MLB roundup: Orioles pound Rangers in playoff rematch, Dodgers down Red Sox
Adley Rutschman and Colton Cowser also homered for Baltimore, which has won two straight following a five-game slide. Gunnar Henderson went 4-for-5 with three runs scored as the Orioles won in their first game at Globe Life Field since their season-ending loss in Game 3 of last year's American League Division Series.
Baltimore starter Corbin Burnes (10-4) limited Texas to one run on two hits over six innings. Burnes walked four and struck out six in his second outing in the Rangers' home ballpark in four days. The right-hander pitched a scoreless first inning despite giving up a hit and a walk for the American League in Tuesday's All-Star Game.
Texas starter Nathan Eovaldi (6-4) gave up six runs on eight hits over five innings. The right-hander struck out two without walking a batter, giving up three of the Orioles' four homers.
Dodgers 4 Red Sox 1
Freddie Freeman hit a grand slam in the eighth inning to bring a stagnant offence to life as Los Angeles rallied to beat visiting Boston in the opener of a three-game series.
The Dodgers had just two hits through seven innings before loading the bases in the eighth on a walk to Miguel Vargas, a double from Shohei Ohtani and an intentional walk to Will Smith. Freeman followed with a blast into the Red Sox's bullpen off left-hander Brennan Bernardino (3-3).
Rookie right-hander Gavin Stone gave up one run over five innings on six hits with no walks and three strikeouts as the Dodgers won after dropping six of their previous seven games. Left-hander Ryan Yarbrough (4-2) pitched a scoreless inning to pick up the victory, and right-hander Daniel Hudson pitched the ninth for his fifth save.
Astros 3 Mariners 0
Hunter Brown pitched six scoreless innings as Houston moved into first place in the American League West with a victory over host Seattle.
Yainer Diaz hit a two-run single in the third inning for the Astros, who were 10 games back in the division race on June 18. They've gone 18-6 since, the best record in the major leagues in that span, while the Mariners are 8-16, to move percentage points ahead of Seattle.
Brown (8-6) continued a remarkable run in which he has pitched at least six scoreless innings in five of his past eight starts. The right-hander allowed four hits, walked three and struck out five.
Pirates 8 Phillies 7
Nick Gonzales ripped a walk-off RBI single to cap a two-run ninth inning and lift host Pittsburgh over Philadelphia.
Oneil Cruz collected three hits, three RBIs and scored on the first two of three sacrifice flies by Rowdy Tellez. Bryan Reynolds also had three hits and Gonzales drove in another run for the Pirates, who overcame a three-run deficit with two runs in the seventh and ninth innings. The late uprising made a winner of Carmen Mlodzinski (2-3).
Philadelphia's Weston Wilson highlighted his three-hit performance, a career-high, with a solo home run in the third inning, his first of the season. Trea Turner launched a two-run homer, Nick Castellanos ripped a two-run double and Kyle Schwarber added a sacrifice fly for the Phillies. Jose Alvarado (1-4) retired only one batter in the ninth.
Athletics 13 Angels 3
Max Schuemann, JJ Bleday and Shea Langeliers hit home runs and Oakland thumped visiting Los Angeles to post its second straight double-digit scoring output.
Schuemann had Oakland's biggest hit of the night, a three-run homer in a four-run fourth. The burst came after Zach Neto's 13th blast of the season had drawn the Angels even at 2-2 in the top of the inning.
Schuemann added an RBI double in a seven-run sixth inning that broke the game open. The homers by Bleday and Langeliers contributed two runs apiece to the uprising, which followed Oakland's 18-3 rout of the Philadelphia Phillies in the final game before the All-Star break.
Yankees 6 Rays 1
Juan Soto collected four hits, including a double in the fifth inning that saw him score thanks to two errors by the Rays, as host New York beat Tampa Bay.
Anthony Volpe hit a bases-clearing double in the third off Tampa Bay starter Zach Eflin (5-7) and Aaron Judge added an RBI single in the sixth after Soto doubled for his fourth hit. Soto got his second four-hit game of the season as the Yankees won for the third time in four games but just the ninth time in 27 contests.
New York ace Gerrit Cole (3-1) allowed one run on six hits in six solid innings to win his second straight start. In his sixth outing since returning from elbow inflammation, Cole struck out eight, walked one and threw 103 pitches.
Other results:
Braves vs Cardinals (postponed)
The opener of the three-game series between Atlanta and St. Louis was postponed because of heavy rain in the Atlanta area. The game will be made up on Saturday as part of a split doubleheader. The first game will begin at 13:00 local time with the nightcap scheduled for 19:20.