CLEVELAND — José Ramírez homered for the first time in July and drove in two runs as the Cleveland Guardians ended their three-game losing streak with a 5-4 win over the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday night.
Ramírez connected in the fifth inning off Joey Wentz (0-2) to help the AL Central-leading Guardians get just their third win in 10 games. Ramírez added an RBI single in the sixth.
Steven Kwan and rookie Jhonkensy Noel also hit homers for Cleveland, which has been in an offensive rut for weeks. The Guardians came in having scored two or fewer runs in six of their past eight games.
Wenceel Perez hit a two-run homer for the Tigers.
CARDINALS 2, PIRATES 1
PITTSBURGH — Rookie Paul Skenes lost for the first time in 12 career major league starts, giving up Alec Burleson’s tiebreaking single in the ninth inning that lifted St. Louis over Pittsburgh.
Pitching for the first time since starting for the National League in last week’s All-Star Game, the 22-year-old right-hander pitched past the seventh inning for the first time in the major leagues.
Nolan Arenado put St. Louis ahead with a fifth-inning home run on a first-pitch curveball, and Nick Gonzalez tied the score with an RBI single in the eighth off JoJo Romero.
Skenes (6-1) threw 91 pitches through eight innings, and Pirates manager Derek Shelton allowed him to remain on the mound for the ninth.
PADRES 4, NATIONALS 0
WASHINGTON — Luis Arraez and Jurickson Profar homered on consecutive pitches in the fifth inning, and San Diego blanked Washington.
Randy Vásquez pitched six innings to earn his first victory since June 22 for San Diego, which has won three in a row.
Washington, which had won five of six, is 0-4 against the Padres this season. The Nationals were shut out for the 11th time.
Nationals starter DJ Herz (1-4), recalled from Triple-A Rochester earlier in the day, breezed through three innings, then escaped a bases-loaded jam in the fourth. He retired the first two batters in the fifth before facing the top of the lineup for the third time.
MARLINS 6, ORIOLES 3
MIAMI — Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Nick Gordon each drove in two runs, Jesús Sánchez homered and Kyle Tyler and four relievers held Baltimore without a run after the third inning as Miami beat the Orioles.
Baltimore, which slipped into a tie with Cleveland for the best record in the American League at 60-40, was slowed after losing second baseman Jorge Mateo and starting pitcher Albert Suárez due to injuries in the third inning.
Mateo collided with shortstop Gunnar Henderson as they dove to catch a grounder off the bat of Jesús Sánchez behind the second base bag and left because of left elbow pain.
Suárez’s outing ended when Miami’s next hitter, Otto López, hit a comebacker that deflected the pitcher’s right foot and rolled near the Marlins’ dugout on the third-base side for a single that loaded the bases.
RAYS 4, BLUE JAYS 2
TORONTO — Brandon Lowe hit a two-run home run and Tampa Bay Rays won for the fourth time in five games by beating Toronto.
Toronto’s Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit his 17th home run and outfielder Daulton Varsho made an impressive leaping catch for the second game in a row, but Toronto lost for the fifth time in seven games.
Right-hander Shawn Armstrong opened for the Rays — who climbed back over .500 at 51-50 — in place of righty Ryan Pepiot, who was hospitalized in New York City on Sunday because of a knee infection.
Armstrong exited after striking out four in two scoreless innings. Left-hander Tyler Alexander (3-3) followed and struck out four over three shutout innings.
METS 3, YANKEES 2
NEW YORK — Jeff McNeil kept up his sudden power surge with a two-run homer that snapped a sixth-inning tie, and the New York Mets held off the New York Yankees in their Subway Series opener.
Jose Quintana (5-6) and five relievers combined on a five-hitter at Yankee Stadium as the Mets (52-48) matched their season high of four games over .500. They are 3-0 against their crosstown rivals, including a two-game sweep at Citi Field last month.
With closer Edwin Díaz unavailable, Jake Diekman worked a hitless ninth for his fourth save. After walking Juan Soto with one out, the veteran lefty froze Aaron Judge with a 96 mph fastball on the inside corner for a called third strike, then retired rookie Ben Rice on a grounder to end it.
The Mets had walked Judge his first four times up, once intentionally, but the Yankees couldn’t capitalize.
RANGERS 3, WHITE SOX 2
ARLINGTON, Texas — Texas right-hander Jon Gray allowed one run pitching into the eighth inning and retired the last 15 batters he faced as the Rangers beat the Chicago White Sox.
After Andrew Vaughn’s RBI single with two outs in the third inning, the White Sox didn’t get another batter on base against Gray (5-4). The last was pinch-hitter Tommy Pham for the second out of the eighth, when shortstop Jonathan Ornelas made a backhanded stop and was falling away from first base when he made a incredible throw.
Gray struck out five and walked none while throwing 63 of his 80 pitches for strikes.
The White Sox (27-76) have lost nine games in a row and 15 of 18. They are only the 12th team in MLB history with 76 losses in their first 103 games, and the first since the 1979 Oakland Athletics.
PHILLIES 3, TWINS 0
MINNEAPOLIS — Nick Castellanos hit a two-run double to cap a three-run ninth inning, and Philadelphia beat Minnesota.
After a scoreless duel between Phillies ace Zack Wheeler and Twins rookie Simeon Woods Richardson, Philadelphia took control in the ninth against Minnesota closer Jhoan Duran (5-5).
Making his first start since July 9, Wheeler threw seven dominant innings for Philadelphia, which has the best record in the majors (64-37). Wheeler, who skipped his last scheduled start before the All-Star break with a sore back, struck out seven, allowed three hits and walked two.
Woods Richardson allowed three hits and one walk and struck out five in six innings. The playoff-contending Twins have lost three of four since the All-Star break.
