RED SOX 4, RAYS 2
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Mookie Betts hit his major league-leading 16th home run, Chris Sale struck out nine in 7 2/3 innings and the Boston Red Sox beat the Tampa Bay Rays 4-2 on Tuesday night.
Sale (5-1) gave up four hits and walked two. He has allowed three runs or fewer in his first 11 starts, the longest stretch by a Boston pitcher to open a season since Pedro Martinez's 12 in 2001.
Joe Kelly finished the eighth, and Craig Kimbrel got into a bases-loaded jam before finishing his 14th save in 16 chances when Mallex Smith grounded into a game-ending forceout.
Willy Adames made his big league debut and hit a solo home run off Sale in his second at-bat. The 22-year-old shortstop prospect went 1 for 4 with three strikeouts.
Betts hit a three-run drive in the third off Jake Faria (3-3), who left two batters later because of a strained left oblique.
Two hitters following Faria's departure, Wilson Ramos was taken out due to a bruised left hand after Austin Pruitt's 0-2 pitch to Xander Bogaerts bounced and struck the catcher.
RANGERS 6, YANKEES 4 Texas ace Cole Hamels limited the slugging Yankees to four hits over seven innings, and Jurickson Profar and Ronald Guzman homered for the last-place Rangers. Profar's three-run home run in the first that just cleared the 8-foot wall in center put the Rangers ahead to stay against Domingo German (0-2).
TWINS 6, TIGERS 0 Minnesota's Lance Lynn gave up five hits over 6 2/3 innings in his most efficient outing of the season, and Brian Dozier drove in three runs with two doubles. Lynn (2-4) lowered his jumbo ERA from 7.47 to 6.34 in his ninth start, striking out 4 and walking 1.
BLUE JAYS 5, ANGELS 3 Kendrys Morales hit a two-run home run, J.A. Happ won his second consecutive start and Toronto stopped a four-game losing streak. Morales connected for his fourth home run in the Blue Jays' five-run first against Garrett Richards (4-3).
WHITE SOX 3, ORIOLES 2 Yolmer Sanchez capped Chicago's three-run eighth with a tiebreaking RBI single, lifting the White Sox to the victory.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
BRAVES 3, PHILLIES 1 Ozzie Albies hit his 14th home run and Brandon McCarthy tossed 5 2/3 sharp innings, leading Atlanta to the victory. McCarthy (5-2) allowed one run and four hits.
MARLINS 5, METS 1 Miami's Caleb Smith pitched neatly into the seventh inning against a Mets lineup that included newcomer Jose Bautista. Derek Dietrich homered and J.T. Realmuto got three hits as the Marlins, the lowest-scoring team in the majors, ended a three-game skid.
REDS 7, PIRATES 2 Matt Harvey pitched six innings of one-run ball for his first victory with Cincinnati, and Scooter Gennett hit his fifth grand slam over the last two seasons. Harvey (1-2) allowed three hits in his third start for the Reds, who acquired him from the Mets for catcher Devin Mesoraco on May 8.
NATIONALS 2, PADRES 1 Bryce Harper hit his NL-leading 15th home run for Washington, and Michael Taylor's one-out double in the ninth scored the game-winning run. Juan Soto, the youngest player in the majors, reached base in all four at-bats in his second career start. The 19-year-old led off the ninth with his third walk, took second on Wilmer Difo's groundout and scored on Taylor's hit off the center-field wall against Matt Strahm (0-2).
BREWERS 1, DIAMONDBACKS 0 Jhoulys Chacin and three relievers combined on a three-hitter, sending Milwaukee to the victory. Domingo Santana drove in the only run with a sacrifice fly in the sixth inning for the NL Central leaders. Milwaukee (30-19) moved a season-high 11 games over .500, while the Diamondbacks have lost six in a row and 12 of 13 -- scoring just 24 runs in that stretch.
INTERLEAGUE
INDIANS 10, CUBS 1 Jose Ramirez hit his 14th home run and the Indians routed the Cubs in their first meeting at Wrigley Field since the 2016 World Series. The AL Central leaders moved back to .500 with an easy victory against the team that beat them two years ago to end a 108-year championship drought.
ROYALS 5, CARDINALS 1 Alex Gordon and Salvador Perez homered for Kansas City, helping Jason Hammel to his first victory of the season. Hammel (1-5) allowed one run and nine hits in seven innings. He struck out six and walked none. Gordon added two singles in a 3-for-4 night after entering the game hitless in his previous 14 at-bats. He was in a 4-for-40 skid that dated to May 9.
ASTROS 11, GIANTS 2 Gerrit Cole struck out eight in six innings, leading Houston to the victory. Both of the runs off Cole (5-1) scored on a fifth-inning home run by Brandon Crawford, whose sister Amy is married to Cole. Tony Kemp had two hits and a career-high five RBIs as Houston won for the fifth time in six games.
Sports on 05/23/2018