MLB Roundup: Betts, Freeman homer back-to-back, lift Dodgers to win over Padres

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman homered back-to-back to regain the lead in the seventh inning, and the NL West leaders defeated the San Diego Padres 4-2 on Friday night for their third straight victory.

The Padres tied it 2-all with two outs in the top of the seventh. Ha-Seong Kim doubled off starter Dustin May, scoring Xander Bogaerts and pinch-runner Rougned Odor.

Betts hit a 426-foot shot to left field and Freeman followed with a 370-foot drive to right off Tim Hill (1-1) for a 4-2 lead.

Caleb Ferguson (3-0) got two outs for the win, and Evan Phillips pitched 1 1/3 innings to earn his seventh save. He got Manny Machado to ground into an inning-ending double play in the eighth.

The Padres dropped below .500, having lost three in a row and five of six.

ORIOLES 6, PIRATES 3

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BALTIMORE (AP) — Cedric Mullins hit for the cycle for Baltimore, and his three-run homer in the eighth inning helped the Orioles to a victory over the Pirates.

Mullins hit a single in the third, a triple in the fifth and a double in the seventh before completing the cycle with a drive to right in his final plate appearance. He became the seventh Oriole to accomplish the feat and first since Austin Hays on June 22, 2022 against Washington.

The Pirates have lost 10 of 11 since starting the season 20-8. Up 2-1 in the seventh, Jose Hernandez (0-1) allowed consecutive doubles by Mullins and Adley Rutschman with one out to tie it. Ryan Mountcastle put the Orioles ahead with a two-out single. Mullins’ two-out homer in the eighth made it 6-2.

Bryan Baker (3-0) pitched 1 1/3 perfect innings of relief. After Austin Voth allowed all three batters he faced to reach in the ninth, Félix Bautista came on and struck out three straight hitters for his ninth save in 12 chances.

BLUE JAYS 3, BRAVES 0

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TORONTO (AP) — Chris Bassitt pitched a two-hitter, Daulton Varsho homered and Toronto beat Atlanta.

Bassitt (5-2) struck out eight and walked two in the Blue Jays’ first individual shutout since Mark Buehrle accomplished the feat against Washington in 2015. Bassitt threw 70 of his 103 pitches for strikes to win his fourth straight decision. The shutout was Toronto’s sixth this season.

Atlanta lost a series-opening road game for the first time this season after winning six straight to start the year. The Braves came in with a majors-best 15-3 road record.

Spencer Strider (4-1) lost for the first time in eight starts this season, allowing two runs and five hits in 6 2/3 innings. Strider struck out 12, boosting his MLB-leading total to 79.

CARDINALS 8, RED SOX 6

BOSTON (AP) — Nolan Gorman hit a go-ahead, two-run homer off Kenley Jansen in the ninth inning and St. Louis beat Boston.

Lars Nootbaar’s single off Jansen (1-1) tied the game before Gorman belted his homer to right. The veteran closer did not record an out.

The Cardinals won their second straight series opener after losing their first 11. Nolan Arenado had a two-run homer during his four-hit night and Willson Contreras added a solo shot for St. Louis.

Ryan Helsley (1-2) worked two scoreless innings as Boston lost for just the third time in 12 games.

James Paxton struck out nine over five innings in his first major league appearance in two years for the Red Sox. Enmanuel Valdez and Connor Wong homered on consecutive pitches off Cardinals starter Adam Wainwright.

YANKEES 6, RAYS 5

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NEW YORK (AP) — Anthony Rizzo homered twice on his bobblehead giveaway night, the second a go-ahead, two-run drive in the eighth inning that lifted New York over Tampa Bay.

After Josh Lowe’s three-run homer off Michael King in the eighth put the major league-leading Rays ahead 5-4, Aaron Judge walked against Jason Adam (0-1) in the bottom half and Rizzo homered to right.

Rizzo hit a solo homer in the first against Trevor Kelly.

