AROUND THE HORN Friday’s other MLB games

AMERICAN LEAGUE

Rays 7, Orioles 1

BALTIMORE

Austin Meadows hit his first career grand slam to cap a seven-run second inning, Trevor Richards shined in his second start with Tampa Bay and the Rays extended their impressive road run. Meadows hit a 2-0 pitch from Ty Blach (0-2) deep into the center-field seats to send Tampa Bay to its fourth straight win over Baltimore. Tampa Bay has won 11 of its last 12 away games and now sits atop the AL wild-card standings. The Rays’ 42-23 road record is the best in the majors. Richards (1-0) was dominant in the encore, allowing Baltimore two hits and a walk over six shutout innings, his longest outing since June 8. Aaron Slegers worked the final three innings, getting his first major league save despite allowing a solo homer to Jonathan Villar.

White Sox 8, Rangers 3

CHICAGO

Dylan Cease settled down after a tough start, Yoan Moncada hit a two-run homer for the second straight night and the Chicago White Sox beat the Texas Rangers. Adam Engel added two RBIs as Chicago won for the fourth time in five games. Tim Anderson and Leury Garcia each had two hits and drove in a run. Cease (3-6) gave up three-run shot to Willie Calhoun in the first, but the 23-year-old right-hander set a career high with nine strikeouts in six innings.

Astros 5, Angels 4

HOUSTON

Zack Greinke won his fourth straight start since being traded to Houston and Yuli Gurriel hit a two-run homer in the fifth inning to send the Astros a victory over the Los Angeles Angels. Greinke (14-4) allowed 10 hits, but just three runs — two earned — in 62/3 innings. Roberto Osuna pitched a perfect ninth to get a save for the fifth time in six games and give him 31 this season.

Tigers 9, Twins 6

MINNEAPOLIS

Ronny Rodriguez had three hits, including a grand slam, and Drew VerHagen struck out 11 in a career-high six innings as the Detroit Tigers beat the AL Central-leading Minnesota Twins. Rodriguez’s first career grand slam capped a five-run sixth inning off All-Star Jose Berrios. The drive helped the Tigers, with the worst record in the league, cut Minnesota’s lead to 2 1/2 games over Cleveland. Miguel Sano and Jake Cave each homered twice for Minnesota, which has recently lost three of four at Target Field to distant division opponents Chicago and Detroit.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Nationals 9, Cubs 3

CHICAGO

Anibal Sanchez pitched one-hit ball into the ninth inning and helped himself with two perfectly placed bunts, leading the Washington Nationals to a victory over the Chicago Cubs. Juan Soto and Adam Eaton homered as Washington improved to 13-4 in its last 17 games. Chicago had won five in a row, but it was unable to overcome a shaky start by Jon Lester (10-9) and another rough performance at the plate. The Cubs finished with three hits, including two in their three-run ninth. Sanchez (8-6), who flew into Chicago ahead of time on Thursday, allowed one earned run while improving to 8-0 in his last 16 starts.

Cardinals 8, Rockies 3

ST. LOUIS

Jack Flaherty pitched six scoreless innings, Marcell Ozuna homered and drove in three runs, and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Colorado Rockies. Flaherty (8-6) allowed three hits, struck out nine and walked one. He has allowed one earned run in his past 34 innings and has won four straight decisions. He hasn’t lost since July 7. Ozuna’s 24th homer of the season over the Colorado bullpen in left field gave St. Louis a 2-0 lead in the first. He also doubled in Paul Goldschmidt in the sixth and later scored on a single from Paul DeJong.

Brewers 6, Diamondbacks 1

MILWAUKEE

Jordan Lyles was pulled after pitching six no-hit innings and Milwaukee reliever Devin Williams gave up a bloop single with two outs in the seventh as the Brewers beat the Arizona Diamondbacks. Lyles (8-8) was taken out after throwing 99 pitches. He struck out five and allowed just two walks, both to Christian Walker. Devin Williams relieved and retired his first two batters before Walker looped a single into shallow center field.

Marlins 19, Phillies 11

MIAMI

Starlin Castro homered twice and drove in five runs, and the Miami Marlins spotted the Philadelphia Phillies a seven-run lead before rallying. Isan Diaz hit a three-run homer, Harold Ramirez and Neil Walker each had three hits and drove in two, and John Berti also went deep for the Marlins, who pounded out 19 hits and have won six of their last seven over the Phillies. Tyler Kinley (2-1) got the win with 11/3 innings in relief.

Braves 2, Mets 1, 14 innings

NEW YORK

Billy Hamilton singled home the go-ahead run in the 14th inning for his first hit as a Brave, and Atlanta beat the New York Mets for its sixth straight win. The Mets tied a major league record by striking out 26 batters — including 13 by Jacob deGrom — but had their five-game winning streak end. DeGrom homered and struck out eight straight batters during one dominant stretch, pitching seven innings of one-run ball. He finished a punchout shy of his career high — he whiffed 14 and also homered to beat Miami on April 3. Flowers had appeared to score the go-ahead run two batters before Hamilton’s knock when he came home from first on Adeiny Hechavarria’s drive to right-center. The ball got lodged in the door to the visiting bullpen, though, and after a video review, umpires ruled it a ground-rule double and held Flowers at third.

Associated Press