MLB roundup: A's rookie Nick Kurtz belts record-tying 4 homers
Rookie Nick Kurtz tied major league records with four home runs and 19 total bases to pace the visiting Athletics to a 15-3 victory over the Houston Astros on Friday.
Kurtz, who was 6-for-6 in the game after going 3-for-5 with two doubles in the Athletics' series-opening win on Thursday, extended his lead among all rookies in homers by clubbing his 20th, 21st, 22nd and 23rd dingers en route to producing eight RBIs and six runs.
Kurtz also leads all rookies in RBIs (59) and extra-base hits (43), and recorded the 20th four-homer game in history, the first by a rookie. His last long ball, in the ninth, came with outfielder Cooper Hummel on the mound for Houston.
Shea Langeliers and Tyler Soderstrom also went deep for the A's. Jeffrey Springs (9-7) allowed two runs on four hits over six innings. Astros rookie Ryan Gusto (6-4) was tagged for eight runs on eight hits in 3 1/3 innings.
Phillies 12, Yankees 5
Kyle Schwarber homered twice and J.T. Realmuto hit a tiebreaking three-run blast in the seventh inning as visiting Philadelphia pulled away to win in New York.
Schwarber hit his 35th and 36 home runs, belting a tying two-run shot off New York starter Will Warren in the fifth and a two-run drive off Ian Hamilton in the eighth for an 8-5 lead. His first hit was the 1,000th of his career. He has six home runs in seven games since the All-Star break.
Cody Bellinger and Austin Wells hit solo homers off Philadelphia starter Taijuan Walker in the first two innings. Walker allowed three runs on six hits in 5 2/3 innings.
Dodgers 5, Red Sox 2
Teoscar Hernandez hit a two-run home run to help Los Angeles beat host Boston in the opener of a three-game series.
After Freddie Freeman singled to open the eighth inning, Hernandez homered against Boston reliever Jorge Alcala to extend the Dodgers' lead to 5-2. Hernandez drove in three of Los Angeles' five runs.
Emmet Sheehan (2-1) pitched the first five innings for Los Angeles, surrendering two runs on three hits. The Dodgers' bullpen provided four scoreless innings, including a scoreless ninth from Ben Casparius for his first save.
Marlins 5, Brewers 1
Otto Lopez had three hits and two RBIs to help visiting Miami defeat Milwaukee. Kyle Stowers homered and scored twice for the Marlins, who have won five of seven coming out of the All-Star break.
Marlins starter Cal Quantrill allowed one run and three hits in five innings. Josh Simpson (2-0) pitched a scoreless sixth.
Brewers starter Freddy Peralta allowed one run and five hits in five-plus innings. He struck out nine and walked two. Reliever Aaron Ashby (1-1) allowed the first of four Miami runs in the seventh. Jackson Chourio extended his hitting streak to 18 games by homering for the Brewers, who had won 12 of 13.
Diamondbacks 1, Pirates 0 (11 innings)
Eugenio Suarez hit a sacrifice fly in the 11th inning and three Arizona pitchers combined on a one-hitter to lead the Diamondbacks past host Pittsburgh.
Diamondbacks starter Ryne Nelson threw six innings, permitting just Tommy Pham's triple in the second inning. Anthony DeSclafani (1-1) followed with four sharp innings, and Kevin Ginkel pitched a perfect bottom of the 11th for his third save.
Pittsburgh reliever Braxton Ashcraft (2-1) pitched a 1-2-3 10th inning but ran into trouble in the 11th. With runners on first and third and one out, automatic runner Corbin Carroll came home on Suarez's sac fly to right.
Rangers 8, Braves 3
Jonah Heim homered and Sam Haggerty had an RBI double and scored a run to back a solid start by Nathan Eovaldi as Texas stayed hot with a win over sputtering Atlanta in Arlington, Texas.
The Rangers won their fourth straight game and ninth in their past 11 outings while the Braves dropped their third consecutive contest. Eovaldi (8-2), returning after missing his last scheduled start because of a stiff back, gave up three hits in five scoreless innings.
Atlanta's Joey Wentz (2-2), making his second start since 2023, allowed four runs (three earned) on four hits over 4 1/3 innings.
Cardinals 3, Padres 0
Miles Mikolas and four St. Louis relievers combined to shut out visiting San Diego, giving the Cardinals wins in each of the first two games of a four-game series.
Mikolas (6-7) scattered seven hits over five-plus innings. Steven Matz, Phil Maton, JoJo Romero and Ryan Helsley followed with one inning apiece. Helsley pitched around a single in the ninth to earn his 21st save.