Clay Holmes (1-2) stranded a pair of runners in the eighth. Wandy Peralta earned his first save this season by striking out two in a one-hit ninth.

Tampa Bay’s Randy Arozarena homered in the first and Jose Siri in the second, both off Gerrit Cole.

METS 3, NATIONALS 2

WASHINGTON (AP) — Francisco Lindor hit a three-run single in the sixth inning to lift struggling New York over last-place Washington.

New York had lost four of five and 13 of 17 to fall to fourth place in the NL East before rallying against the Nationals’ bullpen.

Carl Edwards Jr. (1-2) entered with runners on second and third and two out in the sixth. Brandon Nimmo walked, setting up Lindor’s single to right-center. With all three runners going on a full-count pitch, Nimmo scored from first as the Nationals made a slow relay.

Tylor Megill (4-2) allowed four hits and four walks in five innings, but limited the damage to two runs (one earned).

Drew Smith earned his first save in 126 major league appearances. He inherited two runners from closer David Robertson, who threw 40 pitches in 1 2/3 innings, and struck out Lane Thomas to end it.

ANGELS 5, GUARDIANS 4

CLEVELAND (AP) — Brandon Drury’s sacrifice fly capped a two-run rally in the ninth inning and Los Angeles snapped a 10-game losing streak at Cleveland.

Drury’s shot to center off Emmanuel Clase (1-3) enabled the Angels to get their first win at Cleveland since Aug. 3, 2018. They had been 1-21 on the road against the Guardians since 2015.

Cleveland loaded the bases in the ninth off Carlos Estévez, who struck out Will Brennan for his ninth save.

Matt Moore (2-1) pitched two innings for the Angels. Josh Naylor put the Guardians ahead 4-3 with a 442-foot homer in the eighth.

PHILLIES 6, ROCKIES 3

DENVER (AP) — Bryce Harper broke an eighth-inning tie with a two-run double, Kyle Schwarber hit a two-run homer Philadelphia rallied past Colorado for its fourth straight win.

Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto left in the seventh with a sprained right pinkie.

Rockies starter Austin Gomber retired his first 14 batters and faced the minimum 19 until Alec Bohm’s 433-foot solo shot to left field. Three batters later, Schwarber hit a 430-foot fly to center to put Philadelphia ahead 3-1.

The Rockies tied it in the sixth. Harper drilled a 2-0 sweeper off the right-field wall against Justin Lawrence (1-2) with two outs in the eighth to put the Phillies ahead to stay.

REDS 7, MARLINS 4

MIAMI (AP) — Jake Fraley homered twice, including a tiebreaking three-run shot in the ninth inning that sent Cincinnati past Miami.

Eury Pérez, the Marlins’ 20-year-old top prospect, struck out seven over 4 2/3 innings in his major league debut. He gave up Fraley’s two-run homer in the fifth.

The Reds erased a 4-2 deficit on Spencer Steer’s two-run double in the seventh.

Stuart Fairchild hit a leadoff single against reliever Dylan Floro (2-2) in the ninth and advanced two bases on José Barrero’s single to right field. Floro struck out Jonathan India before Fraley homered to right.

Ian Gibaut (2-0) threw 1 1/3 innings of scoreless relief and Alexis Díaz closed with a perfect ninth for his eighth save.

CUBS 6, TWINS 2

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Rookie Matt Mervis crushed a tying RBI double in the seventh inning and Chicago rallied to beat Minnesota.

Yan Gomes had the go-ahead single in the seventh, Christopher Morel tacked on a two-run homer in the ninth and Drew Smyly (4-1) pitched six strong innings to fuel the Cubs on the opening night of a nine-game trip.

Sonny Gray, the major league ERA leader among qualified pitchers at 1.39, gave the Twins another stellar turn, allowing one run and striking out nine in 5 1/3 innings. Griffin Jax (2-5) stumbled in the seventh and lost the lead on four straight one-out hits.

