C.C. Sabathia on Friday night pitched seven effective innings and Greg Bird hit a pair of solo homers as the New York Yankees opened a three-game series against the Boston Red Sox with an 8-1 victory at Yankee Stadium.
In front of the Yankees’ 12th sellout crowd of 47,120 and largest crowd of the season, Sabathia (5-3) allowed one run on six hits and completed seven innings for the fourth time this season. He struck out five and walked one.
Bird recorded his second career multi-homer game and first since Aug. 19, 2015, by homering in the fourth off Eduardo Rodriguez (9-3) and off Justin Haley in the eighth.
Photo: Gregory J. Fisher-USA TODAY
Rookie Miguel Andujar drove in three runs with an RBI single and a two-run homer as the Yankees improved to 4-3 in the season series with Boston.
The Red Sox snapped a four-game win streak and lost for just the second time in their past eight games.
NATIONALS 17, PHILLIES 7
Bryce Harper, Anthony Rendon and Juan Soto each hit three-run home runs as Washington snapped a three-game losing streak in a rout at Philadelphia.
The Nationals hit seven home runs, three coming in the first two innings off Philadelphia starter Nick Pivetta (4-7).
Trea Turner and Soto each hit two-run homers in the first inning, and Rendon followed in the second inning with his 10th home run of the season to give Washington a commanding 7-0 lead.
Washington’s lead grew to 10-0 on a three-run home run by Harper in the fourth inning. It was Harper’s 20th of the season.
He now has six seasons with at least 20 home runs, putting him one behind Ryan Zimmerman and Andre Dawson for the most in franchise history.
CUBS 10, TWINS 6
Addison Russell hit a wind-blown grand slam, while Jason Heyward, Ben Zobrist and Kyle Schwarber also homered to lead Chicago to victory over visiting Minnesota.
Heyward had two hits, scored three runs and drove in two more, while center fielder Albert Almora Jr also had three hits and scored two runs for Chicago, who won for the third time in their past four games.
Anthony Rizzo added two hits and an RBI, while Zobrist chipped in two RBIs and two runs scored.
Joe Mauer homered, drove in five runs and had three hits, while Eddie Rosario and Mitch Garver each had two hits for Minnesota, who lost for the sixth time in their past eight games.
ANGELS 7, ORIOLES 1
Mike Trout and Martin Maldonado hit solo homers as Los Angeles cruised to victory at Baltimore.
The win snapped a six-game losing streak for the Angels, while Baltimore have now lost six in a row.
Trout gave the Angels a quick lead when, as the game’s second batter, he homered to put them up 1-0.
He ended a 13-game streak of no extra-base hits and got back into center field after playing nine straight games at designated hitter due to a sprained right index finger.
RAYS 3, ASTROS 2
Wilmer Font carried a shutout into the sixth inning before departing with an injury as hosts Tampa Bay took advantage of Houston’s shorthanded lineup in a tight win.
Font (2-3) allowed just one hit and one walk through five innings before issuing a free pass to Astros center fielder Jake Marisnick leading off the sixth.
Then, in the middle of his at-bat with third baseman Alex Bregman, Font suffered a strained right lat and departed leading 3-0.
Right-hander Diego Castillo entered in relief of Font and surrendered a two-run homer to Bregman.
However, the Astros, without Carlos Correa (back), George Springer (rest) and Yuli Gurriel (paternity) in the starting lineup, would score no more as their 11-game road winning streak was snapped.
BRAVES 5, CARDINALS 1
Johan Camargo and Dansby Swanson each had three hits to support the six scoreless innings thrown by Julio Teheran as Atlanta secured a win over hosts St Louis.
Camargo was three for five, and his one-out double in the eighth against Jordan Hicks split the gap and drove home two runs to give the Braves some breathing room.
Swanson was three for four and drove in Camargo with a single against Greg Holland.
Teheran (6-5) bounced back from last week’s ineffective start against Baltimore to fire six shutout innings. The right-hander allowed two hits and two walks and struck out four. He retired 10 straight batters from the second through the fifth inning.
In other results, it was:
‧ Brewers 8, Reds 2
‧ Blue Jays 3, Tigers 2
‧ Marlins 8, Mets
‧ Rangers 11, White Sox 3
‧ Giants 2, Diamondbacks 1
‧ Athletics 3, Indians 1
‧ Rockies 3, Dodgers 1
‧ Mariners 4, Royals 1
‧ Pirates 6, Padres 3
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