Justin Verlander hurled six no-hit innings and Alex Bregman provided insurance with a seventh-inning homer as the Houston Astros topped the visiting Minnesota Twins 4-2 on Tuesday.
Verlander (16-3) allowed just one baserunner, and that came when Nick Gordon struck out but reached on a wild pitch with one out in the second inning. He fanned 10, moving past Pedro Martinez and Max Scherzer into 13th place on the all-time strikeouts list with 3,161.
The veteran right-hander exited after throwing 91 pitches, one above his preset limit.
Down 4-0 entering the ninth, the Twins scored twice and pushed the tying run into scoring position with two outs. Bryan Abreu finally fanned Jake Cave to earn his second save and send Minnesota to its fourth consecutive loss.
Cubs 2, Cardinals 0 (Game 1)
Javier Assad grinded out four solid innings in his major league debut as Chicago halted visiting St. Louis’ winning streak at eight games with a victory.
Though the right-hander did not qualify for the victory, he kept the Cubs in the game. He allowed four hits and four walks while pitching into the fifth. Chicago struck for the game’s only runs in the bottom of the third on Nico Hoerner’s RBI groundout and a run-scoring single from Seiya Suzuki. The runs snapped the Cubs’ 16-inning scoreless drought.
The National League Central-leading Cardinals, who had won 17 of their previous 20, left 11 men on base, wasted three leadoff doubles and went 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position. Their eight-game winning streak was a season high.
Cardinals 13, Cubs 3 (Game 2)
Nolan Arenado had three hits and homered along with Tyler O’Neill during a five-run fourth inning as visiting St. Louis beat Chicago to earn a doubleheader split.
Jake Woodford (3-0) yielded one run in 5 1/3 innings to get the win in his first start of the season. Corey Dickerson matched a career high with four hits while Tommy Edman also went deep and had three RBIs for the Cardinals.
Cubs starter Adrian Sampson (1-4) gave up five runs on eight hits in 3 1/3 innings. Nick Madrigal had two hits for Chicago.
Dodgers 10, Brewers 1
Trayce Thompson hit a home run and drove in four runs while National League ERA leader Tony Gonsolin went five strong innings as Los Angeles rolled to a victory over visiting Milwaukee.
Freddie Freeman added three hits and four RBIs of his own as the Dodgers rebounded from a defeat to the Brewers on Monday that ended their nine-game home winning streak.
Gonsolin (16-1) gave one run on three hits. Brewers ace Corbin Burnes (9-6) yielded a season-high seven runs on six hits while matching a season low with 3 2/3 innings.
Diamondbacks 7, Royals 3
Christian Walker and Alek Thomas each had three hits to help visiting Arizona to a win against Kansas City in the opener of a two-game series.
Jake McCarthy and Emmanuel Rivera each had two hits and an RBI for the Diamondbacks, who ended a three-game losing streak. Arizona starter Zach Davies allowed one run and two hits in 5 2/3 innings. He struck out one and walked two on 84 pitches but did not factor into the decision.
Bobby Witt Jr. homered, tripled and scored twice for the Royals, who have lost seven of nine. Royals starter Jonathan Heasley became ill and was unable to finish the fifth inning. He had not allowed a run through 4 2/3 innings, surrendering four hits, striking out two and walking four.
Rockies 7, Rangers 6
C.J. Cron and Elias Diaz homered and had two hits apiece, Charlie Blackmon and Wynton Bernard each had three hits and Colorado beat Texas in Denver.
Randal Grichuk also had two hits, Justin Lawrence (2-1) pitched one inning of relief and Daniel Bard notched his 26th save for Colorado.
Marcus Semien homered and tripled, Nathaniel Lowe also went deep and Adolis Garcia had a double and a single to extend his hitting streak to 20 games for Texas. The Rangers had their three-game winning streak snapped.
Braves 6, Pirates 1
Travis d’Arnaud homered during a five-run fifth inning and left-hander Max Fried pitched eight strong innings in visiting Atlanta’s win over Pittsburgh.
Vaughn Grissom was 3-for-4. He, Robbie Grossman and Austin Riley each had an RBI single for the Braves, who have won five of their past six games and 13 of 15 while matching a season high with their eighth straight road win.
Michael Chavis homered for the Pirates, who have dropped four in a row and 10 of 12. Pittsburgh starter JT Brubaker (3-11) gave up six runs and nine hits in 6 2/3 innings, with eight strikeouts and one walk.
Rays 11, Angels 1
Tampa Bay erupted for six runs in the seventh inning to blow open a tight game and coast to a rout of Los Angeles in St. Petersburg, Fla.
It was 3-1 entering the bottom of the seventh when Christian Bethancourt led off with a solo homer, opening the floodgates. The Rays also got an RBI double from Yandy Diaz and a two-run single by Taylor Walls in the inning before Bethancourt came to bat again, driving in two more with a single.
Rays starter Corey Kluber (8-7) kept the Angels off the scoreboard until Mike Trout homered with one out in the sixth. It was Trout’s first homer since returning from a back injury that cost him 30 games, and his 25th of the season.
