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Reuters
17 hours ago
- Sport
- Reuters
MLB roundup: Ceddanne Rafaela gives Red Sox wild win over Angels
June 5 - Ceddanne Rafaela's walk-off, two-run homer inside Pesky's Pole with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning propelled the Boston Red Sox to an 11-9 win over the visiting Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday. Rafaela's third home run in as many games landed just 308 feet from home plate but allowed Boston to salvage a win in the three-game series. The game featured five lead changes and three ties. The previous batter, Abraham Toro, dunked a single into shallow center, also off Brock Burke (4-1). Wilyer Abreu, Toro and David Hamilton all had two hits and two RBIs for the Red Sox. Cooper Criswell (1-0) pitched 1 2/3 innings of relief to post the victory. Taylor Ward hit a three-run homer and Zach Neto and Nolan Schanuel both had two extra-base hits and scored two runs apiece for the Angels. Rockies 3, Marlins 2 Hunter Goodman had two hits, Kyle Freeland pitched into the seventh inning and visiting Colorado beat Miami to sweep the three-game series. It was the first time Colorado has swept a series since May 13-15, 2024, at San Diego. Freeland (1-8) allowed two unearned runs in 6 1/3 innings. Tyler Kinley pitched the ninth to earn his second save as Colorado notched its first three-game winning streak of the season. Miami's Heriberto Hernandez had two singles -- the first two hits of his major league career -- and Cal Quantrill (3-6) took the loss against his former team, allowing two runs over five innings. Nationals 2, Cubs 0 MacKenzie Gore pitched seven shutout innings, Ahmed Rosario homered and Washington beat visiting Chicago. Gore outdueled Chicago's Matthew Boyd, who took a perfect game into the sixth. Gore (3-5) allowed hits to the first three batters he faced and none after that. The majors' strikeout leader issued one walk while striking out seven. Nasim Nunez doubled, walked and knocked in a run for Washington. Kyle Finnegan allowed a pair of singles in the ninth but retired Kyle Tucker to finish up his 17th save. Boyd (5-3) went 7 1/3 innings, allowing two runs on four hits. Guardians 4, Yankees 0 Angel Martinez hit a two-run homer in the first inning to back 5 2/3 stellar innings from Luis L. Ortiz as visiting Cleveland earned a victory over New York. Martinez entered in a 6-for-40 skid but gave Cleveland a 2-0 lead. Jose Ramirez doubled after Martinez went deep to extend his on-base streak to 30 games, and he scored on a two-out double by Daniel Schneemann. Ortiz (3-6) allowed three hits, struck out seven and walked three. Yankees starter Clarke Schmidt (2-3) settled down after the rocky start and allowed three runs on seven hits in 5 2/3 innings. The right-hander struck out eight and walked one. Brewers 9, Reds 1 Jackson Chourio and Daz Cameron belted two-run homers to lead visiting Milwaukee to a blowout win over Cincinnati. Chourio finished 3-for-5 while Isaac Collins added a three-run homer for the Brewers, who clinched their 12th consecutive series win against the Reds. Brewers opener DL Hall threw three scoreless innings. Quinn Priester (3-2) came on in relief and held the Reds to one run and two hits over five innings. Reds starter Andrew Abbott (5-1) endured through his roughest outing of the season, yielding five runs on seven hits in six innings. Pirates 3, Astros 0 Rookie Mike Burrows threw a career-high 5 1/3 innings as host Pittsburgh blanked Houston. The Pirates snapped a two-game skid as Burrows (1-1), Chase Shugart, Braxton Ashcraft and David Bednar combined on the shutout. Burrows allowed five hits and no walks while striking out six. Bednar tossed a one-hit ninth inning for his seventh save. Oneil Cruz and Spencer Horwitz each had two hits for the Pirates, who got their runs on a fielder's-choice grounder, a sacrifice fly and a ground-ball double play. Blue Jays 2, Phillies 1 Alejandro Kirk's tiebreaking RBI single off the right field wall in the ninth inning lifted Toronto over visiting Philadelphia. Kirk's game-winning hit came against former Blue Jays reliever Jordan Romano (0-2). After Bo Bichette fouled out, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. singled to extend his on-base streak to 34 games. Guerrero stole second and scored the winning run on Kirk's two-out hit. Former Phillies reliever Jeff Hoffman (5-2) retired one batter in the ninth to pick up the win. Jose Berrios pitched six strong innings for Toronto, allowing one run on four hits. Rays 5, Rangers 4 Brandon Lowe went 3-for-4 with a solo home run and two RBIs and Tampa Bay used a four-run third inning to top visiting Texas. Rays starter Shane Baz (5-3) surrendered three runs on five hits in five innings. Pete Fairbanks allowed an unearned run in the ninth but earned his 11th save. Jonah Heim hit a two-run homer and Wyatt Langford finished 3-for-5 with two RBIs for the Rangers, who have lost the first two games of the three-game series. Kumar Rocker (1-4) returned from the injured list and surrendered five runs on six hits in 3 1/3 innings. --Field Level Media
