Rockies rally past Red Sox 5-4, spoil Sale’s 17 K effort
BOSTON (AP) — Red Sox ace Chris Sale struck out a career-high 17 in just seven innings before getting pulled after 108 pitches on a chilly Tuesday night, and the Colorado Rockies rallied against Boston’s bullpen to win 5-4 in the 11th.
Sale became the first pitcher in major league history to fan 17 in a start of no more than seven innings. Boston pitchers combined to strike out 24, but the Red Sox had their five-game winning streak stopped.
Mark Reynolds, whose fifth-inning double was the first runner allowed by Sale, drove in the go-ahead run with a two-out single in the 11th off Ryan Brasier (2-2).
Sale struck out the first six batters and fanned eight through three innings. He topped his previous best of 15 strikeouts, which he had done three times. The All-Star lefty had a shutout through six innings. Nolan Arenado’s two-run homer in the seventh was one of only three hits managed by the Rockies against Sale.
Mike Dunn (1-0) got the win with one inning of scoreless relief and Wade Davis got his seventh save.
Charlie Blackmon also homered for the Rockies. Michael Chavis, J.D. Martinez and Rafael Devers homered for Boston.
Kyle Freeland got the start for Colorado on his 26th birthday and went six innings, allowing three runs on five hits, striking out seven and walking three.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Mitch Garver hit a two-run homer and tagged out Shohei Ohtani trying to score the tying run in the eighth inning before leaving with an injury, helping Minnesota hold off Los Angeles.
Garver hit his ninth homer in the third to give Minnesota a three-run lead behind Kyle Gibson (4-1). Byron Buxton added an RBI double the next inning, and five relievers combined for 3 1/3 scoreless innings, with Blake Parker getting his seventh save in seven chances.
Ohtani had three hits, including an RBI single as part of a three-run sixth, but he was thrown out at third base in the sixth and at home in the eighth after Brian Goodwin’s single to center.
The Twins lead the majors with 16 home runs and 38 RBIs from the catching position, also getting strong contributions from Castro and Willians Astudillo.
Cam Bedrosian (1-2) took the loss for Los Angeles, serving as the opener for primary pitcher Felix Peña. Bedrosian gave up one run and two hits in one inning.
Gibson cruised through five innings before running into trouble in the sixth. He allowed three runs, six hits and two walks in 5 2/3 innings.
ATLANTA (AP) — St. Louis hit four home runs, including three-run shots by Marcell Ozuna, Yadier Molina and Kolten Wong, and beat struggling right-hander Mike Foltynewicz and Atlanta.
Jack Flaherty (4-3) did not allow a hit through four innings. St. Louis led 11-0 before Flaherty gave up three runs and three hits in the fifth.
The 2019 struggles for Foltynewicz (0-3) continued. He gave up eight runs, matching his career high, while lasting only 4 2/3 innings.
Foltynewicz, a 2018 All-Star, saw his ERA climb to 8.02 in four starts. He began the season on the injured list with a bone spur in his right elbow.
Atlanta’s first hit off Flaherty in the fifth was Brian McCann’s broken-bat dribbler against the defensive shift toward an abandoned third base. McCann scored on pinch-hitter Charlie Culberson’s single to left. Ronald Acuna Jr. drew a bases-loaded walk off Flaherty to force in a run.
St. Louis outhit the Braves 14-3. Every Cardinals starter, including Flaherty, had at least one hit.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Wilson Ramos hit a first-inning grand slam after Washington failed to complete what should have been a routine double play, Noah Syndergaard took a no-hitter into the sixth, and New York beat the slumping Nationals.
The Mets have won three games in a row. The Nationals lost for the 11th time in 15 games.
Syndergaard (3-3) allowed two runs and four hits in eight innings. The first hit he allowed was a single to right by Wilmer Difo to open the sixth, and Victor Robles followed with a homer off a 98 mph fastball.
Ramos, who used to play for the Nationals, connected with a low 80 mph offering from Jeremy Hellickson (2-2) and sent it out to left for his second homer.
Hellickson went five-plus innings, charged with five runs and six hits.
