ANAHEIM, Calif. — Shohei Ohtani hit his major league-leading 31st homer in the third, and Juan Lagares ended it with a two-run double in the ninth inning of the Los Angeles Angels’ 6-5 comeback victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday.

Cedric Mullins hit a tiebreaking homer for Baltimore in the ninth in his first game after making his first All-Star team, but the Angels jumped all over Cole Sulser (2-1) without making an out in the bottom half.

After Los Angeles loaded the bases on a walk and two short singles, Lagares doubled to the gap in right-center, extending the Angels’ winning streak to five games and putting them back above .500.

Ohtani tied the MLB record for the most homers in a season by a Japanese-born player when he blasted a 459-foot solo shot off Thomas Eshelman to straightaway center. It was his 14th homer in 17 games overall.

With his drive over the ficus trees beyond the center-field fence, Ohtani matched Hideki Matsui’s major league record for homers by a Japanese slugger. Matsui did it over 159 games with the Yankees in 2004, while Ohtani only needed 81 games while also making 12 mound starts.

Ohtani’s next mound start is Tuesday night against Boston. It will be his final pitching performance before the All-Star Game in Denver.

METS 10, YANKEES 5: Pete Alonso hit a tying home run off imploding Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman leading off the last inning, José Peraza lined a go-ahead two-run double that was aided by interference from a visiting fan in the Bronx and the Mets stunned their crosstown rivals to open a split doubleheader.

Alonso opened the fifth by dropping his barrel on Chapman’s 1-2 slider near the bottom of the zone and lofting it into the visitor’s bullpen to tie it at 5.

Chapman then plunked Michael Conforto, walked Jeff McNeil and was promptly yanked by manager Aaron Boone.

Billy McKinney singled to load the bases, Lucas Luetge struck out pinch-hitter James McCann and Peraza then ripped a ball that would’ve hit midway up the left field wall. Yankees outfielder Tim Locastro might have had a play on it, but a fan in a Mets jersey reached over to catch the ball.

Confused players and fans initially had no idea where the ball went. Locastro pointed at the fan angrily, and umpires conferred on the infield before awarding Peraza two bases. The Yankees didn’t argue.

Brandon Nimmo followed with a two-run single and Francisco Lindor added an RBI hit before Alonso struck out to end the inning. The NL East-leading Mets also batted around during an inning in an 8-3 win Saturday at Yankee Stadium.

RAYS 5, BLUE JAYS 1: Austin Meadows had three hits, including two RBI doubles, and Tampa Bay ended its 10-game road losing streak with a victory over Toronto in Buffalo, New York.

Wander Franco hit his second homer for Tampa Bay, which had dropped five in a row overall. Yandy Díaz had two hits and scored twice.

The Rays trailed 1-0 before Franco connected in the sixth inning against Robbie Ray (6-4). Díaz then doubled and scored on Meadows’ first double.

Tampa Bay added three more in the ninth. Meadows doubled home Díaz again. Taylor Walls also had an RBI double, and Mike Brosseau added a sacrifice fly.

Ryan Yarbrough (5-3) pitched five innings of four-hit ball for the win. Collin McHugh struck out six in three innings before Diego Castillo worked the ninth.

TIGERS 6, WHITE SOX 5: Jeimer Candelario had three hits and Akil Baddoo drove in two runs as Detroit built a big lead, and the Tigers withstood José Abreu’s three-run homer in the ninth inning in a win over visiting Chicago.

Detroit won the final two games of the series for its first series win over the White Sox since Sept. 3-5, 2018.

Tigers reliever Gregory Soto was forced to change his glove before pitching the ninth inning with a 6-2 lead.

ASTROS 4, INDIANS 3: Yuli Gurriel scored on a two-out error by pitcher Emmanuel Clase in the 10th inning, allowing Houston won in Cleveland to complete a four-game sweep.

Gurriel advanced to third on a fielder’s choice by Jason Castro, then came around when the Indians failed to complete a double play on the throw back to first by Amed Rosario.

The shortstop forced out Carlos Correa at second base, but Clase mishandled his return throw, allowing Castro to be safe and Gurriel to scamper home. Gurriel struck out leading off the inning, but reached first on Clase’s wild pitch.

Blake Taylor (1-2) retired all four batters he faced in relief of starter Zack Greinke, and Brooks Raley earned his second save with a scoreless 10th.

TWINS 6, ROYALS 2: Kenta Maeda struck out a season-best 10 in six scoreless innings, Jorge Polanco homered and Minnesota won at Kansas City to halt a five-game losing streak.

Maeda (4-3) gave up two hits and a walk in a splendid outing that matched his longest of the year.

Minnesota avoided a three-game sweep, building a cushion in the seventh inning when a two-run homer by Polanco and a solo shot by Alex Kirilloff extended the lead to 5-0.