Washington Post
18 hours ago
- Sport
- Washington Post
MacKenzie Gore dominates and Amed Rosario comes up big late to lift Nats
Amed Rosario's seventh-inning swing won't appear on any instructional videos — unless coaches use it as an example to tell young hitters not to try this at home. Batting from the right side, he reached for a fastball from Chicago Cubs starter Matthew Boyd that would've hit a left-handed batter. It might have been a questionable approach from the Washington Nationals' third baseman, but barrel found ball, which carried just beyond the fence in right field for what would be the decisive blow in the Nationals' 2-0 win over the Cubs, who entered Wednesday with the best record in the National League. 'When I was on deck, I was ready for anything,' Rosario said through an interpreter. 'I saw it and I knew I was going to swing.' Nasim Nuñez capped a 10-pitch at-bat in the eighth with an RBI double, insurance that loomed large when Kyle Finnegan inevitably found himself in a ninth-inning jam with runners on the corners and two outs. But the closer got Kyle Tucker to ground out to end it for his 17th save. 'We're mentally strong,' Nuñez said. 'We understand the situation that we haven't played in a while so we did what we had to do to stay ready and help the team win some type of way.' The result made a winner of MacKenzie Gore (3-5), who hadn't earned a victory since April 19 despite putting together a dominant first half of the season. Gore added to his league-leading strikeout total with seven and lowered his ERA to 2.87. He has 108 strikeouts in 75⅓ innings and handled one of the best offenses in baseball after a first inning that threatened to go sideways in a hurry. 'It's good to get the win, but it's more important if we win,' Gore said. 'Guys that hadn't been playing stepped up huge tonight, which is cool to see. ... Another one of those games where we all had to do our part and beat a good team.' The Cubs (38-23), who have simply blasted left-handers this season, opened the game with three straight singles, loading the bases with no outs. But Gore settled down, striking out Pete Crow-Armstrong and Dansby Swanson before getting Nico Hoerner to pop out. He didn't yield a hit the rest of the way. Gore, who has decreased his fastball usage, relied on the pitch on Wednesday night. Of his 94 pitches, 55 were fastballs. Once he established that pitch in the zone, he got hitters to chase. The Cubs whiffed at 11 of the 20 secondary pitches they swung at. Gore needed 24 pitches to get through the first inning. He needed 70 to complete the final six innings. The only problem was that Boyd was matching him zero for zero, taking a no-hitter into the sixth before Robert Hassell III broke it up with a two-out single to right. 'Sometimes when a guy's like that, you got to scratch and claw,' Manager Dave Martinez said. 'We did that tonight.' The Nationals' second hit was the big one from Rosario, who hadn't played since May 25. Rosario generally starts against lefties like Boyd, but the Nationals (29-32) faced seven right-handed starters in a row on their recent trip west. In six of those games, Washington countered with a lineup featuring seven left-handed hitters. And in that seven-game stretch, the Nationals scored 43 runs. Wednesday finally presented a matchup against a southpaw starter. Most of the Nationals' veteran offseason signings have underperformed. But Rosario, who signed a one-year, $1 million deal, has been the exception. Rosario has brought in to be a veteran leader in the clubhouse — especially for Latin players — and to hit left-handed pitchers. Entering Wednesday's game, Rosario was hitting .362 with a .949 OPS against lefties. 'It's my mentality,' Rosario said through an interpreter. 'I always try to come and get prepared as if I'm in the lineup.' Rosario saw a changeup inside in his previous at-bat and swung for a first-pitch out. Martinez said he entered his next at-bat looking for something away. When the ball first left Rosario's bat, he wasn't sure if it would get out. So he sprinted toward first base. And once he saw right fielder Seiya Suzuki run out of room, he started his trot around the bases. Notes: Mason Thompson threw a simulated game Monday in West Palm Beach as he continues to rehab from Tommy John surgery. Martinez hopes that they can send him on a rehab assignment to a minor league affiliate soon if he recovers well after his next few outings
