Evan Gattis drove in two runs in a four-run seventh inning and the Houston Astros continued their late-inning magic as they rallied for a 5-2 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Monday night.
The Astros have scored a major league-leading 94 runs in the seventh inning or later this season.
They trailed by one entering the seventh before a leadoff single by Chris Carter knocked starter Ubaldo Jimenez out of the game. He was replaced by Brad Brach (3-1), who walked Luis Valbuena before a single by pinch-hitter Hank Conger loaded the bases.
Photo: AFP
George Springer singled to tie it up with one out before Jose Altuve’s sacrifice fly put Houston on top. Gattis drove in two more to make it 5-2.
Will Harris (2-0) pitched 1-2/3 scoreless innings for the win and Luke Gregerson struck out two in a perfect ninth for his 14th save.
YANKEES 7, MARINERS 2
Photo: AFP
In Seattle, Mark Teixeira hit his ninth career grand slam off Seattle ace Felix Hernandez in the fifth inning and Michael Pineda allowed two runs pitching into the seventh in the Yankees’ win over the Mariners.
The anticipated matchup between two of the top right-handers in the American League met expectations for three innings before Hernandez (8-2) fell apart in stunning fashion.
The Yankees took advantage of five walks and a wild pitch that allowed a run to score as the AL wins leader lost his rhythm following a brief rain shower that dampened Safeco Field before the retractable roof could close.
With Hernandez struggling, Teixeira did not miss his chance to blow the game open. With only one out in the fifth, Hernandez fell behind 2-0 and grooved a fastball to Teixeira, who hit his 15th homer of the season and sixth career long ball off Hernandez.
BREWERS 1, CARDINALS 0
In St Louis, Missouri, Mike Fiers and four relievers combined on an eight-hitter and Carlos Gomez had a first-inning RBI single in the Brewers’ victory over the Cardinals.
Fiers (2-5) allowed four hits in six innings, one shy of his season high, and won for the first time in six starts since May 2 at Chicago.
Johnathan Broxton, Neal Cotts, James Jeffress and Francisco Rodriguez combined to allow four hits without walking a batter in Milwaukee’s fourth shutout of the season.
Jaime Garcia (1-2) worked seven sterling innings and Kolten Wong and Mark Reynolds had two singles apiece for the Cardinals, who were shut out for the fifth time and the first time at home, where they are among the best in the league at 20-7.
CUBS 5, MARLINS 1
In Miami, Jason Hammel had a career-high 11 strikeouts in 6-2/3 innings as the Cubs beat the Marlins.
With his start pushed back because of a cracked fingernail and a rainout, Hammel (4-2) pitched for the first time in eight days, and he seemed to benefit from the extra rest. He allowed one run, four hits and no walks, lowering his ERA to 2.82.
Hammel threw 117 pitches, his highest total since 2009. Two relievers completed a six-hitter, and the Marlins struck out 13 times.
Jose Urena (0-2), making his second major league start, improved on his rocky debut, but allowed three runs in six innings.
PIRATES 4, GIANTS 3
In San Francisco, Gerrit Cole struck out a season-best nine to win his third straight start, Neil Walker hit a tiebreaking two-run double in the fifth after a pair of called strikeouts, and the Pirates beat the Giants.
Andrew McCutchen had two likely hits stolen by great plays in the outfield and he instead settled for sacrifice flies against Ryan Vogelsong (4-3).
Cole (8-2) struck out the side in order in the fourth, then worked a 1-2-3 fifth before loading the bases with none out in the sixth. He got out of it with a strikeout of Brandon Belt and inducing Brandon Crawford’s inning-ending double play.
Belt’s two-run, two-out double in the first put San Francisco ahead in a rematch of the NL one-game wild card won 8-0 by the eventual champion Giants in October last year at PNC Park.
In other results, it was:
‧ Mets 7, Padres 0
‧ Angels 7, Rays 3
‧ Dodgers 11, Rockies 4
‧ Braves 8, Diamondbacks 1
‘SU-PENKO’: Hsieh and Ostapenko face a rematch against their Australian Open final opponents, the same duo Hsieh played in last year’s Wimbledon semi-finals Taiwanese women’s doubles star Hsieh Su-wei and Latvian partner Jelena Ostapenko on Wednesday survived a near upset to the unseeded duo of Sorana Cirstea of Romania and Russia’s Anna Kalinskaya, setting up a semi-final showdown against last year’s winners. Despite losing a hard-fought opening set 7-6 (7/4) on a tiebreak, the fourth seeds turned up the heat, losing just five games in the final two sets to handily put down Cirstea and Kalinskaya 6-3, 6-2. Nicknamed “Su-Penko,” the pair are next to face top seeds Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic and Taylor Townsend of the US in a reversal of last
Taiwanese tennis veteran Hsieh Su-wei (謝淑薇) and her Latvian partner Jelena Ostapenko finished runners-up in the Wimbledon women's doubles final yesterday, losing 6-3, 2-6, 4-6. The three-set match against Veronika Kudermetova of Russia and Elise Mertens of Belgium lasted two hours and 23 minutes. The loss denied 39-year-old Hsieh a chance to claim her 10th Grand Slam title. Although the Taiwanese-Latvian duo trailed 1-3 in the opening set, they rallied with two service breaks to take it 6-3. In the second set, Mertens and Kudermetova raced to a 5-1 lead and wrapped it up 6-2 to even the match. In the final set, Hsieh and
Taiwanese tennis veteran Hsieh Su-wei and her Latvian partner, Jelena Ostapenko, advanced to the Wimbledon women’s doubles final on Friday, defeating top seeds Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic and Taylor Townsend of the US in straight sets. The fourth-seeded duo bounced back quickly after losing their opening service game, capitalizing on frequent unforced errors by their opponents to take the first set 7-5. Maintaining their momentum in the second set, Hsieh and Ostapenko broke serve early and held their lead to close out the match 6-4. They are set to face the eighth-seeded pair of Veronika Kudermetova of Russia and Elise Mertens
Outside Anfield, the red sea of tributes to Diogo Jota and his brother, Andre Silva, has continued to grow this week, along with questions over whether Liverpool could play at Preston today, their first game since the brothers’ tragic loss. Inside Anfield, and specifically a grieving Liverpool dressing room, there was no major debate over the pre-season friendly. The English Premier League champions intend to honor their teammate in the best way they know how. It would be only 10 days since the deaths of Jota and Silva when Liverpool appear at Deepdale Stadium for what is certain to be a hugely
RSS