Acuña’s grand slam ignites a 6-run sixth as the Braves rout the Red Sox 10-2

Sale (8-3) improved to 3-0 against the Red Sox since Boston traded its one-time ace to Atlanta before the 2024 season. The left-hander allowed two runs on six hits and walked three.

Michael Harris II launched a solo homer for Atlanta, which has the best record in the majors at 38-19. Ozzie Albies added a two-run shot in the ninth, his third hit of the day.

Boston wrapped up a 1-5 homestand and fell to 9-19 at Fenway Park this season. Chants of “Sell the team!” broke out after Harris hit his 13th homer in the seventh.

Red Sox reliever Danny Coulombe (0-2) didn’t get an out in the sixth and was charged with three of the six runs the Braves scored in the inning.

ANGELS 7, TIGERS 1

DETROIT (AP) — Grayson Rodriguez pitched five strong innings as Los Angeles beat Detroit for its fifth victory in six games.

The Angels won back-to-back series for the first time this season, sweeping Texas at home before winning two of three in Detroit.

Detroit has gone 4-18 since May 4, losing seven straight series.

Rodriguez (2-1) allowed one run on two hits and two walks in five innings. He struck out five.

Jack Flaherty (0-7) gave up three runs on six hits and a walk in 5 2/3 innings while striking out nine.

The Tigers took a 1-0 lead on Wenceel Pérez’s solo homer in the second, but Los Angeles came back with three runs in the fifth.

Jo Adell led off with a double and took third on a one-out wild pitch. Sebastian Rivero tied the game with an RBI single, and Donovan Walton also singled. Zach Neto’s double made it 2-1 Angels, and after Detroit intentionally walked Mike Trout to load the bases, Vaughn Grissom hit a sacrifice fly to center.

Grissom, who drove in eight runs in the series, added an RBI double in the eighth and scored on Jorge Soler’s single to give the Angels a 5-1 lead.

The Tigers loaded the bases with two out in the eighth, but Sam Bachman struck out Riley Greene.

WHITE SOX 6, TWINS 2

CHICAGO (AP) — Davis Martin allowed one run on two hits over six innings to win his sixth straight decision as the Chicago White Sox cruised to a 6-2 win over the Minnesota Twins on Thursday.

Tristan Peters had three hits for the White Sox, who took three of four from the Twins and have won 12 of their past 18 games.

Martin (8-1) struck out five and walked two to become the first White Sox pitcher to win eight of his first 11 starts since Lucas Giolito in 2019 and the first to win six straight decisions since Lance Lynn in 2021.

The White Sox scored their first five runs with two outs, getting on the board in the bottom of the first when Miguel Vargas scored on Colson Montgomery’s two-out single.

Peters drove in another two-out run with a bases-loaded infield single in the third before Randal Grichuk cleared the bases with a double down the right-field line to chase Twins starter Simeon Woods Richardson (0-7).

Munetaka Murakami made it 6-0 in the fourth with a bloop double to left that just eluded Twins shortstop Tristan Gray.

Gray atoned with an RBI double in the fifth to break up Martin’s shutout bid. Victor Caratini scored Josh Bell with a sacrifice fly off Jordan Leasure in the seventh.

BLUE JAYS 2, ORIOLES 1

BALTIMORE (AP) — Yohendrick Piñango drew a bases-loaded walk from Anthony Nunez in the eighth inning to lift Toronto to a win over Baltimore.

George Springer led off the eighth with a double, then was bunted over to third. After an intentional walk to Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Nunez (2-2) walked Daulton Varsho to load the bases.

Piñango came up as a pinch-hitter and walked to force in the tiebreaking run. Catcher Adley Rutschman tried to help Nunez by using two challenges during that plate appearance, but both were unsuccessful.

Jeff Hoffman (4-3) won in relief. Louis Varland got the final four outs for his eighth save.

Andrés Giménez homered in the third for Toronto, and Coby Mayo went deep for the Orioles in the fourth.

The Orioles had men on first and second with two out in the eighth after Pete Alonso’s comebacker bounced high in the air for an infield single. Reliever Tyler Rogers was apparently hurt on that play and left the game.

But Varland didn’t even have to retire a batter to escape the inning because Alonso was inexplicably picked off first by catcher Brandon Valenzuela.

The Blue Jays won for the 10th time in their last 14 games. The Orioles lost for the second time in seven.

CUBS 7, PIRATES 2

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Ian Happ homered for the second consecutive game and Chicago handed Paul Skenes his third straight loss with a victory over Pittsburgh.

The win came one night after the Cubs ended a 10-game losing streak. Happ hit a tiebreaking three-run homer in the seventh inning of that game.

Happ had three hits on Thursday, including a two-run homer in the eighth that pushed the Cubs’ lead to 5-2. He has reached base safely in 41 consecutive games in Pittsburgh, the city where he grew up. Seiya Suzuki had two hits and two RBIs for Chicago.

Skenes (6-5) lost his third straight start despite striking out 10 in 5 1/3 innings. The 2025 NL Cy Young Award winner fanned six batters in a row from the first to the third.

Only one of the three runs against Skenes was earned, as third baseman Tyler Callihan and shortstop Jared Triolo made throwing errors in a two-run sixth inning that extended the Cubs’ lead to 3-0.

Colin Rea (5-3) won for the first time in five starts, allowing two runs in 5 1/3 innings. Hoby Milner, Caleb Thielbar and Trent Thornton combined for 3 2/3 innings of scoreless relief.

Bryan Reynolds homered for the Pirates.

ASTROS 5, RANGERS 1

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Jeremy Peña and Isaac Paredes homered in the first inning, and Spencer Arrighetti pitched Houston past Texas.

The Astros took three of four games in the series from their in-state rivals, finishing a 7-3 trip with six wins in the last seven games.

The Rangers, no-hit Monday by three Houston pitchers, have lost six of seven overall.

Texas manager Skip Schumaker missed the game to attend his son’s high school graduation in California. Bench coach Luis “Pipe” Urueta ran the team.

Arrighetti (7-1) tossed six effective innings, allowing only Josh Jung’s homer in the second. He gave up three hits, walked one and plunked two batters with pitches. The right-hander’s ERA rose just a hair, from 1.32 to 1.34.

Peña pulled Nathan Eovaldi’s fourth pitch to left field for his second homer this season, both in the last three games.

After a walk to Yordan Alvarez, who homered five times in the first three games of the series, Paredes ended an 0-for-10 skid with another home run to left.

Houston made it 5-1 in the third on two-out RBI hits by Taylor Trammell and Cam Smith.

Eovaldi (5-6) permitted four hits in seven innings and walked two, with both coming around to score. He threw seven shutout innings 11 days earlier at Houston in an 8-0 win.