Albert Almora Jr acknowledged his former Arizona Fall League foe when he batted against him in the ninth inning, then he spoiled the pitcher’s night.
Almora drove in the go-ahead run with a ninth-inning double, while Dexter Fowler had two hits as the Cubs defeated the Washington Nationals 4-3, leveling the three-game series between division leaders.
Addison Russell led off the ninth with a walk from Sammy Solis (1-2) and was sacrificed to second, before Almora, who entered the game in the eighth inning, lined a shot to left center on the first pitch.
Photo: AP
“We played against each other in the Fall League,” Almora said of Solis. “We looked at each other. I gave him a little nod with the helmet. It was time to go to work. He made a good pitch and I just tried to stay up the middle and it fell for me.”
The rookie outfielder joined the Cubs on June 7.
“The guy has been up here for five minutes,” manager Joe Maddon said. “Goes up there and is not passive. He went up there, jumped on the first pitch and I loved it.”
The Pirates ended a five-game losing streak with a 4-0 win over the Mets, with Jameson Taillon taking a no-hit bid into the seventh inning of his second major league start.
Kang Jung-ho and Starling Marte each hit a two-run homer for the Pirates, backing eight efficient innings of two-hit ball from an impressive Taillon. One of baseball’s top pitching prospects, the sturdy right-hander held New York hitless until Curtis Granderson grounded a leadoff single.
Taillon (1-0) was recalled from the minors before the game after Pittsburgh put ace Gerrit Cole on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right triceps. The touted rookie certainly showed what all the fuss is about, outpitching All-Star Jacob deGrom (3-3) in a rematch with the defending NL champions.
In San Francisco, Madison Bumgarner struck out eight over eight innings to win his career-best seventh straight decision and Buster Posey had a season-high four hits as the Giants beat Milwaukee 3-2 for their fourth straight victory.
The Houston Astros beat the Cardinals 5-2, with Doug Fister pitching effectively into the eighth inning and Colby Rasmus hitting his 150th career homer in his first game back in St Louis since 2011.
Fister (7-3) allowed two runs and five hits in 7-1/3 innings, his longest outing of the season, to win his sixth consecutive decision.
In a game between the teams tied atop the American League East, Manny Machado hit a two-run home run and Chris Tillman struck out seven to help Baltimore end a three-game losing streak with a 3-2 victory over Boston.
Elsewhere, the Texas Rangers beat Oakland 10-6, Tampa Bay rallied from a four-run deficit to edge the Seattle Mariners 8-7, the Kansas City Royals held off the Cleveland Indians 3-2, the Detroit Tigers defended a big lead to beat the skidding White Sox 11-8 and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Diamondbacks 7-4.
The Rockies held off the Yankees 13-10, the Blue Jays routed Philadelphia 11-3, the Angles edged the Minnesota Twins 5-4, the Marlins had a 5-2 win over the Padres and Cincinnati escaped a jam in the ninth to beat the Braves 3-1.
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