Toronto Blue Jays’ Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is congratulated after his second home run against the Washington Nationals Tuesday night. He finished with three homers and 7 RBI. Mike Carlson/Associated Press
DUNEDIN, Fla. —Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit three home runs, including a grand slam and solo shot off Washington ace Max Scherzer, and had seven RBI as the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Nationals 9-5 on Tuesday night.
Guerrero’s slam in the third put the Blue Jays ahead 4-3 and ended Scherzer’s scoreless streak at 19 innings.
Guerrero made it 7-3 with his drive in the fifth and added a two-run, seventh-inning shot off Kyle Finnegan to complete his first three-homer game.
Scherzer (1-2) joined Ivan Nova as the only pitchers to have allowed a homer to both Guerrero Jr. and his father, Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero.
The senior Guerrero also went deep twice against Scherzer, in 2010 with Texas and 2011 with Baltimore in his final season.
Scherzer allowed seven runs – five earned – and eight hits over five innings. He had given up one earned run in 19 innings over his previous three starts.
Trea Turner, hit on the left forearm by a pitch Sunday, homered twice for the Nationals.
PIRATES 2, ROYALS 1: Pinch-hitter Wilmer Difo delivered the go-ahead single in the seventh inning, and Pittsburgh ended visiting beat Kansas City’s five-game winning streak.
Pittsburgh (12-11) has won three straight games and 11 of of 16 since a 1-6 start, moving back above .500 for the first time since it was 1-0 in the opening week.
Kansas City has lost seven straight games in Pittsburgh since 2009.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
YANKEES 5, ORIOLES 1: Corey Kluber had his best start in two years to gain his first win for the Yankees, Kyle Higashioka homered again as he gains playing time from Gary Sanchez and New York won at Baltimore.
Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton also homered – the Yankees are 9-0 when they go deep in the same game, including the playoffs. New York stopped a four-game skid at Camden Yards and at 10-13 moved into a tie with the Orioles for last in the AL East.
Kluber (1-2), who signed an $11 million, one-year contract as a free agent, allowed one run and six hits with five strikeouts over 6 2/3 innings. Kluber has come back from two injury-marred seasons and became the first Yankees starter other than Gerrit Cole to pitch into the seventh inning this season. It was Kluber’s longest outing since seven innings against Atlanta on April 20, 2019.
RAYS 4, ATHLETICS 3: Brett Phillips hit a two-run homer in the sixth inning and Tampa Bay held on to beat visiting Oakland, handing the Athletics their second loss in 16 games.
Joey Wendle’s two-out single in the seventh tacked on another run for the Rays and ended Tampa Bay’s 0-for-26 stretch with runners in scoring position.
INDIANS 7, TWINS 4: Franmil Reyes homered twice, including a 452-foot drive that landed in the left-field bleachers about six rows in front of the scoreboard, and Cleveland beat visiting Minnesota, which has lost four straight and 13 of 15.
Reyes broke a sixth-inning tie with his second homer off Kenta Maeda to give the Indians a 4-3 lead. Reyes led off the second with a majestic clout that sent fans in the bleachers scrambling and tied the game after Minnesota scored twice in the first.
Reyes’ second home run also landed in the bleachers and traveled a projected 434 feet.
RANGERS 6, ANGELS 1: Joey Gallo ended the longest home run drought of his career at 20 games as Texas beat Los Angeles.
Nick Solak homered twice to take the Texas team lead with seven as the Rangers stopped a second four-game losing streak, their longest of the season.
Shohei Ohtani was 0 for 4 with a strikeout as the LA designated hitter a day after getting the win, scoring three runs and driving in two while becoming the first home run leader to start as a pitcher since Babe Ruth a century ago.
ASTROS 2, MARINERS 0:Â Cristian Javier combined with two relievers on a two-hitter, and Houston beat visiting Seattle to get above .500 .
Javier (3-0) allowed two hits in seven innings – both by Kyle Seager – struck out six and walked three. He extended his scoreless streak to 17 innings over three starts and lowered his season ERA to 0.87.
Brooks Raley and Ryan Pressly each pitched a perfect inning, with Pressly getting his third save.
Seattle did not move a runner past second.
Houston has won 5 of 6 to reach 12-11, a spurt that followed nine losses in 10 games.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
BRAVES 5, CUBS 0: Ian Anderson allowed one hit in seven innings, Ronald Acuna Jr. hit a long home run and Atlanta won at home. .
Anderson (2-0) won his second consecutive start, after throwing 6 2/3 shutout innings in a 4-1 win at Yankee Stadium last Wednesday. He walked only one Cubs batter and struck out eight.
Chicago held out Javier Baez and Kris Bryant with injuries in its fourth consecutive loss.
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