Morton extends winning streak to nine, Astros top Indians

HOUSTON — Charlie Morton doesn’t think he’s pitched that well this season.

After another strong outing Friday night, that’s hard to believe.

Morton pitched seven solid innings, Tony Kemp had a tiebreaking RBI double in the seventh and the Houston Astros beat the Cleveland Indians 4-1 for their third straight win.

“I thought it was OK,” Morton said. “I thought I made some really good pitches and I thought I got away with some really bad pitches.”

Morton (6-0) allowed one run and four hits with eight strikeouts in extending his career-high winning streak to nine straight dating back to last September. He lowered his ERA to 1.94.

“I think I’m surprised at how effective my four-seamer is and it’s made my job easier,” Morton said. “I don’t feel like I’m really pitching that well. I’m not really executing a ton of pitches. My stuff is playing in the zone pretty well.”

Morton retired 19 of the first 21 batters.

“Really good fastball, really good breaking ball, occasional split and really just one pitch that leaked over the middle of the plate to (Edwin) Encarnacion,” Houston manager A.J. Hinch said. “I’m really happy that our team responded and he got the win. But an excellent performance and very methodical for him of the way he’s been pitching.”

After Cleveland starter Mike Clevinger (3-1) walked Marwin Gonzalez and Derek Fisher to lead off the seventh, Brian McCann popped out before Kemp hit his RBI ground-rule double down the right-field line to give Houston a 2-1 lead.

“I was just trying to put something in play right there,” Kemp said. “I just got a heater I could handle and luckily it stayed within the line.”

George Springer followed with a grounder to Kipnis, but Fisher beat the throw home.

“That’s unfortunate that happened,” Indians manager Terry Francona said of the two walks to leadoff the seventh. “I didn’t think he just shied away though. I think he just missed his spots.”

ROYALS 5, YANKEES 2

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Whit Merrifield had three hits, stole three bases and scored twice off CC Sabathia in the first four innings, Jakob Junis held down the Yankees’ potent offense and Kansas City beat New York.

Salvador Perez homed and added three RBIs for the Royals, who had lost five straight and seven of eight.

Junis (5-3) pitched into the sixth inning, allowing two runs on seven hits and a walk to slow down the Yankees, who had won 19 of their past 22.

Kelvin Herrera capped a strong bullpen effort with a perfect ninth for his ninth save in 10 opportunities.

Sabathia (2-1) lasted just five innings, struggling all night with his command.

MARLINS 2, BRAVES 0

ATLANTA — Dan Straily pitched seven scoreless innings, J.T. Realmuto had an RBI triple and Miami beat Atlanta.

Straily (2-0) allowed three hits, walked three and struck out six to shut down the NL’s top-scoring offense. He also beat Atlanta in his previous start a week prior.

Miami got both its runs in the sixth. Martin Prado singled and scored on Realmuto’s triple, and Starlin Castro chased Matt Wisler (1-1) with a double.

Brad Ziegler induced a double-play grounder from Tyler Flowers to retire the side in the ninth and earn his eighth save in eight chances.

ORIOLES 7, RED SOX 4

BOSTON — Jonathan Schoop homered and Alex Cobb got his first win of the season as Baltimore ended its 13-game road losing streak.

Manny Machado went 3 for 5 with three RBIs and Adam Jones had two hits and drove in two for the Orioles, who won on the road for the first time since April 8.

Mookie Betts doubled twice and hit his 14th homer for Boston, which lost to Baltimore for the first time in the five meetings so far this season.

Cobb (1-5) held Boston to three runs on 10 hits over 6 1/3 innings.

Brad Brach pitched a scoreless ninth for his sixth save.

Drew Pomeranz (1-2) lasted only four innings for Boston, getting pulled after the Orioles scored four in the fourth to take a 5-1 lead.

CUBS 8, REDS 1

CINCINNATI — Jon Lester pitched six dominant innings, Addison Russell tied his career high with four hits and Chicago quickly took control with a three-run first inning against Cincinnati.

Playing in a steady downpour that delayed the start of the game by 93 minutes, Willson Contreras added three hits and six different players each drove in at least one run for the Cubs, who’d lost three of their last four games.

Lester (4-1) faced one batter over the minimum through the first four innings. The left-hander allowed Cincinnati’s only two hits and one walk with a season-high eight strikeouts and even contributed a safety squeeze sacrifice bunt while Chicago was breaking the game open with a two-run fifth inning.

Homer Bailey (1-6) allowed 10 hits in five or fewer innings for the second consecutive game.

RANGERS 12, WHITE SOX 5

CHICAGO — Shin-Soo Choo hit his first grand slam in eight years, leading Texas over Chicago.

Choo made it 9-3 with his drive against reliever Chris Volstad in a five-run third inning. He also singled and scored in the fourth and walked twice.

Jurickson Profar and Joey Gallo each drove in three runs for Texas. Jesse Chavez (2-0) and two other relievers combined for 5 1/3 scoreless innings following a shaky start by Matt Moore.

Jose Abreu had a pair of RBI doubles and scored two runs. But Carson Fulmer (2-4) made another early exit in his third straight loss.

METS 3, DIAMONDBACKS 1

NEW YORK — Jacob deGrom matched a career high with 13 strikeouts, Michael Conforto went 4 for 4 with two RBIs and the New York beat Arizona.

Wilmer Flores drove in one run and scored another to help the Mets win a series opener between struggling teams.

