Yankees push win streak to 9 straight behind Judge’s 2 HRs

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Aaron Judge homered twice to run his long-ball streak to three straight games, added the tying RBI in the seventh inning and helped the New York Yankees rally past the Kansas City Royals 6-4 on Sunday for their ninth straight win.

Judge has hit five home runs in his last five games and eight this season. His checked-swing groundout, which traveled about 30 feet, tied the game in the seventh after the Yankees had loaded the bases against Dylan Coleman (0-1) with nobody out. Josh Donaldson followed it with a go-ahead grounder that gave New York the lead for good.

Clarke Schmidt (2-2) pitched a scoreless inning in relief of Yankees starter Luis Severino. Aroldis Chapman left the tying run on base in the ninth inning to earn his sixth save on the year and 20th in a row.

The Yankees, riding the longest winning streak in the majors, improved to 16-6. It’s only the fourth time since 1959 that the 27-time World Series champions have won at least 16 of their first 22 games.

Michael Taylor homered for Kansas City, which has lost eight of its last 10.

ANGELS 6, WHITE SOX 5

CHICAGO (AP) — Mike Trout homered, doubled and scored three runs, Michael Lorenzen pitched into the ninth inning and Los Angeles held off Chicago for its seventh win in eight games.

Shohei Ohtani had an RBI as the Angels’ designated hitter. The two-way AL MVP went 0 for 3 and exited in the ninth inning because of tightness in his right groin. Manager Joe Maddon said Ohtani might have tweaked his groin running to first in the seventh inning on a grounder. The Japanese-born star said he expects to play Monday.

Trout walked in three other plate appearances. Andrew Velazquez and Jo Adell each doubled in a run and Anthony Rendon had an RBI as the Angels took a 6-0 lead.

Lorenzen (3-1) allowed three runs and nine hits, while walking two and striking two in 8 1/3 innings. Ryan Tepera, the Angels’ third pitcher of the ninth, got the final out for his first save.

New York Yankees’ Aaron Judge celebrates as he crosses the plate after hitting a solo home run during the ninth inning of a baseball game against the Kansas City Royals Sunday, May 1, 2022, in Kansas City, Mo. The Yankees won 6-4.

Dallas Keuchel (1-3) labored through five innings, giving up four runs on six hits and five walks. The 2015 AL Cy Young winner’s ERA is 8.40.

MARINERS 7, MARLINS 3

MIAMI (AP) — Logan Gilbert kept up his run of impressive starts, Julio Rodríguez hit his first major league homer and the Seattle ended Miami’s seven-game winning streak.

J.P. Crawford also homered, while Jesse Winker had three hits and two RBIs for the Mariners, who snapped a four-game skid.

Making his first start against an NL club, Gilbert (4-0) held the Marlins hitless until Jon Berti’s two-out single in the fifth. The 24-year-old righty was lifted after allowing Brian Anderson’s solo homer with two outs in the sixth. Gilbert allowed three hits, walked four and struck out five. He exited with a 0.64 ERA through five starts.

Rodríguez’s three-run drive against Sandy Alcantara (2-1) landed on the left-center field walkway and made it 5-0 in the sixth. Alcantara allowed five runs, six hits, struck out six and walked four in 5 2/3 innings.

DODGERS 6, TIGERS 3

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Walker Buehler (3-1) pitched five scoreless innings and Los Angeles beat Detroit and overcame Miguel Cabrera’s 503rd career home run and his first this season.

Cabrera hit a two-run homer off reliever Phil Bickford in the eighth inning to help the Tigers avoid the shutout. Cabrera, who got his 3,000th career hit last week, tied George Brett for 18th in major league history with 1,119 extra-base hits.

Dodgers pitchers combined to strike out 13 batters. Alex Vesia fanned the side in the seventh, and Bickford did the same in the eighth despite giving up Cabrera’s homer. Craig Kimbrel earned his fourth save.

Jeimer Candelario hit a solo home run off Justin Bruihl in the ninth for the Tigers, who trailed 6-0 through seven innings and have lost seven of their last eight games.

