TORONTO (AP) — Esmerlyn Valdez homered for his first career hit, Spencer Horwitz and Oneil Cruz also connected and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Toronto Blue Jays 4-1 on Sunday to avoid a three-game sweep.
Valdez was promoted from Triple-A Indianapolis on Friday and had gone 0 for 7 before hitting a two-run homer off Chase Lee in the sixth inning.
Pirates reliever Dennis Santana brokered a trade with a young fan for the ball, handing over a bat signed by Valdez and a Pirates cap in exchange for Valdez’s keepsake.
Blue Jays starter Dylan Cease exited after 4 2/3 innings because of a sore left hamstring.
Cease (3-3) allowed two runs and four hits before departing. He walked one and struck out eight.
Toronto slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr. left in the bottom of the fifth after being hit on the inside of his right elbow by a pitch from Pirates right-hander Mitch Keller. Lenyn Sosa came in to run for Guerrero and took over at first base.
The Blue Jays said an X-ray of Guerrero’s elbow did not reveal a fracture.
Keller (5-2) allowed one run and four hits in six innings. He walked three and struck out five.
Gregory Soto finished in the ninth for his fifth save in seven chances, striking out Daulton Varsho for the final out and stranding two runners.
TWINS 6, RED SOX 5
BOSTON (AP) — Brooks Lee hit a tiebreaking, two-run single in a three-run sixth inning, and Minnesota held off Boston at soggy Fenway Park to complete a three-game sweep for their 10th victory in 14 games.
It was Minnesota’s first three-game sweep in Fenway since June 13 to 15 in 1994.
Most of the game was played in a steady rain with the infield becoming very sloppy in the ninth.
Pinch runner Connor Wong, the potential tying run, was cut down at the plate by shortstop Ryan Kreidler’s relay on Isiah Kiner-Falefa’s double for the second out in ninth.
Willson Contreras hit his team-leading 11th homer, a two-run shot, and Masataka Yoshida added a solo one for his first for the Red Sox, who fell to a majors’ worst 8-17 at home.
Bailey Ober (6-2) earned the win, giving up four runs in five innings. Travis Adams got the final out with two on for his first career save.
GUARDIANS 3, PHILLIES 1
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Rhys Hoskins hit an RBI double in the sixth inning and Travis Bazzana homered in the eighth to lead Cleveland to a win over Philadelphia.
Hoskins has a big-hit history when he returns to Philadelphia to face his former team. That continued Sunday. After Chase DeLauter worked a two-out walk in the sixth, Hoskins doubled down the third base line, scoring DeLauter and giving Cleveland a two-run lead. In nine games that Hoskins has played in Philly as an opponent, twice with Milwaukee the past two seasons and this year with Cleveland, he has five extra base hits — three homers and two doubles.
Steven Kwan opened the scoring for the Guardians with an RBI single in the fifth, and Bazzana hit a solo shot in the eighth, his third of the season, as Cleveland won for the eighth time in nine games.
Parker Messick (6-1) earned the win. He threw 5 2/3 shutout innings, allowing five hits and striking out six. Cade Smith pitched a perfect ninth for his MLB-leading 18th save.
YANKEES 2, RAYS 0
NEW YORK (AP) — Aaron Judge ended a career-worst 11-game streak with no RBIs by hitting a game-ending, two-run homer off Kevin Kelly in the ninth inning that lifted New York over Tampa Bay for its first win in five games this year against their AL East rival.
After New York’s Ryan Weathers and Tampa Bay’s Drew Rasmussen each pitched seven shutout innings, Yankees left fielder Cody Bellinger made a key defensive play with two outs in the eighth. With Oliver Dunn at second and Junior Caminero at first, Ryan Vilade singled to left and Bellinger threw out Caminero at third as Ryan McMahon applied the tag before Dunn crossed the plate.
Kelly (3-2) walked Trent Grisham, starting the ninth and Judge hit a first-pitch sinker on the inside corner to the opposite field. The ball landed in the second row of the right-center field seats for his 17th homer, his first since May 10.
Judge, who entered in a 1-for-24 slide, hit his fourth walk-off homer, his first since 2022, ending the Yankees’ fastest game of the season after 2 hours, 12 minutes. It was his eighth walk-off hit.
Judge’s drive would have been a home run in just three major league ballparks: Citizens Bank Park and Great American Ball Park are the others.
MARLINS 4, METS 0
MIAMI (AP) — Heriberto Hernández hit a grand slam off Devin Williams in the ninth inning for his first big league walk-off hit, giving Miami Marlins a win and a three-game sweep of New York.
New York had just two runs and 11 hits in the series and has scored two runs or fewer in four straight games. The Mets (22-31), who have dropped into last place in the NL East, were shut out for the sixth time this season as they completed a 2-5 trip. They have scored one run or none in 15 games.
Juan Soto was scratched before the game because of a fever. Marcus Semien went 0 for 10 in the series, dropping his average to .214.
Miami (25-29) swept a series for the first time since its opening three games against Colorado.
Christopher Morel doubled against Williams (3-2) leading off the ninth, Javier Sanoja sacrificed, Liam Hicks walked and Xavier Edwards was intentionally walked.
ROYALS 8, MARINERS 6
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Salvador Perez made Seattle pitcher Bryan Woo pay for intentionally walking the bases loaded ahead of him, delivering the go-ahead, two-out single that ignited the Kansas City offense and propelled the Royals to a win over Seattle.