Yankees 4, Mets 2
Andrew Benintendi hit a tiebreaking RBI single with one out in the seventh inning, Wandy Peralta retired Francisco Lindor with the bases loaded in the ninth and the host New York Yankees hung on for a victory over the New York Mets to earn a season split of the Subway Series.
Aaron Judge hit his major-league-leading 48th homer in the fourth and a run-scoring single later in the seventh off former Yankee Adam Ottavino. Rookie Oswaldo Cabrera drew a walk in the fourth inning for his first career RBI and also got his first outfield assist.
Starling Marte hit an RBI single, but the Mets only got one run on his hit in the fifth when Cabrera made a perfect throw from right to nab Brett Baty at the plate. Jeff McNeil hit an RBI double in the sixth as Alonso scored after stumbling around third when Yankees second baseman Gleyber Torres did not throw home.
Giants 3, Tigers 1
Evan Longoria homered for the second consecutive game, Carlos Rodon struck out 10 in seven innings and visiting San Francisco held off Detroit.
Longoria, who blasted a grand slam against the Colorado Rockies on Sunday, clubbed a two-run homer in the sixth. Joc Pederson reached base three times, drove in a run and scored another for the Giants, who have won two straight after a four-game losing streak.
Rodon (12-6) limited the Tigers to one run on five hits and no walks. He produced a double-digit strikeout total for the eighth time this season and his second start in a row.
Orioles 5, White Sox 3
Ryan Mountcastle’s three-run home run in the first inning helped carry Baltimore past visiting Chicago in the opener of a three-game series.
Baltimore starter Austin Voth (4-1) went 5 2/3 innings and surrendered two runs on seven hits. He walked three and struck out three while notching his fourth straight winning decision. Five Orioles relievers followed him to the mound, with Felix Bautista getting the last five outs for his ninth save.
Eloy Jimenez hit a two-run, first-inning homer for the White Sox, and Luis Robert went 3-for-5. White Sox starter Dylan Cease (12-6) yielded four runs on three hits and three walks in 5 1/3 innings. He fanned four to take his second loss in three outings after winning five starts in a row.
Blue Jays 9, Red Sox 3
An eight-run third inning provided more than enough offense for Toronto as it defeated host Boston to begin a three-game series.
Eight straight Toronto batters reached base with two outs in the third, capped by a three-run triple from George Springer. Blue Jays center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. went 2-for-3 with an RBI and two runs in his first-ever appearance against his longtime club.
Rafael Devers went 3-for-4 with a ninth-inning RBI single and Kevin Plawecki was 2-for-3 with a run for the Red Sox, who have lost back-to-back games and four of five. Boston left fielder Tommy Pham and shortstop Xander Bogaerts both left the game early with back spasms.
Phillies 7, Reds 6
Nick Maton hit a walk-off RBI single to right field off Alexis Diaz with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning and host Philadelphia rallied to defeat Cincinnati.
J.T. Realmuto hit a triple and drove in two runs and Matt Vierling homered for the Phillies, who won their second straight game. Philadelphia starter Ranger Suarez tossed 5 2/3 innings and allowed six hits and three runs with five strikeouts and four walks, two with the bases loaded.
Mike Moustakas hit a single, double and had an RBI, Aristides Aquino added two hits and two RBIs and Donovan Solano had three hits for the Reds. Starter Nick Lodolo took a no-hitter into the sixth inning but wound up allowing three hits and four runs with five strikeouts and two walks in 5 1/3 innings.
Mariners 4, Nationals 2
Mitch Haniger and Eugenio Suarez hit two-run homers and Robbie Ray pitched 6 2/3 strong innings as Seattle beat visiting Washington.
Carlos Santana had two hits as the Mariners halted a two-game slide. The Nationals have lost three straight games, scoring just four total runs. They managed just five hits on Tuesday.
Ray (10-8) took a no-hitter into the seventh inning before Washington’s Joey Meneses led off the frame with a homer. Paul Sewald gave up a run in the ninth inning but still recorded his 16th save.
Marlins 5, Athletics 3
Pablo Lopez threw six shutout innings, Jerar Encarnacion broke open a close game with a two-run double and visiting Miami beat Oakland.
Brian Anderson homered, and Jesus Aguilar and Jacob Stallings chipped in with RBI singles for the Marlins, who won the series opener 3-0 on Monday night behind Edward Cabrera’s eight-inning gem.
The A’s avoided a shutout and made things interesting against Cole Sulser in the ninth, getting a one-out RBI single from Stephen Vogt that prompted the Marlins to summon closer Tanner Scott from the bullpen. Shea Langeliers greeted Scott with a run-scoring double. Scott got Jonah Bride for the second out on a sacrifice fly, allowing the A’s to pull within 5-3.
Guardians 3, Padres 1
Mike Clevinger gave up two hits over six innings against his former Cleveland teammates, but both were solo homers, lifting the Guardians to a win over San Diego.
Oscar Gonzalez and Andres Gimenez went deep and five Cleveland pitchers held San Diego to six hits and struck out 13 in the opener of a two-game interleague series. Jose Ramirez singled home the Guardians’ final run in the eighth inning.
San Diego’s Trent Grisham struck out four times, twice for the final out of an inning with two on. The Padres went 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position, leaving them 7-for-57 (.123) over the past eight games.
