CLEVELAND (AP) — Michael Harris hit two homers and Bryce Elder, one of Atlanta’s eight All-Stars, threw 6 2/3 solid innings and led the Braves to their ninth straight win of the season Monday, 4-2 over the Cleveland Guardians night .
Harris scored solo shots in the third and fifth innings against Guardians rookie Gavin Williams (0-1). Atlanta’s No. 9 hitter is hitting .416 (37 of 89) with seven homers and 16 RBIs in his last 24 games.
Marcell Ozuna also scored for the Braves, who have won 17-of-18 and 24-of-27. Atlanta, which had three winning streaks in at least eight games, improved its MLB best record to 57-27.
Elder (7-1) didn’t give up a run until Amed Rosario hit a two-run single in the seventh. AJ Minter came on as a substitute and came out of a two-for-one save, and Nick Anderson eliminated Myles Straw with two opponents in the eighth. Raisel Iglesias hit a 1-2-3 ninth on his 15th save.
REDS 3, NATIONALS 2
WASHINGTON (AP) — Joey Votto hit a home run in two runs to end a 21-0 loss, Ian Gibaut pitched in the sixth inning from a stalemate and Cincinnati beat Washington for a fifth win in six games.
Votto hit a fourth-round home run on Jake Irvin, placing the ball squarely in the left-midfielder’s bullpen and powering Elly De La Cruz. It’s his fourth home run in 12 games this season since his return in June.
Luke Weaver (2-2) clinched the win by allowing two earned runs on six hits in more than five innings. He was spared a tenth straight non-decision – or worse – when Gibaut made the sixth run, conceding just one goal, knocking out Corey Dickerson and causing a Derek Hill flyout.
Catcher Tyler Stephenson drove in the Reds’ other heat with an RBI single in the second. Fresh from being named an All-Star, closer Alexis Díaz made his 24th save.
Jeimer Candelario hit his twelfth home run of the season, a solo shot in the fourth inning for Washington. Irvin (1-4) batted three and allowed six hits.
MARLINS 5, CARDINALS 4
MIAMI (AP) — Nick Fortes hit an RBI starting shot in the seventh inning and Miami battled St. Louis.
Marlin’s pinch hitter Yuli Gurriel equalized in game seven with a two-run double against reliever Andre Pallante (2-1) after two straight walks. The Marlins then used the fast Jon Berti to secure the run for Gurriel, and Berti scored with Fortes’ groundball single.
Tanner Scott, the Marlins’ reserve, hit a scoreless eighth to retain the lead and AJ Puk secured the last three outs for his 14th save of the season.
Paul DeJong had broken a 2-2 tie for the Cardinals with an RBI double in game six. Willson Contreras was 3 of 4, completing the cycle in trebles.
Huascar Brazoban (3-1) secured the last two outs of the seventh round and secured the win.
YANKEES 6, ORIOLES 3
NEW YORK (AP) — Harrison Bader hit a crucial three-run home run in the eighth inning and New York rallied to beat Baltimore.
Anthony Volpe scored the winning run in the seventh game on a wild pitch from All-Star Relief player Yennier Cano (1-1) before the Yankees made the comeback before post-game fireworks.
Giancarlo Stanton opened the eighth with a hard single against Cano before Anthony Rizzo followed with a single against Danny Coulombe. After putting in a strong performance in the first pitch, Bader hit a 1-1 winner for his seventh home run in left field.
Tommy Kahnle (1-0) sat out former Yankees outfielder Aaron Hicks in the eighth round to tie the game. Clay Holmes scored two strikeouts for his tenth save in a 1-2-3 ninth set.
The second-placed Orioles lost for the fifth time in six games and are three games ahead of third-placed New York in the division standings.
BREWERS 8, CUBS 6
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Newly signed Jahmai Jones hit a narrow three-run double in his first major league appearance since 2021, helping Milwaukee move past Chicago.
After bases loaded and there were two outs in the seventh inning, Jones hit a line drive on the first pitch from reliever Anthony Kay, who one-hoped off the midfield wall and hit Raimel Tapia, Christian Yelich and Owen Miller, causing the Game ended in 6-0 draw .
The Brewers finished their comeback six runs down in the eighth inning with an RBI single from Willy Adames and a sacrifice fly from Miller – both ahead of Mark Leiter Jr. (1-2) – to take an 8-6 lead.
