Twins tag Cortes, win 8-1 to stop Yankees’ streak at 7

MINNEAPOLIS — Byron Buxton and Ryan Jeffers homered in the fifth inning, sending Nestor Cortes to an early exit as the Minnesota Twins cruised to an 8-1 victory Wednesday night that stopped the New York Yankees’ winning streak at seven.

Cortes (5-2) allowed season highs in hits (seven) and runs (four) over 4 2/3 innings, his shortest appearance of the year knocking him out of the major league ERA lead. It was the first time in 20 starts that he gave up more than three runs, falling one short of the longest such streak in team history.

Chris Archer (1-2) picked up his first victory for the Twins in his team-leading 11th start, completing five innings with only two hits allowed.

Minnesota rookie Jose Miranda had a career-high three hits and matched his previous best with three RBIs, contributing one of the five singles in the fourth inning the Twins used to get Cortes off track. Miranda is 8 for 16 with seven RBIs in his last four starts.

RED SOX 1, ANGELS 0

ANAHEIM, Calif. — The Los Angeles Angels’ losing streak reached a franchise-record 14 games when Bobby Dalbec drove in the only run with a double in the sixth inning for Boston.

Nathan Eovaldi (4-2) pitched five innings of six-hit ball with five strikeouts in Boston’s season-high seventh consecutive victory. With their second 1-0 win in three days at the Big A, the Red Sox remained perfect in June and on their 10-game West Coast trip (6-0).

With another lifeless offensive performance, the Angels dropped to 0-2 under interim manager Phil Nevin, who replaced Joe Maddon on Tuesday. The Halos’ baffling skid is now longer than the previous team record set across the final 12 games of 1988 and the 1989 season opener.

Los Angeles was 24-13 and in first place in the AL West on May 15, but the Angels have gone 3-18 since with a simultaneous collapse of their injury-plagued lineup and their perpetually poor pitching staff.

Matt Strahm got two outs for his third save, completing a stellar performance by five pitchers who didn’t walk a batter in Boston’s third shutout in five games.

Mike Trout didn’t play after straining his groin Tuesday night, although the Angels aren’t concerned about a long-term absence for their three-time AL MVP, who worked out extensively before the game.

Jimmy Herget (1-1) took the loss.

DODGERS 4, WHITE SOX 1

CHICAGO — Tony Gonsolin improved to 7-0, tossing three-hit ball over six innings, and Will Smith and Cody Bellinger homered early to lead Los Angeles over Chicago.

Smith hit a two-run drive in the first inning and Bellinger made it 3-0 when he connected leading off the second against Johnny Cueto (0-3), who dropped his third straight start.

Gonsolin struck out five and walked one while lowering his National League-best ERA to 1.58. The only run he allowed was when Jake Burger homered leading off the fifth.

Trea Turner homered leading off the ninth, and the NL West-leading Dodgers snapped a three-game skid. Daniel Hudson earned his fifth save.

RAYS 11, CARDINALS 3

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Randy Arozarena had three hits and four RBIs against his original team to help Tampa Bay beat St. Louis.

Arozarena, the 2021 AL Rookie of the Year, was a St. Louis prospect with 19 games of major league experience when he was obtained from the Cardinals in a January 2020 trade. He had an RBI double in the first inning and a two-run single in the seventh to pace an 18-hit outburst for the Rays.

Veteran catcher Yadier Molina pitched a scoreless eighth for St. Louis, entering to cheers from red-clad Cardinals fans in a crowd of 12,906. He received a standing ovation when he struck out pinch-hitter Isaac Paredes.

Vidal Bruján had three RBIs, and Ji-Man Choi and Harold Ramírez drove in two runs apiece for Tampa Bay.

Corey Kluber (3-2) shut down the Cardinals for five innings before fading quickly in the sixth. Tyler O’Neill, who had a solo homer off Kluber in the fourth, chased the two-time AL Cy Young Award winner with a two-run single that trimmed the Cardinals’ deficit to 5-3.