Dominic Smith, pinch-hitting for Syndergaard in the ninth, hit his first homer of the year.
DETROIT (AP) — Carlos Correa started another Houston onslaught with a three-run homer in the first inning, and the Astros routed Detroit and extended their winning streak to seven games.
The Astros, who have won 10 of 11, scored in each of the first six innings against a depleted Detroit pitching staff. George Springer hit an inside-the-park homer in the fifth, and Aledmys Diaz went deep in the third for Houston.
Wade Miley (4-2) allowed four runs in six innings for the Astros. Houston led 7-0 after its half of the third.
Ronny Rodriguez homered for Detroit. Ryan Carpenter (0-2) made his second start of the season and allowed seven earned runs in four innings.
Springer circled the bases in the fifth when his drive to right-center field bounced off the wall and past center fielder JaCoby Jones. It was the first inside-the-park home run of his career, and Houston led 9-2.
The Astros have scored 45 runs in their last four games.
MIAMI (AP) — Charlie Morton pitched six strong innings and Avisail Garcia homered and drove in three runs in Tampa Bay’s win over Miami.
Morton (4-0) gave up three hits and struck out five while throwing 82 pitches before he was pulled for a pinch hitter in the top of the seventh inning.
Garcia had a solo homer and two RBI singles for the Rays in the opener of the two-game series against their cross-state interleague rivals. Garcia finished the scoring with an infield single with the bases loaded in the ninth.
Miami starter Caleb Smith (3-1) didn’t last past the sixth inning for the first time since his opening start on April 1. He allowed two runs and four hits, while striking out eight and walking two in 5 1/3 innings. The Marlins lost their sixth straight and ninth in the last 10.
Relievers Emilio Pagan, Diego Castillo and Chaz Roe pitched the final three innings for Tampa Bay.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Brandon Woodruff threw one-hit ball for six innings, Yasmani Grandal and Ryan Braun homered and Milwaukee topped Philadelphia.
The Phillies survived a scare when Bryce Harper made a sliding catch on a foul ball to right field and banged his left knee into the wall in the sixth. Harper came up limping but remained in the game and made an almost identical catch to end the inning. He received a standing ovation only to get booed after striking out again in the eighth.
Woodruff (6-1) allowed only an infield single to Jean Segura in the first, walked five and struck out five.
Philadelphia’s Jerad Eickhoff (2-2) gave up five runs and eight hits in four innings.
Segura’s RBI single off Corbin Burnes in the eighth knocked in Philadelphia’s only run.
CINCINNATI (AP) — Kyle Hendricks had three hits, including a two-run double, and pitched into the ninth inning as Chicago beat Cincinnati.
The Cubs are 10-2 in May, their best start to the month since 1977. Chicago has won 22 of 28 games for the NL’s best record at 25-14.
Hendricks (3-4) gave up a pair of singles and Joey Votto’s homer in the fourth inning, but those were Cincinnati’s only hits. He left after walking Nick Senzel to open the ninth. Steve Cishek got the last two outs for his third save in four chances.
Willson Contreras had a sacrifice fly off Tanner Roark (3-2) for Chicago’s other run. Kris Bryant had three hits and extended his career-best streak to 23 consecutive games reaching base safely. Javier Baez singled twice and extended his hitting streak to a career-high 12 games, the longest by a Cub this season.
CHICAGO (AP) — Jordan Luplow hit two of Cleveland’s five homers and Carlos Carrasco cruised through seven innings in a rout of Chicago.
Roberto Pérez, Jake Bauers and José Ramirez also went deep as the light-hitting Indians muscled up against Manny Bañuelos and Josh Osich to end Chicago’s three-game winning streak.
The 25-year-old Luplow has hit all four of his homers this season against Chicago and three off Bañuelos.
Carrasco (4-3) scattered six singles and struck out six, while walking none, in his second straight solid start. Oliver Pérez, Dan Otero and A.J. Cole combined to complete the seven-hitter.
Bañuelos (2-3) yielded five runs on four hits and three walks before leaving the game with none out in the fifth with left shoulder soreness.
