CLEVELAND — Austin Meadows hit a pair of two-run homers, Ji-Man Choi had three RBI and the Tampa Bay Rays beat Cleveland 8-2 on Saturday night, extending their winning streak over the Indians to 11 games.

The Rays moved into a first-place tie with Boston in the AL East. They have not lost to the Indians since May 24, 2019. The franchise’s longest winning streak against an opponent is 12 against Baltimore in 2008.

Meadows, Choi and Brett Phillips each homered in the first three innings to help Tampa Bay build a 4-1 lead against J.C. Mejia (1-6). Choi also drove in runs in the seventh and ninth, and Meadows hit his second two-run shot in the ninth.

DIAMONDBACKS 7, CUBS 3: Daulton Varsho homered in his third straight game and hit a tiebreaking single in a three-run seventh inning, leading visiting Arizona over struggling Chicago.

The teams waited out a 1-hour, 39-minute rain delay after the top of the ninth on a mostly sunny and steamy afternoon. By then, the Cubs were well on their way to their 18th loss in 24 games, a startling freefall that began with them tied with Milwaukee for the NL Central lead.

They came into this one nine back of the first-place Brewers and facing huge questions about the direction of the club as the non-waiver deadline approaches on Friday. Stars Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo and Javier Báez have expiring contracts, and closer Craig Kimbrel could be attractive for a contender.

Chicago grabbed the lead when pitcher Alec Mills doubled and scored on a double play in the third. Willson Contreras made it 2-0 with an opposite-field shot to right leading off the fourth against Merrill Kelly. But things fizzled for the Cubs after that.

ORIOLES 5, NATIONALS 3: Matt Harvey allowed one hit in six scoreless innings in another outstanding performance and Baltimore held on at home to beat fading Washington.

Harvey (5-10) allowed only one baserunner — Trea Turner hit a double in the fourth. The right-hander struck out four. Harvey went 12 straight starts without a win, but now he’s thrown six scoreless innings in each of his past two starts.

Trey Mancini and Ryan Mountcastle each hit a solo homer, and the Orioles added three more runs in the sixth. Washington, which scratched ace Max Scherzer before the game because of triceps discomfort, has lost 14 of its last 19.

MARLINS 3, PADRES 2: Fernando Tatís Jr. hit his NL-leading 30th homer for an early lead but Miami rallied late and defeated San Diego in Miami.

Jesús Aguilar lined a go-ahead, two-run single to center with one out in the seventh inning after reliever Tim Hill (5-5) walked pinch hitter Sandy León and allowed consecutive singles to Miguel Rojas and Starling Marte. Aguilar’s single scored pinch runner Magneuris Sierra and Rojas.

Braxton Garrett (1-1) pitched seven innings of two-run ball in the longest start of his career. The left-hander allowed four hits, struck out 10 and walked one.

BRAVES 15, PHILLIES 3: Atlanta used the long ball in a big way as Freddie Freeman, Abraham Almonte, Ozzie Albies, Austin Riley and Joc Peterson all homered to lead the Braves past the Phillies in Philadelphia.

The win allowed the Braves to move back into a tie for second place in the National League East with Philadelphia with identical 48-49 records. It is the fourth time this year that the Braves have hit five or more homers in a game

ANGELS 2, TWINS 1: Patrick Sandoval had his no-hit bid broken up with one out in the ninth inning on a soft double by rookie Brent Rooker and Los Angeles won in Minneapolis.

Sandoval, a 24-year-old lefty who began the game with a 3-13 career record, struck out a career-high 13.

ROYALS 9, TIGERS 8: Salvador Perez and Carlos Santana hit three-run homers in Kansas City’s victory over Detroit in Kansas City, Missouri.

Perez hit his 23rd home run of the season to highlight a four-run fourth. Santana gave the Royals the lead with a three-run homer to right in a five-run seventh.

Hanser Alberto rounded out a five-run seventh with a two-run, pinch-hit triple.

BREWERS 6, WHITE SOX 1: Rowdy Tellez hit his first two homers as a Brewer, Corbin Burnes pitched six strong innings and Milwaukee won at home.

Tellez went 3 of 4 with three RBI, with solo shots off José Ruiz in the sixth inning and Reynaldo López in the eighth. The Brewers acquired the slugging first baseman from the Toronto Blue Jays on July 6.

REDS 5, CARDINALS 3: Jesse Winker homered, doubled and drove in four runs, Luis Castillo pitched seven effective innings and host Cincinnati beat St. Louis.

Joey Votto also homered to help the Reds overcome three errors and extend their winning streak against St. Louis to six games, their longest since taking six straight in May 2003. Cincinnati swept the Cardinals in a four-game series in St. Louis June 3-6.

BLUE JAYS 10, METS 3: All-Star Teoscar Hernández hit two of Toronto’s five home runs and the Blue Jays won in New York to stop a three-game losing streak.

George Springer, Marcus Semien and Bo Bichette also homered for the Blue Jays, who overtook the San Francisco Giants for the MLB lead with 149 homers. The Giants entered the day with 146.

Trevor Richards (4-0) got the win, pitching a scoreless inning in relief.

NOTES

NATIONALS: Washington ace Max Scherzer was scratched from his start at Baltimore on Saturday night with what the team described as mild right triceps discomfort.

Manager Dave Martinez said before the game that Scherzer had an MRI and it was “extremely clean” — he’s expected to make his next start. Jon Lester is starting Saturday in his place.

Scherzer is 7-4 with a 2.83 ERA in 18 starts this season.

The three-time Cy Young Award winner, who turns 37 on Tuesday, has been the subject of trade speculation as the Nationals continue to struggle. His absence now is another issue for the Washington rotation, which has been without Stephen Strasburg since early June because of lingering neck problems.

On Friday, Martinez said Strasburg was still having neck discomfort, and the team was trying to figure out what the best course of action was for him going forward.

The Nationals also put infielder Jordy Mercer on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to Wednesday, with a left calf strain. Washington recalled infielder Carter Kieboom from Triple-A Rochester.

METS: Newcomer Rich Hill is expected to make his debut for the NL East leaders on Sunday when New York plays Toronto at Citi Field.

Mets Manager Luis Rojas said Hill would arrive at the ballpark before Saturday night’s game against the Blue Jays and throw on the side.

The Mets acquired the 41-year-old left-hander in a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday for veteran pitcher Tommy Hunter and minor league catcher Matthew Dyer.

Hill went 6-4 with a 3.87 ERA in 19 starts for the Rays this season. He faced Toronto on July 11 and gave up three runs on four hits and three walks in five innings.

INDIANS: Manager Terry Francona wasn’t in the dugout Saturday night for Cleveland’s game against Tampa Bay because of a lingering head cold.

Francona conducted his pregame press conference at Progressive Field before being sent home by the team’s medical staff. Bench coach DeMarlo Hale managed the Indians in his absence.

The 62-year-old Francona is in his ninth season with Cleveland, where he has a 721-566 record and is tied with Mike Hargrove for the second-most managerial wins in franchise history.

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