St. Louis slugger Paul Goldschmidt extended his career-best on-base streak to 44 games. Packy Naughton (0-2) allowed four runs and five hits in 1 1/3 innings.

BRAVES 13, ATHLETICS 2

ATLANTA — Michael Harris gave Atlanta the lead with a two-run triple in the fifth inning that spoiled Jared Koenig’s major league debut, and the surging Braves beat skidding Oakland.

Ian Anderson (5-3) pitched six solid innings and the Braves rallied from a 2-0 deficit for the second straight night to sweep the two-game series and extend their season-best winning streak to seven. The A’s have lost eight straight and 11 of 13.

The 28-year-old Koenig (0-1) led 2-1 through four innings after completing his long path to the majors that included spending the 2017-19 seasons in independent leagues. The 6-foot-5 left-hander didn’t get an out in the fifth.

Austin Riley’s two-run homer off Domingo Acevedo extended the lead to 5-2. William Contreras, Ozzie Albies and Duvall also homered in Atlanta’s 13-hit outburst.

PHILLIES 10, BREWERS 0

MILWAUKEE — Aaron Nola pitched eight sharp innings and surging Philadelphia hit four home runs to rout scuffling Milwaukee.

The Phillies won their season-high sixth in a row, five of them since interim manager Rob Thomson took over when Joe Girardi was fired on Friday.

The NL Central-leading Brewers have lost a season-worst five straight. Milwaukee has totaled six runs during its skid and been shut out three times.

Phillies rookie Bryson Stott went 4 for 4 with a home run and double. Bryce Harper, Rhys Hoskins and Odúbel Herrera also homered for the Phillies. Kyle Schwarber added four hits, two of them doubles.

Nola (4-4), the NL leader in strikeouts, allowed four hits, walked none and fanned six.

Stott and Hoskins hit two-run homers in the third off starter Adrian Houser (3-6). Herrera added a solo drive in the fifth off Houser, who had given up only three home runs over 51 1/3 innings in his 10 previous starts.

MARINERS 6, ASTROS 3

HOUSTON — Cal Raleigh and Ty France homered early and Seattle finally won a series in Houston.

The Mariners took two of three from their AL West rivals to win their fourth consecutive series overall and first in Houston since September 2018. Seattle went 1-16 at Minute Maid Park from 2019-20.

The Mariners trailed by two in the fourth when Raleigh homered for the second time this series, a shot off José Urquidy (5-3) to tie it at 3. France connected later in the inning for a solo drive that put Seattle ahead.

Logan Gilbert (6-2) allowed seven hits and three runs in six innings. Diego Castillo struck out the side in the ninth for his fourth save.

Yordan Alvarez had three hits and two RBIs for the Astros, who also dropped a series to the Mariners last week in Seattle.

TIGERS 3, PIRATES 1

PITTSBURGH — Miguel Cabrera hit a go-ahead single in the eighth inning and Detroit completed a two-game sweep of Pittsburgh.

Daz Cameron drove in two runs with a triple in the second inning and a double in the ninth. The Tigers bounced back after getting swept by the Yankees and won for the seventh time in 11 games.

Will Vest (1-1) worked a perfect seventh inning. Gregory Soto pitched out of a jam in the ninth for his 12th save.

Jack Suwinski hit his seventh home run for the Pirates, tops among National League rookies, but the offense mustered little else against Alex Faedo and four relievers. Pittsburgh managed just four hits, three of them singles.

ROYALS 8, BLUE JAYS 4

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — MJ Melendez and Emmanuel Rivera drove in two runs apiece, leading Brady Singer and the Kansas City Royals over Toronto to end a three-game losing streak.

Singer allowed homers to Raimel Tapia and Zack Collins but only one other run in five innings. He improved to 3-1 in five starts while the rest of the Kansas City rotation is 3-25 in 50 combined starts.

The Royals pounced on erratic Blue Jays starter Yusei Kikuchi, who retired only two batters while walking four and serving up two hits that ultimately cost him three first-inning runs. That was two more than Kansas City had scored in its last four games against the Blue Jays, including a pair of shutouts to start the series.

