Guerrero's 20th homer helps Blue Jays beat Cubs 2-1

San Francisco Chronicle​

2 days ago

TORONTO (AP) — Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit a two-run homer in the seventh inning, helping Max Scherzer and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Chicago Cubs 2-1 on Thursday.
Guerrero's big hit off Matthew Boyd lifted AL East-leading Toronto to the series victory. It was the 20th homer of the season for the All-Star slugger.
Scherzer (3-2) pitched seven-plus innings while improving to 6-2 in 12 career starts against the Cubs. He permitted one run and five hits.
Jeff Hoffman handled the ninth for his 27th save in 32 chances. Toronto improved to 40-20 at home.
Boyd (11-6) allowed two hits in seven innings. He struck out five and walked one.
Boyd walked Davis Schneider to begin the seventh. Ernie Clement followed with a sacrifice bunt before Guerrero lined an 0-2 pitch 402 feet to left-center.
The Cubs had just one hit off Scherzer before Michael Busch went deep with one out in the sixth for his 24th homer.
Promoted from Triple-A Iowa before the game, Cubs prospect Owen Caissie made his major league debut about 30 miles east of his birthplace in Burlington, Ontario. He went 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
ORIOLES 5, MARINERS 3
BALTIMORE (AP) — Rookie Tomoyuki Sugano earned his 10th victory by working 5 1/3 sharp innings before a lengthy rain delay, and Baltimore defeated Seattle.
Julio Rodríguez homered for Seattle, which has dropped consecutive games since winning eight in a row. The Mariners (67-55) fell 1 1/2 games behind AL West-leading Houston.
Catcher Cal Raleigh, who leads the majors with 45 home runs, was out of Seattle's starting lineup for only the fifth time this season. He walked as pinch-hitter in the ninth.
Sugano (10-5) won back-to-back starts for the first time. The 35-year-old from Japan threw 81 pitches and was pulled after the 2-hour, 18-minute delay.
Rodriguez hit reliever Rico Garcia's fourth pitch after play resumed into the bleachers in right-center, a two-run shot to bring the Mariners within 5-2.
Dietrich Enns allowed Randy Arozarena's one-out RBI grounder in the ninth, but retired Josh Naylor on one pitch to earn his first save since Sept. 20, 2021.
The Orioles took the lead against Logan Evans (6-5) in the fourth inning. Jordan Westburg scored on Evans' two-out wild pitch, and Ryan Mountcastle moved from first to third on the same play when Evans couldn't field catcher Mitch Garver's throw. After Daniel Johnson walked, Mountcastle scored when he and Johnson executed a double steal. Johnson came around on Jeremiah Jackson's RBI single.
NATIONALS 3, PHILLIES 2
WASHINGTON (AP) — Jose Tena hit a go-ahead, two-run single in the seventh inning, Paul DeJong homered for the third time in five games and Washington rallied past Philadelphia.
DeJong walked leading off the seventh against Jesus Luzardo (11-6). Riley Adams doubled, Daylen Lile walked and, with one out, Tena singled past the drawn-in infield against Orion Kerkering to put Washington ahead 3-2.
Shinnosuke Ogasawara (1-1) struck out Kyle Schwarber with a runner on to end the seventh and got his first major league win. Rookie Cole Henry worked the ninth and fanned Trea Turner with a runner on third to secure his first career save.
Turner had three infield hits for the National League East-leading Phillies, who have lost three straight while scoring three runs. Philadelphia left eight men on base.
Luzardo allowed three runs on four hits in six-plus innings.
GUARDIANS 9, MARLINS 4
CLEVELAND (AP) — José Ramírez had three hits and scored three runs, Gabriel Arias had a pair of RBIs and Cleveland beat Miami.
The Guardians trailed 3-0 in the first and 4-3 in the fourth, but rallied for their 23rd win in 32 games and moved within one-half game of the idle New York Yankees for the final American League wild-card spot.
Arias' sacrifice fly in a two-run fifth against Edward Cabrera (6-6) put Cleveland ahead for good at 5-4. David Fry and Brayan Rocchio both singled in runs in the seventh, when the Guardians scored four times off Valente Bellozo.
Tanner Bibee (9-9) extended his winning streak to five by working 5 2/3 innings and giving up four runs (two earned). Cade Smith entered with the bases loaded and two outs in the ninth and retired Liam Hicks for his sixth save.
Augustin Ramírez had an RBI single in the first when Miami took a 3-0 lead. The other runs came in when Guardians catcher Austin Hedges dropped a throw at the plate, allowing Kyle Stowers and Ramírez to score.
BRAVES 4, METS 3
NEW YORK (AP) — Ozzie Albies homered, drove in the go-ahead run with a double in the eighth inning, and hit an RBI single as Atlanta beat slumping New York.
Bryce Elder (5-9) allowed three runs (two earned) over seven innings for the Braves, who are 7-3 against the Mets this season. Raisel Iglesias earned his 17th save with a perfect ninth.
Albies went deep against starter Kodai Senga in the third and hit an RBI single off Tyler Rogers in the sixth. Michael Harris II tied the game with an RBI double off Ryan Helsley (3-3) in the eighth before scoring on Albies' hit to deep right.
The Mets have lost 13 of their last 15 games and their lead over the idle Cincinnati Reds in the race for the final wild-card spot shrunk to a half-game.
Francisco Lindor hit a third-inning solo homer and Brandon Nimmo (sacrifice fly) and Pete Alonso (single) had back-to-back RBIs to give the Mets a 3-2 lead in the sixth.
Senga gave up two runs in 5 2/3 innings.
TIGERS 4, TWINS 3, 11 INNINGS
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Colt Keith scored on Gleyber Torres' sacrifice fly in the 11th inning and Detroit overcame an early three-run deficit to beat Minnesota.
Riley Greene hit his team-leading 28th home run to help Detroit win for the fourth time in five games and fifth in seven.
Starting at second base in the 11th inning, Keith advanced to third on a wild pitch by Erasmo Ramírez (0-1) and scored on a Torres' sacrifice fly.
Rafael Montero (1-1) got the final four outs for the Tigers.
Detroit starter Tarik Skubal overcame a shaky third inning to get through seven innings, allowing three runs. He had only three strikeouts. When he last faced the Twins on June 29, he struck out 13 in seven innings.
Edouard Julien homered before Ryan Jeffers and Luke Keaschall had RBIs in a three-run Minnesota third, but Skubal retired 13 of the final 14 hitters he faced.
DIAMONDBACKS 8, ROCKIES 2
DENVER (AP) — Lourdes Gurriel Jr. hit a three-run homer in the first inning, Eduardo Rodriguez pitched a season-high seven innings and Arizona beat Colorado.
Arizona improved to 60-62, winning for the sixth time in seven games and the ninth in 12.
Rodriguez (5-7), who had allowed five earned runs in 5 1/3 innings against the Rockies five days earlier, matched his longest outing since October 2023. He gave up one run and struck out six.
Jose Herrera hit a two-run homer in the second inning, and Ketel Marte and also drove in two runs.
The Diamondbacks have homered in 12 consecutive games, the longest active streak in the majors. They lead the majors with 24 homers since Aug. 2.