around the horn

around the horn

Thursday’s other MLB games

LATE WEDNESDAY

Pirates 8, Mariners 1

SEATTLE

Sean Rodriguez doubled in consecutive at-bats and drove in four runs, David Freese hit a solo home run and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Seattle Mariners to split a brief two-game interleague series.

Rodriguez was responsible for breaking the game open in the fifth inning with a three-run double into the left-field corner off Seattle reliever Donn Roach. Rodriguez doubled an inning earlier off starter Wade Miley (6-4) to score Starling Marte. Freese got it all started with a solo home run on the first pitch of the second inning.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Nationals 13, Reds 4

WASHINGTON

Danny Espinosa hit a grand slam and a three-run homer to finish with a career-high seven RBIs, and the Washington Nationals cruised past the Cincinnati Reds for their fifth straight victory. Espinosa’s second career slam put Washington up 8-1 in the third inning, and his next drive made it 13-1 in the fourth. Espinosa ranks second on the team with 15 homers despite usually batting eighth.

Dodgers 8, Brewers 1

MILWAUKEE

Trayce Thompson, Yasmani Grandal and Corey Seager hit home runs, leading the Los Angeles Dodgers to a win over the Milwaukee Brewers. Kenta Maeda (7-5) held the Brewers to one run over six innings as the Dodgers won the season series from the Brewers, five games to two. Thompson put the Dodgers in front in the second with a two-run homer off Zach Davies (5-4).

Mets 4, Cubs 3

NEW YORK

Yoenis Cespedes socked a colossal home run, Jeurys Familia pitched out of a huge jam in the ninth inning and rookie replacement Brandon Nimmo keyed a three-run rally in the seventh that sent the New York Mets past the Chicago Cubs in their first meeting since last year’s NL Championship Series. Chicago put runners on second and third with no outs against Familia, who got two strikeouts and a bases-loaded popup for his 27th save, most in the majors.

Braves 8, Marlins 5

ATLANTA

Pinch-hitter Brandon Snyder had two RBIs in a four-run sixth inning and the Atlanta Braves rallied for a victory over the Marlins. Miami, which began the day a half-game ahead of two teams in the NL wild-card race, has allowed 25 runs in losing its last three games. The Marlins dropped to 2-7 against Atlanta this year. The Braves improved to just 12-32 at Turner Field.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

Yankees 2, Rangers 1

NEW YORK

Chase Headley scored on a passed ball with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, and the Yankees won in their final at-bat for the second straight game to beat the Rangers. Four New York pitchers combined to strike out 16 Rangers as the teams split the four-game series. Didi Gregorius, who had the winning home run Wednesday night, hit a solo shot in the fifth to tie the score after Shin-Soo Choo homered to lead off the game.

White Sox 9, Twins 6

CHICAGO

James Shields broke out of a slump with 6 2/3 innings against one of baseball’s worst lineups, helping the Chicago White Sox beat the Minnesota Twins. Shields (3-9) allowed one run and eight hits in his first win since he tossed seven scoreless innings for San Diego at Milwaukee on May 12. The right-hander got hit hard after he was acquired by Chicago in a trade June 4, going 0-2 with a 15.80 ERA in his first four starts.

Rays 4, Red Sox 0

ST. PETERSBURG, FLA.

Matt Moore pitched seven spotless innings and Brandon Guyer homered and drove in two runs in his return from a three-week stint on the disabled list, leading the Tampa Bay Rays to a victory over David Price. Moore (4-5) allowed three singles, walked two and struck out five to outpitch Price (8-5), the former Rays ace who fell to 1-3 in five career starts against his old team.

INTERLEAGUE

Royals 4, Cardinals 2

ST. LOUIS

Kendrys Morales homered and recorded his sixth straight multi-hit game to lead the Kansas City Royals to a victory over the St. Louis Cardinals. Kansas City won for the fourth time in five games and took the two-city, four-game series three games to one. Brandon Moss and Jhonny Peralta homered for the Cardinals who have lost their last seven home games — their longest losing streak since Aug. 2-15, 1983.

Wade Davis recorded his 19th save in 21 opportunities.

Associated Press