AMERICAN LEAGUE
RED SOX 4, YANKEES 1
BOSTON -- Nathan Eovaldi pitched eight dominant innings and closer Craig Kimbrel held on during a shaky ninth to help the Boston Red Sox beat the second-place Yankees for the third game in a row and expand their lead in the AL East to season-high 8½ games with a 4-1 victory on Saturday.
One night after Rick Porcello threw an 86-pitch, one-hit complete game, Eovaldi shut out the Yankees on three hits in sending them to their season-high fourth consecutive loss.
Down to their last strike, the Yankees rallied against Kimbrel on back-to-back doubles by Giancarlo Stanton and Didi Gregorius. A pair of walks loaded the bases before Greg Bird hit a routine flyball for the final out.
J.D. Martinez hit his big league-leading 33rd home run and Mitch Moreland also connected against Chance Adams, who made his debut in the majors.
The Red Sox, with the best record in baseball, go for a four-game sweep tonight, with David Price scheduled to face Masahiro Tanaka.
Eovaldi (5-4) struck out four and walked one. He has pitched 15 shutout innings since he was acquired from Tampa Bay last month for a minor league pitcher.
Kimbrel was one strike away from a perfect inning before the Yankees rallied. Walked to Aaron Hicks and Gleyber Torres brought up Bird.
The Yankees were missing Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez, and they had to shuffle their rotation when J.A. Happ contracted hand, foot and mouth disease just as Sonny Gray was sent to the bullpen because of ineffectiveness.
Adams was called up from Class AAA and took the loss despite allowing just 3 hits -- 2 of them home runs -- for 3 runs, walking 1 and striking out 2 in 5 innings.
Moreland hit a two-run shot to right in the first, and then Martinez made it 3-0 in the fourth with a home run over the Green Monster. A fan who brought a broom to the game -- apparently to cheer the Red Sox on to a series sweep -- used it to retrieve the ball from a light stanchion.
After Boston won the opener 15-7, a game that had 27 hits and 7 home runs, pitching has returned to the series. Porcello, Eovaldi, and Kimbrel held New York to 6 hits and 2 runs in the next 18 innings.
A day after some inside pitching led to warnings and the ejection of Boston's Alex Cora -- the first of his managerial career -- Eovaldi put his first pitch to Stanton in the first behind the batter's head. There was no further hubbub.
WHITE SOX 2, RAYS 1 Tim Anderson scored when Matt Duffy committed a throwing error on Leury Garcia's two-strike bunt in the ninth inning, and visiting Chicago beat Tampa Bay for its third consecutive victory. Xavier Cedeno (2-0) got the last out of the eighth for the win, and Thyago Vieira pitched the ninth for his first major league save. Tampa Bay left-hander Blake Snell allowed three hits in four innings in his first start for the Rays since July 12. After pitching in the All-Star Game on July 17, the 12-game winner missed a start due to left shoulder fatigue.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
CUBS 5, PADRES 4 Kyle Schwarber and Anthony Rizzo homered in a five-run second inning and host Chicago hung on from there to beat San Diego. Jason Heyward added three hits and an RBI for the NL Central leaders. Kyle Hendricks (8-9) allowed 4 runs on 5 hits in 5 2/3 innings to win his second consecutive start. He struck out seven and walked none.
REDS 7, NATIONALS 1 Phillip Ervin hit a three-run home run, Brandon Dixon had a solo shot and visiting Cincinnati snapped a three-game losing streak with a victory over Washington in the first game of a day-night doubleheader. Anthony DeSclafani (5-3) allowed 1 run and 6 hits in 7 innings. Cincinnati had 6 runs -- 5 earned -- and 10 hits against Washington starter Gio Gonzalez (6-8), who lasted only 3 2/3 innings.
Sports on 08/05/2018