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Seth Lugo (2-4) allowed a first-inning homer by Julio Rodriguez before pitching into the seventh for Kansas City. The former Cy Young runner-up allowed three runs and six hits and two walks in winning for the first time since his March 29 season debut.
Carter Jensen and Maikel Garcia also had two RBIs apiece as the Royals won consecutive games for the first time since May 9-10.
Lucas Erceg allowed three runs in the ninth in a non-save situation before finishing out the game.
Woo (4-3) allowed four runs and six hits and two walks in 4 2/3 innings. He’d allowed just two runs over his previous 18 innings.
Royals starters came into the game on a 19-inning scoreless streak, and Lugo promptly retired leadoff man J.P. Crawford. But on his second pitch to Rodriguez, the Mariners slugger sent an 89-mph sinker into the left-field bullpen to give Seattle a 1-0 lead.
DODGERS 5, BREWERS 1
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Andy Pages hit a two-run homer immediately after Kyle Tucker delivered a tiebreaking two-run triple in the fifth inning to back up Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s strong pitching as Los Angeles defeated Milwaukee.
Los Angeles won two of three in Milwaukee this weekend to cap a 7-2 trip. The Brewers had gone 6-0-1 over their last seven series before losing this one.
Yamamoto (4-4) allowed one run over seven innings while facing the Brewers for the first time since throwing a three-hitter in Game 2 of the NL Championship Series, another 5-1 Dodgers triumph in Milwaukee.
Will Klein worked the eighth and Tanner Scott pitched the ninth as Los Angeles’ bullpen extended its modern-day franchise record streak of scoreless innings to 38. According to Sportradar, the last time any major league bullpen had this long a streak was in September 2017, when Cleveland relievers threw 39 straight scoreless innings.
ASTROS 8, CUBS 5
CHICAGO (AP) — Christian Walker hit a three-run homer to cap a five-run fifth inning and Houston completed a three-game sweep of Chicago with a victory.
Jake Meyers and Nick Allen added solo shots for Houston, which has won three straight and four of five.
Michael Busch homered for Chicago as its skid reached eight games, its longest since a nine-game slide during the 2022 season. The Cubs have lost 12 of 14, including six straight at Wrigley Field after winning 15 in a row there.
Jeremy Peña’s two-run single in the fifth gave the Astros the lead for good and Walker followed him with a blast into the middle of the left-centerfield bleachers. Allen added a bloop RBI single in the ninth.
Peter Lambert (3-4) gave up five hits and three runs in the first five innings. He walked four and struck out five. He left the bases loaded in the second after striking out Michael Conforto. Reliever AJ Blubaugh surrendered Busch’s homer and Nate Pearson worked the ninth for his first save.
GIANTS 8, WHITE SOX 5
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Rafael Devers hit San Francisco’s third grand slam in a seven-day span, a tiebreaking, fifth-inning drive that led the Giants over Chicago.
With the score 4-4, Devers hit a first-pitch fastball from Grant Taylor to the opposite field in left-center for his eighth career slam, his first for the Giants. Harrison Bader hit slams against the Athletics on Monday and vs. the White Sox on Saturday.
Casey Schmitt homered for the second time in two days and had three RBIs as the Giants won their second straight after a 2-7 slide. They scored 18 runs in the final two games of the series, their best two-game stretch this season.
Keaton Winn (1-1) allowed Colton Montgomery’s RBI groundout and Edgar Quero’s run-scoring single as the White Sox tied the score 4-4 in the fifth. Caleb Kilian struck out the side in the ninth for his third save.
DIAMONDBACKS 9, ROCKIES 1
PHOENIX (AP) — Corbin Carroll hit a pair of run-scoring triples to increase his big-league lead, Ryne Nelson pitched eight effective innings and Arizona routed hapless Colorado.
Arizona jumped on Jose Quintana (2-3) from the start, scoring six runs the first two innings.
Carroll extended his hitting streak to 12 games with a run-scoring triple in the first inning and added another in the sixth to finish 4 for 4. He has eight triples this season and 51 in his career, one shy of Stephen Drew’s team record.
Ketel Marte had three of Arizona’s 13 hits and three RBIs. Tommy Troy hit a pair of doubles in his big-league debut and Geraldo Perdomo had two RBIs.
Nelson (2-3) scattered six singles and struck out three in his career-best third straight start of at least seven innings.
Arizona (28-24) has won eight of 10 to climb four games over .500 for the first time since April 22.
ATHLETICS 5, PADRES 2
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Carlos Cortes hit a leadoff home run and Nick Kurtz extended his on-base streak to 47 games as the AL West-leading Athletics beat San Diego to avoid a three-game sweep.
Kurtz, the 2025 AL Rookie of the Year, singled to right with one out in the third to tie Jimmie Foxx (1932) for the second-longest streak in Athletics history. He’s one shy of matching Mark McGwire’s club-record streak of 48 games to open the 1996 season. Kurtz’s streak is the longest in the majors this year.
Kurtz came up with the bases loaded and two outs in the fourth and struck out against Ron Marinaccio, who had relieved starter Michael King (4-3). King had loaded the bases on Jonah Heim’s leadoff double and two walks, with Heim scoring on a wild pitch to make it 4-0. King walked Cortes with two outs to load the bases again before getting the hook.
Kurtz laid down a push bunt for a single in the ninth when third baseman Manny Machado was shaded toward shortstop.
Bulk pitcher Jacob Lopez (4-2) got the win and Scott Barlow came on with two on to get the final two outs for his first save.
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