Scherzer helps Dodgers beat Mets 4-3 for 9th straight win

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Trea Turner, Albert Pujols and Chris Taylor homered, and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the slumping New York Mets 4-3 Saturday.

The surging Dodgers have won nine consecutive games, matching a season-best win streak. Six of those wins have come against the Mets, who have dropped eight of nine overall.

Kenley Jansen pitched a scoreless ninth for his 27th save. He hit Kevin Pillar to lead off the inning, then got Brandon Nimmo to ground out and struck out Jeff McNeil and Pete Alonso.

Dodgers right-hander Max Scherzer (11-4) struck out eight while pitching five innings of one-run ball.

Alonso hit a two-run shot for New York, and Nimmo connected for a solo homer. Rich Hill (6-5) allowed three solo homers over five innings.

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GIANTS 6, ATHLETICS 5

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Pinch-hitter LaMonte Wade Jr. connected for a two-run homer in the ninth inning, helping San Francisco rally for the win.

Brandon Belt drew a one-out walk against Lou Trivino (5-5) and was replaced by Mike Yastrzemski. Wade followed with his 16th homer, a towering drive to right on a 1-1 pitch.

Kris Bryant, Brandon Belt and Darin Ruf also homered for San Francisco, which trailed 5-2 after six innings. The Giants (79-44) stayed 1 1/2 games ahead of the charging Dodgers for the top spot in the NL West.

Tyler Rogers (4-1) got the win. Jake McGee pitched the ninth for his 27th save.

Starling Marte doubled twice for Oakland, continuing his surge since the All-Star break. Josh Harrison added an RBI double.

BRAVES 5, ORIOLES 4

BALTIMORE (AP) — Austin Riley put Atlanta ahead for good with a homer in the fifth inning, and the Braves stretched their winning streak to eight games.

The Braves overcame four solo home runs by Baltimore, including two by Anthony Santander. The Orioles’ 17-game skid is their second-longest since the team came to Baltimore in 1954, behind the 0-21 start to the 1988 season.

Joc Pederson also homered for the Braves, who have won 15 of 17 to take over first place in the NL East. Atlanta has peeled off 12 straight road wins, a single-season franchise record and the longest run in the majors since Cleveland won 14 in a row in 2017.

Atlanta's Drew Smyly (9-3) struck out eight over five innings. Will Smith worked the ninth, earning his 27th save despite allowing Santander’s second homer of the game.

Matt Harvey (6-13) got the loss.

RANGERS 10, RED SOX 1

BOSTON (AP) — Former Boston utilityman Brock Holt hit two RBI singles, and the Rangers used a surprisingly strong start by Jordan Lyles to beat the sloppy Red Sox.

The victory snapped a four-game losing streak for the Rangers, who entered with the majors’ few wins since the All-Star break at 7-25. Andy Ibáñez and Adolis Garcia each had two of Texas’ season-high seven doubles.

Lyles (6-10) pitched seven innings of one-run ball in his 50th career win. He came in 0-5 with a 7.46 ERA in six starts since the All-Star break.

Kiké Hernández had an RBI single for the Red Sox, who committed a season-high five errors, had two wild pitches and two baserunners cut down. Eduardo Rodriguez (9-7) got the loss.

RAYS 8, WHITE SOX 4

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Brandon Lowe, Manuel Margot and Joey Wendle each had two hits and two RBIs for the Rays.

Wander Franco also had two hits and scored twice as Tampa Bay won for the fifth time in six games. Luis Patiño (3-3) pitched six innings of two-run ball, and Collin McHugh got five outs for his first career save.

The AL East-leading Rays finished with 11 hits while scoring at least eight runs for the 11th time in 15 games.

José Abreu had two hits for Chicago, which rallied for a 7-5 victory in the opener of the weekend series between AL powers. Dallas Keuchel (8-7) was charged with six runs in five innings.

YANKEES 7, TWINS 1

NEW YORK (AP) — Gerrit Cole pitched six scoreless innings, leading the Yankees to their season-high ninth straight win.

Giancarlo Stanton hit a two-run double during New York's five-run fifth, helping the Yankees move to 21-5 since dropping three of four at Boston in late July. Cole (12-6) allowed five hits, struck out six and walked one.

Bronx-raised Yankees infielder Andrew Velazquez hit his first career homer in the eighth inning, bringing his family in the stands to tears. The 27-year-old journeyman has been staying with his parents since being promoted from Triple-A on July 9.

Jorge Polanco homered for the Twins, who are 2-17 in their last 19 games at Yankee Stadium. Kenta Maeda (6-5) allowed five runs in 4 1/3 innings before exiting with right forearm tightness.

ROYALS 4, CUBS 2

CHICAGO (AP) — Kris Bubic carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning, leading Kansas City to the victory.

Whit Merrifield had three hits and stole home as part of a double steal, helping Kansas City to its fifth win in six games. Nicky Lopez also had three hits and drove in a run.

Bubic (4-6) was working on a no-hitter when the game was delayed in the middle of the seventh because of an approaching storm.

The heavy rain never materialized, and Bubic returned after a 34-minute delay. Frank Schwindel then led off with his second walk and Patrick Wisdom followed with his 20th homer.

Bubic, who turned 24 on Thursday, struck out nine in 6 1/3 innings. Scott Barlow got three outs for his eighth save, finishing a one-hitter.

