Toronto players celebrate during a six-run seventh inning Wednesday against the Baltimore Orioles. The Blue Jays won, 6-1. Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press via AP
TORONTO — George Springer broke a scoreless tie with a pinch-hit RBI single in the seventh inning, and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Baltimore Orioles 6-1 on Wednesday behind a stellar effort by Ross Stripling.
Springer’s liner to center was career hit No. 1,000, and Toronto poured it on from there. Santiago Espinal followed Springer with a two-run double, and Alejandro Kirk capped the six-run seventh with another two-run double.
Toronto snapped a five-game losing streak against Baltimore and won for just the third time in 11 games. It broke through against the Orioles’ bullpen after Stripling carried a perfect game into the seventh.
Baltimore could have moved into an AL wild-card spot with a win. The Orioles are 10-5 in August.
Activated off the injured list before the game after being sidelined because of a sore right hip, Stripling retired his first 18 batters before Cedric Mullins singled to center on the first pitch of the seventh.
Stripling threw 72 pitches, 52 for strikes, and matched a season high by striking out seven in 6 1/3 innings.
TWINS 4, ROYALS 0: Emilio Pagán pitched two scoreless innings after Tyler Mahle departed because of right shoulder fatigue, and Minnesota completed a three-game sweep in Minneapolis.
Jose Miranda homered for Minnesota, which is fighting with Cleveland and the Chicago White Sox for control of the crowded AL Central. Miranda finished with two hits and two RBI, and Nick Gordon had a run-scoring double.
After Mahle left in the third, Pagán (4-6), Griffin Jax, Jhoan Duran, Michael Fulmer and Trevor Megill finished Minnesota’s second straight shutout. A diving catch by center fielder Gilberto Celestino saved a run in the seventh.
Making his third start since he was acquired from Cincinnati at the trade deadline, Mahle faced eight batters before Manager Rocco Baldelli and a team trainer visited the mound in the third inning.
Mahle pitched 2 1/3 innings of hitless ball, walking one. He threw 29 of his 42 pitches for strikes, but his velocity was diminished.
Minnesota outscored Kansas City 17-2 in the series, bouncing back from an ugly 1-4 road trip.
Salvador Perez and Vinnie Pasquantino each had two hits for Kansas City, which has been shut out 15 times this season.
MARINERS 11, ANGELS 7: Cal Raleigh homered twice, Eugenio Suarez and Jesse Winker each hit a two-run shot, and Seattle overcame Shohei Ohtani’s four-hit performance to complete a three-game road sweep.
Ohtani hit a two-run homer in the ninth inning after getting an RBI triple and two singles earlier. The AL MVP’s 27th homer of the season gave him four RBI in this game and seven hits in the last two – both blowout losses for the Angels.
GUARDIANS 8, TIGERS 4: All-Star José Ramírez blooped a go-ahead, two-run double as Cleveland scored six runs with two outs in the eighth inning, rallying for a victory over visiting Detroit.
Rookies Steven Kwan and Oscar Gonzalez had RBI doubles, and Amed Rosario and Owen Miller added run-scoring singles in the eighth for the AL Central-leading Guardians. Cleveland trailed 4-1 in the sixth and 4-2 entering the eighth.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
REDS 1, PHILLIES 0: Jose Barrero hit an RBI single off Seranthony Domínguez with two out in the ninth inning, and Cincinnati won at home.
Albert Almora Jr. helped set up Barrero’s winning hit with a one-out walk. Almora advanced to second on Alejo Lopez’s single and hustled home when Barrero hit a grounder back up the middle.
It was the first run allowed by Domínguez (6-4) since July 10, snapping a string of 11 scoreless appearances.
Rookie left-hander Nick Lodolo struck out eight in a career-high seven innings for Cincinnati, allowing five hits. Alexis Díaz (4-1) got six outs for the win.
Reds first baseman Joey Votto announced after the win that he will have season-ending surgery Friday to repair a torn left rotator cuff. The 38-year-old Votto, a six-time All-Star and 2010 NL MVP, hit just .205 this season with 11 homers and 41 RBI.
PADRES 10, MARLINS 3: Jake Cronenworth hit a grand slam in the first inning, Ha-Seong Kim also drove in four runs, and San Diego Padres avoided a three-game sweep in Miami.
Kim went 3 for 4 with two doubles. Juan Soto reached base three times and scored twice for the Padres.
CUBS 3, NATIONALS 2: Yan Gomes hit a go-ahead single in the seventh inning and Chicago won at Washington.
Franmil Reyes smacked a leadoff double off Jake McGee (1-3) in the seventh. McGee struck out the next two batters before right-hander Steve Cishek came on to face righty Gomes, who hit a soft liner to right, scoring Reyes. Gomes played for the Nationals from 2019-21.
Erich Uelman (1-1) pitched two-thirds of an inning for his first major league win and Rowan Wick pitched the ninth for his eighth save.
P.J. Higgins homered and Reyes had two doubles for Chicago.
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