Starlin Castro drove home the tiebreaking run in the eighth inning with a sharp one-hopper scored an error on shortstop Eduardo Escobar, and the New York Yankees edged the Minnesota Twins, 2-1, Saturday with more dominant pitching from the back end of their bullpen.
Dellin Betances, Andrew Miller (5-0) and Aroldis Chapman combined to throw three scoreless innings for the third straight game.
They had teamed up to set down 26 consecutive batters during that stretch before Joe Mauer singled on a 99 mph fastball from Chapman with two outs in the ninth.
The left-hander then struck out Brian Dozier, who homered earlier off a very effective Michael Pineda, for his 15th save in 16 tries. The 100 mph fastball that ended it was the only pitch Chapman threw that reached triple digits – after his first 10 on Friday night were all 100 mph or more on the scoreboard.
In the eighth, pinch-runner Aaron Hicks advanced to third on Brian McCann’s single off Ryan Pressly (2-4), and Castro singled sharply to the left of Escobar one out later.
Blue Jays 10, White Sox 8
The White Sox tied a team record with seven home runs, but it wasn’t enough as Edwin Encarnacion drove in four runs, Devon Travis homered and Toronto held on for the win.
All seven homers were solo shots. Brett Lawrie became the first White Sox player since Ron Santo in 1974 to hit inside-the-park and over-the-wall homers in the same game, and Chicago hit three straight home runs in the second inning.
Dioner Navarro, J.B. Shuck, Tim Anderson, Alex Avila and Adam Eaton all went deep for the White Sox, who matched the club record for homers set at the Kansas City Athletics on April 23, 1955.
Knuckleballer R.A. Dickey (5-8) matched a career high by allowing four home runs. He gave up five runs – four earned – and seven hits in 5 innings. Roberto Osuna gave up Eaton’s homer in the ninth before earning his 15th save.
Miguel Gonzalez (1-3) gave up eight runs and 10 hits in 5 innings.
Padres 3, Reds 0
Drew Pomeranz drove in a pair of runs and pitched seven innings, leading San Diego in a game delayed a few minutes by the Cincinnati Reds’ tribute to Pete Rose.
Pomeranz hit his second career homer and had an RBI single against left-hander Brandon Finnegan (3-6). The Padres have won the first three games of the series, improving to 12-3 against the Reds over the last three seasons.
The Reds inducted Rose into their Hall of Fame during a pregame ceremony that included his Big Red Machine teammates and went six minutes long. During a session with the media, Rose joked about taking volunteers for the Reds’ beleaguered bullpen, which is by far the worst in the majors.
Pomeranz (7-7) gave up three hits, walked one and struck out six, including the last three batters he faced on a humid, 87-degree afternoon. Fernando Rodney retired the side in the ninth, completing a four-hitter while getting his 17th save in 17 chances.
Orioles 5, Rays 0, Game 1
Kevin Gausman took a two-hitter into the eighth inning to earn his first win of the season, and the Baltimore Orioles extended Tampa Bay’s losing streak to nine games with a victory in the opener of a split doubleheader.
Gausman (1-5) was lifted after giving up a pair of singles in the eighth. The right-hander went 7 innings, striking out seven with no walks in his 13th start of the year.
He received a standing ovation from the crowd of 18,229 as he walked off the mound following his 113th pitch.
Orioles second baseman Jonathan Schoop had two hits, scored twice and backed up Gausman with two outstanding defensive plays, including one in which he snagged a grounder in short center field and threw out the runner at first.
Matt Andriese (6-1) gave up two runs and five hits in 4 innings for Tampa Bay. The right-hander was unbeaten in 10 starts since last June 22.
Orioles 8, Rays 6, Game 2
Matt Wieters hit two homers, and the Baltimore Orioles rallied from a four-run deficit for a doubleheader sweep that extended the Rays’ losing streak to 10 games.
Adam Jones and Chris Davis also homered for the AL East-leading Orioles, who trailed 4-0 in the third inning and 6-3 in the fifth.
Seeking his 10th straight win in the nightcap, Orioles starter Chris Tillman gave up six runs and 10 hits in five innings. But Baltimore’s comeback kept the right-hander unbeaten in 13 starts since April 14.
Indians 6, Tigers 0
Francisco Lindor homered twice and Carlos Carrasco pitched a four-hitter to lead Cleveland to its eighth consecutive win.
The Indians also improved to 8-0 against the Tigers this year, outscoring them 51-16.
