ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Ryan O’Hearn had a pinch-hit RBI single in the ninth inning and the AL East-leading Baltimore Orioles rebounded after blowing a five-run lead to beat the Tampa Bay Rays for the second time in three days, 6-5 on Saturday.
The Orioles, who have won 11 of 14, took a one-game lead over the second-place Rays. Baltimore started July 6 1/2 games behind Tampa Bay, which dropped to an AL-worst 4-13 in July.
The four-game series concludes Sunday.
Pinch-hitter Adam Frazier had a ninth-inning leadoff single off Pete Fairbanks (0-4), went to second on James McCann’s sacrifice bunt and scored on O’Hearn’s liner to right.
Cionel Pérez (3-1) got the final out in the eighth, and Félix Bautista worked a perfect ninth to get his 27th save.
YANKEES 5, ROYALS 2: D.J. LeMahieu hit the go-ahead home run in the seventh inning, Gerrit Cole struck out 10 and New York beat Kansas City at Yankee Stadium.
Giancarlo Stanton homered and drove in three runs and Anthony Volpe doubled and stole a base for the Yankees, who won their second straight game and pick up their first series win in July. New York has won 17 of the last 21 meetings with Kansas City.
Nick Pratto homered and Brady Singer struck out nine in another strong start at Yankee Stadium for the Royals, who lost for the seventh time in nine games following the All-Star break.
With the scored tied at two, LeMahieu drove a 98 mph fastball from Royals reliever Carlos Hernandez (0-6) 402 feet into the right-center field bleachers for his first homer since June 13 – a span of 90 at-bats – to put the Yankees ahead. He entered the game 4 for his last 19.
MARINERS 9, BLUE JAYS 8: J.P. Crawford and Teoscar Hernández both had two-run doubles as part of Seattle’s five-run seventh inning against Toronto’s bullpen, and the Mariners rallied for a wild win in Seattle.
Once again, the Blue Jays and Mariners played a game of wild momentum swings, clutch hits and big moments that left the heavily mixed crowd of fans from both teams highly entertained.
The teams combined for seven home runs, including each side enjoying a three-homer inning. Seattle led 3-0, watched Toronto rally for leads of 5-3 and 7-4, before the Mariners finally took control with their big seventh inning.
INTERLEAGUE
DODGERS 16, RANGERS 3: Freddie Freeman hit two more home runs, Max Muncy and J.D. Martinez also went deep and NL West-leading Los Angeles routed Texas in Arlington, Texas.
The Dodgers, who won for the 10th time in 12 games, matched their season highs with 18 hits and five homers. Their last long ball was Jonny Deluca’s three-run shot in the ninth off Brad Miller, the Texas utility player who pitched the final two innings.
It was the most lopsided loss of the season for the AL West-leading Rangers, who have lost back-to-back games after coming out of the All-Star break with a six-game winning streak that was their longest since 2019. They were beaten 12-0 at home by Atlanta on May 15.
GUARDIANS 1, PHILLIES 0: Rookie Tanner Bibee struck out eight in seven dominant innings and Amed Rosario scored on a misplayed pop-up in the sixth, lifting Cleveland to a win at home.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
BREWERS 4, BRAVES 3: Sal Frelick went 3 for 3, drove in the go-ahead run in the eighth inning and made two outstanding catches for a spectacular major league debut as Milwaukee rallied to win at home.
Austin Riley homered for the fifth straight game in a losing cause to tie a Braves franchise record. Riley has gone 10 for 21 with six homers, 16 RBIs and nine runs over his last five games.
Riley’s three-run shot off Adrian Houser in the third gave the Braves a 3-0 lead.
ROCKIES 4, MARLINS 3: Randal Grichuk hit a go-ahead RBI single in the ninth inning and Colorado rallied from a an early three-run deficit to win in Miami.
Grichuk’s first hit of the game scored Ryan McMahon. He led off the inning with a single off reliever Tanner Scott (4-3) and went to second when pinch-hitter Elias Díaz was hit by a pitch.
REDS 4, DIAMONDBACKS 2: TJ Friedl, Matt McLain and Jake Fraley hit consecutive home runs in the sixth inning and Cincinnati won at home for its fourth straight victory.
CUBS 8, CARDINALS 6: Cody Bellinger drove in four runs and Nico Hoerner had three of Chicago’s 15 hits, helping the Cubs beat St. Louis in Chicago in a wet and wild matchup of NL Central rivals.
Chicago trailed 1-0, 3-1, 5-3 and 6-5 before moving in front for the first time with three runs in the sixth inning. Bellinger yanked a two-run single into right field and Seiya Suzuki followed with an RBI single, giving the Cubs an 8-6 lead.
NATIONALS 10, GIANTS 1: CJ Abrams homered on his bobblehead night, Josiah Gray earned his first win since June 30 and Washington cruised to a win at home.
NOTES
RANGERS: All-Star shortstop Corey Seager went on the 10-day injured list because of a sprained right thumb.
Seager said an MRI showed no structural issues with the thumb that he hurt in the series opener Friday night against the Los Angeles Dodgers, his former team. X-rays after he exited the game were negative.
Seager is hitting .350 with 15 homers and 58 RBI in 66 games. His batting average would lead the American League if he qualified, but he missed 31 games because of a left hamstring strain just two weeks into the season.
DODGERS: Left-hander Clayton Kershaw will throw another bullpen session Monday before facing hitters.
Manager Dave Roberts said that Kershaw came out “well” after a 40-pitch bullpen the previous day. The three-time NL Cy Young Award winner and 10-time All-Star hasn’t pitched in a game since June 27 because of left shoulder soreness.
PADRES: San Diego recalled LHP Jackson Wolf from Double-A San Antonio and gave him the start against the Detroit Tigers.
Wolf, a fourth-round pick in 2021, will be making his major-league debut without having pitched above Double-A. He is 8-8 with a 3.39 ERA in 17 starts for San Antonio.
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