PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Aaron Nola returned to form with three-hit ball over six innings and Jhoan Duran stranded two runners when he struck out the final two batters to help the Philadelphia Phillies beat the New York Mets 1-0 on Monday night.
The Phillies stretched their lead in the NL East to eight games over the Mets, pulling away in a race that seemed to tighten when New York completed a three-game sweep of Philadelphia late last month.
New York stumbled since that series in Citi Field and lost their third straight game, and fourth in five games.
Nola (4-8) shook off a season derailed by injuries and career-worst stretches to look like the right-hander who anchored the rotation for most of the last decade. He walked only two and struck out seven. Nola’s last pitch was a 93 mph sinker that got Brandon Nimmo swinging to end the sixth and earned him a standing ovation as he walked off the field.
Duran was the last of three Phillies relievers and worked a scoreless ninth for his 28th save to keep the Mets as the only big league team this season that hasn’t won when trailing after eight innings.
The Phillies, who beat the Mets for the third time in 10 meetings this year. needed Nola to deliver with a lineup weakened by the losses of infielder Trea Turner and Alec Bohm, both placed on the injured list.
GUARDIANS 10, ROYALS 2
CLEVELAND (AP) — Slade Cecconi took a bid to end Cleveland’s long no-hitter drought into the eighth inning, and the Guardians rolled to a win over Kansas City and leapfrogged the Royals in the AL wild-card race.
Cecconi (6-6) was six outs from the first no-hitter in the majors this season — and Cleveland’s first since Len Barker’s perfect game in 1981 — when Kansas City’s Michael Massey singled leading off the eighth.
On Cecconi’s 95th pitch, Massey lined a 2-1 fastball into left-center. The right-hander received a nice ovation from the crowd in Progressive Field before Cecconi got Carter Jensen to hit into a double play.
Cleveland (73-70) won its fourth straight game and moved past the Royals (73-71) into second place in the AL Central. Cleveland entered the four-game series 2 1/2 games behind Seattle for the third and final wild card spot.
Kyle Manzardo, Daniel Schneemann and Nolan Jones had two RBIs apiece for Cleveland, which set season highs with 16 hits and seven doubles.
The Guardians tagged Ryan Bergert (2-2) for four RBI doubles and six runs in the fourth inning while opening an 8-0 lead. C.J. Kayfus, Brayan Rocchio, Schneemann and Jones hit the doubles.
BRAVES 4, CUBS 1
ATLANTA (AP) — Ozzie Albies and Matt Olson homered and Bryce Elder had his fourth straight strong outing as Atlanta beat Chicago.
The Cubs, who lead the NL wild-card race, lost for the fourth time in five games.
Olson went 2 for 4 and hit his 23rd home run of the season in the eighth inning.
Elder (7-9) pitched one-run ball for 6 1/3 innings. The 26-year-old right-hander struck out six, walked one and allowed five hits. He has allowed four earned runs in his last four starts over 26 1/3 innings.
Tyler Kinley worked a perfect eighth for his 13th straight scoreless appearance for the Braves. Rasiel Iglesias pitched the ninth inning and earned his 25th save.
Cubs starter Shota Imanaga (9-7) gave up three runs in the first inning before settling down. He retired 16 of the final 17 batters he faced and was lifted after six innings. He gave up five hits and no walks with four strikeouts.
The Cubs scored in the seventh when Matt Shaw’s sacrifice fly to center scored Nico Hoerner.
NATIONALS 15, MARLINS 7
MIAMI (AP) — Josh Bell became the second Washington player to homer from both sides of the plate in the same game, finishing with four hits and six RBIs to lead the Nationals over Miami.
Dylan Crews and Luis GarcĂa Jr also homered as the Nationals matched their season high for runs and hits (19).
Miami drew just 7,992, its 12th crowd this season under 8,000.
Bell’s RBI single in the fifth put Washington ahead 3-1 and, batting right-handed, he hit a two-run drive off Josh Simpson for a 10-2 lead in the sixth.
Hitting left-handed, Bell added a two-run homer in the sixth against Josh Simpson, a 413-foot, 110 mph drive four rows into the nearly empty right-field upper deck for his 19th long ball this season. Bell added an RBI single in the ninth, matching his career high for hits.
Washington’s Danny Espinosa homered from both sides of the plate twice in the same series against Cincinnati, on June 30 and July 3, 2016, a four-game series in which he had five homers and 15 RBIs.
Crews also had four RBIs for the Nats, who won for the sixth time in seven games.
Cade Cavalli (3-1) gave up two runs and six hits in five innings.
RANGERS 5, BREWERS 0
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Michael Helman drove in all the Texas runs with a grand slam and a double, lefty Jacob Latz pitched 5 2/3 scoreless innings and the playoff-chasing Rangers beat MLB-best Milwaukee.
The Rangers (75-70) moved within 3 1/2 games of idle Houston, the closest they have been to the AL West lead since also trailing by 3 1/2 on May 30. Texas, with 17 games remaining, just won two of three against the Astros.
Milwaukee (89-56), which in this three-game series could become the first team to officially clinch a playoff spot, was held scoreless for the 11th time this season. Cole Winn, Jacob Webb and Chris Martin finished off the Rangers’ 14th shutout win.
Texas didn’t even have a base runner against Brewers starter Jose Quintana (11-6) until Jake Burger’s leadoff walk in the fifth. The bases were loaded after Kyle Higashioka doubled off the very top of the 8-foot wall in left and Jonah Heim drew a walk before Helman’s fourth homer of the season.
Helman added a two-out RBI double in the seventh.
Latz (2-0) made his third consecutive start in what had been the rotation spot of 11-game winner Nathan Eovaldi before he went the injured list with a right rotator cuff strain. The left-hander struck out four and walked one while allowing only three singles.
The Associated Press
