Crow-Armstrong homers twice as Cubs top Twins to deny series sweep
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Pete Crow-Armstrong hit two home runs for his fifth multi-homer game this season, powering the Chicago Cubs past the Minnesota Twins 8-1 on Thursday.
Crow-Armstrong, whose first-half breakout earned him a starting spot for the National League All-Star team, went 3 for 4 with three runs and three RBIs to help the Cubs avoid a three-game sweep. Colin Rea (7-3) won his third straight start with a three-hitter over a season-high seven innings, and Minnesota native Michael Busch added two RBIs.
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Rea allowed only a fifth-inning home run by Kody Clemens, as the 35-year-old right-hander turned in his longest start since seven shutout innings for Milwaukee last Aug. 18.
Paddack, who considers Rea a mentor dating to their time together with San Diego for his advice on recovery from Tommy John elbow surgery, gave up 11 hits and six runs. He is 1-5 in his last 10 starts, with the Twins winning three.
REDS 6, MARLINS 0
CINCINNATI (AP) — Spencer Steer homered and Nick Lodolo pitched six strong innings as Cincinnati beat Miami to earn a split in the four-game series.
Elly De La Cruz singled for his 100th hit of the season, stole second, and scored on Austin Hays' single to put Cincinnati ahead 1-0 in the first.
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Steer's solo home run, his 11th of the season, made the score 2-0 in the second.
Cal Quantrill retired 11 straight following Steer's homer, but the Reds loaded the bases with no outs in the sixth.
Lodolo (6-6) allowed only three hits with no walks and four strikeouts. It's the seventh time this season that the Reds' lefty allowed one run or fewer.
De La Cruz singled in a run and TJ Friedl raced home on a throwing error by right fielder Dane Myers to make it 4-0 in the sixth. Hays followed with a two-run single.
Quantrill (3-8) pitched five-plus innings and allowed five earned runs, the most since April 19 when he allowed seven at Philadelphia.
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RED SOX 4, RAYS 3
BOSTON (AP) — Ceddanne Rafaela hit a go-ahead, two-run double during a three-run seventh inning and Boston earned their season-high seventh straight win by beating Tampa Bay.
Boston starter Walker Buehler gave up three runs off five hits, including two home runs, over six innings. Chris Murphy (1-0) and Garrett Whitlock pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth, and Aroldis Chapman struck out two in the ninth to pick up his 16th save and 1,300th strikeout.
Junior Caminero hit a two-run home run and Ha-Seong Kim added a solo homer for the Rays.
Tampa's Taj Bradley allowed one run off two hits over six innings, striking out five. But reliever Bryan Baker (3-3), who was making his Rays debut after being traded by the Baltimore Orioles, surrendered all three Boston runs in the seventh.
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ORIOLES 3, METS 1, 1ST GAME
ORIOLES 7, METS 3, 2ND GAME
BALTIMORE (AP) — Jordan Westburg homered and drove in three runs as Baltimore defeated New York to sweep a doubleheader.
Alex Jackson doubled twice and scored two runs in his Baltimore debut to help the Orioles win for the fifth time in six games. They took both ends of a twinbill for the first time since June 2016 against Tampa Bay at home.
In the opener, Gunnar Henderson hit a two-run drive in the eighth inning for his first career pinch-hit homer, sending Baltimore to a 3-1 victory.
The split-admission doubleheader was scheduled to make up Wednesday night's game, which was postponed due to a forecast of inclement weather.
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