Padres starter Nick Pivetta (10-3) allowed three runs (two earned) on three hits in 6 1/3 innings as San Diego lost its fourth straight game.
White Sox 12, Cubs 5
Chase Meidroth, Colson Montgomery, Austin Slater and Mike Tauchman homered and Adrian Houser pitched effectively into the seventh inning as the host White Sox routed the Cubs to open a three-game series between the Chicago neighbors.
Winners of six of seven since the All-Star break, the White Sox collected 18 hits, including seven for extra bases. Each starter had at least one hit while all but one had an RBI in the opener of a three-game series.
Cubs starter Shota Imanaga (7-4) matched the shortest outing of his major league career, surrendering seven runs and 12 hits in three-plus innings. Houser (6-2) allowed three runs on five hits in 6 2/3 innings.
Twins 1, Nationals 0
Zebby Matthews pitched six scoreless innings, Byron Buxton drove in the game's lone run, and Minnesota held on to edge Washington in Minneapolis.
Royce Lewis ripped a double for the only extra-base hit for the Twins, who won the series opener despite tallying only three hits. Buxton hit a fifth-inning sacrifice fly to produce the only run. Daylen Lile went 2-for-3 with a double and a stolen base to lead Washington.
Matthews (2-2) limited the Nationals to two hits, walked none and struck out seven. Nationals left-hander MacKenzie Gore (4-10) gave up one run on one hit in five innings, but he struggled with command as he issued six walks and struck out four.
Rockies 6, Orioles 5
Ezequiel Tovar hit a tiebreaking eighth-inning home run as Colorado rallied from an early four-run deficit to defeat host Baltimore.
Mickey Moniak and Thairo Estrada also homered, while Hunter Goodman and Jordan Beck each had two hits for the Rockies, who have a rare three-game winning streak.
Jordan Westburg, Tyler O'Neill, Coby Mayo and Alex Jackson all hit solo home runs for the Orioles, who dropped to 2-6 since the All-Star break. Baltimore reliever Andrew Kittredge (1-2) took the loss while Colorado's Jake Bird (4-1) got the win after surrendering the tying run in the seventh.
Blue Jays 6, Tigers 2
Bo Bichette had a two-run double during a four-run fifth as Toronto downed slumping Detroit.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. supplied two doubles, two runs and an RBI for the Blue Jays, who have won seven of eight games since the All-Star break. Blue Jays starter Jose Berrios (7-4) gave up two runs and five hits in six innings.
Spencer Torkelson homered for the second time in as many days for the Tigers, who have lost five straight and 11 of their last 12. Detroit starter Keider Montero (4-3) was charged with six runs (five earned) and nine hits in four-plus innings.
Mets 8, Giants 1
Brandon Nimmo and Juan Soto drove in two runs apiece, Francisco Lindor homered among three hits and scored three times, and New York opened a three-game series at San Francisco with a win.
Clay Holmes (9-5) gave up one run on six hits in five innings as the Mets won their fifth game in a row. Huascar Brazoban, Rico Garcia and Jose Castillo combined for four scoreless innings of relief.
Heliot Ramos and Jung Hoo Lee had a pair of hits each for the Giants, who have lost seven of nine. Logan Webb (9-8) yielded six runs on eight hits in four innings.
Angels 3, Mariners 2 (10 innings)
Zach Neto singled to drive in LaMonte Wade Jr. from second base with two outs in the bottom of the 10th inning, giving Los Angeles a walk-off victory over Seattle in Anaheim, Calif.
Neto produced the first walk-off hit of his career on his bobblehead giveaway night. He bounced a grounder on 1-0 sweeper by Mariners reliever Casey Legumina (4-5) just past the outstretched glove of diving Seattle second baseman Cole Young into shallow right field to drive in the game-winner.
Julio Rodriguez hit two home runs for Seattle. He became the third player in Mariners' history to have five or more multi-homer games before turning 25, joining Ken Griffey Jr. (14) and Alex Rodriguez (14).
Reds 7, Rays 2
Tyler Stephenson went 2-for-5 with three RBIs and Cincinnati collected 14 hits en route to a win over visiting Tampa Bay.
Nick Martinez (9-9) permitted two runs on four over five innings for the Reds, who have won two in a row after a three-game losing streak. Elly De La Cruz went 4-for-5, and Austin Hays finished 3-for-5.
Zack Littell (8-8) gave up five runs on 10 hits in six innings as the Rays lost for the fourth time in five games.
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