CHICAGO -- Anthony Rizzo hit a go-ahead grand slam and the Chicago Cubs overcame an early home run by Manny Machado to beat the San Diego Padres 6-5 Friday.
Javier Baez also homered for the NL Central-leading Cubs, who have won six of seven since the All-Star break.
Josh Naylor tied the score 5-5 in the eighth inning against Pedro Strop (2-3) with his first career pinch homer, but the Cubs went back ahead in the bottom half.
Anthony Rizzo singled off Craig Stammen (6-5), rookie shortstop Fernandez Tatis Jr. threw Addison Russell's grounder into center field for an error, Jason Heyward was intentionally walked and David Bote hit a grounder to third. Machado threw home for a forceout and catcher Francisco Mejia threw to first, even though he didn't have a play on Bote. The ball hit off the glove of first baseman Eric Hosmer and bounced into short right field as Rizzo scored on Hosmer's error.
Craig Kimbrel struck out three around a four-pitch walk in the ninth for his fourth save in five chances. San Diego has lost five of six and 11 of 15.
Braves 4, Nationals 3
ATLANTA -- Josh Donaldson's bases-loaded single off Fernando Rodney in the ninth inning lifted the Atlanta Braves over the Washington Nationals after Luke Jackson allowed a tying, two-run homer to Victor Robles in the top half.
Ronald Acuna Jr., who had three hits, led off the bottom of the ninth with a walk off Rodney (0-3) and took second on Dansby Swanson's single. Freddie Freeman walked on four pitches, loading the bases.
Phillies 6, Pirates 1
PITTSBURGH -- Bryce Harper's go-ahead RBI single was one of 15 hits the Philadelphia Phillies used to beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, giving them back-to-back victories for the first time since July 2.
Harper hit a seventh-inning single off Pirates reliever Richard Rodriguez (3-4) that scored pinch-hitter Brad Miller to give the Phillies their first lead of the game.
Cardinals 12, Reds 11
CINCINNATI -- Jose Martinez homered and singled during a 10-run rally in the sixth inning and the St. Louis Cardinals overcame a seven-run deficit for a wild win over the Cincinnati Reds.
Down 7-0, the Cardinals put together their biggest inning of the season on the way to their sixth win in seven games.
Jesse Winker hit a two-out, two-run single in the ninth off Cardinals closer Carlos Martinez. But Joey Votto grounded out with runners at the corners to give Martinez his seventh save.
American League
Orioles 11, Red Sox 2
BALTIMORE -- Anthony Santander and Keon Broxton homered off David Price, and the Baltimore Orioles got six solid innings from rookie right-hander John Means in a rout of the Boston Red Sox.
Price (7-3) allowed six runs, eight hits and a walk in four innings to take his first loss in 13 starts since April 27. The left-hander was 8-0 at Camden Yards and 16-5 lifetime against the Orioles before turning in a surprisingly ineffective performance in 96-degree heat against the team with the worst record in the big leagues.
Athletics 5, Twins 3
MINNEAPOLIS -- Marcus Semien led off the game with a home run and later tripled and homered as the Oakland Athletics kept rolling, topping the Minnesota Twins on a sweltering.
The temperature at first pitch was 94 degrees on a humid, muggy evening. It was tied for the second-hottest start in Target Field's 10-year history, trailing only a 97-degree reading on July 16, 2012.
Blue Jays 12, Tigers 1
DETROIT -- Marcus Stroman breezed through seven scoreless innings, and the Toronto Blue Jays batted around in both the fourth and the sixth on their way to a rout of the Detroit Tigers.
Teoscar Hernandez homered for Toronto, which scored four runs in the fourth and five in the sixth, sending 10 batters to the plate in each inning. The Tigers lost for the 26th time in their last 29 home games. That does not include a May 19 game in which Detroit was also losing when the contest was suspended.
White Sox 9, Rays 2
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Leury Garcia had four hits, including three doubles, Reynaldo Lopez won for the first time in six starts and the Chicago White Sox stopped a seven-game losing streak by beating the slumping Tampa Bay Rays.
Garcia became the first White Sox player to have three doubles in a game since Adam Eaton against Minnesota on Aug. 2, 2014.
Indians 10, Royals 5
CLEVELAND -- Rookie Oscar Mercado went 5 for 5 and drove in two runs as the Cleveland Indians won their sixth straight game, defeating the Kansas City Royals.
Mercado had an RBI double in the third inning and a run-scoring single in the sixth. He also scored twice.
Mercado is batting .423 (11 for 26) with three home runs and eight RBIs over the last eight games. He was called up from Triple-A Columbus on May 14 and became the 12th Indians rookie since 1913 to have at least five hits in a game.
Astros 4, Rangers 3
HOUSTON -- Justin Verlander struck out 12 in six solid innings, four Houston players hit solo home runs and the Astros held on to beat the Texas Rangers.
Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman and Yordan Alvarez led off the third inning with consecutive home runs to extend Houston's lead to 4-0. Altuve hit his homer to left-center field, and Bregman sent his to left on the next pitch before Alvarez hit a 474-foot monster shot into the second deck in right field.
It was the first time the Astros had hit three straight homers since June, 20, 2018, against Tampa Bay.
InterLeague
Yankees 8, Rockies 2
NEW YORK -- Edwin Encarnacion hit a go-ahead, grand slam, a trio of ex-Rockies beat up on their former team and the New York Yankees defeated Colorado.
Encarnacion lined his 12th career slam in the third inning off Kyle Freeland, and first-year Yankees DJ LeMahieu, Adam Ottavino and Mike Tauchman poured it on in their first games against their old club.
NW News on 07/20/2019