DETROIT — Julio Rodriguez and Ty France hit back-to-back home runs in the third inning and the Seattle Mariners completed a three-game series sweep by defeating the Detroit Tigers 7-0 on Thursday.

France and Curt Casali drove in two runs apiece as the Mariners won for the sixth time in seven games. The Tigers were shut out for the 18th time this season.

“We’re getting better at the right time,” Seattle Manager Scott Servais said. “I don’t think we’ve reached our ceiling yet and it’s a really high one.”

Logan Gilbert (11-5), who had gone winless in his previous nine starts, held Detroit to two hits and a walk while striking out nine in six innings. Gilbert’s last victory came on July 5.

Gilbert established his fastball early, then frustrated the Tigers with his slider. His strikeout total tied a season high. He only had a total of 15 strikeouts in his previous five starts.

“August wasn’t my best. I feel pretty good,” Gilbert said. “I didn’t feel like I was that far off. Hopefully, this is a good sign to keep rolling from here.”

Tigers starter Eduardo Rodriguez (3-4) surrendered six runs, five earned, and six hits in four innings.

Detroit rookie Riley Greene had two singles, extending his hitting streak to 10 games.

ORIOLES 3, GUARDIANS 0: Kyle Bradish held Cleveland to two harmless singles in seven innings and Cedric Mullens homered on Shane Bieber’s first pitch as visiting Baltimore beat the Guardians.

Bradish (3-5) had his second straight dominant performance. He hasn’t allowed a run in 15 straight innings after going more than three months without a win.

The right-hander was only in trouble once, but regrouped after walking two in the third by striking out Amed Rosario and retiring All-Star José Ramírez on a routine fly to left.

Cionel Pérez worked a perfect eighth and rookie Félix Bautista finished off the two-hitter for his 11th save.

WHITE SOX 7, ROYALS 1: Andrew Vaughn and A.J. Pollock each cracked a two-run homer and singled, and Chicago won at home.

Leury Garcia and Elvis Andrus added two hits and an RBI apiece for the White Sox, who won their second straight following a five-game slide to climb back within a game of .500 (65-66).

Chicago improved to 2-1 under bench coach Miguel Cairo, serving in his third game as acting manager while Tony La Russa is on indefinite leave to undergo tests for an unspecified health issue.

The 77-year-old La Russa is in Arizona to consult with his personal doctors. La Russa and Sparky Anderson, both Hall of Famers, are the only managers to win the World Series in the American and National leagues.

Johnny Cueto (7-6) allowed one run on six hits in 5 1/3 innings, walking none and striking out five. The 36-year-old right-hander rebounded from a rough outing last Friday, when he allowed seven runs in five innings to Arizona.

Five Chicago relievers combined to throw two-hit ball the rest of the way.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

METS 5, DODGERS 3: Edwin Díaz struck out Gavin Lux on a 102.8 mph fastball to escape a jam in the eighth inning, and host New York beat major league-best Los Angeles.

Francisco Lindor hit a tying double in the sixth and scored the go-ahead run on a sacrifice fly by Darin Ruf after the Mets were held to one hit in five innings by Clayton Kershaw, who made his first start since Aug. 4.

NL East-leading New York took two of three from Los Angeles, its first series win against the Dodgers since Sept. 3-5, 2011. LA lost consecutive games for the first time since July 25-26.

Chris Bassitt (12-7) allowed two runs and six hits in six innings for his fifth straight victory, matching his win total from last season with Oakland. He departed after the Mets took a 3-2 lead in the sixth.

INTERLEAGUE

NATIONALS 7, ATHLETICS 5: Joey Meneses hit a three-run homer in the 10th inning to cap his first four-hit game as Washington rallied past visiting Oakland.

Meneses, a 30-year-old rookie who played for the Portland Sea Dogs last year, homered to right-center off Oakland rookie Norge Ruiz (0-1), raising his average to .354.

Shea Langeliers homered and drove in three runs for the A’s. He put Oakland ahead in the 10th with a two-out, two-run double off Hunter Harvey (1-0).

NOTES

SUSPENSION: Major League Baseball suspended free agent pitcher Carlos Martinez for 85 games for violating its joint domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse policy.

MLB said the punishment is retroactive to June 19. Under the policy, Martinez will participate in a confidential evaluation and treatment program supervised by the league’s joint policy board.

Martinez, 30, also was suspended for 80 games in May under baseball’s minor league drug program after he tested positive for the performance-enhancing substance Ibutamoren, which increases Human Growth Hormone.

The right-hander signed a minor league contract with San Francisco on March 19. He was released and signed a minor league contract with the Boston Red Sox on May 7, but was released 10 days later after two starts for Triple-A Worcester.

Martinez pitched for the St. Louis Cardinals from 2013-21, going 62-52 with a 3.74 ERA in 139 starts and 135 relief appearances. He was an All-Star in 2015 and 2017, and made five relief appearances in the 2013 World Series loss to the Red Sox.

Copy the Story Link

« Previous

50 years later, Gorham’s New England soccer championship still special

Next »

Thursday’s college roundup: USM shuts out St. Joseph’s, 1-0