Chicago dropped its 12th straight home game, matching the franchise record. Rookie right-hander Keegan Thompson (3-3) allowed two runs in four innings in his second big league start.

BREWERS 9, NATIONALS 6

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Christian Yelich homered twice and drove in six runs, powering Milwaukee to the win.

Yelich hit a solo homer in the first, an RBI single in the fifth and a grand slam in the eighth. Devin Williams (7-1) worked the eighth for the win, and Josh Hader got three outs for his 25th save.

Yelich’s slam gave the Brewers a 9-4 lead. Washington scored two in the ninth, but left the bases loaded.

Lane Thomas had two hits for Washington and scored three times. Yadiel Hernandez homered, and Javy Guerra (0-1) was charged with the loss.

REDS 7, MARLINS 4

CINCINNATI (AP) — Nick Castellanos hit a two-run homer and drove in four runs, and Cincinnati won for the fifth time in seven games.

Tyler Naquin hit three doubles and scored three times for the Reds, who began the day in a tie with San Diego for the second NL wild card. Luis Cessa (4-2) earned the win, and Michael Lorenzen got five outs for his second save.

Miami dropped its sixth straight game. Jorge Alfaro had two hits and drove in a run, and Zach Thompson pitched five innings of three-hit ball. Anthony Bender (2-2) got the loss.

ASTROS 15, MARINERS 1

HOUSTON (AP) — Rookie Taylor Jones had a career-high four RBIs and Yordan Alvarez hit a three-run homer, powering Houston to the runaway victory.

Jose Altuve added a season-best four hits to help the Astros to their third straight win after losing four in a row. The AL West-leading Astros improved to 5-1 against the Mariners at home this season.

Houston right-hander Jake Odorizzi (6-6) struck out eight in 5 2/3 innings.

Mitch Haniger hit his 28th homer for Seattle. Rookie Logan Gilbert (5-5) was tagged for nine runs in 4 2/3 innings.

INDIANS 5, ANGELS 1

CLEVELAND (AP) — Triston McKenzie struck out Shohei Ohtani three times while pitching two-hit ball into the eighth inning, sending Cleveland to the win.

Ohtani leads the majors with 40 home runs, but struck out swinging in the first, third and sixth.

McKenzie struck out eight and was pulled after walking José Iglesias to begin the eighth — the only free pass he allowed. The right-hander was charged with a run when Iglesias scored on Jo Adell’s groundout with Bryan Shaw pitching.

The 24-year-old McKenzie (3-5) was coming off a dominant performance at Detroit, carrying a perfect game into the eighth inning of an 11-0 victory.

José Ramírez homered for Cleveland for the third straight game, hitting a three-run drive off Reid Detmers (1-3) in the third. Amed Rosario homered to lead off the seventh.

BLUE JAYS 3, TIGERS 0

TORONTO (AP) — Hyun Jin Ryu cruised through seven innings for Toronto, and Randal Grichuk and Marcus Semien homered.

Detroit slugger Miguel Cabrera went 0 for 3 with a walk to remain at 499 career home runs.

Ryu (12-6) allowed five hits in his first win since Aug. 3. Jordan Romano worked the ninth for his 11th save in 12 chances.

Cabrera struck out swinging for the final out as the Tigers lost for the fifth time in six games.

Detroit right-hander Wily Peralta (3-3) permitted two runs and six hits in six innings.

PIRATES 5, CARDINALS 4

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Yoshi Tsutsugo and Kevin Newman homered for Pittsburgh, and Ke’Bryan Hayes added a two-run single.

Leadoff hitter Ben Gamel added three hits and a walk, and Jacob Stallings had two hits in the Pirates’ 12-hit attack.

Chasen Shreve (2-1) pitched to one batter in the sixth, striking out Matt Carpenter. David Bednar gave up a leadoff single in the ninth, but got the next three batters to earn his first save.

Genesis Cabrera (2-4) allowed three runs in the seventh to take the loss.

ROCKIES 5, DIAMONDBACKS 2

DENVER (AP) — Elías Díaz hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning after Garrett Hampson hit a game-tying two-run pinch-hit homer in the bottom of the eighth, lifting Colorado past Arizona.

Daulton Varsho homered and Ketel Marte had three hits and an RBI for the Diamondbacks, who lost their seventh in a row to the Rockies at Coors Field.

The Rockies registered their 12th win this season in their final at-bat while extending their overall winning streak to five and home winning streak to nine.

Daniel Bard (7-5) pitched a scoreless ninth for the win. J.B. Wendelken (2-2) took the loss.

PADRES 4, PHILLIES 3, 10 INNINGS

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Adam Frazier scored the winning run on a wild pitch by Connor Brogdon in the 10th inning and San Diego overcame a strong outing by Aaron Nola and beat Philadelphia to end a four-game skid.

Jake Cronenworth hit a two-run homer to center field with two-out in the ninth inning off Nola to tie the game at 3-all.

Mark Melancon (3-2) earned the win by pitching scoreless ninth and 10th innings. Brogdon (5-3) took the loss.

Nola, who didn’t figure in the decision, pitched a perfect game through six innings and lasted 8 2/3 innings. He allowed three runs, two earned, and two hits with 11 strikeouts.

The win keeps the Padres tied with the Cincinnati Reds in the race for the second NL wild-card spot.

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