TORONTO — Kendrys Morales became the seventh player in major league history to homer in at least seven consecutive games, going deep in the third inning of the Toronto Blue Jays’ 8-3 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday.
Morales hit a two-run shot off Vince Velasquez, his 21st homer of the season. He has a chance to equal the major league record of homers in eight consecutive games, shared by Ken Griffey Jr., Dale Long and Don Mattingly.
Rhys Hoskins and Carlos Santana hit back-to-back home runs for Philadelphia. Maikel Franco and Wilson Ramos each had two-run shots as the Phillies avoided a three-game sweep.
Ramos had four hits. He singled in the first, doubled home a run in the second, singled in the sixth and homered off Tyler Clippard in the eighth, his 15th.
Velasquez (9-9) allowed two runs and three hits in five innings for the victory as Philadelphia won for the second time in eight games.
Marco Estrada (7-10) allowed five runs and seven hits in two-plus innings as Toronto’s winning streak ended at five.
RAYS 9, RED SOX 1
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Blake Snell pitched two-hit ball over six innings and Tampa Bay won its eighth straight game, handing the major league-leading Red Sox their first sweep of the season.
Snell (16-5) allowed one run and struck out eight. He has given up no more than one earned run in 14 consecutive starts at home, and he has a 1.08 ERA in four outings against the Red Sox this year.
Boston (90-42) has lost six of eight and was outscored 24-5 in the three-game set.
NATIONALS 15, METS 0
NEW YORK — Trea Turner set off a lively dugout celebration after scoring a run that ended Washington’s 32-inning scoreless drought and then the Nationals really went wild at the plate, hammering New York.
The Nationals had been shut out in three straight games — for the first time since the team moved from Montreal to Washington in 2005 — before Juan Soto’s RBI groundout in the sixth.
Ahead 1-0, the Nats erupted for eight more runs in the eighth. Their biggest inning of the season featured homers by Adam Eaton and Wilmer Difo, and a three-run double by pinch-hitter Bryce Harper.
Mark Reynolds launched his sixth career grand slam to highlight a six-run ninth.
INDIANS 12, ROYALS 5
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Jason Kipnis hit an inside-the-park homer and finished with four RBIs, Edwin Encarnacion added a two-run shot and Cleveland beat Kansas City to snap a four-game skid.
Kipnis rounded the bases for his two-run homer in the ninth inning, when his high flyball to right field bounced off the top of the wall and into no-man’s land. It was his second career inside-the-park job and the second for the Indians this year.
CUBS 9, REDS 0
CHICAGO — Kyle Hendricks allowed two hits in seven innings, David Bote and Kyle Schwarber homered and Chicago beat Cincinnati to complete a four-game sweep.
Jason Heyward went 4 for 4 with a triple and drove in two runs for the NL Central-leading Cubs. Bote added two hits and three RBIs.
Hendricks (10-10) struck out five and walked one. He has given up two runs in his last 14 innings.
Tucker Barnhart had two hits for the last-place Reds, who have dropped five straight and been shut out nine times.
CARDINALS 12, ROCKIES 3
DENVER — Matt Carpenter tied a St. Louis record with four doubles, pitcher Austin Gomber had a two-run infield single in a six-run first inning, and the Cardinals routed Colorado.
Carpenter matched a franchise mark that Joe “Ducky” Medwick set on Aug. 4, 1937, against the Boston Bees (now Braves). Carpenter doubled twice in the first, had another in the third and lined his fourth in the seventh on a day when St. Louis pounded out 16 hits. The first baseman wound up 4 for 5 with two RBIs.
ATHLETICS 6, TWINS 2
MINNEAPOLIS — Matt Chapman homered twice, Jed Lowrie drove in three runs with a homer and double, and Oakland’s bullpen preserved an effective outing by call-up Chris Bassitt in a 6-2 victory over Minnesota.
Oakland maintained at least a four-game advantage for the second wild card spot over Seattle. The A’s open a three-game series Monday at AL West-leading Houston.
Chapman homered in the first and then opened the seventh with his 20th homer. Lowrie followed with his 21st homer to put Oakland up 6-2.
BRAVES 4, MARLINS 0
MIAMI — Kevin Gausman and four relievers combined on a two-hitter, and Atlanta beat Miami despite an ongoing offensive slump.
