ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Josh Fleming pitched five innings of two-run ball to win his major league debut, and the AL East-leading Tampa Bay Rays beat the Toronto Blue Jays 5-4 on Sunday.
Fleming (1-0) is the 11th different starter in 29 games this season for the injury-filled Rays pitching staff. The lefty went 12-7 between Double-A Montgomery and Triple-A Durham last year.
John Curtiss worked 1 2/3 perfect innings to get his first career save.
Toronto starter Trent Thornton left after a scoreless inning with right elbow inflammation.
The Rays took a 3-2 lead in the fifth on an RBI single from pinch-hitter Jose Martinez, Austin Meadows’ sacrifice fly and a run-scoring single by Brandon Lowe off Ryan Borucki (1-1).
Teoscar Hernandez and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. homered for Toronto.
TIGERS 7, INDIANS 4: Tarik Skubal and Daniel Norris combined to pitch six innings of one-run ball, leading Detroit to a win at Cleveland.
Jorge Bonifacio hit a two-run homer and Niko Goodrum and Grayson Greiner connected for solo drives for the Tigers, who won for the second time in the three-game series after losing their previous 20 games to Cleveland.
NATIONALS 9, MARLINS 3: Anibal Sanchez pitched seven effective innings for host Washington, and Trea Turner drove in three runs.
CARDINALS 6, REDS 2: Yadier Molina had four hits and top prospect Dylan Carlson hit his first career homer, helping St. Louis beat visiting Cincinnati.
Harrison Bader also connected for St. Louis, which won 3 of 4 in the series. Molina, Carlson and Bader each finished with two RBI.
CUBS 2, WHITE SOX 1: Yu Darvish struck out 10 in his career-high fifth consecutive victory, and the host Cubs ended the Chicago White Sox’s seven-game win streak.
Kyle Schwarber hit a two-run homer in the sixth inning as the Cubs won for just the fourth time in their last 11 games. The NL Central leaders were outscored 17-5 in the first two games of the series.
Jose Abreu went deep for the White Sox in the second, matching a major league record with a home run in four consecutive at-bats.
MARINERS 4, RANGERS 1: Sam Haggerty and Kyle Lewis homered, Justin Dunn pitched one-hit ball over six innings and Seattle beat visiting Texas.
PIRATES 5, BREWERS 4: Gregory Polanco’s two-run home run in the eighth inning lifted Pittsburgh over visiting Milwaukee and a three-game series sweep.
TWINS 5, ROYALS 4: Nelson Cruz hit his 10th homer, Marwin Gonzalez had two RBI and closer Taylor Rogers dodged trouble in the ninth inning to lift Minnesota over host Kansas City.
DODGERS 11, ROCKIES 3: Kike Hernandez hit a three-run drive and Mookie Betts went deep twice in the Dodgers’ seven-homer attack, powering Los Angeles past visiting Colorado for a three-game sweep.
The Dodgers are the only team in the majors yet to lose a series, unbeaten in 11. They have won 11 of 12 games overall and own the best record in baseball at 22-8 at the halfway point of this abbreviated season.
PADRES 5, ASTROS 3: Fernando Tatis Jr. made two spectacular plays at shortstop, Manny Machado hit a two-run home run in the eighth inning and San Diego got a lockdown performance from its bullpen to beat visiting Houston for a three-game sweep.
The Padres have won seven straight, all against the two Texas teams. The Astros have lost three straight. They came in on an eight-game winning streak.
GIANTS 6, DIAMONDBACKS 1: Mike Yastrzemski celebrated his 30th birthday with a go-ahead home run and host San Francisco won its sixth straight.
ATHLETICS 5, ANGELS 4: Mark Canha hit a sacrifice fly in the 10th inning to give Oakland a win at home.
PHILLIES 5, BRAVES 4: Rhys Hoskins, Didi Gregorius and Alec Bohm homered, Philadelphia’s bullpen turned in a rare sparkling performance and the visiting Phillies snapped a five-game skid.
It wasn’t easy for the Phillies, who watched closer Brandon Workman survive the ninth when Dansby Swanson, the potential tying run, was tagged out at the plate by catcher Andrew Knapp to end the game. The Braves challenged the call, but it was upheld.
Heath Hembree, making in Phillies’ debut, retired his two batters in the sixth to strand a pair of runners in scoring position, helping a bullpen that began the night with an 8.29 ERA that was by far the worst in the majors.
Tommy Hunter and Workman pitched the last two innings.
NOTES
NATIONALS: World Series MVP Stephen Strasburg will have surgery on his pitching hand Wednesday in Baltimore to correct a nerve problem that ended his season after just two appearances.
Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo said the team is confident it will not be a long-term issue for the right-hander, who signed a seven-year, $245 million contract with Washington in the offseason.
“We think that once he gets the surgery, he’ll be back ready to go when spring training 2021 starts, and he should be good moving forward,” Rizzo said.
GIANTS: The San Francisco Giants cut ties with outfielder Hunter Pence, ending a second stint with the fan favorite that didn’t go nearly as well as his first.
Pence, 37, was designated for assignment to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for utility man Daniel Robertson, who was acquired earlier in the day from the Tampa Bay Rays for cash or a player to be named later.
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