Brewers All-Star Devin Williams conceded a double from Nico Hoerner and a walk to Ian Happ in the ninth round, then knocked out All-Star Dansby Swanson to earn his 18th save.
Joel Payamps (3-1) threw a perfect eighth inning for Milwaukee.
The Brewers won their third straight game to stay tied with Cincinnati for first place in the NL Central. The Cubs have lost three straight games and seven of their last eight games.
ASTROS 12, RANGERS 11
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Jose Abreu and Chas McCormick had back-to-back RBI doubles in the ninth inning and second-placed Houston Astros rebounded after giving up an eight-run lead.
Abreu and McCormick also scored earlier for Houston, who picked up three out of four games against their state rival to move up the league lead within three games. It’s the closest result the Astros have had in a month after trailing a full 6 1/2 games.
Kyle Tucker, who led Houston’s best eighth Grand Slam 6-0 in the second round, led in the ninth round with a single against Rangers closer Will Smith (1-3), who made only his second save from 16 chances. Abreu and McCormick then followed Alex Bregman’s deep flyout with their doubles.
The Rangers had their only lead from Corey Seager’s sacrificial flight, leading to an 11-10 score in the eighth.
Bryan Abreu (3-2), Houston’s fifth pitcher, allowed that run in the eighth before Ryan Pressly machined the ninth for his 18th save in 21 attempts.
TWINS 8, ROYAL 4
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Edouard Julien hit a pinch hit and a solo home run to start a five-run eighth inning and Minnesota defeated Kansas City for the seventh time in eight games this season.
Carlos Correa had four hits from the starting position and Byron Buxton scored two runs with sacrifice flies for the Twins.
The Royals had leveled the score early in the inning with a solo home run by Nick Pratto against Brent Headrick (2-0), the first batter he faced.
Kansas City reliever Taylor Clarke (1-3) gave up five runs and five hits, retiring just one of the seven batters he faced.
The Royals have lost 11 of their last 12 games in Minnesota.
MARINERS 6, GIANTS 5
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Julio Rodríguez hit a two-run double against All-Star closeer Camilo Doval in a four-run ninth inning and Seattle was able to beat San Francisco.
JP Crawford broke a 2-all tie with a sacrifice fly against Doval. Rodríguez’s double made it 5-2, and Teoscar Hernández added an RBI single with two outs, giving the Mariners Doval his worst performance in the majors.
Andrés Muñoz (2:1) secured victory in eighth place. Doval (2-3) saved for the third time in 27 chances this season.
Rookie catcher Blake Sabol hit two home runs and drove all five runs for the Giants. He launched a three-run shot with two outs in the ninth to put San Francisco on point. Pinch-hitter Wilmer Flores hit a single before Paul Sewald knocked out Brandon Crawford to end the game.
PADRES 10, ANGELS 3
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Blake Snell helped keep All-Star hitters Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout in the ballpark, and Xander Bogaerts hit a three-run home run that gave the disappointing San Diego a big win.
Trout left the game with an apparent left hand or wrist injury after committing an offfield foul in the eighth inning’s break. He immediately shook his arm. Angels manager Phil Nevin and a trainer came out to check on the superstar and he left the field.
Ohtani wasn’t able to add to his 31 homers, which led in the major leagues. He went twice. Trout, who has 18 home runs, walked, had two singles and hit one run.
In perhaps the biggest batting attempt of the night, rookie reliever Tom Cosgrove beat Ohtani in three straight pitches with two runners in the sixth pitch, a hitter after Trout hit an RBI single, and put the Angels 4-2.
Snell (5-7) held the Angels on seven hits while he had seven hits in five innings and had four walks.
Jaime Barria (2-4) allowed four runs and five hits in five innings, hitting out five and walking none.
DODGERS 5, PIRATES 2
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Max Muncy hit his 18th home run of the season and Los Angeles gave Dave Roberts his 700th win as a manager of the Dodgers.
Jason Heyward and Miguel Rojas had RBI doubles to help the Dodgers get back on their feet after losing the final two games of a weekend series in Kansas City.
Caleb Ferguson (5-3), the second of six Los Angeles pitchers, clinched the win. Evan Phillips converted the ninth goal into his twelfth save
Mitch Keller (9-4) gave up five runs (four earned) and hit out seven in five innings. The Pirates have lost three straight games by leaving nine on base and were 2 to 9 with runners in point position.
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