BREWERS 5, ROYALS 1

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Corbin Burnes pitched six scoreless innings and Owen Miller went 3 for 4 with a homer and a double as Milwaukee beat Kansas City.

Burnes (4-2) struck out seven, walked four and allowed two hits.

The Brewers took the lead with an unearned run in the first against opener Josh Taylor (0-1).

Freddy Fermin homered for the Royals in the seventh off Joel Payamps.

MARINERS 9, TIGERS 2

DETROIT (AP) — Julio Rodríguez had three hits, including a homer, and drove in four runs as Seattle beat Detroit.

Marco Gonzales (3-0) gave up two runs on five hits and two walks in six innings.

Detroit starter Matthew Boyd (2-3) allowed six runs — five earned — on five hits and four walks in 1 1/3 innings.

ATHLETICS 9, RANGERS 7, 10 INNINGS

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Brent Rooker hit a three-run homer off Brock Burke in the bottom of the 10th inning, rallying Oakland over Texas to snap a five-game losing streak.

Esteury Ruiz homered and drove in four runs for the Athletics. Kevin Smith and Carlos Pérez also connected for the major league-worst A’s (9-31), who won on a walk-off hit for the third time this season.

This one came after Rangers pinch-hitter Adolis García delivered a go-ahead single off Zach Jackson in the top of the 10th. Former A’s shortstop Marcus Semien followed with an RBI single to give Texas a two-run lead before Oakland came back in front of another small crowd of 6,575 at the Coliseum. 

Ruiz’s RBI single off Burke (2-1) drove in Nick Allen, who began the 10th inning as the automatic runner at second base. JJ Bleday added another single before Rooker’s 11th home run. The rookie outfielder was mobbed by teammates as he crossed home plate.

The A’s forced extra innings after trailing 5-4 in the eighth. Ruiz, who homered on Martín Peréz’s first pitch of the game, singled in Jace Peterson with the tying run.

Shintaro Fujinami (1-4) retired two batters for his first career win.

ASTROS 5, WHITE SOX 1

CHICAGO (AP) — J.P. France pitched three-hit ball into the seventh inning in his second major league outing, José Abreu got a warm reception in his return to Chicago and Houston beat the White Sox 5-1.

The teams waited out more than a two-hour rain delay at the start. The White Sox honored Abreu with a pregame video tribute, and he responded by popping out of the dugout and pumping his fist as the crowd cheered.

Kyle Tucker got Houston’s first hit when he chased starter Michael Kopech (1-4) with an RBI double in the fifth. The Astros scored two more in the sixth on back-to-back RBI doubles by Martín Maldonado and Mauricio Dubón against Gregory Santos. Yordan Alvarez homered in his second straight game when he led off the ninth with a long drive to right.

France (1-0) was terrific again after throwing five scoreless innings against Seattle last week in his debut. The 28-year-old right-hander went 6 2/3 innings in this one, allowing just one run and one walk.

Luis Robert homered for Chicago, which has lost four of five.

DIAMONDBACKS 7, GIANTS 5

PHOENIX (AP) — Dominic Fletcher hit his first major league homer, doubled in the go-ahead run in the sixth inning and had four RBIs to help Arizona rally past San Francisco, ending a three-game slide.

Fletcher, who made his debut April 30, raised his batting average to .457. Hitting ninth in the order, he tied the score 3-3 with a three-run homer in the second off Ross Stripling.

Fletcher singled in the fourth and then doubled off Jakob Junis (2-2) for a 5-4 lead.

Anthony Misiewicz (1-0) retired four batters without allowing a hit. Miguel Castro got two outs for his second save.

Evan Longoria also homered for Arizona. Bench coach Jeff Banister filled in for Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo, who missed the game to attend the graduation of son Connor from Northern Arizona.

Joc Pederson and Michael Conforto homered early for the Giants.

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