Brayan Bello pitched seven innings of three-hit ball, leading the Boston Red Sox to a 1-0 victory over the New York Yankees on Friday night that clinched the season series between the longtime rivals.
Boston moved a half-game ahead of the Yankees for the first American League wild card and improved to 7-1 against New York this year after losing the first meeting on June 6.
Bello (10-6) allowed singles to Ben Rice, Trent Grisham and Austin Wells and permitted four baserunners in his third scoreless start this season and second against the Yankees. After giving up Grisham’s hit, the right-hander got Rice to ground into a double play to end the third. Wells was doubled off first in the sixth on a line drive by Grisham.
Connor Wong hit an RBI double off Mark Leiter Jr. (5-7) in the seventh after pinch-hitter Nathaniel Lowe doubled.
Boston rookie Jhostynxon Garcia went 0 for 3 with a walk and three strikeouts in his major league debut. He was batting in the fourth against Max Fried when a squirrel ran onto the field and briefly delayed the game.
The Yankees lost their second straight, both to Boston, following a five-game winning streak and dropped 5 1/2 games behind first-place Toronto in the AL East. New York was shut out for the ninth time this season.
PIRATES 9, ROCKIES 0
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Braxton Ashcraft and highly touted rookie Bubba Chandler combined for a three-hit shutout as Pittsburgh breezed past Colorado Rockies.
Ashcraft (4-2) struck out six with one hit and a walk to win his second consecutive start. Chandler, a hard-throwing 22-year-old right-hander considered the top pitching prospect in baseball, followed with four innings of scoreless relief to get the save in his major league debut.
Spencer Horwitz, Tommy Pham and Alexander Canario homered for Pittsburgh, which has won three of four. Andrew McCutchen doubled twice and drove in four runs off Colorado’s Antonio Senzatela (4-15), who struggled against the Pirates for the second time in three weeks.
BLUE JAYS 5, MARLINS 2
MIAMI (AP) — Shane Bieber struck out nine over six innings of one-run ball in his Toronto debut and return from a 16-month absence as the Blue Jays beat Miami.
Daulton Varsho homered, doubled and drove in three runs, while Ty France had two hits and two RBIs for the AL East-leading Blue Jays.
Bieber (1-0) allowed two hits and hit a batter in his 87-pitch outing. He retired 12 straight after allowing Javier Sanoja’s homer in the second inning.
It was Bieber’s first appearance since April 2, 2024, when he experienced elbow discomfort and subsequently underwent Tommy John surgery.
The Blue Jays acquired the 2020 AL Cy Young Award winner from the Cleveland Guardians on July 31. Bieber had four rehab outings with the Guardians before the trade and three since joining the Blue Jays.
Varsho hit an RBI double and scored on Frances’ two-run single off Marlins starter Ryan Gusto (7-6) to put Toronto ahead 3-0 in the first.
NATIONALS 5, PHILLIES 4
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Daylen Lile hit a tying single in the ninth inning and dashed home with the go-ahead run on a throwing error by catcher J.T. Realmuto as Washington rallied past Philadelphia.
The Nationals scored twice in the ninth off Phillies closer Jhoan Duran (6-5), who had not allowed a runner to reach second base in seven previous appearances since being acquired from Minnesota on July 30.
Lile singled home Dylan Crews, who doubled off Duran with one out, to tie it at 4. Lile went to second on the throw to the plate, then stole third and scored when Realmuto’s throw sailed into left field.
P.J. Poulin (1-1) retired all six batters he faced to earn his first career win.
Riley Adams hit a three-run homer off Philadelphia starter Taijuan Walker in the first. It was Adams’ eighth homer of the season. The Nationals didn’t score again until Lile’s hit in the ninth.
Cade Cavalli started for the Nationals and allowed three runs on seven hits in six innings.
TIGERS 7, ROYALS 5
DETROIT (AP) — Zach McKinstry had three hits, including a homer, and scored twice as Detroit rallied for a win against Kansas City.
The Tigers have won eight of nine while the Royals lost for just the third time in 11 games.
McKinstry homered in the third inning, tripled in the fifth and singled in the seventh. He flied out in the eighth, finishing a double shy of becoming the first Tigers player to hit for the cycle.
Vinnie Pasquantino homered in the ninth inning, tying the franchise record of five straight games with a home run. Mike Sweeney set the record in 2002 and Salvador Perez matched it in 2021.
The Tigers trailed 3-1 going into the sixth inning, but Riley Greene’s 30th homer tied it, and Detroit scored four in the seventh.
McKinstry started the seventh with an infield single off the arm of Royals reliever Bailey Falter (7-7). McKinstry took third on Javier Báez’s single and scored when Randal Grichuk’s throw bounced away from third baseman Maikel Garcia.
Andy Ibáñez made it 5-3 with an RBI single and scored on Gleyber Torres’ double.
Kyle Finnegan (3-4) picked up the win with two scoreless innings of relief.
ASTROS 10, ORIOLES 7
BALTIMORE (AP) — Jeremy Peña and Christian Walker each hit a three-run homer, and Houston outslugged Baltimore for a win.
