HOUSTON — Rafael Devers homered off Justin Verlander, and the Boston Red Sox took advantage of two errors by the Houston Astros to avoid a series sweep with a 4-1 victory Sunday.
Eduardo Rodriguez (5-3) held Houston to one run and four hits in six innings, improving to 5-1 in his last eight starts.
The Astros lost for just the fifth time in 22 games and finished the regular season 4-2 against the Red Sox, who beat them 4-1 in the ALCS last season on the way to a World Series championship.
Devers’ solo shot in the fourth gave the Red Sox a 2-1 lead. It was Devers’ seventh homer of the season and fourth in six games.
Marcus Walden earned his second major league save and first this season.
Verlander (8-2) permitted three runs and six hits in seven innings, striking out six.
Braves 4, Cardinals 3
ST. LOUIS — Brian McCann drew a bases-loaded walk in the 10th inning and the Atlanta Braves rallied for a 4-3 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday night.
Atlanta, which scored three runs in the ninth to tie it, has won 12 of 16 and captured its fifth successive series by winning two of three from St. Louis.
Freddie Freeman reached on an infield single with one out and moved to second on a walk to Josh Donaldson and advanced to third on Nick Markakis’ fly ball to center field. After a Austin Riley was intentionally walked to load the bases, McCann drew a five-pitch walk from Tyler Webb (0-1) that brought in Freeman with the go-ahead run.
Jacob Webb (3-0) picked up the win with a scoreless ninth and Luke Jackson got the last three outs for his seventh save in 11 tries.
Ronald Acuna Jr. had two hits for Atlanta.
ATHLETICS 7, MARINERS 1
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Matt Chapman homered for the second consecutive day, Josh Phegley also went deep and had three RBIs, and the streaking Oakland Athletics won their ninth straight, beating Seattle to complete a three-game sweep.
Brett Anderson allowed one run in 6 1/3 innings to win after being forced out of his previous start with a cervical strain. Anderson (6-3) struck out four and walked four, but got the Mariners to hit into double plays in three straight innings.
ROYALS 8, YANKEES 7,
10 INNINGS
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Whit Merrifield got a fortunate hop on an RBI single in the 10th inning, and Kansas City beat New York despite blowing a six-run lead.
Merrifield hit a sharp, two-out grounder toward third baseman Gio Urshela with speedster Billy Hamilton at second. The ball skipped over Urshela’s head, giving Hamilton time to race home. Hamilton had walked against Jonathan Holder (3-2) and stole second.
DODGERS 11, PIRATES 7
PITTSBURGH — Justin Turner had five hits after taking a day off, Joc Pederson homered during a six-run sixth inning that featured consecutive bases-loaded plunkings and Los Angeles beat Pittsburgh to complete a three-game sweep.
Matt Beaty had four RBIs and Corey Seager drove in two for the Dodgers, who got five innings of three-run ball from Kenta Maeda (6-2) in his return from the injured list. Los Angeles has won nine of 11.
BREWERS 9, PHILLIES 1
MILWAUKEE — Brandon Woodruff allowed a solo homer but was otherwise perfect over eight innings, Christian Yelich hit his NL-leading 21st home run and Milwaukee connected five times against Philadelphia.
Woodruff (7-1) retired his first 15 batters before Andrew Knapp opened the sixth with his first homer. Woodruff struck out a career-high 10, fanning the final batter in each of his innings while matching a career high with 24 outs — a mark he set in his previous outing against Atlanta.
RAYS 6, INDIANS 3
CLEVELAND — Austin Meadows led off the game with a home run and was 4 for 4 with three RBIs, leading Tampa Bay over reeling Cleveland.
Tampa Bay (31-19) is a season-high 12 games over .500 after taking three of four in the series. The Indians (26-26) fell to .500 for the first time since April 4, when they were 3-3. Cleveland has dropped six of seven and finished 4-7 on its longest homestand of the season.
TWINS 7, WHITE SOX 0
MINNEAPOLIS — Jake Odorizzi permitted one hit in 5 1/3 scoreless innings, and Eddie Rosario and Max Kepler each hit a three-run homer as Minnesota completed a sweep of Chicago.
Odorizzi (7-2) won his seventh straight decision and finished without allowing a run for the fifth time in his past six starts. He combined with four relievers for Minnesota’s sixth shutout of the season.
REDS 10, CUBS 2
CHICAGO — Nick Senzel had three hits, scored four times and cut down a runner at the plate, helping Tanner Roark and the Reds beat the Cubs.
Led by Senzel, the top third of Cincinnati’s lineup collected seven of the team’s season-high 17 hits. Joey Votto singled twice in his third consecutive multihit game, and Eugenio Suárez finished with two hits and three RBIs.
BLUE JAYS 10, PADRES 1
TORONTO — Cavan Biggio had three hits, including his first career home run, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. had four hits and homered for the third straight game, and the Blue Jays beat San Diego.
Toronto’s Justin Smoak hit two home runs, a two-run shot off Luis Perdomo in the fifth inning and a three-run drive off Adam Warren in the eighth.
METS 4, TIGERS 3
NEW YORK — Zack Wheeler pitched into the eighth inning, Todd Frazier delivered a clever push bunt and New York kept up a run of comebacks by beating Detroit for its sixth win in seven games.
Adeiny Hechavarria’s three-run homer off rookie starter Spencer Turnbull (2-4) helped the Mets rally from an early 3-0 deficit and reach the .500 mark. New York has trailed in all but one of these recent victories, with each of them coming at Citi Field.
NATIONALS 9, MARLINS 6
WASHINGTON — Howie Kendrick hit his eighth homer, drove in three runs and finished with three hits as Washington beat Miami.
Brian Dozier doubled in two during Washington’s four-run rally with two outs in the third inning against Caleb Smith (3-2), who had his shortest outing of the season.
ROCKIES 8, ORIOLES 7
DENVER — Nolan Arenado homered for the third straight game, pitcher German Marquez tripled and drove in three runs, and Colorado scored twice in the bottom of the ninth inning to rally past Baltimore.
Ian Desmond drew a bases-loaded walk from Mychal Givens to tie it, and Tony Wolters hit a sacrifice fly to score pinch-running pitcher Jeff Hoffman with the winning run.
ANGELS 7, RANGERS 6
ANAHEIM — Mike Trout and Kole Calhoun scored on wild pitches in a six-run seventh inning that gave Los Angeles a comeback win over Texas.
Trout hit a solo shot in the first, his 12th home run of the year. He was 2 for 3 with a walk and two RBIs.
DIAMONDBACKS 6, GIANTS 2
SAN FRANCISCO — Ketel Marte homered for the third time in three games, Eduardo Escobar had three hits and Arizona completed a sweep of San Francisco, tying a franchise record for scoring in a three-game series.
