CINCINNATI — Clayton Kershaw pitched seven sharp innings, Chris Taylor hit his 10th home run and the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Cincinnati Reds 6-0 on Thursday.

Kershaw (8-4) scattered five hits, struck out nine and walked two to help Los Angeles snap its four-game losing streak and avoid a three-game sweep against the Reds, who won the previous two games in walk-off fashion.

Los Angeles improved to 10-3 against Cincinnati dating to September 2021.

The Dodgers scored three runs in the third against starter Graham Ashcraft (3-5).

GUARDIANS 10, RED SOX 3

CLEVELAND (AP) — José Ramírez homered in his first three at-bats — and from both sides of the plate — to power Cleveland past Boston.

Ramírez connected for a solo shot in the first inning off Matt Dermody (0-1), belted a two-run shot — his 200th career homer — in the third and added another solo drive in the sixth when the Guardians hit for the cycle, had eight straight hits and scored five times.

Ramírez came up a second time in the sixth bidding for a rare four-homer game, but struck out swinging. The four-time All-Star third baseman had another chance in the eighth, but grounded to third.

There have only been 16 four-homer games in the majors since 1901.

Will Brennan added a home run as the Guardians won the series and handed the Red Sox their fifth loss in six games.

Aaron Civale (2-1) had his second solid outing for Cleveland after spending 46 games on the injured list with an oblique strain.

BRAVES 13, METS 10, 10 INNINGS

ATLANTA (AP) — Ozzie Albies lined a three-run homer with two outs in the 10th inning and Atlanta rallied to beat reeling New York for a three-game sweep.

Orlando Arcia hit a tying solo homer off Mets closer David Robertson in the ninth to help the NL East leaders win their fifth straight.

New York, which has dropped six in a row for the first time since August 2019, had won a franchise-record 122 consecutive games when leading after eight innings — the longest active streak in the majors.

The Mets (30-33) wasted two home runs from rookie Francisco Álvarez and an early grand slam from Brandon Nimmo as three-time Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander struggled.

Atlanta erased deficits of 9-5 and 10-7 and came back from at least three runs down to win all three games in the series. It marked the first time in Mets history they lost three consecutive games they led by three runs or more.

Albies homered off Tommy Hunter (0-1). Travis d’Arnaud hit a two-run shot against Drew Smith in the eighth to cut it to 10-9. Austin Riley and Marcell Ozuna also went deep for the Braves.

Raisel Iglesias (2-2) struck out Álvarez and Jeff McNeil in a perfect 10th.

RAYS 4, TWINS 2

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Yonny Chirinos pitched well into the sixth inning, Harold Ramírez homered during a three-run fourth and the MLB-best Tampa Bay Rays completed a three-game sweep of AL Central-leading Minnesota.

Chirinos (3-1), recalled from Triple-A Durham before the game, allowed one run over 5 2/3 innings in his first big league appearance since April 29. Jason Adam, the third Rays reliever, worked the ninth for his 10th save.

Tampa Bay (46-19) is 29-6 at home and has won six in a row overall.

Carlos Correa and Michael A. Taylor homered for the Twins (31-32), who have lost a season-high five consecutive games. They have totaled seven runs in the past six games.

Bailey Ober (3-3) retired his first 11 batters, including six straight strikeouts, before losing his perfect game and the lead in a span of three batters.

PHILLIES 3, TIGERS 2

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Zack Wheeler took a no-hitter into the eighth inning, Kody Clemens came through with a game-ending single and Philadelphia rallied past Detroit for its fifth victory in a row.

Brandon Marsh tied it in the ninth with a bases-loaded sacrifice fly for the defending NL champion Phillies (30-32).

Nick Maton hit a go-ahead single in the top of the ninth after Tyler Nevin broke up Wheeler’s no-hit bid on a single with one out in the eighth for the Tigers, who lost their sixth straight and eighth in the last nine.

Bryce Harper’s leadoff double in the ninth against Alex Lange (3-2) sparked Philadelphia’s rally. Craig Kimbrel (4-1) got the win.

The game originally was scheduled for Wednesday night but was postponed due to poor air quality caused by smoke from Canadian wildfires.