Detroit starter Eduardo Rodriguez (0-2) allowed eight hits and gave up six runs, four earned, in 5 2/3 innings and was hurt by two errors.

PADRES 5, PIRATES 2

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Joe Musgrove struck out eight over seven solid innings and San Diego beat Pittsburgh in a game that was delayed 1 hour, 22 minutes at the start by a line of heavy rain showers.

It was Musgrove’s second game with the Padres at PNC Park since being traded from Pittsburgh to San Diego after the 2020 season. He pitched three years for the Pirates. Musgrove (4-0) looked comfortable in his old stomping grounds, scattering seven hits while allowing just one run.

Taylor Rogers struck out two for his ninth save.

Manny Machado hit an RBI single in the third off Mitch Keller (0-4) to put the Padres in the lead. Trent Grisham hit a two-run single after shortstop Cole Tucker’s two-out throwing error in the seventh.

Keller allowed one run on five hits over six innings. He struck out five and did not issue a walk. His six-inning start was the longest by any Pittsburgh pitcher this season.

BLUE JAYS 3, ASTROS 2

TORONTO (AP) — Santiago Espinal drove in the go-ahead run with an RBI single in the seventh inning, Bo Bichette added a two-run homer and Toronto edged Houston.

Kevin Gausman (2-1) struck out a season-high 10 over seven innings to win his second straight decision as Toronto took two of three from Houston and has won nine of 12 overall. Gausman allowed two runs and six hits and has not walked a batter in 31 2/3 innings this season. According to MLB Stats on Twitter, Gausman is the first pitcher since Cy Young in 1906 to not walk a batter or allow a home run in five straight starts to begin a season (minimum 20 innings pitched).

Tim Mayza worked the eighth and Jordan Romano pitched around Kyle Tucker’s one-out double in the ninth to earn his 11th save in 12 chances.

Astros left-hander Framber Valdez (1-2) didn’t allow a hit until Bichette connected with two outs in the sixth, overturning a 1-0 deficit. Valdez pitched 6 1/3 innings, allowing three runs and two hits. He walked two and struck out two.

CUBS 2, BREWERS 0

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Marcus Stroman threw two-hit ball for seven innings, outpitching Cy Young Award winner Corbin Burnes and leading Chicago over Milwaukee.

Patrick Wisdom homered as the Cubs ended a four-game losing streak. They had been outscored 20-2 in dropping the first two games of the series at Milwaukee.

Stroman (1-3) earned his first win for his new team in his fifth start. Pitching on his 31st birthday, he struck out five and walked one. Rowan Wick got two outs in the eighth and David Robertson closed for his fifth save.

Burnes (1-1) struck out 10 in seven innings, giving up four hits. He retired the first 13 batters before Wisdom homered in the fifth.

RANGERS 7, BRAVES 3

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Adolis Garcia highlighted a three-hit, four-RBI day with a bases-clearing triple in the third inning to help Texas beat Atlanta.

Taylor Hearn (1-2) allowed two runs on four hits and three walks in five innings for his first victory since Sept. 12 of last season.

The Rangers scored all seven runs in the first three innings to go 3-4 in a homestand against last year’s World Series teams — 2-1 vs. Atlanta and 1-3 against Houston. The Braves have lost two straight for the fifth time this season, their longest losing streak.

The Rangers took advantage of wildness by Dallas native Kyle Muller (0-1), who was recalled from Triple-A Gwinnett for his first start this season. Muller walked six and allowed four singles in 2 2/3 innings to go with two stolen bases allowed and a wild pitch.

The announced sellout crowd of 38,316 – which included former President George W. Bush – was the largest at Globe Life Field, which opened in 2020 and began accommodating full capacity last year.

CARDINALS 7, DIAMONDBACKS 5

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Harrison Bader and Nolan Arenado homered in the seventh inning to help St. Louis rally past Arizona and win for the third time in five games and salvage a split of the four-game series.

Jordan Luplow hit two homers for Arizona, and Nick Ahmed and Christian Walker also went deep.