Colton Cowser went deep for Baltimore, but the Orioles couldn’t pull this game out despite twice cutting a four-run deficit to one.
Steven Okert (2-2) got the win in relief for Houston, and the Astros — who are without injured closer Josh Hader and lefty reliever Bennett Sousa — held on. Houston signed veteran reliever Craig Kimbrel and he was with the team, but the AL West-leading Astros didn’t use him. Bryan Abreu struck out four to end the game and get his second save.
Rookie catcher Samuel Basallo, who agreed to an eight-year, $67 million contract before the game, did not start for the Orioles, but entered as a pinch hitter in the seventh and tagged out a runner at the plate the following inning.
METS 12, BRAVES 7
ATLANTA (AP) — Nolan McLean gave the slumping Mets a boost with seven strong innings for his second career win, and New York beat Atlanta.
Juan Soto homered and drove in four runs for the Mets. New York began the night only a half-game ahead of Cincinnati for the final National League wild card after losing 16 of 21 overall.
McLean (2-0) was a Braves fan while growing up in Willow Spring, North Carolina. The right-hander allowed four hits and two runs with seven strikeouts and no walks in his second major league start since getting called up from the minors.
The Mets tied their season high with 21 hits, including a career-high four by Brett Baty. Soto reached base five times with three hits and two walks.
RAYS 10, CARDINALS 6
TAMPA. Fla. (AP) — Carson Williams hit a two-run homer in his major league debut, All-Star Junior Caminero hit his 36th longball and Tampa Bay beat St. Louis.
Williams’ drive to center in the seventh inning made it 9-6 and set off a raucous celebration by his family in the stands. He also had an RBI infield single in the third. The 22-year-old shortstop was the Rays’ top-rated prospect when he was called up on Thursday.
Brandon Lowe and Tristan Gray also homered for the Rays, and Jake Mangum had three hits and two RBIs.
Rookie Nathan Church hit a two-run homer for the Cardinals in the seventh for his first career hit. Willson Contreras hit a two-run drive later in the inning to get St. Louis within 7-6.
Williams reached on a second-inning throwing error by Cardinals third baseman Nolan Gorman, who has five errors this month. The rookie’s first hit came on a grounder that Gorman couldn’t handle.
Adrian Houser (7-4) allowed four runs over 6 1/3 innings for the Rays. The Cardinals’ Miles Mikolas (6-10) gave up 10 hits and five runs (four earned) in 2 2/3 innings.
RANGERS 4, GUARDIANS 3
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Joc Pederson hit a walk-off RBI double to give Texas a comeback win over Cleveland.
Wyatt Langford, who hit a solo home run in the sixth, scored the tying run on Corey Seager’s single after hustling to second for an aggressive double to open the ninth inning.
Carlos Ramirez hit a two-run double to give the Guardians a 3-2 lead in the eighth inning.
Rangers starter Nathan Eovaldi went seven innings, giving up one run on four hits while striking out nine to temporarily take the league’s qualified ERA lead. He entered the game with a 1.76 ERA, but was not qualified as the league leader, with 123 innings pitched over 129 games. He qualified with 130 innings and a 1.73 ERA by the end of the game, giving him the lead over Pittsburgh’s Paul Skenes (2.16 ERA).
Eovaldi allowed a double in the first, and back-to-back doubles in the second to Carlos Santana and C.J. Kayfus. After Kayfus’ RBI double, Eovaldi retired 15 batters in a row.
The Rangers’ Robert Garcia (2-7) pitched an inning in relief, while Guardians reliever Cade Smith (5-5) took the loss and a blown save.
TWINS 9, WHITE SOX 7
CHICAGO (AP) — Royce Lewis hit a grand slam, Byron Buxton, Luke Keaschall, and Edouard Julien each had two hits, and Minnesota beat Chicago.
Lewis was 3 for 5 and scored two runs, including his 386-foot drive to left field in the fourth inning. Five Twins players had at least one RBI, and seven had at least one hit.
Miguel Vargas had a bases-loaded walk, and Kyle Teel and Lenyn Sosa added RBI singles in the eighth to pull the White Sox to 8-7. Lewis caught a popup and three out the tying run at home to keep the Twins in the lead.
Buxton’s RBI single in the ninth as Minnesota snapped a three-game losing streak and improved to 3-7 in their last 10 games.
Colson Montgomery hit a two-run homer, and Sosa had two RBIs for Chicago, which has lost three straight.
Twins starter Zebby Matthews gave up four runs and eight hits while striking out four in 4 2/3 innings. Reliever Kody Funderburk (3-1) got four outs to get the win and Justin Topa got the last five outs for his third save.
BREWERS 5, GIANTS 4
MILWAUKEE (AP) — William Contreras hit a solo home run off All-Star reliever Randy Rodríguez in the bottom of the ninth inning to give Milwaukee a victory over San Francisco.
With two outs and nobody on, Contreras drove a 1-0 pitch from Rodríguez (3-5) over the left-center wall for his first career walk-off homer, as the major league-leading Brewers (81-48) overcame a pair of solo home runs from Willy Adames in his return to Milwaukee.