ORIOLES 6, BREWERS 3

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Gunnar Henderson hit a two-run homer with two outs in the eighth inning to put Baltimore ahead for good and the Orioles rallied from a three-run deficit to beat Milwaukee.

The Brewers took a 3-0 lead in the first and were in control for much of the game until the Orioles scored six runs over the final three innings against Milwaukee’s bullpen. The comeback enabled the Orioles to avoid a three-game sweep.

Anthony Santander’s one-out RBI double off Peter Strzelecki (3-5) cut the Brewers’ lead to 3-2 in the eighth.

Adam Frazier had a two-run double in the ninth for Baltimore. Ramón Urías started the comeback by hitting a two-out homer off Joel Payamps in the seventh.

Bryan Baker, Keegan Akin (2-1), Yennier Cano and Félix Bautista combined for four innings of scoreless relief. Bautista earned his 16th save in 20 opportunities.

BLUE JAYS 3, ASTROS 2

TORONTO (AP) — Brandon Belt had a tiebreaking single, José Berríos pitched six steady innings to win his third straight decision and Toronto defeated Houston.

Alejandro Kirk added an RBI double as the Blue Jays took three of four from the defending World Series champions and won the season series 4-3.

Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez left after one at-bat because of a sore right oblique.

Berríos (6-4) allowed two runs and four hits. Jordan Romano finished for his 17th save in 20 chances.

Houston left-hander Framber Valdez (6-5) gave up three runs in five innings.

WHITE SOX 6, YANKEES 5, GAME 1

YANKEES 3, WHITE SOX 0, GAME 2

NEW YORK (AP) — Randy Vásquez pitched two-hit ball into the sixth inning for his first major league win, Billy McKinney hit his first home run with the Yankees and New York blanked Chicago for a doubleheader split.

McKinney was called up from the minors Wednesday when star slugger Aaron Judge went on the injured list with a sprained and bruised right big toe.

The White Sox extended their winning streak to a season-high five games with a 6-5 victory in the opener, when Eloy Jiménez hit a go-ahead homer in the seventh off Michael King (1-2).

Jake Burger had a two-run shot off Yankees starter Luis Severino before Luis Robert Jr. and Yoán Moncada also went deep against the right-hander.

After Wednesday’s game was postponed by Major League Baseball because of hazardous air quality from Canadian wildfires, conditions in the Bronx had improved by Thursday’s first pitch.

In the second game, Gleyber Torres hit a two-run homer off starter Mike Clevinger (3-4).

Making his second big league start, Vásquez (1-1) retired 15 straight hitters and was pulled with two outs in the sixth. Ron Marinaccio worked 2 2/3 innings and Clay Holmes got his seventh save as the Yankees avoided a three-game sweep.

Willie Calhoun homered and drove in three runs for the Yankees in the opener.

Gregory Santos (2-0) pitched a 1-2-3 sixth for the win. Kendall Graveman earned his sixth save by getting Anthony Rizzo to ground into a game-ending double play with two on.

GIANTS 6, ROCKIES 4

DENVER (AP) — Brandon Crawford had a pinch-hit RBI double to spark a three-run ninth inning and San Francisco beat Colorado for the 11th straight time.

Michael Conforto and Thairo Estrada homered to help the Giants sweep their seventh straight series from Colorado. Scott Alexander (5-0) won in relief and Camilo Doval finished for his 16th save.

Nolan Jones had three hits for the Rockies, who have lost four straight.

San Francisco is 16-3 at Coors Field dating to Sept. 6, 2021, and has won eight straight in Denver. That streak was in jeopardy until a late rally against closer Pierce Johnson (0-3).

ANGELS 3, CUBS 1

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Jo Adell homered in his first game back in the majors, Reid Detmers posted his first win of the season and Los Angeles defeated Chicago to complete its third series sweep of the season.

It is the first time the Angels, who have won four straight, have swept the Cubs in a three-game series.

Trey Mancini had an RBI double for Chicago, swept for the fourth time this year. The Cubs have dropped four in a row and 10 of 14.

Adell, who led the Triple-A Pacific Coast League with 18 homers before being called up, tied it 1-all in the second inning when he hammered a sinker from Drew Smyly (5-4).

Detmers (1-5) struck out eight in 5 2/3 innings. Carlos Estevez got his 16th save.

