Acuña homers twice, Heredia goes deep as Braves top A’s 3-2

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Atlanta Braves’ Ronald Acuna Jr. watches his solo home run in the first inning of the team’s baseball game against the Oakland Athletics on Tuesday, June 7, 2022, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
Atlanta Braves right fielder Ronald Acuna Jr. (13), left fielder Guillermo Heredia (38) and a teammate celebrate the team's win over the Oakland Athletics in a baseball game Tuesday, June 7, 2022, in Atlanta. Acuna hit two home runs and Heredia hit one. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
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Ronald Acuña Jr. hit two home runs, Guillermo Heredia gave Atlanta the lead with a solo shot in the seventh inning and the streaking Braves beat the reeling Oakland Athletics 3-2 on Tuesday night.

Kyle Wright (6-3) recovered from a rocky start to allow two runs in eight innings — the longest outing of his career. The Braves extended their season-best winning streak to six games.

Heredia pulled a pitch from Lou Trivino (1-4) over the left-field wall and into the Oakland bullpen to snap a 2-all tie.

Acuña homered in the first and third off Cole Irvin.

The A’s, making their first visit to Truist Park, lost their seventh straight.

RED SOX 6, ANGELS 5, 10 INNINGS

ANAHEIM, Calif. — The Los Angeles Angels matched a franchise record with their 13th straight defeat hours after firing manager Joe Maddon, falling to the streaking Boston Red Sox on Christian Vázquez’s go-ahead single in the 10th inning.

Interim boss Phil Nevin lost his managerial debut and Angels star Mike Trout exited with left groin tightness as Los Angeles tied the club mark for its longest skid set from 1988-89. The Angels dropped the final 12 games on the 1988 schedule and their season opener in 1989.

Boston got 15 hits and won its sixth straight game. Bobby Dalbec had two RBIs.

Trout homered in the first inning and gingerly ran out a double in the third before leaving the game.

Tanner Houck (4-3) got the win and Matt Strahm retired the side in the 10th for his second save.

Jaime Barria (1-1) took the loss. Los Angeles blew a lead in the seventh inning or later for the sixth time during its slide.

PHILLIES 3, BREWERS 2

MILWAUKEE — Alec Bohm and Matt Vierling homered off Josh Hader in the ninth inning and Philadelphia rallied past Milwaukee for its fifth straight win.

Milwaukee led 2-1 in the ninth and handed the game to its All-Star closer, who hadn’t blown a save — or surrendered a run — in 19 previous appearances this year. Bohm belted a leadoff homer off Hader (0-1), whose streak of 40 straight scoreless appearances dating to last season was snapped.

Two batters later, pinch-hitter Vierling, in his first major league at-bat since May 10, took Hader deep again to put the Phillies in front.

Connor Brogdon (1-0) pitched a scoreless eighth, and Corey Knebel closed it out with his 10th save in 13 tries. The Phillies are 4-0 since they fired manager Joe Girardi on Friday.

The Brewers have lost four straight.

PADRES 7, METS 0

SAN DIEGO — Yu Darvish held New York hitless until the sixth inning and Jurickson Profar launched a leadoff home run for San Diego in a matchup between two of the NL’s best teams.

Darvish (5-3) allowed only two hits in seven innings while striking out six and walking none on 100 pitches. He hit three of the Mets’ first five batters with pitches, including Brandon Nimmo to open the game.

The Mets lost Pete Alonso when the slugger was plunked on his right hand leading off the second. The team said initial X-rays were negative and further tests were planned.

San Diego jumped on Taijuan Walker (3-2) for a 4-0 lead after two innings. The Mets were shut out for the second time in six games on their West Coast trip.

YANKEES 10, TWINS 4

MINNEAPOLIS — Anthony Rizzo hit a three-run homer in the seventh inning to crack open a close game as New York beat Minnesota for its seventh straight win.

Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton got the visitors going with first-inning homers, the 23rd time they’ve gone deep in the same game in five seasons together.

The Yankees (40-15) lead the major leagues with the best 55-game record in baseball since Seattle in 2001.

Lucas Luetge (2-2) pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings in relief of ineffective starter Jameson Taillon.

The Yankees pounded rookie Cole Sands (0-2) for eight of their 14 hits over the right-hander’s 3 2/3 innings.

WHITE SOX 4, DODGERS 0

CHICAGO — Michael Kopech pitched six innings of one-hit ball, pinch-hitter AJ Pollock delivered a two-run double against his former team and Chicago beat Los Angeles.

Pollock’s clutch swing off the bench sparked a four-run sixth that sent the White Sox to their third consecutive victory.

The NL West-leading Dodgers dropped their third straight.

Kopech (2-2) struck out eight and walked one, lowering his ERA to 1.94.

Pollock was summoned to bat for Gavin Sheets after the Dodgers lifted reliever Phil Bickford (0-1) in favor of left-hander David Price with two outs in the sixth. Pollock was 4 for 31 (.129) in his last nine games before snapping the scoreless tie.

Jake Burger followed with an RBI double.

ASTROS 4, MARINERS 1

HOUSTON — Justin Verlander struck out a season-high 12 in seven sparkling innings, Yordan Alvarez hit a two-run homer and Houston beat Seattle.

There was no trouble between the teams one night after beanballs led to a bench-clearing scuffle. Houston bench coach Joe Espada filled in for manager Dusty Baker, who served a one-game suspension after he and reliever Héctor Neris were ejected from Monday’s game.

Verlander (7-2) yielded one run on six hits. Ryan Pressly pitched the ninth for his 11th save.

Chris Flexen (2-7) allowed two runs and five hits in 6 2/3 innings.

RAYS 4, CARDINALS 2, 10 INNINGS

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Taylor Walls hit a three-run homer with two outs in the 10th inning and Tampa Bay beat St. Louis.

