J.J. Hardy hit a tiebreaking two-run homer in the seventh inning to back an effective pitching performance by Taiwan’s Chen Wei-yin and carry Baltimore past Texas 4-2.
Jimmy Paredes hit a home run and had two RBIs for the Orioles, who yielded eight home runs in losing the first two games of the series.
The Rangers went deep twice more — solo shots by Choo Shin-soo and Ryan Rua — but that was the extent of their offensive output.
Photo: AP
Chen (4-4) allowed two runs, four hits and a walk over eight innings to win his third straight decision. The Taiwanese left-hander is 5-0 with a 1.80 ERA lifetime against the Rangers.
Zach Britton struck out the side in the ninth for his 23rd save.
Nick Martinez (5-5) gave up four runs, three earned, and seven hits in 6-2/3 innings. He has lost three straight starts.
INDIANS 8, RAYS 1
In St Petersburg, Florida, Carlos Carrasco came within one strike of throwing the Cleveland Indians’ first no-hitter since 1981, giving up an RBI single to Joey Butler over leaping second baseman Jason Kipnis’ glove in an 8-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays.
For the third straight night, the Indians took a perfect game into the sixth inning against the Rays. This time, Carrasco retired the first 19 batters before walking Butler with one out in the seventh.
Washington’s Max Scherzer lost his perfect game with one strike to go on June 20, but finished with a no-hitter, the second in the major leagues this season.
Carrasco walked Astrubal Cabrera leading off the ninth, then hit pinch-hitter Brandon Guyer with a pitch. Grady Sizemore, also pinch hitting, grounded into a force play and Kevin Kiermaier struck out to bring Butler to the plate with a crowd of 11,394 at Tropicana Field on its feet.
Butler lined an 0-2 pitch over Kipnis, who jumped high in the air to make an attempt at the ball and fell flat to the ground as the line drive landed cleanly in the outfield. Carrasco smiled, clapped into his glove several times and pointed at the second baseman in appreciation of his effort.
ASTROS 6, ROYALS 5
In Houston, Texas, Jose Altuve had three hits and scored the tiebreaking run in the seventh inning to help Houston complete a three-game sweep of Kansas City.
The game was tied at 5 in the seventh when Kelvin Herrera (1-2) plunked Altuve on the forearm. Altuve stole second and reached third on a lineout. He put Houston on top when he beat the tag at the plate on a fielder’s choice by Chris Carter.
The play was reviewed and upheld to give the Astros the win.
In other MLB action, it was:
‧ Dodgers 4, Diamondbacks 3
‧ White Sox 7, Cardinals 1
‧ Cubs 2, Mets 0, 11 inns
‧ Braves 4, Nationals 1
‧ Blue Jays 11, Red Sox 2
‧ Marlins 6, Giants 5
‧ Yankees 3, Angels 1
‧ Pirates 9, Tigers 3
‧ Brewers 9, Phillies 5
‧ Reds 4, Twins 1
‧ Mariners 7, Padres 0
‧ Athletics 4, Rockies 1
Backup quarterback Luke Weaver on Wednesday night threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to Nick Cenacle with 10 seconds left, as the University of Hawaii rallied for a 35-31 comeback victory over the University of California, Berkeley in a thrilling Hawaii Bowl. Weaver entered the game after Micah Alejado took a hard hit on the previous play. With the Rainbow Warriors (9-4) in range for a tying field goal, coach Timmy Chang took a shot at the end zone, and Cenacle got between two defensive backs and made the contested catch. “How amazing is that?” Chang said. “It’s a program that is built
Hosts Morocco on Friday were held to a 1-1 draw by Mali at the Africa Cup of Nations, ending their world record run of wins and leaving them still to make sure of progress to the next stage. Midfielder Brahim Diaz tucked away a penalty in stoppage-time at the end of the first half, but Mali equalized from the spot midway through the second half through Lassine Sinayoko. Both penalties were awarded after video reviews in a tempestuous clash at the end of a busy day of action at the tournament. Morocco were atop the Group A standings with four points, while Zambia,
STILL IN THE HUNT: Rasmus Hojlund took his goal tally for SSC Napoli to nine as the champions cruised to a win at US Cremonese and stayed two points behind the leaders Inter on Sunday stayed at the Serie A summit after beating Atalanta BC 1-0 to maintain their slender lead over local rivals AC Milan. Lautaro Martinez netted the only goal of the game in Bergamo for Inter, who lead Milan, 3-0 winners against Hellas Verona thanks to Christoper Nkunku’s first Serie A goals, by a single point at the top of the division. The Argentina striker has scored in four consecutive league matches to end what has been a tricky year in positive style. “I ended last season in a lot of pain... I kept going during the Club World Cup and international
An astounding 20 wickets fell on a frantic first day of the fourth Ashes Test yesterday, with Australia all out for 152 before storming back to dismiss England for 110 and leave the clash on a knife-edge. England skipper Ben Stokes won a key toss on a green track and his quicks feasted after sending in the hosts under overcast skies in front of 94,199 fans at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. It was the biggest cricket crowd ever at the cavernous arena, exceeding the 93,013 who watched the 2015 World Cup final, and they witnessed the home side collapse with Josh Tongue
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