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MILWAUKEE — The Giants said they planned to end their stinking series finale in Minnesota quickly, and they kept their word on Thursday, earning a 5-0 win in their first of four games against the Brewers.

Having won for the eighth time in the last ten games, it should come as no surprise that the bullpen played an important role. Wait, you say, that bullpen who was the third worst in the majors month one of the season and blew 12 leads this season? Expecting them to win an entire game for the second time this week, the Giants continued their strong performance and did it flawlessly.

Even the best bullpen games can resemble a jigsaw puzzle with some pieces missing, but the Giants (25-25) put together a stained glass masterpiece to bring their record back to .500. Manager Gabe Kapler combined six arms that collectively knocked out the Brewers for nine innings – San Francisco’s fourth shutout of the season.

Scott Alexander initially opened 1-2-3, and the Giants’ pitchers outplayed the first 11 batters they faced and only conceded four hits for the remainder of the game. With 13 strikeouts, her pitching team recorded double-digit strikeouts for the 20th time this season.

Michael Conforto continued his winning streak with a mammoth home run that nearly hit the SUV on display in the hall at right midfield — his 11th top-team hit of the season and his seventh since May 10, a 14-game streak , averaging one every other day — and hitting base on every other three at-bats, even adding in his second steal of the season.

LaMonte Wade Jr. also grabbed a sack after giving the Giants the first run of the game in heat five with an RBI single. The Giants’ rookie pair extended the lead in the eighth after Conforto’s home run, with Casey Schmitt doubling two runs and Patrick Bailey swapping places with him.

The bullpen was the biggest cause of the Giants’ troubles as they sank below .500 for as many as six games. Suddenly it seems to be among the best of the majors.

Over that 10-game streak, the Giants relievers (including Alexander’s “starting” Thursday) have the best ERA of any group at the majors (.92) and, after fanning out 13 other Brewers batters, the majors too led in strikeouts (64). He scored the second-most innings of any major group (49) while also posting the best ERA (.92).

Alexander remained goalless for the sixth consecutive game, joining Camilo Doval in the highest stakes in ten games.

Doval’s services were not needed Thursday after San Francisco secured a fourth-place finish at the top of eighth. All seven of their previous wins have been within three heats; Doval has completed six of these. Alexander saved the other and made his first appearance of the season on Thursday as the opener.

The Giants went 3-1 in bullpen games this season.

A day after a game of defensive errors reminiscent of last season, midfielder Mike Yastrzemski might have delivered San Francisco’s Web Gem of the Year. Darin Ruf, who came out on top with Milwaukee after being called up by San Francisco earlier this month, gave the Brewers the best-shot ball of the game in the first inning. It sent Yastrzemski to the center right lane, where he jumped, spun, and intercepted the ball from his home run trajectory.

All Ruf could do was smile and shake his head as he walked back to the first base dugout, thwarted by his former teammate.

Ruf spent a significant chunk of time on the Giants side before the game connecting with old teammates.

“I like him better in our lineup,” joked manager Gabe Kapler. “You know how I feel about Darin. I find the world of him. I think he’s a great hitter and the best clubhouse guy there is. … Hopefully it works out well and he has a lot of success after we leave town.”

Remarkable

– According to FanSided’s Robert Murray and Jeff Young, the Giants gained some depth of catch from a small trade. They reportedly traded to Jacob Nottingham, a 28-year-old backstop with a .184/.277/.421 slash line in 53 career major league games and .249/.329/.413 in 10 minor league games -seasons With Nottingham expected to report to Triple-A Sacramento, the move could signal the club are ready to have three backstops in their squad if Joey Bart is ready to be left off the injury list, along with newcomers Patrick Bailey and Blake Sabol.

– Bart (right bar) is “doing fine” according to Kapler, but he’s about five or six days away from running the bases. … Outfielder Austin Slater (left hamstring) is expected to begin a rehab stint this weekend, though Kapler said “nothing is set in stone.” … Joc Pederson (right hand) is still unable to pick up a racquet swing after being hit by a pitch in the hand at the Square-Up to Bunt on May 12. “I don’t think it’s going to be as quick as Joc would like or as fast as we’d like,” Kapler said. “But there’s nothing we can do to speed this up.”

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