Walls sent a 2-2 pitch from Drew VerHagen (3-1) into the right field seats.

St. Louis loaded the bases with no outs in the 10th against Colin Poche (2-0) but scored just once for a 2-1 lead on Lars Nootbaar’s sacrifice fly.

Both starting pitchers had strong outings.

St. Louis’ Dakota Hudson gave up one run, two hits and one walk while striking out six over seven innings, while Tampa Bay’s Jeffrey Springs allowed six hits in six scoreless innings.

ROCKIES 5, GIANTS 3

SAN FRANCISCO — Connor Joe homered leading off the game, pinch-hitter Charlie Blackmon connected for a three-run shot and Colorado beat San Francisco to stop a four-game skid.

Germán Márquez (2-5) shook off a shaky start and struck out seven in six innings for his first road win this season. Daniel Bard earned his 12th save.

Wilmer Flores hit a two-run homer for the Giants. Carlos Rodón threw 98 pitches in four innings, and Zack Littell (1-2) took the loss.

Umpires initially ruled Joe’s hit a double before replay overturned the call. Joe extended his on-base streak to 33 games.

MARLINS 12, NATIONALS 2

MIAMI — Jazz Chisholm Jr. homered twice, including a grand slam, and had a career-high six RBIs as Miami beat Washington.

Nick Fortes and Jorge Soler also went deep while Avisaíl García had three hits for the Marlins.

Rookie right-hander Edward Cabrera allowed one run in six innings. In his second start since being promoted from Triple-A last week, Cabrera (2-0) limited Washington to two hits, walked two, struck out four and hit a batter.

Chisholm snapped a 2-for-29 skid with his second-inning grand slam. He drove a 3-0 pitch off Joan Adon (1-10) over the wall in center to make it 5-0.

ORIOLES 9, CUBS 3

BALTIMORE — Cedric Mullins and Trey Mancini hit successive homers, sparking a power surge that carried Baltimore past Chicago.

Jorge Mateo, Austin Hays and Ramón Urías also connected for the Orioles, who beat the Cubs for the first time in seven tries since 2008.

Reliever Bryan Baker (2-3) allowed one run in 1 1/3 innings for the win.

Christopher Morel homered on the game’s first pitch off rookie Kyle Bradish and has reached base safely in 21 consecutive games to begin his career, extending his Cubs record. Morel also had an RBI triple in the sixth.

The Orioles answered in the bottom half when Mullins led off with a homer and Mancini connected on the next pitch from Keegan Thompson (6-1).

BLUE JAYS 7, ROYALS 0

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Alek Manoah scattered six hits in six scoreless innings and Toronto beat Kansas City.

Alejandro Kirk had four hits and scored a run for Toronto, and Bo Bichette reached base five times — including three walks. The Blue Jays have won consecutive games by shutout for the first time since last July.

Manoah (7-1) worked around a bases-loaded jam in the sixth.

Brad Keller (1-7) allowed three runs and seven hits in six-plus innings for Kansas City, which was shut out in consecutive games for the first time since May 2021.

GUARDIANS 6, RANGERS 3, GAME 1

CLEVELAND — Cal Quantrill stayed unbeaten at home, Owen Miller drove in two runs and the Cleveland beat Texas in the first game of a doubleheader.

Quantrill (3-3) delivered his fourth straight quality start, allowing three runs in seven innings.

Miller hit a two-run single in the third off Jon Gray (1-3).

Rangers rookie outfielder Steele Walker homered for his first hit in the majors, and Marcus Semien connected for Texas.

Emmanuel Clase pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his 10th save.

RANGERS 6, GUARDIANS 3, GAME 2

CLEVELAND — Marcus Semien homered twice and tied a Texas franchise record for hits in a doubleheader as the Rangers hit four homers and split a doubleheader with Cleveland.

Semien homered three times in the two games and finished 7-for-8, raising his average from .196 to .221. His seven hits matched the team mark for a twinbill shared by Marlon Byrd (2009) and Fred Valentine (1968).

The Rangers teed off against Guardians rookie Kirk McCarty (0-1), making his first major league start. Semien homered in the second, and Jonah Heim added a solo shot ahead of Nathaniel Lowe’s two-run homer in the fourth that put the Rangers up 5-0.

Taylor Hearn (4-4) didn’t allow a run until the sixth, when the Guardians scored three times off the Texas lefty.

DIAMONDBACKS 14, REDS 8

CINCINNATI — Graham Ashcraft pitched six shutout innings to extend his impressive debut run, Joey Votto led an early homer barrage and Cincinnati beat slumping Arizona.

Votto hit a three-run homer in the first inning, and Brandon Drury and Matt Reynolds added two-run drives within the first three innings for a 9-0 lead. The advantage stayed there until the game was delayed 63 minutes by rain after seven innings.

Tommy Pham contributed a solo homer and Tyler Stephenson a two-run blast in a five-run eighth for the Reds.

Ashcraft (3-0) lowered his ERA to 1.14 over his first four major league starts while allowing three hits with four strikeouts.

The Reds rocked left-hander Tyler Gilbert (0-3) with five hits and seven runs, six earned, in 1 2/3 innings.

PIRATES 5, TIGERS 3

PITTSBURGH — Tarik Skubal pitched seven steady innings to win his fourth straight decision and Harold Castro hit a two-run single to lead Detroit to a rain-delayed win over Pittsburgh.

After the start was pushed back more than two hours, Skubal (5-2) gave up three runs and six hits while striking out nine and walking one.

Gregory Soto pitched a perfect ninth for his 11th save in 12 opportunities.

Pittsburgh lefty Jose Quintana (1-3) was rocked for four runs and seven hits in 3 1/3 innings.