WASHINGTON— Max Scherzer shrugged off a broken nose and black eye to throw seven shutout innings, Brian Dozier and Victor Robles hit solo homers, and the Washington Nationals completed a day-night doubleheader sweep of the Philadelphia Phillies with a 2-0 victory Wednesday night.

The Nationals have won 16 of their last 23, while Philadelphia has dropped 7 of 9 and 12 of 18.

In the first game, Patrick Corbin struck out eight, allowing one run over seven innings as the Nationals earned a 6-2 victory in the delayed series opener after the teams were rained out Monday and Tuesday.

Scherzer bunted a ball off his face during batting practice Tuesday, but it didn’t stop him from making his scheduled start. His injury may have provided an extra layer of intimidation in the form of a black eye more worthy of a boxing ring than a baseball diamond.

The three-time Cy Young Award winner sported a pronounced bruise arcing beneath his right eye, adding another hue to a glare that already featured one blue eye and one brown eye.

While he wasn’t at his most efficient, piling up 117 pitches, Scherzer (6-5) was rarely threatened. He struck out 10, yielded only four hits and permitted just two runners to reach scoring position. And he finished strong, striking out three in a row after Cesar Hernandez led off the seventh with a double.

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Bryce Harper, Scherzer’s former Nationals teammate, was 0 for 4 with four walks in the doubleheader and was loudly booed before each plate appearance — especially in the better-attended nightcap. This series is his second trip back to Washington, where he played from 2012-18, since signing a 13-year, $330 million contract with Philadelphia in March.

PADRES 8, BREWERS 7: Franmil Reyes hit a go-ahead, three-run homer in the seventh and Eric Hosmer added a two-run shot as San Diego overcame three homers by visiting Milwaukee for a three-game sweep.

Reyes’ shot to right-center, his 20th, came off Jeremy Jeffress (1-1) after Manny Machado hit a leadoff single and Hunter Renfroe walked. Reyes and Hosmer had three hits apiece.

BRAVES 7, METS 2:  Josh Donaldson hit a tie-breaking, two-run homer in the sixth inning, Freddie Freeman launched an early two-run shot and Atlanta beat visiting New York.

The NL East-leading Braves are 14-4 in June, best in the majors. They top the big leagues in runs, homers and RBI this month and have outscored opponents 43-12 in going 5-0 in rubber games at home this season.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

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YANKEES 12, RAYS 1: Gary Sanchez hit a three-run homer to help chase Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell in the first inning, CC Sabathia got his 250th career win and New York swept visiting Tampa Bay.

Gleyber Torres added a grand slam during a six-run seventh inning, and New York three-hit Tampa Bay to win its fifth in a row and extend its lead the AL East over the second-place Rays by 3 1/2 games. Tampa Bay was swept for the second time this season – the other came against Boston in April.

Snell (4-6) walked four, gave up two hits and was charged with six runs, getting one out on 39 pitches in the shortest start of his career. He is the first reigning Cy Young winner to allow at least six runs and get no more than one out in a start, according to STATS.

Colin Poche replaced Snell with the bases loaded, hit Gio Urshela with a pitch and allowed a two-run single to DJ LeMahieu before ending the inning. Snell’s previous shortest start was one-plus inning against the Yankees on Sept. 26, 2017.

Sabathia (4-4) pitched one-run ball over six innings. He struck out seven and allowed three hits and three walks. The left-hander has a 2.06 ERA in six starts against the Rays over the past two seasons.

New York had just three hits during the six-run first inning. Sanchez’s homer was his 21st in 54 games this season. The Yankees have homered in 22 consecutive games, three shy of the franchise record from 1941.

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INDIANS 10, RANGERS 4: Jason Kipnis hit two home runs, going back-to-back with Roberto Pérez during a five-run first inning, and Cleveland beat host Texas.

The Indians have won 10 of their last 14 games. They have hit nine home runs in winning two of the first three games of a four-game series.

ATHLETICS 8, ORIOLES 3: Chris Bassitt took a no-hitter into the sixth inning and won for the first time in more than three weeks as Oakland handed visiting its eighth straight loss.

