postseason.

The Associated Press

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