Max Kepler hit a solo homer to right field in the sixth for the Twins, his seventh of the season. He has seven hits, six RBIs, two home runs and six walks since returning from the injured list on June 18.

MARINERS 4, RANGERS 1: Chris Flexen allowed one run in six innings, Luis Torrens homered for the seventh time in his past 13 games and Seattle won at home.

Seattle extended its recent surge, winning its fifth straight series of longer than two games, and has won 11 of 15 overall.

Flexen (7-3) continued his impressive first season in Seattle after spending last year pitching in South Korea. Pitching on four days’ rest for the first time this year, Flexen struck out five and got the run support he needed from a pair of long balls.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

DODGERS 5, NATIONALS 1: Albert Pujols hit a go-ahead single as a pinch-hitter in the seventh inning, and Los Angeles completed a seven-game season sweep of the Nationals in Washington.

Los Angeles has won a season-high nine straight games since getting no-hit on June 24 by the Chicago Cubs, who lost their following eight games. The Dodgers improved to a season-best 22 games over .500 at 53-31 following a sweep of the four-game series.

Beat-up Washington has lost four in a row.

In a game that started shortly after 11 a.m. on the Fourth of July, Joe Ross (5-8) threw his fastest pitch since the 2016 NL Division Series, a year before Tommy John surgery, making a 97.2 mph offering to Matt Beaty in the first inning.

The score was tied 1-1 when Gavin Lux doubled leading off the seventh inning.

Pujols, the 41-year-old three-time MVP signed in May after he was released by the Los Angeles Angels, hit for pitcher David Price (4-0) with one out and pulled a 1-2 slider into left field for a 2-1 lead.

PIRATES 2, BREWERS 0: Tyler Anderson pitched seven sparkling innings and Pittsburgh ended Milwaukee’s 11-game winning streak with a victory in Pittsburgh.

Kevin Newman homered and Wilmer Difo had an RBI double as the Pirates stopped a six-game slide.

Milwaukee managed just three hits off Anderson (4-8), who broke a personal five-game skid. The left-hander struck out six and walked two while throwing 93 pitches.

Milwaukee’s winning streak was the second-longest in franchise history. The Brewers won their first 13 games in 1987.

Anderson had gone eight starts without a win since May 9 when he beat the Cubs in Chicago.

David Bednar and Richard Rodriguez finished the four-hitter with one inning apiece. Rodriguez earned his 11th save in 13 opportunities by completing the Pirates’ third shutout of the season.

Willy Adames led off the ninth with a double against Rodriguez but was stranded at second base. The Brewers were blanked for the sixth time overall but first since May 18.

REDS 3, CUBS 2: Amir Garrett escaped a jam in the ninth inning, and host Cincinnati handed Chicago Cubs its ninth straight loss with a 3-2 win.

Chicago scored a total of five runs in the weekend series. It went 1-9 on a 10-game trip.

The Cubs put runners on first and second with one out in the ninth, but Garrett got Willson Contreras to bounce into a 5-4-3 double play for his sixth save.

Tucker Barnhart had two hits and drove in a run, helping Cincinnati to its fourth straight win.

PADRES 11, PHILLIES 1: Manny Machado drove in five runs with a pair of homers, and San Diego won easily in Philadelphia.

The Padres stopped a three-game losing streak with their 50th win of the season.

Padres left-hander Blake Snell tossed four scoreless innings, allowing two hits and four walks in his first start since June 22. Snell had been on the injury list after feeling the effects of food poisoning. The 2018 AL Cy Young Award winner with Tampa Bay has only pitched six innings twice in 16 starts.

BRAVES 8, MARLINS 7: Pinch-hitting pitcher Max Fried lined a bases-loaded single up the middle in the 10th inning, and Atlanta rallied for a wild victory over Miami in Atlanta.

Fried was called on to hit with the Braves out of position players after a four-run rally in the ninth. He singled on a 3-1 pitch off Anthony Bass (1-4), driving in Dansby Swanson from third base and setting off a celebration on the first-base line.

With the bases loaded and one out in the 10th, Austin Riley was thrown out at the plate when he tried to score on a bases-loaded wild pitch by Bass. Riley was initially called safe before the umpires reversed the call on a review.

Bass then loaded the bases with an intentional walk to Kevan Smith before giving up Fried’s single.

ROCKIES 3, CARDINALS 2: Elías Díaz delivered a two-out run-scoring single in the ninth on an afternoon Germán Márquez struck out 11 and was picked for his first All-Star team, helping Colorado rally for a win over visiting St. Louis.

Díaz sent a 3-2 pitch from All-Star closer Alex Reyes (5-3) into left and Josh Fuentes, who had reached on a single, beat the throw home with a head-first dive.

Copy the Story Link

« Previous

Bucks hope Antetokounmpo can return for long-awaited return to NBA Finals

Next »

For the final time, Wimbledon takes off Middle Sunday