It was the first career multihomer game for the 22-year-old Lindor, and Carlos Santana and Yan Gomes also went deep for AL Central-leading Cleveland.
The Indians spoiled Anibal Sanchez’s return to the Detroit rotation. The right-hander allowed a homer to Santana on the game’s second pitch, and Lindor added another solo shot one out later.
Carrasco (3-2) struck out seven and walked one. He threw a season-high 117 pitches in his third career shutout and first of the year.
Sanchez (4-8) made his first start since May 31 after being demoted to the bullpen for a bit. He allowed four runs and five hits in five innings.
Marlins 9, Cubs 6
Justin Bour and Giancarlo Stanton each drove in three runs, Paul Clemens got his first big league win in more than three years and Miami erased an early deficit to beat Chicago.
Bour hit his 14th home run for the Marlins, who got to 40 wins in 75 games – or 20 games faster than they did a year ago. Ichiro Suzuki’s infield single in the fifth sparked what became a four-run inning that put Miami ahead for good.
The Cubs lost for the fifth time in six games.
Clemens (1-0) trailed 4-1 early but settled down and gave Miami five innings of four-run ball. It was his first win since June 12, 2013, and A.J. Ramos got the last two outs for his 24th save.
Addison Russell hit a three-run homer and Miguel Montero added a solo homer for the Cubs.
Chicago starter John Lackey (7-4) gave up a season-high seven runs in 4 innings.
Brewers 6, Nationals 5
Chris Carter hit a three-run homer, Matt Garza pitched six innings for this first win of the season, and Milwaukee beat Washington.
Carter connected for his 19th homer with two out in the first. Jonathan Villar had three hits for Milwaukee, including an RBI single in the second.
Garza (1-0) gave up four runs and seven hits in his third start of the year. He was sidelined for the first two months of the season by a back injury.
Washington left-hander Gio Gonzalez (3-7) pitched a season-low three innings in his sixth consecutive loss. He was charged with six runs and six hits with five strikeouts and one walk.
Rockies 11, Diamondbacks 6
Tony Wolters hit his first major league home run and drove in four runs, helping Colorado beat Arizona.
Wolters hit a two-run double in the fourth off Shelby Miller and a two-run homer in the sixth that boosted Colorado’s lead to 7-1.
DJ LeMahieu and Charlie Blackmon also homered for the Rockies, who stopped a three-game losing streak.
Jorge De La Rosa (5-4) improved to 9-1 with a 1.96 ERA in 13 Coors Field starts against Arizona, allowing one run, six hits and five walks in six innings. Gonzalez Germen got four outs for his first save this season.
Miller (2-7) gave up seven runs and 11 hits in six innings, raising his ERA to 6.79.
Astros 13, Royals 5
Jose Altuve went 4-for-5, including a home run and two doubles, and the Houston Astros extended their winning streak to seven.
Altuve drove in three runs and scored three runs. He is hitting .417 with a .484 on-base percentage while reaching base in 27 consecutive games, the longest active streak in the major leagues.
Marwin Gonzalez, Altuve and Carlos Correa, the Astros’ two-three-four hitters, combined to go 8-for-15 with seven RBIs, six runs and two homers. Altuve and Correa hit consecutive homers in a seven-run second.
Mets 1, Braves 0, 11 inn.
Pinch-hitter Kelly Johnson lined a leadoff home run in the 11th inning and the New York Mets outlasted the Atlanta Braves on Saturday night.
Johnson pulled a pitch from Dario Alvarez (1-1) into the first row of the right-field seats for his third homer.
Johnson began the year with the Braves before he was traded to the Mets on June 8. Alvarez was claimed off waivers from the Mets by the Braves in late May.
The homer was the first extra-base hit of a game that began as a terrific duel between Jacob deGrom and Julio Teheran. They each threw eight scoreless innings.
Pirates 6, Dodgers 1
Andrew McCutchen homered twice, Jeff Locke took a perfect game into the sixth inning, and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Los Angeles Dodgers.
McCutchen had a solo shot in the fourth inning for the game’s first hit and then a three-run shot to start a five-run sixth that increased the Pirates’ lead to 6-0.
McCutchen raised his season total to 13 home runs with his 11th career multi-homer game – second this year. The nine-year veteran’s batting average had dropped to .239 after going 9-for-49 (.184) with 16 strikeouts in his previous 13 games.
Locke (7-5) retired his first 15 batters before consecutive doubles by Scott Van Slyke and A.J. Ellis to start the sixth inning. Locke allowed one run and five hits in seven innings, striking out three and walking none.