ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Mallex Smith had four hits and Blake Snell struck out nine Monday night to help the Tampa Bay Rays stop a four-game losing streak with an 8-4 win over the Texas Rangers.
Smith bunted for a single against starter Martin Perez (1-2) in a four-run second inning that gave the Rays a 5-0 lead. He doubled and scored in the third on his way to a second four-hit game in eight days.
Wilson Ramos had three hits for the Rays and drove in two runs.
Snell (2-1) gave up one run and five hits in 6 1/3 innings, the third time this season a Tampa Bay starter has pitched at least six innings.
Joey Gallo hit his sixth home run to get Texas on the board in the fourth. It was the first home run by a left-handed hitter against Snell, who has made 47 career starts.
Nomar Mazara added a three-run shot in the eighth off reliever Chih-Wei Hu.
C.J. Cron hit his second homer and Daniel Robertson connected for his first off Perez, who gave up seven runs and 10 hits in four innings.
Rays third baseman Matt Duffy and Rangers shortstop Jurickson Profar left the game early with injuries.
Profar was in concussion protocol after being upended by Smith’s slide in the second inning. Profar came down on the side of his head after making a throw toward first base.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
ROCKIES 6, PIRATES 2 Trevor Story drilled a three-run home run, German Marquez pitched six effective innings and Colorado kept its road surge going. Story bounced back from a miserable series in Washington by going 2 for 3 and driving in three runs, all of them coming when he sent a pitch from Steven Brault into the bleachers in left field with one out in the fourth at frigid and blustery PNC Park to break open a close game. Charlie Blackmon added his team-leading seventh home run of the season for Colorado. The Rockies have won five of six overall and are 8-2 in their last 10 games away from Coors Field. Marquez (1-1) held the Pirates without a hit until a one-out triple by Francisco Cervelli in the fifth. He left after six innings, giving up two runs, two hits and two walks with six strikeouts.
BRAVES 2, PHILLIES 1 Julio Teheran out-pitched Aaron Nola for a rare night of success at SunTrust Park and Atlanta snapped Philadelphia’s six-game winning streak. Teheran (1-1) allowed one run, five hits and three walks with nine strikeouts in six innings. He began the night 3-10 with a 6.20 ERA and 21 homers allowed in 19 starts at the Braves’ second-year stadium, but Teheran kept the Phillies guessing with a tough slider. After setup man A.J. Minter escaped a shaky eighth, Atlanta became the last team in the majors to record a save as closer Arodys Vizcaino retired two of the first three batters he faced and ended it on Carlos Santana’s groundout.
REDS 10, BREWERS 4 Billy Hamilton drove in three runs and the Cincinnati Reds ended an eight-game losing streak. The Reds won for just the third time in 16 games this season. Cincinnati is tied with Kansas City for the fewest wins in the majors. Cincinnati starter Luis Castillo (1-2) entered the game having allowed 13 earned runs in 16 innings over three starts this season. He shut out the Brewers for six innings before allowing four runs in the seventh.
NATIONALS 8, METS 6 Bryce Harper hit an eye-popping, broken-bat homer early, then grounded a key single during a six-run surge in the eighth inning that sent the Nationals past the New York Mets. The Nationals rallied against five pitchers in their big burst, winning for just the fourth time in 13 games. The Mets had been off to the best start in franchise history behind
INTERLEAGUE
YANKEES 12, MARLINS 1 Didi Gregorius homered twice for the second time this season, Gary Sanchez had three hits and three RBIs, and the New York Yankees romped past Derek Jeter’s Miami Marlins. About the only Yankees bopper who didn’t get in on the fun was Giancarlo Stanton, who went hitless and got booed again by the hometown fans in his first game against his former team. Aaron Judge became the fastest major leaguer to hit 60 career homers, and Gregorius finished with three RBIs. New York scored in each of the first five innings and built an 11-0 lead for Luis Severino (3-1), who allowed one hit in six scoreless innings and struck out eight. Judge hit his fourth home run this season and reached 60 in 197 games, five fewer than Mark McGwire. Jeter did not attend the game, the first between the teams since the former Yankees captain became Marlins CEO last October.