The Cardinals trailed 5-3 before scoring four times in the seventh. Brendan Donovan had a run-scoring grounder, and Bader slammed a two-run shot off reliever Keynan Middleton ((0-1) to put the Cardinals up 6-5. One batter later, Arenado slammed his team-high sixth of the season. He had served a one-game suspension on Saturday for his part in an altercation against the New York Mets on Wednesday.

Kodi Whitley (2-0) got the last out in the top of the seventh to pick up the win. Ryan Helsey pitched two innings for his first save, striking out the side in the ninth inning.

NATIONALS 11, GIANTS 5

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Yadiel Hernandez drove in a career-high five runs with three hits as Washington beat San Francisco.

Juan Soto also had three hits and scored three times for the Nationals. Washington’s Lucius Fox got his first two hits in the majors after beginning his career 0 for 20.

Josiah Gray (3-2) allowed one hit in six innings, working around four walks while striking out three. The right-hander, part of the trade that sent Max Scherzer and Trea Turner to the Dodgers at the deadline last season, didn’t allow a hit until Jason Krizan’s two-out single in the fifth.

Alex Cobb (1-1), who was activated off the injured list before the game, took the loss.

GUARDIANS 7, ATHLETICS 3

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Triston McKenzie threw 6 1/3 scoreless innings and Cleveland completed its first sweep in Oakland in 22 years.

Franmil Reyes, mired in a 1-for-27 slump entering the day, had a two-run single in the third when Cleveland scored four times to take control at 5-0. Andres Gimenez had two hits and an RBI, finishing 6 for 12 with six RBIs in the three-game series.

McKenzie (1-2) held the A’s to three hits, struck out seven and walked one as Cleveland swept a series at the Oakland Coliseum for the first time since April 10-12, 2000.

The A’s, who have lost six of their past eight, didn’t advance a runner as far as third base until the seventh inning. James Kaprielian (0-1), making his season debut for Oakland after being sidelined by a shoulder injury, walked four and didn’t make it out of the third.

TWINS 9, RAYS 3

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Jorge Polanco drove in four runs with a pair of doubles, Carlos Correa had his fourth straight game with multiple hits and Minnesota beat Tampa Bay.

The Twins broke out quickly for five runs in the first inning off Rays starter Josh Fleming (2-3) and coasted to their ninth win in 10 games. Byron Buxton homered for Minnesota.

Josh Winder (1-0) pitched six shutout innings in his first major league start for the Twins, giving up two hits and striking out seven.

Doubles by Polanco and Max Kepler drove in three runs in Minnesota’s big first inning. Starting with a throwing error by Rays shortstop Taylor Walls, six of the first seven Minnesota batters reached base against Fleming (2-3), who needed 20 pitches to record his first out. The left-hander gave up six runs on five hits and three walks in 3 2/3 innings.

ROCKIES 10, REDS 1

DENVER (AP) — Kyle Freeland tossed seven strong innings for his first win of the season and Colorado completed a series sweep of struggling Cincinnati.

Brendan Rodgers broke out of a season-long slump with two hits and four RBIs, and C.J. Cron and Randal Grichuk homered for the Rockies.

Freeland (1-3), who signed a five-year, $64-million extension on April 19, allowed a run and four hits against a Cincinnati team that is off to its worst start in franchise history. The Reds (3-19) have lost six straight and 17 of their last 18.

Brandon Drury homered and doubled for the Reds, who surpassed the 2018 team that started 4-18. Reds starter Reiver Sanmartín (0-4) got only two outs before leaving after throwing 43 pitches.

ORIOLES 9, RED SOX 5

BALTIMORE (AP) — Jordan Lyles pitched six gritty innings, Rougned Odor homered in a six-run sixth and Baltimore beat skidding Boston.

Anthony Santander had three RBIs for the Orioles, who took two of three from Boston. The Red Sox have lost nine of 12 to drop within a half-game of last-place Baltimore in the AL East.

Lyles (2-2) allowed one run and seven hits, striking out six, walking three and hitting a batter.

Red Sox starter Nick Pivetta (0-4) blanked the Orioles until the fifth, when they pounded the righty and two relievers for five hits and three runs. Boston is 1-11 in Pivetta’s last 12 starts with seven straight defeats.

—

More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

SHARE: