CINCINNATI — Spencer Steer homered in consecutive at-bats and drove in five runs, and Elly De La Cruz hit his team-leading 21st homer as the Cincinnati Reds beat the St. Louis Cardinals 6-1 on Monday night.
Andrew Abbott (10-9) allowed one run and five hits in 6 2/3 innings to snap his three-game losing streak. The left-hander was tagged for 12 earned runs over his previous 13 1/3 innings.
Cardinals starter Sonny Gray (11-7) struck out nine in five innings, but is winless in three career starts against his former club. He gave up six runs and five hits, including three homers.
Abbott escaped bases-loaded jams in the second and third. He finished with six strikeouts and retired 11 straight batters during one stretch.
Steer and De La Cruz homered on successive pitches from Gray to put Cincinnati ahead 3-1 in the third. It was the fifth time this season the Reds hit back-to-back homers.
ASTROS 6, RAYS 1
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Framber Valdez followed up his no-hit bid with 5 2/3 strong innings, and the AL West-leading won their six straight game by beating Tampa Bay.
Alex Bregman and Yainer Diaz homered for the Astros, who lead the division by one-half game over idle Seattle.
Valdez (12-5) improved to 7-0 in his last nine starts after allowing three hits, one walk and striking out nine. The lefty was pulled after walking Yandy Díaz on his 101st pitch.
Tayler Scott and Kaleb Ort completed a four-hitter.
GUARDIANS 9, CUBS 8
CLEVELAND — Josh Naylor drove in José Ramírez with the go-ahead run in the eighth inning and the Cleveland held on for a win over the Chicago Cubs.
Rookie Jhonkensy Noel hit a three-run homer and solo shot, and he made a diving catch in right field to save a couple runs for the AL Central-leading Guardians, who returned home after splitting a tense, four-game series at second-place Minnesota.
Steven Kwan added a two-run homer as the Guardians improved the league’s best home record to 36-20.
Ramírez opened the eighth with a double off Julian Merryweather (1-1) and pinch-hitter Will Brennan singled before Naylor bounced his base hit into left.
The Cubs led 3-0 and then fell behind 8-3 before tying it with four runs in the seventh and one in the eighth off Cleveland’s vaunted bullpen.
TWINS 8, ROYALS 3
MINNEAPOLIS — Willi Castro had a three-run home run and Royce Lewis hit a two-run shot in a six-run second inning for Minnesota on the way to a victory over Kansas City to open a key series between the division rivals and close wild card competitors.
The Twins, who improved to 6-2 against the Royals this season, remained 3 1/2 games behind American League Central leader Cleveland after splitting a four-game series with the Guardians during the weekend. The third-place Royals dropped to five games back.
The Twins (66-52) occupy the second AL wild card spot. The Royals (65-54) control the third spot, with a two-game cushion above the cut in their refreshing push to return to the playoffs for the first time since they won the 2015 World Series.
DODGERS 5, BREWERS 2
MILWAUKEE — Mookie Betts homered and drove in three runs to mark his return from a broken left hand, Shohei Ohtani also went deep and the Los Angeles defeated Milwaukee.
Clayton Kershaw struck out six in his first win this season, allowing one run over 5 2/3 innings as the Dodgers took the opener of a four-game series between NL division leaders.
The Dodgers activated Betts from the injured list earlier in the day and had him playing right field and batting second, with Ohtani leading off. Betts primarily had been playing shortstop and leading off this year before his hand got hit by a 98 mph fastball from Kansas City’s Dan Altavilla on June 16.
Milwaukee cut Los Angeles’ lead to 4-2 in the sixth when William Contreras greeted Joe Kelly with a two-out, two-run homer to right. Willy Adames and Gary Sánchez then hit back-to-back singles to put the potential tying run on base before Kelly struck out Rhys Hoskins to end the rally.
RED SOX 5, RANGERS 4, 10 INNINGS
BOSTON — Rob Refsnyder hit a game-winning single with two outs in the 10th inning after pinch-hitter Enmanuel Valdez’s double tied the score, lifting Boston to a 5-4 victory over fading Texas to snap a four-game losing streak Monday night.
Corey Seager had a tying, two-run homer for defending World Series champion Texas (55-64), which lost for the ninth time in 12 games to fall a season-low nine games under .500.
With automatic runner Romy Gonzalez on second, Valdez hit a drive to the edge of the triangle in right-center off Gerson Garabito (0-1) that just got past Leody Taveras and bounced into the stands for a ground-rule double.
Nick Sogard blooped a single to center and Mickey Gasper drew a one-out walk in his major league debut against Walter Pennington to load the bases. Following a force at home on Masataka Yoshida’s grounder, Refsnyder hit a 2-0 pitch for the winner.
Josh Winckowski (3-1) got the victory.
WHITE SOX 12, YANKEES 2
CHICAGO — Gavin Sheets matched a career high with four hits and drove in four runs, Korey Lee and Brooks Baldwin homered, and the Chicago White Sox gave interim manager Grady Sizemore his first win, pounding the New York Yankees.
The White Sox set season highs for runs and with 18 hits. They had lost three straight since beating Oakland to stop a 21-game skid that matched an American League record.
Lee connected leading off a two-run fourth against Yankees starter Luis Gil. Baldwin capped a six-run seventh with a three-run drive against Enyel De Los Santos that made it 11-2.
Sheets hit RBI doubles in a two-run first, in the fifth against Tim Hill and in the seventh off De Los Santos. He also scored in the inning on a single by Dominic Fletcher, and singled in a run in the eighth.
Andrew Vaughn had four hits and scored twice, helping the White Sox take out a team that came in tied with Baltimore for baseball’s best record.
New York’s Aaron Judge doubled in a run in the first against rookie Ky Bush. He came a few feet short of his 300th home run and a grand slam when he hit a fly to the warning track in the second.
DIAMONDBACKS 5, ROCKIES 4
PHOENIX — Corbin Carroll and Kevin Newman scrambled home on back-to-back wild pitches in the seventh inning, leading Arizona past Colorado for their fourth straight win.
The D-backs continued their extended roll, with an 18-5 record since the All-Star break.
Joc Pederson came to the plate in the seventh with Arizona trailing 4-3, two outs and runners on first and third, but he never had to hit the ball to put his team ahead. Tyler Kinley’s first wild pitch scored Carroll easily and Newman advanced all the way to third after getting a head start while stealing second.
Two pitches later, Kinley bounced another pitch that catcher Elias Díaz couldn’t quite handle. Newman made a daring dash home, sliding in ahead of the throw for the lead.
Jake McCarthy added two hits and two RBIs. Newman and Josh Bell also had two hits. Justin Martinez handled the ninth — working around a leadoff single — for his third save.
BLUE JAYS 4, ANGELS 2
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Bowden Francis pitched seven dominant innings and Will Wagner got hits in the first three at-bats of his major league debut as Toronto beat the Los Angeles Angels.
Leo Jiménez launched his first career home run and the last-place Blue Jays won the opener of a six-game trip after losing four of their previous five road games.
Mickey Moniak and Jo Adell homered for the Angels, who lost for the third time in four games after earning a series win on the road against the New York Yankees.
PADRES 2, PIRATES 1
SAN DIEGO — Xander Bogaerts had an RBI single in the seventh inning, Jackson Merrell made a game-saving diving catch in the ninth inning, and Joe Musgrove had a solid return from the 60-day injured list as San Diego beat Pittsburgh.
Musgrove, sidelined since May 26 due to right elbow inflammation, gave up two hits and walked one while striking out one in 4 1/3 scoreless innings. He pitched effectively, mixing his sliders, changeups and four-seam fastballs.
When Musgrove came out of the game in the fifth inning, he received a standing ovation from the 38th sold-out crowd of the season at Petco Park. He patted his heart and waived to the crowd while walking into the dugout.
Jeremiah Estrada (4-2) got the win for the Padres after pitching one inning in relief and closer Robert Suarez earned his 26th save after giving up two singles and a run in the ninth inning.
BRAVES 1, GIANTS 0, 10 INNINGS
SAN FRANCISCO — Chris Sale and Blake Snell put on a pitching show Monday night in a matchup of aces before Atlanta edged San Francisco on Travis d’Arnaud’s sacrifice fly in the 10th inning.
Snell carried a no-hit bid through six innings, 10 days after throwing his first career no-hitter at Cincinnati. The left-hander gave up Marcell Ozuna’s leadoff double in the seventh on his 103rd pitch.
Matt Olson followed with an infield single, but Snell struck out Orlando Arcia before getting pulled. The two-time Cy Young Award winner struck out 11 and walked three.
Sale fanned 12 without a walk in seven innings of three-hit ball. The eight-time All-Star lowered his ERA to 2.61 in his first season with Atlanta, which moved a game ahead of the New York Mets for the final National League wild card.
In a thrilling matchup between two NL Central rivals, the Cincinnati Reds emerged victorious over the St. Louis Cardinals thanks to a standout performance by outfielder Jesse Winker. Winker, also known as “Steer” by his teammates, had a career night at the plate, hitting two home runs and driving in five runs to lead the Reds to a 7-4 win.
Winker got the scoring started early for the Reds with a solo home run in the first inning off Cardinals starter Jack Flaherty. He then added to his tally with a three-run blast in the fifth inning, giving the Reds a comfortable lead that they would not relinquish.
Winker’s performance was not only impressive in terms of power, but also in terms of timing. Both of his home runs came with runners on base, showing his ability to come through in clutch situations and deliver for his team when they needed it most.
The Reds’ victory was also a testament to their overall offensive prowess, as they were able to score seven runs on 10 hits against a tough Cardinals pitching staff. In addition to Winker’s heroics, several other players contributed to the win, including Nick Castellanos who had two hits and an RBI, and Tyler Stephenson who drove in a run with a double.
On the pitching side, Reds starter Sonny Gray turned in a solid performance, allowing just two runs on five hits over six innings of work. The bullpen also did its part, with Amir Garrett and Lucas Sims combining for three scoreless innings to close out the game and secure the win for Cincinnati.
The victory was a much-needed one for the Reds, who had been struggling in recent weeks and were looking to gain some momentum as they push for a playoff spot. With the win, they improved their record to 64-56 and moved closer to the top of the NL Central standings.
As for the Cardinals, the loss was a tough one to swallow, as they missed an opportunity to gain ground on the division-leading Milwaukee Brewers. Despite a strong performance from Flaherty, who struck out 10 batters over six innings, their offense was unable to keep pace with the Reds’ explosive lineup.
Overall, the game was a thrilling showcase of power hitting and clutch performances, with Winker leading the way for the Reds in their victory over the Cardinals. As the season continues to heat up, both teams will be looking to build on this game and continue their push towards the postseason.