Josh Phegley had a three-run homer, Marcus Semien extended his hitting streak to 16 games and Stephen Piscotty doubled twice to help the A’s complete a three-game sweep. Oakland won 6 of 7 games against Baltimore this season.

Bassitt (4-3) allowed two hits and two runs in 5 2/3 innings, striking out six and walking three. The right-hander retired 16 of the first 18 batters he faced and didn’t give up a hit until Jonathan Villar lined a 3-2 pitch for a single with one out in the sixth.

MARINERS 8, ROYALS 2: Domingo Santana hit two home runs in a game for the third time this season, Marco Gonzales won his third straight start and Seattle avoided an embarrassing series sweep against visiting Kansas City.

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The Mariners had been outscored 15-4 by the Royals in the first two games of a series between last-place teams.

ANGELS 11, JAYS 6: Mike Trout hit two home runs, including his sixth career grand slam, and had a career-best seven RBI as Los Angeles won at Toronto.

Justin Upton also homered for the Angels, who have won all six meetings with the Blue Jays this season and 18 of the last 24 in Toronto.

INTERLEAGUE

REDS 3, ASTROS 2: Nick Senzel singled home the tying run with two outs in the ninth inning, and Jesse Winker followed with an RBI single as host Cincinnati rallied for a rare sweep of Houston.

The Reds matched their season high with a fourth straight win. They also swept the Marlins in April.

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Former American League MVP Jose Altuve returned to Houston’s lineup, but couldn’t help the Astros avoid their first sweep of the season and their first on the road since September 2017 at Oakland. The AL West leaders have lost four in a row.

PIRATES 8, TIGERS 7: Bryan Reynolds hit a three-run homer in the sixth inning to complete a rally from a six-run deficit as Pittsburgh won at home.

With the Pirates trailing 7-5, Reynolds sent a knuckle curve from Nick Ramirez (3-2) 421 feet to left-center for his sixth homer of the season, driving in Kevin Newman and Adam Frazier.

Felipe Vázquez retired the side in order in the ninth for his 17th save.

CUBS 7, WHITE SOX 3: Willson Contreras homered twice and drove in five runs, and the host Cubs handed Lucas Giolito his first loss since April.

David Bote also connected to help the Cubs bounce back from a tough loss to their crosstown rivals in their first meeting of the season. Jon Lester (6-5) allowed two more homers, but worked into the sixth inning to improve to 3-1 in June.

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NOTES

YANKEES: The Yankees released right-hander Danny Farquhar, ending the relief pitcher’s comeback try with New York more than a year after he collapsed in the Chicago White Sox dugout because of a ruptured aneurysm and brain hemorrhage.

Farquhar buckled during a game with Chicago on April 20, 2018, and was hospitalized until May 7. He became a free agent after the season and signed with New York on a minor league contract.

Farquhar, 32, pitched in three major league spring training games. After spending time in extended spring training to build up arm strength, Farquhar made two appearances with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre this month, allowing seven runs in three innings.

• Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner would consider boosting payroll above the third luxury tax level in an effort to help New York win its first World Series in a decade.

Despite placing 20 players on the injured list and matching last season’s total, the Yankees lead the AL East as the season approaches the halfway point. New York already has added AL home run leader Edwin Encarnacion.

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YOUTUBE: YouTube’s first live broadcast of a Major League Baseball game will be July 18 when the Philadelphia Phillies host the Los Angeles Dodgers. MLB and YouTube are partnering to live stream 13 games after the All-Star break. They announced the deal in April.

Viewers will be able to access the games by going to YouTube.com/MLB or searching MLB in the YouTube app. The games will be available for free and are exclusive to YouTube, meaning they will not be aired by the team’s television partners.

MLB also announced that Cleveland at Toronto on July 23 and Detroit at the Los Angeles Angels on July 29 will be on YouTube.

WHITE SOX: The Chicago White Sox placed left-hander Manny Banuelos on the 10-day injured list and recalled right-hander Carson Fulmer from Triple-A Charlotte.

Banuelos, 28, is dealing with shoulder inflammation. He is 3-4 with a 6.90 ERA in 13 games, eight starts, in his first season with Chicago.


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