Tampa Bay’s Manuel Margot hits a two-run home run in the fourth inning of the Rays’ 6-3 win over the New York Yankees on Saturday in New York. Frank Franklin II/Associated Press

NEW YORK — Manuel Margot hit a tiebreaking two-run homer, Tyler Glasnow overcame cramps and poor control to pitch five innings of one-run ball and the Tampa Bay Rays held off the struggling New York Yankees 6-3 Saturday.

The Yankees dropped to an AL-worst 5-9, the latest into a season New York is at the bottom of the league since a 9-17 start in 1991, per Elias Sports. Fans in the Bronx again booed the Bombers, but they were more restrained a day after some hurled baseballs and other items on the field late in an 8-2 loss to the Rays.

Francisco Mejía hit a solo shot in the second off Jordan Montgomery (1-1), and Margot made it 3-1 with his homer off the left-hander in the fourth. Joey Wendle added a two-run shot against Jonathan Loaisiga in the seventh, and Mejía had an RBI double in the ninth.

Rougned Odor hit his first homer with the Yankees, a solo shot in the seventh off Jeffrey Springs, and Aaron Judge added an RBI single as New York tried to rally against the bullpen. Sidewinding right-hander Ryan Thompson got the ball to Diego Castillo in the ninth, though, and Castillo closed out his fourth save with a 1-2-3 inning.

The Rays (7-8) won their second straight in this series after enduring a 3-8 stretch. The reigning AL champions are 4-1 against the Yankees this season and 7-1 in the Bronx since the start of 2020. The Rays have won seven straight series against the Yankees, including last year’s Division Series.

New York catcher Gary Sánchez was hit in his right throwing hand by a foul ball in the fourth and exited an inning later. The club said X-rays were negative and that Sánchez is day to day with a contusion on his right index and middle fingers.

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BLUE JAYS 5, ROYALS 1: Steven Matz held Kansas City without a hit into the sixth inning, and Jonathan Davis and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. homered to give Toronto a victory in the seven-inning opener of their doubleheader in Kansas City, Missouri.

Matz (3-0) only allowed a pair of walks before Nicky Lopez’s blooper to left with one out in the sixth. Matz gave up Andrew Benintendi’s two-out double later in the inning for the only other blemish on an otherwise dominant performance.

The left-hander, who gave way to Rafael Dolis for the seventh inning, struck out five around those two walks and two hits while allowing Kansas City to hit just five balls out of the infield.

ATHLETICS 7, TIGERS 0: Matt Olson, Aramis Garcia and Mark Canha each homered and Oakland shut out visiting Detroit for its seventh win in a row.

BLUE JAYS, ROYALS SPLIT: Salvador Perez hit a two-out home run in the bottom of the seventh to give Kansas City a 3-2 win and a doubleheader split against visiting Toronto.

In Game 1, Steven Matz (3-0) held Kansas City without a hit into the sixth inning, and Jonathan Davis and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. homered as Toronto won 5-1.

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ORIOLES 6, RANGERS 1: Trey Mancini hit a tiebreaking RBI double in the eighth inning and visiting Baltimore got its runs against three relievers after Texas rookie starter Dane Dunning threw six scoreless innings.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

METS, ROCKIES SPLIT: Jacob deGrom struck out nine straight batters against Colorado, falling one shy of matching Tom Seaver’s major league record, and finished with 14 strikeouts as New York won 4-3 in a doubleheader opener in Denver.

Coming off a 14-strikeout performance in a 3-0 loss to Philadelphia, deGrom became just the ninth pitcher to strike out as many as nine in a row.

The streak ended in the fifth inning, when the Rockies took a 3-1 lead with three unearned runs, but the Mets rallied to win a series opener delayed a day by snow when pinch hitter Jonathan Villar hit a tying double off Daniel Bard (0-1) in the seventh inning and Dominic Smith had a sacrifice fly.

German Márquez pitched a two-hitter for his second career complete game as the Rockies won the nightcap, 7-2, stopping a seven-game losing streak and the Mets’ four-game winning streak.

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NATIONALS 6, DIAMONDBACKS 2: Yan Gomes homered, drove in two runs and became the first major league catcher to throw out Tim Locastro on a steal attempt after 29 consecutive swipes to start his career, helping the Nationals beat Arizona in Washington for its first back-to-back wins this season.

Gomes entered Saturday without an extra-base hit and just one RBI in 2021, but he went 3 for 4 at the plate.

With help from a terrific tag by Starlin Castro, Gomes also ended Locastro’s perfect record on the basepaths, the most successful steal attempts in a row at the beginning of an MLB career in at least 70 years.

The Hall of Fame asked for Locastro’s spikes last weekend after he set the record. He was thrown out making a dive into second base in the third inning and left the game with a dislocated left pinkie finger.

Erick Fedde (1-1) tied his career high with nine strikeouts in five innings for Washington, which is 5-7. He gave up five hits and one run, via Kole Calhoun’s solo shot in the third right after Gomes got Locastro at second base.

CUBS 13, BRAVES 4: Kris Bryant and Willson Contreras each homered twice, and Chicago beat visiting Atlanta.

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Javier Báez and David Bote also homered for the Cubs, who stopped a three-game losing streak. Chicago entered hitting a major league-worst .166 and then took an 11-0 lead in the fifth.

Atlanta’s Sean Kazmar Jr., a 36-year-old infielder, played in his first major league game in 13 years. He was recalled from the alternate training site before the game and pinch hit in the fifth inning, but grounded into a 4-6-3 double play.

CARDINALS 9, PHILLIES 4: Yadier Molina hit two home runs, doubled and drove in four runs, and Nolan Arenado and Paul DeJong also homered for visiting St. Louis.

BREWERS 7, PIRATES 1: Brett Anderson pitched seven effective innings and Milwaukee won at Pittsburgh.

MARLINS 7, GIANTS 6: Jorge Alfaro hit a game-ending, two-run double, and Miami rallied from two-run deficits in the ninth and 10th innings to beat visiting San Francisco.

INTERLEAGUE

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REDS 3, INDIANS 2: Josh Naylor lined into a triple play in the eighth inning, then let a routine grounder roll through his legs at first base with two outs in the ninth that led to Cincinnati’s tying run as the Reds beat visiting Cleveland in 10 innings.

Pinch-hitter Tyler Stephenson’s single in the 10th won it.

NOTES

BREWERS: Outfielder Christian Yelich, who has missed four straight games because of a sore back, was placed on the 10-day injured list Saturday.

“There’s nothing new, nothing to add,” Manager Craig Counsell said. “That’s what it is. We’ll take a couple more days without baseball activities and see where that leaves us.”

The move was retroactive to April 14. The Brewers announced Yelich’s injury as a lower back strain.

Milwaukee filled Yelich’s spot on the roster by recalling right-handed reliever Eric Yardley from the organization’s alternate training site in Appleton, Wisconsin.

ROYALS-DIAMONDBACKS TRADE: Kansas City traded outfielder Nick Heath, who had been designated for assignment earlier in the week, to Arizona for minor league pitcher Eduardo Herrera.

The 27-year-old Heath, a speedster with a spotty bat, has been on the fringe of making the Royals’ major league club the past several years. He finally made his debut last year, appearing in 15 games in the shortened season for Kansas City.


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