DIAMONDBACKS 6, ROYALS 2
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Jordan Montgomery allowed one run over five innings to win in his return from a layoff of nearly one month caused by a knee injury, and Arizona beat Kansas City.
Ketel Marte hit a two-run homer and scored three runs.
Montgomery (7-5) allowed three hits, walked one and struck out two, throwing 39 of 67 pitches for strikes. The 31-year-old left-hander, signed by the NL champions to a $25 million, one-year contract in March, had been sidelined since June 27 by right knee inflammation. He won for the first time since June 21 at Philadelphia.
Bryce Jarvis pitched two shutout innings, and Joe Mantiply, Ryan Thompson and Kevin Ginkel finished as Arizona stopped the Royals’ four-game winning streak. Kansas City had won eight of 10 coming in.
RED SOX 6, ROCKIES 0
DENVER — Tyler O’Neill homered twice, Cooper Criswell tossed seven shutout innings, and Boston beat Colorado to snap a four-game skid.
O’Neill hit a two-run shot in the first inning and then crushed an 89-mph sinker from Ty Blach (3-6) 465 feet to the concourse in left field in the third inning to give the Red Sox a 6-0 lead.
He came to bat in the fourth with the bases loaded but reliever Anthony Molina struck him out with a 2-2 curveball to end the inning.
Criswell (4-4) struck out four, scattered five hits and threw a career-high 105 pitches. Colorado started the sixth with two singles but Criswell got Brendan Rodgers to hit into a double play and Brenton Doyle to ground out.
ANGELS 5, MARINERS 1
SEATTLE — José Soriano allowed one run in 7 2/3 innings, Luis Rengifo delivered a key two-run single in his return from the injured list, and the Los Angeles Angels beat Seattle.
Los Angeles won for the sixth time in the past eight games thanks to another strong pitching performance from Soriano (6-7), who pitched more than seven innings and threw 100 pitches for the first time this season.
Pitching for the first time in 10 days and facing Seattle for his second straight start, Soriano allowed just three hits and struck out five. The only run Soriano allowed came after Jason Vosler doubled to lead off the fifth inning and scored on a double play.
Seattle lost for the seventh time in eight games and another lackluster effort offensively came on the day the Mariners placed Julio Rodríguez and J.P. Crawford on the 10-day injured list and designated for assignment first baseman Ty France.
BREWERS 1, CUBS 0
CHICAGO — Brice Turang drove in the only run Milwaukee needed in their shutout of the Chicago Cubs.
Trevor Megill worked the ninth for his 20th save and made a winner of Elvis Peguero (6-3), the second of four Milwaukee relievers.
Jameson Taillon (7-5) worked the first 7 1/3 innings for Chicago, but left after giving up a pair of singles. Julian Merryweather, fresh off the injured list, came on to give up Turang’s two-out grounder that put the Brewers ahead for good.
The Cubs loaded the bases in the eighth against Jared Koenig but came up empty after the left-hander got pinch-hitter David Bote to fly out.
ATHLETICS 8, ASTROS 2
OAKLAND, Calif — Lawrence Butler hit one of the Athletics’ five homers, fell a single short of the cycle and made a tremendous throw from right field to cut down a runner at the plate as Oakland beat Houston.
Brent Rooker, Seth Brown, Zack Gelof and Shea Langeliers also connected to help the A’s hand the AL West-leading Astros a second consecutive defeat.
Butler tripled and scored on Rooker’s two-run drive in the first inning, homered in the third and doubled in a run in the sixth. The longball was his eighth in July, and the A’s leadoff hitter leads the majors with 24 RBIs this month.
Needing a single to complete the A’s first cycle since 2007, Butler drew a five-pitch walk against Rafael Montero, raising a smattering of boos from the crowd of 5,896 at the Oakland Coliseum.
DODGERS 5, GIANTS 2
LOS ANGELES — Shohei Ohtani had two hits and drove in three runs, rookie Landon Knack pitched five solid innings and the Los Angeles Dodgers extended their winning streak to five games by beating San Francisco.
Tyler Fitzgerald became the first Giants rookie to homer in five consecutive games with a solo shot in the second inning. Fitzgerald had three hits and drove in both runs.
Gavin Lux — named the NL Player of the Week on Monday — had a two-run double in the first inning. Lux is 7 for 16 with five RBIs since the All-Star break.
Ohtani ended the night of San Francisco starter Jordan Hicks (4-7) in the fourth inning with a double off the right-field fence in front of the Giants’ bullpen to drive in Jason Heyward and Cavan Biggio, extending Los Angeles’ lead to 4-1.
The Cleveland Guardians were able to snap their three-game losing streak with a much-needed victory against the Detroit Tigers in a recent MLB matchup. The Guardians came out swinging, scoring early and often to secure a 7-3 win over the Tigers.
The game got off to a hot start for Cleveland, as they jumped out to an early lead with a two-run home run by Jose Ramirez in the first inning. The Guardians continued to pile on runs throughout the game, with contributions from several players including Eddie Rosario, who had a two-run double in the fourth inning.
On the defensive side, Cleveland’s pitching staff put together a solid performance, holding the Tigers to just three runs on six hits. Starting pitcher Cal Quantrill went six strong innings, allowing just two runs while striking out five batters. The bullpen also did their part, with Emmanuel Clase closing out the game in the ninth inning to secure the win.
The victory was a much-needed one for the Guardians, who had been struggling in recent games. The win not only ended their losing streak but also helped boost morale and confidence within the team.
Overall, it was a strong showing by the Cleveland Guardians as they were able to come together and play a complete game to secure the win against the Detroit Tigers. With this victory, the Guardians will look to build on their momentum and continue their push towards a successful season in the MLB.