Toronto briefly tied the game 3-all before Trevor Richards (2-1) allowed three more runs in the fourth and fifth.

Carlos Santana was 4 for 4 for the Royals. Salvador Perez added his first triple since 2017.

MARLINS 2, NATIONALS 1, 10 INNINGS

MIAMI — Sandy Alcantara pitched nine scoreless innings, Jesús Aguilar hit a game-ending single in the 10th and Miami beat Washington.

Alcantara extended his scoreless string to 18 innings and has completed at least eight innings in four of his past five starts. The 26-year-old allowed six hits and struck out six while lowering his ERA to 1.61.

Aguilar’s smash against reliever Tanner Rainey (1-2) deflected off second base and rolled into center field, scoring Willians Astudillo from second. Astudillo’s single scored automatic runner Jazz Chisholm Jr. from second to tie it.

Keibert Ruiz’s RBI single against Tanner Scott (2-1) in the top half put the Nationals ahead 1-0.

GUARDIANS 4, RANGERS 0

CLEVELAND — José Ramírez hit a run-scoring double to tie for the major league lead in RBIs, Shane Bieber pitched neatly into the fifth inning before a long rain delay and Cleveland blanked Texas.

Ramírez went 2 for 4 with a stolen base and his 54th RBI of the season, matching Mets star Pete Alonso.

Andrés Giménez had two doubles and an RBI as the Guardians moved back to .500 for the second time this week.

The nine-inning game was completed in just 2:07, matching the total time of the two rain delays.

Eli Morgan (2-1) worked 1 2/3 perfect innings when play resumed.

Dane Dunning (1-4) gave up four runs and nine hits in four innings, extending his winless streak to seven starts. He is 1-10 in his career on the road.

DIAMONDBACKS 7, REDS 0

CINCINNATI — Merrill Kelly allowed one hit over six innings and Arizona hit three homers against Cincinnati, snapping a four-game skid.

Christian Walker hit a two-run drive and Josh Rojas and Jordan Luplow added solo shots for the Diamondbacks, who stopped a 26-inning scoreless streak with a five-run eighth in Tuesday’s 14-8 loss to the Reds.

The first pitch was delayed 1 hour, 40 minutes, by rain.

One night after launching five home runs and piling up 16 hits, Cincinnati managed just a double and four singles against Kelly (5-3) and three relievers.

Alek Thomas robbed Joey Votto of a two-run homer to end the first inning. Thomas also robbed Votto of a hit with a diving catch in the fourth.

Mike Minor (0-2) was chased in the fifth.

PADRES 13, METS 2

SAN DIEGO — Jake Cronenworth homered, doubled, singled and had five RBIs, and Sean Manaea pitched seven strong innings to beat former teammate Chris Bassitt in San Diego’s rout of New York.

Jurickson Profar drove in three runs and scored three for the Padres, whose 13 runs were a season high. Manny Machado had two RBI doubles. Cronenworth and Kim Ha-seong also scored three runs apiece for San Diego, which has won five of six.

The Mets lead the National League at 38-21 even after dropping two of three in San Diego, their third series loss this season. They committed three errors and were without slugger Pete Alonso and outfielder Starling Marte, who were injured in a 7-0 loss Tuesday night.

Manaea (3-3) held the Mets to two runs, one earned, and three hits. Bassitt (4-4) allowed seven runs, six earned, in 3 1/3 innings. The two were teammates in Oakland from 2016-21.

GIANTS 2, ROCKIES 1, 10 INNINGS

SAN FRANCISCO — Donovan Walton scored on an error by right fielder Charlie Blackmon in the 10th inning, lifting San Francisco over Colorado.

Luis González’s slow single off Carlos Estevez (1-3) eluded Blackmon — who threw out a runner at the plate earlier. Walton rounded third, then scampered home with the winning run.

Mike Yastrzemski had three hits and Thairo Estrada added an RBI single for the Giants.

The Rockies matched a franchise record by going 31 consecutive games without back-to-back wins.

Camilo Doval (1-2) retired three batters to win.