Juan Soto launched three home runs and drove in four runs and Nestor Cortes pitched seven shutout innings to lift the visiting New York Yankees past the Chicago White Sox 4-1 on Tuesday.
Soto delivered his sixth multi-home run game of the season and first three-homer game of his career. He smacked a two-run blast in the third inning and solo shots in the fifth and seventh as New York took a half-game lead over the Baltimore Orioles atop the American League East.
Chicago rookie right-hander Jonathan Cannon (2-6) surrendered Soto’s first two long balls, and he permitted three runs and five hits in 4 2/3 innings. Fraser Ellard yielded the third homer.
Cortes (6-10) limited the White Sox to three hits and no walks while striking out nine. Chicago fell to 2-21 since the All-Star break.
Twins 13, Royals 3
Zebby Matthews pitched five strong innings to win his big-league debut as Minnesota pulled away for an easy win against Kansas City in Minneapolis.
Matthews (1-0), who has shot from Class-A to the majors this season, limited the Royals to two runs on five hits. Max Kepler went 2-for-4 with a homer and four RBIs to lead the Twins, who will go for a three-game sweep on Wednesday.
MJ Melendez and Salvador Perez each hit a solo home run for Kansas City. Michael Massey went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI. Seth Lugo (13-7) surrendered eight runs (seven earned) on nine hits in four-plus innings.
Guardians 2, Cubs 1
Veteran Matthew Boyd allowed one run while pitching into the sixth inning of his season debut and rookie Jhonkensy Noel hit a tiebreaking solo homer in the bottom of the sixth as host Cleveland beat Chicago.
Boyd made his first major league start since June 2023 after recovering from Tommy John surgery. He allowed three hits, struck out six and did not walk a batter over 5 1/3 strong innings. Pedro Avila (4-1) got the win and Emmanuel Clase earned his 37th save.
Nico Hoerner had two hits for the Cubs but made the final out of the game in a rundown between second and third. Chicago starter Javier Assad yielded one run and five hits in 4 2/3 innings.
Tigers 15, Mariners 1
Jake Rogers hit a grand slam and drove in seven runs, Kerry Carpenter homered twice in his return from the injured list and Detroit clobbered visiting Seattle.
Rogers’ seven RBIs were the most by a Tiger since Ryan Raburn drove in seven against the Chicago White Sox in 2007. Rogers had two doubles in addition to his homer.
The Mariners’ George Kirby (8-9) was charged with 11 runs on 13 hits in 3 2/3 innings. He became the first major league pitcher to yield 11 earned runs in a game this year.
Nationals 9, Orioles 3
James Wood had four hits, Andres Chaparro supplied three doubles in his major league debut and Washington, which often has offensive woes, scored in five different innings to defeat host Baltimore.
Ildemaro Vargas drove in three runs, Wood went 4-for-5 with three runs and Chaparro scored twice as the Nationals opened the two-game set by winning for the third time in a four-game stretch.
Anthony Santander homered, while Ryan O’Hearn, Ryan Mountcastle and Adley Rutschman all had two hits for the Orioles, who came off a 10-game road trip and lost their second game in a row.
Reds 4, Cardinals 1
Hunter Greene allowed one run and four hits over seven innings to help Cincinnati beat visiting St. Louis in the middle game of a three-game series.
Greene (9-4) struck out eight and walked one in his seventh consecutive quality start. Tony Santillan pitched a perfect eighth and Alexis Diaz handled the ninth to log his 24th save as the Reds won their third straight game.
Nolan Arenado homered for the Cardinals, who have dropped three in a row.
Marlins 5, Phillies 0
Jake Burger homered in his fourth straight game and Valente Bellozo tossed seven scoreless innings, fueling visiting Miami over Philadelphia.
Jesus Sanchez homered in his second consecutive contest, and Jonah Bride and Otto Lopez each had an RBI single. Xavier Edwards had two hits and scored a run for the cellar-dwelling Marlins, who won their second straight game.
Phillies starter Taijuan Walker (3-4) took the loss in his return from the 15-day injured list. Walker permitted three runs on four hits in four innings. Philadelphia mustered just four hits and committed two errors while losing for the 11th time in 15 games.
Astros 3, Rays 2
Alex Bregman drilled a go-ahead homer in St. Petersburg, Fla., Yusei Kikuchi stifled Tampa Bay for the second time in two weeks and Houston ran its win streak to seven.
Bregman homered for the fourth game in a row and added a double and two runs. Kikuchi (6-9), who struck out 11 Rays on Aug. 2 in his Astros debut, allowed just one run on three hits in 5 2/3 innings on Tuesday. Jeremy Pena (solo homer) and Yainer Diaz each had two hits and an RBI for the Astros.
Rays starter Shane Baz (0-2) threw a career-high seven innings, giving up three runs on seven hits.
Red Sox 9, Rangers 4
Connor Wong hit a three-run homer to punctuate a five-run fifth inning for Boston, which beat visiting Texas.
Wong went 2-for-4 while adding a double and two runs. Ceddanne Rafaela and Rafael Devers each had two hits for the Red Sox, who totaled 12 en route to their second consecutive win.
Leody Taveras went 2-for-4 with a double and a run for the Rangers, who have lost the first two games of the three-game series and fell to 1-6 in their past seven contests.
A’s 9, Mets 4
Shea Langeliers had four hits and four RBIs as visiting Oakland beat New York and former teammate Paul Blackburn.
The A’s improved to 15-9 since July 12 — the best record in the American League in that span. The Mets have dropped four in a row. Reliever Austin Adams (1-2) got the win as the Oakland bullpen tossed five scoreless innings.
Seth Brown laced a three-run double in the first inning against Blackburn (5-3), who was dealt by the A’s to the Mets last month. Blackburn gave up seven runs (six earned) in four innings.
Dodgers 7, Brewers 2
Gavin Lux and Andy Pages each hit two-run homers during a five-run fourth inning and Gavin Stone tossed five solid innings as visiting Los Angeles beat Milwaukee for its fifth straight victory.
Will Smith and Shohei Ohtani also homered for the Dodgers, who improved to 15-8 since the All-Star break. Smith had three hits after entering the game mired in a 5-for-53 slump.
William Contreras homered for the Brewers, who lost their third straight. Milwaukee has lost nine of its past 10 meetings with the Dodgers, including four of five this season.
–Field Level Media