WASHINGTON NATIONALS starting pitcher Stephen Strasburg throws during the third inning of his team’s baseball game against the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday in Washington.
Stephen Strasburg struck out 13 in seven innings, Bryce Harper had two doubles and two RBIs, and the Washington Nationals beat the Chicago Cubs 8-4 on Wednesday night.
Anthony Rendon and Matt Wieters hit back-to-back homers against John Lackey (5-9) during Washington’s four-run second inning. After the Cubs pulled within three at 6-3, Daniel Murphy went deep in the fifth.
It was a rough day for the Cubs, who cut veteran catcher Miguel Montero after he criticized pitcher Jake Arrieta for his role in the Nationals’ seven steals in Tuesday’s 6-1 win over the World Series champions. Then reigning NL MVP Kris Bryant departed in the sixth with an apparent right ankle injury.
Strasburg (9-2) allowed three runs, two earned, and four hits.
Willison Contreras and Anthony Rizzo homered for Chicago, which has dropped four of six. Lackey allowed a season-high eight runs and nine hits over 5 1/3 innings.
Astros 3, Dodgers 2
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Ben Revere scored the winning run from second base on a passed ball and a throwing error by catcher Yasmani Grandal, and the Los Angeles Angels blew a ninth-inning lead before beating the Dodgers.
Cameron Maybin ended up with a walk-off strikeout of sorts when Grandal lost control of Pedro Baez’s third strike and then put his throw over Chase Utley’s head at first, allowing Revere to score in bizarre fashion.
Grandal had just hit a tying homer off Cam Bedrosian (2-0) with two outs in the ninth for the Dodgers, but the Angels rallied against Baez (2-1) to send the NL leaders to just their third loss in 20 games.
Yankees 12, White Sox 3
CHICAGO (AP) — Miguel Andujar had three hits and four RBIs in his major league debut, Aaron Judge added his major league-leading 27th homer and the struggling New York Yankees pounded the White Sox.
Andujar made a good impression after being called up from Triple-A with Matt Holliday going on the disabled list because of an illness. He gave New York a 3-0 lead with a two-run single against Carlos Rodon (0- 1) in the first. He also singled in the third, walked in the eighth and drove in two more with a double in the ninth.
Judge’s two-run drive capped a five-run sixth against reliever Jake Petricka, breaking open a 3-2 game. And New York came away with a lopsided win after dropping 11 of 14.
Indians 5, Rangers 3
CLEVELAND (AP) — Trevor Bauer pitched into the seventh inning, Michael Brantley drove in two runs and Cleveland got the win in manager Terry Francona’s return to the team.
Francona was cleared to come back after another health scare forced him to leave Monday’s game and miss Tuesday’s 2-1 loss to Texas. The 58-year-old Francona has been fitted with a heart monitor, but he said doctors have ruled out any serious health issues.
Astros 11, A’s 8
HOUSTON (AP) — Josh Reddick and George Springer had three hits apiece and combined for five RBIs, powering Houston to the victory.
Michael Feliz (4-1) struck out two in a scoreless fifth for the win. Ken Giles struck out two in the ninth for his 18th save.
The Astros jumped in front with five runs in the third. Springer hit an RBI double and scored on Reddick’s base hit, helping Houston open a 9-5 lead.
Mets 8, Marlins 0
MIAMI (AP) — Steven Matz pitched seven innings and two relievers completed a seven-hitter, helping the Mets to the victory.
Asdrubal Cabrera and Curtis Granderson each hit a two-run homer in support of Matz (2-1), who allowed six hits, all singles, and one walk while lowering his ERA to 2.67 in four starts this year.
Reds 4, Brewers 3
CINCINNATI (AP) — Scooter Gennett hit a two-run homer against the club that decided he no longer fit its rebuilding plans, and Billy Hamilton scored the tiebreaking run in the eighth inning for Cincinnati.
After Travis Shaw tied it at 3 in the eighth with a solo homer off Drew Storen (2-2), Hamilton led off the bottom of the inning with a walk and two steals off Corey Knebel (0-1). Hamilton scored on Adam Duvall’s infield single.
Blue Jays 4, Orioles 0
TORONTO (AP) — Marcus Stroman pitched five-hit ball into the eighth inning for Toronto, and Jose Bautista and Justin Smoak homered.
Stroman (8-4) bounced back nicely from his worst start of the season, a seven-run outing at Texas last Thursday. The right-hander allowed five singles and struck out seven to win for the first time since June 10 at Seattle.
Royals 8, Tigers 2
DETROIT (AP) — Salvador Perez and Mike Moustakas hit consecutive homers during Kansas City’s four-run fourth inning.
Ian Kennedy (2-6) allowed two runs and five hits in seven innings for the Royals, earning his second victory in three starts. He gave up solo homers to Miguel Cabrera and Alex Avila, but only after Kansas City had jumped to a 5-0 lead.
Pirates 6, Rays 2
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Jose Osuna doubled twice and drove in two runs, rookie Josh Bell hit his 15th homer and Pittsburgh jumped all over Tampa Bay’s Blake Snell.
Osuna’s ground-rule RBI double sparked a four-run rally with two out in the first. Bell led off the fourth with a home run and Osuna added another RBI double in the fifth.
Cardinals 4, D-Backs 1
PHOENIX (AP) — Adam Wainwright pitched into the seventh inning, Yadier Molina and Jedd Gyorko each drove in two runs and St. Louis held on to beat Arizona.
Wainwright (8-5) limited the Diamondbacks to two runs and eight hits over 6 1/3 innings He struck out eight.
Gyorko’s RBI double in the eighth pushed St. Louis’ lead to 4-2.
Padres 7, Braves 4
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Luis Perdomo pitched five scoreless innings and Hunter Renfroe and Cory Spangenberg contributed two RBIs apiece to lead San Diego.
Carlos Asuaje and Erick Aybar had three hits each for the Padres.
Phillies 5, Mariners 4
SEATTLE (AP) — Tommy Joseph led off the ninth inning with his 13th homer and Andrew Knapp added a two-out RBI single, helping the Phillies rally for the road win.
Giants 5, Rockies 3
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Jae-Gyun Hwang homered in his major league debut, a tiebreaking drive in the sixth inning that helped the Giants extend the Rockies’ losing streak to a season-high eight games.
The 29-year-old Hwang grounded out in the second inning, hit a run-scoring grounder in the fourth that cut Colorado’s lead to 2-1, and then broke a 3-3 tie when he homered against Kyle Freeland (8-6). Hwang was given a standing ovation from fans.
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