Here are the rest of Friday’s scores and highlights:
Yankees 6, Rays 1: The Yankees took the lead in the AL East on eight brilliant innings from Masahiro Tanaka, who retired 17 straight batters and whiffed a career-best 14 in his eighth win of the year. Rays’ manager Kevin Cash credited Tanaka for utilizing deceptive pitches over raw power and getting hitters to expand the strike zone by consistently chasing low balls. While the no-hit bid was foiled on an Adeiny Hechavarria single in the sixth, the Yankees’ hurler still came out on top after Brett Gardner, Aaron Judge and Clint Frazier collected three big home runs off of Tampa Bay’s Austin Pruitt.
Phillies 10, Braves 3: It was a good night for the Phillies, whose pre-deadline deals netted a handful of prospects for infielder/outfielder Howie Kendrick and right-hander Jeremy Hellickson. The club celebrated by hitting double digits on the scoreboard, banking on a seven-run inning to hold a sizable lead over the Braves and… still stay 25 games back of first place.
Angels 7, Blue Jays 2: After getting swept by the Indians earlier this week, the Angels rebounded with seven strong frames from Parker Bridwell and another two-RBI performance from Mike Trout. Troy Tulowitzki came away with the short end of the stick after a collision with C.J. Cron caused the shortstop to roll his ankle and land on the 10-day disabled list.
Astros 6, Tigers 5: The Astros wanted to play it safe with Dallas Keuchel during his first game back from the disabled list, but even a strict pitch count couldn’t corral the damage he did in the first three innings. Keuchel racked up 79 pitches in three frames, allowing six hits, three walks and three runs to help build an early lead for the Tigers. Josh Reddick salvaged the game in the eighth, smashing his tenth home run of the season and giving the Astros the one-run edge they needed to take the win.
Royals 4, Red Sox 2: The Royals extended their win streak to nine straight games on Friday, positioning themselves within two games of the division lead following another gem from Jason Vargas. Mike Moustakas helped power the win with his 30th home run of the season, becoming the fastest player to 30 dingers in franchise history.
Indians 9, White Sox 3: The Indians, meanwhile, don’t seem fazed by the Royals’ hot streak after setting down eight consecutive wins of their own. They kept rolling against the Sox with six innings of two-run, eight-strikeout ball from Danny Salazar and home runs from Jose Ramirez and Carlos Santana. The White Sox, on the other hand, not only dropped their fourth game in a row, but failed to register a single strikeout for the first time since 2014.
Rangers 8, Orioles 2: Adrian Beltre took another stride toward his 3,ooo-hit milestone on Friday, going 2-for-4 with a pair of RBI singles in the Rangers’ series opener.
While Beltre angled for a spot in the history books, the Orioles focused their efforts on strengthening their rotation, executing a late-night trade for the Phillies’ Jeremy Hellickson after giving up eight runs on Elvis Andrus‘ two-run homer, Nomar Mazara‘s RBI double and a base hit from Carlos Gonzalez.
Marlins 7, Reds 4: Speaking of 3,000-hit players, Ichiro Suzuki clubbed his 3,060th career hit on Friday, lining a double into right field and tying Craig Biggio for the 22nd-most hits in MLB history.
Brewers 2, Cubs 1: The Cubs are still in first place, but they hardly have a lock on the NL Central after taking a tough loss on Friday night. The Brewers moved within one game of the lead, downing their division rivals with seven shutout innings from Brent Suter and a pair of run-scoring groundouts. Javier Baez pounced on a first-pitch slider from Anthony Swarzak for his 13th blast of the year, but the eighth-inning rally proved too little, too late for Chicago.
Cardinals 1, Diamondbacks 0: At the top of the list of Things You Hope To Never See at a Baseball Game is this:
Thankfully, Robbie Ray was discharged from the hospital Friday night after the CT scan came back normal, and presumably won’t require a lengthy recovery period before he returns to the mound. Back at the ballpark, the Cardinals fended off the Diamondbacks with a Jedd Gyorko single and six shutdown innings from Michael Wacha.
Twins 6, Athletics 3: Not everyone can stare down a 110 MPH line drive and have the presence of mind to move toward it. Not everyone is Matt Chapman:
Mets 7, Mariners 5: Michael Conforto had a banner night during his first career game at Safeco Field, collecting a pair of home runs to propel the Mets to their 48th win. “It’s a dream come true to be able to play out here,” Conforto told reporters after the game, citing Seattle as the place where he first fell in love with baseball. The feeling wasn’t quite so warm on the Mariners’ side, where the loss shifted Seattle several games back of the .500 mark and wasted a solid 10-strikeout effort by Ariel Miranda.
Padres 3, Pirates 2: The Padres may be a full 26 games behind first place, but that didn’t stop them from playing like contenders on Friday night. Travis Wood turned in a one-run, seven-strikeout effort in six innings, his longest and most productive start since 2015, and a wild pitch from Daniel Hudson knocked in the Padres’ go-ahead run in the sixth.
Dodgers 6, Giants 4: The Dodgers may be the winningest team in the majors, but victory hasn’t always come easily for them. Their 72-win record encompasses 30 comebacks, including Friday’s come-from-behind win against the last-place Giants. Corey Seager put the team on the board with a solo shot in the first inning and returned in the seventh to cap a four-run rally with a game-winning, two-RBI blast.
Rockies, Nationals (postponed): The forecast calls for 82-degree sunshine on Sunday, which is when the Nationals will host the Rockies for a doubleheader. This, however, was the state of Nationals Park on Friday afternoon:
Hey, at least the Nats didn’t completely waste their off day.