Reuters
19 hours ago
- Sport
- Reuters
MacKenzie Gore dominates for Nationals in shutout of Cubs
June 5 - MacKenzie Gore pitched seven shutout innings, Ahmed Rosario homered and the Washington Nationals beat the visiting Chicago Cubs 2-0 on Wednesday night. Gore outdueled Chicago's Matthew Boyd, who took a perfect game into the sixth inning. Gore (3-5) allowed hits to the first batters he faced and none after that. The NL strikeout leader allowed three hits and a walk while striking out seven. It was his first win since April 19. Nasim Nunez doubled, walked and knocked in a run for Washington. Kyle Finnegan allowed a pair of singles in the ninth but retired pinch hitter Kyle Tucker to finish up his 17th save. Boyd (5-3) went 7 1/3 innings, allowing two runs on four hits. He struck out six and walked one in his longest outing of the season for the Cubs, who had won three straight and seven of eight. The Cubs loaded the bases with singles by Ian Happ, Seiya Suzuki and Carson Kelly to start the game, but Gore struck out Pete Crow-Armstrong and Dansby Swanson before getting Nico Hoerner to pop out. Crow-Armstrong made a leaping catch near the wall in left center against Alex Call with two outs in the fifth to preserve the perfect game. With one out in the sixth, Nunez walked on a 3-2 pitch. Nunez was then picked off and thrown out at second. Robert Haskell III then broke up the no-hitter with a line-drive single to right. Rosario led off the seventh and went to the opposite field, hitting a line drive into the Washington bullpen to give the Nationals a 1-0 lead. In the Chicago eighth, Suzuki walked with two outs, but Brad Lord retired Kelly. Call singled leading off the Washington eighth. With one out, Nunez capped a 10-pitch at-bat with a double down the left-field line and Call came all the way around to make it 2-0, ending Boyd's night. Nunez stole third but Genesis Cabrera retired Hassell and CJ Abrams to end the inning. --Field Level Media
CBS News
19 hours ago
- Sport
- CBS News
Cubs get blanked by Washington Nationals to even series
MacKenzie Gore pitched seven innings of three-hit ball and Amed Rosario homered to break a scoreless tie in the seventh as the Washington Nationals beat the Chicago Cubs 2-0 on Wednesday night. Nasim Nuñez added an RBI double in the eighth to chase Cubs starter Matthew Boyd, who carried a perfect game into the sixth before walking Nuñez with one out and then giving up a two-out single to rookie Robert Hassell III. Rosario's third homer — an opposite-field shot into the Washington bullpen in right — came on the first pitch thrown by Boyd (5-3) in the seventh. Gore (3-5) has tossed 13 consecutive scoreless innings. He struck out seven, walked one and threw 94 pitches as the Nationals evened the three-game series. The left-hander retired 21 of the final 23 batters he faced in a game that took only 2 hours, 11 minutes. Brad Lord worked a clean eighth and Kyle Finnegan earned his 17th save after letting two runners on in the ninth. Boyd permitted two runs over 7 1/3 innings while striking out seven, walking one and yielding four hits on 95 pitches. Key moment Chicago loaded the bases with nobody out in the first inning when Gore gave up singles to his first three batters. But he struck out Pete Crow-Armstrong and Dansby Swanson before Nico Hoerner fouled out. Key stat Gore has lowered his ERA in each of his last three starts, from 3.67 to 2.87 during that stretch. Up next The Cubs hadn't announced a starter yet for Thursday's series finale and could potentially use an opener, as they did when Drew Pomeranz threw the first inning of a 2-0 win over Cincinnati last Saturday. Washington will send out right-hander Jake Irvin (5-1, 3.93 ERA) for his 13th start of the season.
Washington Post
19 hours ago
- Sport
- Washington Post
Gore outpitches Boyd as Nationals blank Cubs 2-0 to even series
WASHINGTON — MacKenzie Gore pitched seven innings of three-hit ball and Amed Rosario homered to break a scoreless tie in the seventh as the Washington Nationals beat the Chicago Cubs 2-0 on Wednesday night. Nasim Nuñez added an RBI double in the eighth to chase Cubs starter Matthew Boyd, who carried a perfect game into the sixth before walking Nuñez with one out and then giving up a two-out single to rookie Robert Hassell III.
