around the horn Monday’s other MLB games

AMERICAN LEAGUE

Royals 3, Rays 0

ST. PETERSBURG, FLA.

Danny Duffy couldn’t get the no-hitter, but he still came away with a team record. The left-hander pitched eight innings of one-hit ball and had a franchise-record 16 strikeouts to lead Kansas City over Tampa Bay Rays. Duffy (7-1) flirted with the Royals’ first no-hitter in nearly 25 years before giving up a line-drive double to Desmond Jennings leading off the Tampa Bay eighth. “There’s been a number of occasions when Danny’s stepped on the mound and I said this might be the night,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “But when he got through the seventh I thought this MAY be the night.” Bret Saberhagen pitched the Royals’ last no-hitter on Aug. 26, 1991, and Zack Greinke owned Kansas City’s strikeout record of 15 until Monday night. Jennings came off the disabled list Monday after missing all of July with a strained hamstring. Kendrys Morales’ 18th home run, a towering shot over the center field wall off Rays starter Chris Archer (5-15), got the Royals on the scoreboard in the seventh. They added two more runs on three hits in the eighth.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Cubs 5, Marlins 0

CHICAGO

Kyle Hendricks pitched a seven-hitter for his second career shutout, providing the Chicago Cubs’ bullpen a needed breather. After a wild, 12-inning win a night earlier in which manager Joe Maddon used 22 players, Hendricks (10-7) threw 123 pitches and lowered his ERA to 2.22, third-best in the majors. He allowed three walks and struck out five. Anthony Rizzo finished a home run shy of the cycle and reached base five times and Addison Russell had a two-run single in the first off wild Marlins starter Adam Conley (7-6). The lefty walked six, one intentionally, and hit a batter while needing 97 pitches to get through four innings. The Cubs stranded nine runners in that span until Hendricks drove in Willson Contreras with a grounder through a drawn-in infield off Dustin McGowan in the fifth. Rizzo tripled and scored on Javier Baez’s sacrifice fly in the sixth. Rizzo doubled in the first, singled in the eighth and was walked and hit by a pitch in the Cubs’ ninth shutout of the season. It marked the second time Hendricks came through with a depleted bullpen. He tossed 6 2/3 innings in a June victory at Cincinnati a night after a 15-inning win. Hendricks got help in his second complete game this season. Shortstop Rizzo barehanded a slow roller to get Conley with the bases loaded to end the second. Center fielder Jason Heyward and second baseman Baez combined on a relay to throw out Derek Dietrich going for a triple in the fourth. And Contreras threw out Dee Gordon stealing second with a perfect throw in the fifth. It was a rough August debut for Conley, who was 3-0 with 1.82 ERA in five July outings. He had little command from the start and needed 65 pitches to get through two innings.

INTERLEAGUE

Yankees 6, Mets 5, 10 innings

NEW YORK

Starlin Castro hit a sacrifice fly in the 10th inning and the New York Yankees hardly resembled a team resigned to fading away after selling off their stars at the trade deadline, rallying past the Mets in their Subway Series opener. Didi Gregorius hit a tying single with two outs in the eighth and new closer Dellin Betances worked out of a major jam for his first save this season. Hours after trading slugger Carlos Beltran and pitcher Ivan Nova before the non-waiver deadline, the Yankees snapped a four-game slide and won for the seventh time in the past nine meetings with their crosstown rivals. Wilmer Flores and rookie Matt Reynolds homered for the skidding Mets, who lost their fifth in six games as fans in the sellout crowd of 42,125 traded chants throughout the night following a hectic afternoon at Citi Field. Earlier in the day, the defending NL champions completed deals to land All-Star outfielder Jay Bruce and reacquire left-hander Jon Niese. Jacoby Ellsbury drew a four-pitch walk from rookie Seth Lugo (0-1) leading off the 10th and went to second on Mark Teixeira’s single. A fired-up Ellsbury beat Lugo’s throw to third on pinch-hitter Ben Gamel’s sacrifice, loading the bases. Gregorius struck out, but Ellsbury scored easily when Castro hit a long fly to the right-center warning track. Betances, now a closer after the Yankees traded predecessors Aroldis Chapman and Andrew Miller within the past week, came through in his first chance since those deals — but not without some tense moments. James Loney hit a leadoff double and the Mets had runners at the corners when Rene Rivera hit a comebacker for the second out. With two men in scoring position, Betances struck out Curtis Granderson on three pitches for his 11th career save. Adam Warren (1-0) worked two hitless innings for his first win for the Yankees since they reacquired him.

Associated Press