After an abbreviated outing last weekend in his return from the disabled list, deGrom (4-0) threw seven dominant innings this time and has won his first four decisions in a season for the first time.

Robert Gsellman worked a perfect eighth and Jeurys Familia struck out the side in the ninth for his 12th save.

Conforto, who equaled his career high for hits with four singles, had a two-out RBI single in the first inning and another in the fifth. Both came off starter Zack Godley (4-3).

PADRES 3, PIRATES 2

PITTSBURGH — Eric Hosmer hit two doubles and scored the go-ahead run and Tyson Ross won for the first time in more than a month as San Diego cooled off Pittsburgh.

Hosmer doubled with two outs in the sixth inning off Ivan Nova (2-4) and Franchy Cordero followed by a lining a single into left field. That broke a 2-2 tie and sent Pittsburgh to its second loss in 10 games.

Ross (3-3) ended a five-start winless streak by giving up two runs and five hits in six innings while striking out two and walking four.

Brad Hand got the final four outs for his 13th save in 15 opportunities.

ATHLETICS 3, BLUE JAYS 1

TORONTO — Dustin Fowler hit his first career home run and also had a tiebreaking RBI double in the seventh inning, Josh Phegley hit an RBI double in his season debut, and the Oakland beat Toronto.

Danny Coulombe (1-1) pitched 1 1/3 innings for the victory as Oakland won for the fourth time in five games.

Right-hander Marco Estrada (2-4) allowed three runs in 6 2/3 innings to lose his third straight decision as the slumping Blue Jays lost for the 10th time in 13 home games.

For the second straight game, an injury forced Oakland to make an early call to the bullpen. Left-hander Brett Anderson lasted one inning before leaving because of a strained shoulder.

Chris Hatcher worked the seventh, Yusmeiro Petit got two outs in the eighth, and Blake Treinen finished for his ninth save in 11 opportunities.

BREWERS 8, TWINS 3

MINNEAPOLIS — Jesus Aguilar homered twice and Ji-Man Choi hit a solo home run in his return to the majors as Milwaukee beat Minnesota.

Brent Suter (3-3) pitched a season-high 5 2/3 innings for Milwaukee, which has won six of its past eight. The left-hander allowed one run on five hits and a walk with six strikeouts.

Kyle Gibson (1-2) gave up five runs in 5 1/3 innings for Minnesota, which has lost four of five. Gibson surrendered eight hits and walked four batters. Max Kepler had two hits, including a two-run home run.

First baseman Joe Mauer was pulled from the game in the fifth inning with neck tightness and is considered day to day.

RAYS 8, ANGELS 3

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Wilson Ramos homered twice and drove in three runs to lead the Tampa Bay Rays to their fifth straight win.

Blake Snell (5-3) gave up two runs in 6 2/3 innings while striking out eight to help the Rays to their sixth win in seven games.

Ramos hit a two-run homer to center in the third inning, with the ball brushing over the top of the outstretched glove of leaping center fielder Mike Trout. Ramos then had a solo shot to right-center in the fifth for his 100th career homer and sixth career multi-homer game.

Angels starter Nick Tropeano (1-3) gave up three runs and six hits with four walks in 2 2/3 innings.

MARINERS 5, TIGERS 4

SEATTLE — Mitch Haniger’s RBI double capped a five-run seventh inning as the Mariners rallied past the Detroit Tigers.

Trailing 4-0 entering the seventh, the Mariners walked four times in their first six at-bats of the inning. Dee Gordon’s sacrifice fly to right field cut Detroit’s lead to 4-3 with two outs. Jean Segura followed with a run-scoring single on a grounder up the middle off reliever Warwick Saupold, scoring Mike Zunino to tie it at 4. Haniger gave the Mariners the lead by lining Saupold’s curveball down the left-field line, scoring Guillermo Heredia.

Dan Altavilla (3-2) picked up the win in relief ad closer Edwin Diaz notched his AL-leading 15th save.

Buck Farmer (0-2) took the loss, walking the two batters he faced.

ROCKIES 6, GIANTS 1

SAN FRANCISCO — Ian Desmond homered and drove in four runs to back another strong start by Kyle Freeland and the Colorado Rockies beat the Giants.

Desmond came into the game in a 3-for-33 rut with one RBI in his previous nine games before providing the offensive boost that improved the Rockies to 18-9 on the road this season. The night didn’t start off well for Desmond, who hit into fielder’s choice with a man on third and one out in the second. But he quickly made up for it by hitting a three-run homer in the fourth against Derek Holland (2-5) and then adding an RBI double in the sixth.

That was more than enough support for Freeland (4-4), who allowed a leadoff homer to Gorkys Hernandez and no other runs in 6 2/3 innings to win for the fourth time in his past five starts.

CARDINALS 12, PHILLIES 4

ST. LOUIS — Jose Martinez drove in five runs and had four hits to help the Cardinals rout the Philadelphia Phillies.

Francisco Pena homered and also had a single and double for the Cardinals in a game delayed by rain for 1:35.

The Cardinals set a season high with 15 hits, but got none off Phillies shortstop Pedro Florimon, who threw a perfect eighth inning in his second pitching appearance of the season. Florimon then hit his second home run of the season to cap off his night in the ninth.

Michael Wacha (5-1) gave up two runs and five hits to earn his 50th career win. Jake Arrieta (3-2) lasted three innings in his shortest outing of the season. He allowed four runs and five hits with two walks.