Donaldson homers in 10th, lifts Braves over Nationals 5-4
WASHINGTON (AP) — Josh Donaldson homered against Sean Doolittle in the top of the 10th, and the Atlanta Braves pulled out a 5-4 victory over the Washington Nationals on Wednesday to take two of three in the series and pad their NL East lead to 6 1/2 games.
After the Nationals scored twice in the bottom of the ninth to tie the game, Donaldson swatted a fastball from Doolittle over the center-field wall for his 25th homer of the season.
Adam Duvall homered for the fourth time in five games. Ronald Acuña Jr., Ozzie Albies and Tyler Flowers also drove in runs for the Braves, who won consecutive series in Washington for the first time since 2013. They also won two of three in late June.
Atlanta got another quality road start from Mike Soroka (10-2), who pitched seven innings and allowed just three hits, including a leadoff homer to Juan Soto in the second.
Washington starter Aníbal Sánchez (6-6) could not keep pace, allowing four runs on 10 hits in five innings of work.
YANKEES 7, DIAMONDBACKS 5
NEW YORK (AP) — Austin Romine hit a go-ahead, two-run homer in the seventh inning and New York beat Arizona while the Diamondbacks completed a deal to send ace Zack Greinke to Houston.
The Yankees had been shopping for pitching and may have eyed Greinke ahead of the 4 p.m. trade deadline. The veteran right-hander gave them an impressive firsthand look, striking out seven and pitching five innings of two-run ball. He was in line for the win before Romine’s shot off Yoshihisa Hirano (3-5).
Instead, the 35-year-old Greinke is off to Houston, where he’ll play for a rival AL pennant contender. The Diamondbacks got a quartet of prospects in return.
Adam Ottavino (4-3) got the win with a scoreless inning.
CLEVELAND (AP) — Roberto Pérez homered twice, Carlos Santana and Jason Kipnis each hit a three-run shot and Cleveland capped a power-packed day with a win over Houston.
Perez hit a three-run homer in the second inning off rookie José Urquidy (1-1) and a solo shot in the sixth as the Indians stayed on Minnesota’s heels in the AL Central.
Santana connected for his 23rd homer in the fifth and Kipnis hit his ninth in the sixth.
Rookie right-hander Zach Plesac (6-3) recovered after a rough start and won his third start in a row.
The Indians’ homer barrage came a few hours after the team acquired sluggers Yasiel Puig and Franmil Reyes in a three-team trade that sent starter Trevor Bauer to Cincinnati.
The Astros pulled off the biggest deadline deal, acquiring right-hander Zack Greinke from the Arizona Diamondbacks for four prospects.
CINCINNATI (AP) — Clint Hurdle and David Bell had little interaction while exchanging lineup cards one day after their teams fought on the field, and the two teams were on good behavior during Cincinnati’s victory over Pittsburgh behind a strong outing from Luis Castillo.
Bell and three Reds, including now-traded Yasiel Puig, were ejected for a ninth-inning brawl during the Pirates‘ 11-4 win on Tuesday night. Four Pirates also were ejected. Major League Baseball was reviewing video of the fight Wednesday and was expected to hand down suspensions over the second fracas between the NL Central rivals this season.
Bell went after Hurdle during the fight and was restrained in a headlock by batting coach Rick Eckstein. Bell repeatedly cursed Hurdle as he left the field. A day later, the two managers didn’t say much while handing lineup cards to the umpires.
Castillo (10-4) gave up six hits and a run over seven innings. Jesse Winker and Eugenio Suarez homered off rookie Dario Agrazal (2-2), who lasted only 3 2/3 innings.
The two teams aren’t done with each other. They meet again at PNC Park on Aug. 23, and wrap up the season in Pittsburgh Sept. 27-29.
DENVER (AP) — Will Smith hit a three-run home run in the ninth inning to break open a scoreless game and lead Los Angeles over Colorado.
Kristopher Negrón also went deep during the rally and Alex Verdugo had four hits. Joe Kelly (5-3) pitched the eighth inning to earn the win.
Rockies starter German Márquez was helped off the field at the start of the seventh inning with what the team said was full-body cramping. The right-hander fanned 10 through six innings.
The Rockies lost because of a bad ninth inning. Closer Wade Davis (1-5) walked Cody Bellinger and gave up a single to Corey Seager with one out. Smith followed with a homer to center, his fifth of the season. Verdugo then singled and Negrón homered for the second straight game.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Freddy Galvis and rookie Bo Bichette hit solo home runs as Toronto completed a three-game sweep over Kansas City.
Bichette hit his first career homer to open the eighth against Royals starter Jakob Junis. Galvis cleared the center field wall with his 16th to open the seventh.
Cavan Biggio followed Bichette’s homer with a double, chasing Junis (6-10). Reliever Kevin McCarthy surrendered a run-scoring double to Teoscar Hernández.
Rookie Jacob Waguespack (2-1) went six innings for his second win in his fourth big-league start. He held the Royals to three hits and one run.
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Jake Rogers, Brandon Dixon and Gordon Beckham went deep, Daniel Norris picked up his first win since May 12 and Detroit swept the three-game series.
Rogers opened the scoring in the third with his first big league homer.
Dixon and Beckham homered during a five-run eighth inning off Luis García. Dixon — who ended up with four RBIs — had a two-run blast to left-center and Beckham’s was a three-run shot to right center.
Norris (3-8) allowed only three hits over five innings with five strikeouts.
American League home run leader Mike Trout supplied the Angels‘ lone run with a solo shot in the sixth.
Suarez (2-2) didn’t allow a hit the first two innings then surrendered four runs on four hits over 4 1/3 innings.
MIAMI (AP) — Jose Berrios struck out a season-high 11 in seven innings and Minnesota hit three homers in a win over Miami.
Max Kepler hit his 29th homer of the season, Mitch Garver added a three-run shot and Eddie Rosario had a two-run home run as the Twins won for the fifth time in six games.
Berrios (10-5) retired the first 12 batters he faced, including six on strikeouts, before Neil Walker led off the fifth inning with a dribbler down the third-base line. Starlin Castro followed with a base hit to center.
Miami’s Brian Anderson hit a grand slam in the ninth inning for the Marlins.
Marlins starter Sandy Alcantara (4-10) allowed seven runs in 4 2/3 innings.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Jeff Samardzija tossed three-hit ball over six scoreless innings, Buster Posey, Pablo Sandoval and Kevin Pillar homered in a five-run fifth and short-handed San Francisco beat Philadelphia.
The Giants were down three relievers after a flurry of moves before the trade deadline, but Samardzija (8-8) handcuffed Philadelphia for his fifth straight road win.
Vince Velasquez (3-6) took a three-hitter into the sixth before walking Mike Yastrzemski. Posey then ripped a 2-1 fastball out to left field for only his sixth homer in 273 at-bats this season.
Adam Morgan replaced Velasquez, and Sandoval went deep to right for his 14th homer. Brandon Crawford followed with a single and then Pillar connected, sending his 13th homer out to left.
The Phillies only managed one run on Adam Haseley’s RBI groundout.