Adames launched the first pitch he saw from José Quintana for his 21st home run of the season in the first inning. It was Adames’ first time back after signing a $182 million contract with the Giants as a free agent last offseason. Adames connected again in the eighth for his third multihomer game this year and the 10th of his career.
Contreras’ RBI double and Andrew Vaughn’s run-scoring groundout in the seventh gave Milwaukee a 4-3 lead.
Trevor Megill (5-2) got two quick outs in the ninth before putting runners on the corners and throwing a wild pitch that allowed pinch-runner Tyler Fitzgerald to score the tying run.
The Brewers rallied in the fourth. Sal Frelick laced an RBI double and Andrew Vaughn scored on Carson Whisenhunt’ second wild pitch of the inning.
PADRES 2, DODGERS 1
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Yu Darvish combined with three relievers on a three-hitter, and San Diego pulled even with the Los Angeles Dodgers atop the NL West once again with a victory.
Manny Machado had an RBI single and scored in the fourth inning for the Padres, who rebounded sharply after getting swept over three games last weekend in Chavez Ravine. The archrivals are even at 73-56 with 33 games left in the regular season.
Alex Freeland hit his first major league homer for the defending champion Dodgers, who have lost three of five since last Sunday’s sweep.
Blake Snell (3-2) gave up two runs on six hits over seven strong innings for Los Angeles, but he was outdueled by the 39-year-old Darvish (3-3), who allowed just one hit and three baserunners while striking out five over six innings.
The Padres’ vaunted bullpen then came through — barely.
Jason Adam pitched a perfect seventh, but Mason Miller walked two in the eighth before San Diego turned a fraught 3-6-1 double play.
Robert Suárez then gave up a 388-foot flyout to Shohei Ohtani and singles to Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman before striking out Teoscar Hernández to earn his MLB-leading 34th save.
CUBS 3, ANGELS 2
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Pete Crow-Armstrong hit a tiebreaking homer in the ninth inning and Kyle Tucker went deep for the first time in more than a month as Chicago beat the Los Angeles Angels to open a nine-game trip.
Crow-Armstrong connected for a solo shot off Kenley Jansen (5-4) with one out, his 28th home run this season and first in his last 25 games.
Tucker also ended a 25-game drought with a solo drive off Tyler Anderson in the first — his first longball since July 19.
Yoán Moncada homered twice for the Angels, including a tying shot in the seventh. It was his first multihomer game with Los Angeles.
Javier Assad allowed one run in six innings for the Cubs after being recalled from Triple-A Iowa before the game. He took a no-hitter into the fifth before Moncada homered.
Brad Keller (4-1) pitched a perfect eighth and Daniel Palencia struck out two in a 1-2-3 ninth for his 19th save.
DIAMONDBACKS 6, REDS 5, 11 INNINGS
PHOENIX (AP) — Lources Gurriel Jr. singled in the winning run in the 11th inning, Gabriel Moreno added a three-run homer in his return from the injured list and Arizona beat Cincinnati.
Gurriel led off the 11th and lifted a single into right-center off Scott Barlow (6-2) that easily scored the speedy Corbin Carroll, who started the inning on second base.
Cincinnati took a 5-4 lead in the top of the 10th, taking advantage of a throwing error by D-backs pitcher John Curtiss. Arizona tied it on Ketel Marte’s RBI single after a 13-pitch at-bat against Graham Ashcraft.
Carroll threw out Jose Trevino — trying to tag up and score on T.J. Friedl’s foul fly to right — to keep it a one-run game. The throw was up the line, forcing Moreno to dive back to make the tag on his fellow catcher that withstood a replay challenge.
Arizona tied it on Ketel Marte’s RBI single after a 13-pitch at-bat against Graham Ashcraft.
The Reds trailed 4-2 after three innings, but cut the deficit to 4-3 in the sixth on Austin Hays’ RBI groundout that scored Elly De La Cruz, who reached on a leadoff triple. Cincinnati tied it up in the eighth on De La Cruz’s RBI single.
Moreno hit his three-run homer after missing more than two months with a broken finger. His no-doubt shot to left came in the third inning and was his sixth of the season, giving the D-backs a 4-2 lead.
Arizona right-hander Ryne Nelson gave up three runs on four hits and two walks over six innings. He struck out six.
MARINERS 3, ATHLETICS 2
SEATTLE (AP) — Bryan Woo allowed one hit in seven innings and Seattle got homers from Eugenio Suárez, Josh Naylor and Jorge Polanco to beat the Athletics.
With the score tied 1-all in the seventh, Athletics reliever Elvis Alvarado (1-1) hung a slider to Naylor. The slugging first baseman ripped it to right field and flipped his bat to celebrate his 100th career home run.
Two batters later, Polanco’s drive made it 3-1.
Those late swings ensured an excellent start from Woo (11-7) did not go to waste. The only hit he gave up was a solo homer by Brent Rooker in the first. The right-hander struck out seven and walked two.
All-Star closer Andrés Muñoz allowed a run in the ninth before pitching out of a bases-loaded jam to earn his 30th save.
The Associated Press