The Braves earned a split even though they scored just seven earned runs in the four-game series. The NL East leaders finished 14-5 against last-place Miami this year.
Gausman (4-1) pitched five innings before departing for a pinch hitter. The right-hander won his fourth start in a row and has an ERA of 1.69 in five outings since Braves acquired him from the Baltimore Orioles on July 31.
Braves starters compiled an ERA of 0.63 for the week.
ASTROS 3, ANGELS 1
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Framber Valdez gave up one run over five innings in his first career start, and Houston beat Los Angeles for its fifth straight win.
The Astros improved to 47-21 on the road, including an 18-5 mark in California.
Valdez (2-0) struck out three while allowing two hits and three walks in his first career start, making his case for the spot in Houston’s rotation left vacant because of Lance McCullers Jr.’s forearm injury.
Carlos Correa had two RBIs on a line-drive single to center field with the bases loaded in the third inning that put the Astros in front 2-0. Marwin Gonzalez made it 3-0 with a base hit through the gap at first to score Alex Bregman.
DIAMONDBACKS 5, MARINERS 2
PHOENIX — Paul Goldschmidt hit his 30th homer, Zack Greinke won for the first time in almost a month and Arizona avoided a three-game sweep at the hands of Seattle.
With the victory and Colorado’s 12-3 loss to St. Louis, the Diamondbacks were back alone in first place in the NL West.
DODGERS 7, PADRES 3
LOS ANGELES — Justin Turner drove in five runs while Manny Machado put Los Angeles ahead with a two-run homer, and the Dodgers swept a three-game series against San Diego.
Hyun-Jin Ryu (4-1) gave up 11 hits in his 5 2/3 innings, but held the Padres to two runs.
The Padres gave left-hander Robbie Erlin (3-4) the early lead with a solo home run from Franmil Reyes in the second and Hunter Renfroe’s RBI single in the third.
BREWERS 7, PIRATES 4
MILWAUKEE — Mike Moustakas and Manny Piña each hit a two-run homer in the third inning, Jonathan Schoop went deep in the seventh and Milwaukee beat Pittsburgh.
The Brewers rocked Chris Archer (4-7) for six runs and six hits in the third. Schoop homered in the seventh off Nick Kingham.
Chase Anderson (9-7) cruised through the first four innings for Milwaukee but fell apart in the sixth. Adam Frazier hit a two-run homer and Polanco followed with a drive that pulled the Pirates to 6-4.
WHITE SOX 7, TIGERS 2
DETROIT — Michael Kopech pitched six impressive innings for his first major league win and Chicago scored four runs in the third against Detroit.
Kopech (1-0) allowed a run and seven hits in his second career start. The highly touted right-hander was limited to two scoreless innings when it rained in his debut Tuesday against Minnesota. He threw 86 pitches this time, finishing with four strikeouts and no walks.
GIANTS 3, RANGERS 1
SAN FRANCISCO — Derek Holland pitched three-hit ball into the seventh inning to beat his former team as San Francisco topped Texas.
Steven Duggar hit a two-run triple for the Giants off Yovani Gallardo (7-3). Holland, who won 62 games over eight seasons with the Rangers after they drafted him in 2006, notched consecutive victories for the first time this season.
The Giants’ lefty yielded one run and three walks with four strikeouts, then left to a standing ovation from the crowd.
Four days earlier, Holland (7-8) gained national attention after making a racially insensitive joke while appearing on MLB Network alongside Giants massage therapist Haro Ogawa in a bit that was meant to be fun. Holland later apologized for his comment.
YANKEES 5, ORIOLES 3
BALTIMORE — Luke Voit went 3 for 3 with a two-run homer to help Luis Severino earn his major league-leading 17th victory, and the New York Yankees beat the Baltimore Orioles 5-3 Sunday night to complete a four-game sweep.
Rookie Miguel Andujar also had three hits and two RBIs for New York. The Yankees have won eight of nine to move within six games of first-place Boston in the AL East, the closest they’ve been since Aug. 1.
Severino (17-6) allowed four hits and two earned runs in 5 2/3 innings, striking out eight. The right-hander was 2-4 with a 7.26 ERA over his previous six starts before returning to form against the Orioles, who own the worst record in the big leagues (37-94) and rank last in the AL in batting average.
David Robertson worked the ninth for his fourth save.
