BALTIMORE — CJ Abrams went deep on the first two pitches he saw from Zach Eflin, and Washington hit five homers in a victory over free-falling Baltimore for a three-game sweep.
Canadian right-hander Michael Soroka earned his first win since July 21, 2023, by throwing 5.2 innings of three-run ball. He struck out eight and walked none in the victory.
Luis Garcia Jr. and Dylan Crews also connected against Eflin (3-2) during a six-run second inning that helped Washington complete its first sweep of the season.
Josh Bell’s solo shot off Brian Baker completed Washington’s first five-homer game since Sept. 29, 2023. Abrams also doubled.
Cedric Mullins homered, doubled and contributed his team-leading 26th and 27th RBIs for Baltimore, which has lost six straight and 12 of 14, the final two of those following the firing of manager Brandon Hyde.
Gunnar Henderson also homered off Soroka (1-2) in the sixth, and Jackson Holliday connected off Brad Lord in the seventh.
The 31-year-old Eflin allowed 10 hits and a career worst-tying eight earned runs over 5 1/3 innings, last matched in 2017.
ARLINGTON, Texas — Isaac Paredes hit a go-ahead, three-run homer off reliever Robert Garcia in the eighth inning after Texas rookie Jack Leiter lost a no-hit bid in the seventh, and the Houston Astros rallied for a 4-3 victory over the Rangers on Sunday.
Leiter gave up Yainer Diaz’s solo homer with two outs in the seventh as Houston trimmed its deficit to 3-1. The 25-year-old right-hander was replaced after consecutive soft singles from Jake Meyers and Cam Smith to start the eighth.
Texas reliever Chris Martin came on for Leiter but threw just one pitch before leaving with an apparent injury.
Lefty Robert Garcia (1-2) got two outs before Paredes’ drive — his seventh homer — barely cleared the wall and the glove of a leaping Wyatt Langford near the foul line in left.
Josh Hader struck out two in a perfect ninth for his 11th save as the Texas rivals split a four-game series.
Houston left-hander Framber Valdez (3-4) opened with three perfect innings in his first meeting with the Rangers since losing a no-hitter with two outs in the ninth on the same mound last August.
The Rangers started the fourth with consecutive singles from Sam Haggerty, Langford and Josh Jung, who drove home Haggerty in a three-run inning for Texas.
PHILADELPHIA — Mick Abel outdueled Paul Skenes to win his major league debut, striking out nine over six innings to lead Philadelphia over Pittsburgh for a three-game sweep and the Phillies’ 15th win in 20 games.
Brandon Marsh grounded into a run-scoring forceout in the fifth against Skenes (3-5), who pitched a three-hitter with nine strikeouts and one walk in his first complete game in 33 big league starts.
Skenes is 0-3 in his last four starts despite a 2.52 ERA in that span, and his 2.44 ERA this season is fifth among NL pitchers. The top pick in the 2023 amateur draft, Skenes had not pitched a complete game since June 2, 2023, for Louisiana State against Tulane in an NCAA tournament regional game.
Pittsburgh dropped to 3-13 in May and 15-32 this season. The Pirates are 3-6 since manager Derek Shelton was fired and replaced by bench coach Don Kelly.
Abel (1-0), a 23-year-old right-hander selected 15th overall by the Phillies in the 2020 draft, allowed five hits and walked none. The nine strikeouts tied a Phillies high for a debut, set by Curt Simmons against the New York Giants on Sept. 28, 1947.
BOSTON — Marcell Ozuna homered for the second straight day, former Boston outfielder Alex Verdugo had three hits and Atlanta beat the Red Sox to win the three-game series.
Austin Riley also had three hits for the Braves (24-23), who moved a game above .500 for the second time after opening 0-7. Every starter except leadoff hitter Verdugo had at least one RBI.
Rafael Devers hit his sixth career grand slam for Boston, which has lost 11 of 17.
Spencer Schwellenbach (3-3) held the Red Sox scoreless for six of his seven innings, giving up four runs and six hits.
Ozuna’s two-run homer cleared the Green Monster in a three-run eighth.
A day after a walk-off homer, Devers hit Shwellenbach’s 1-0 fastball into the center-field bleachers for a 4-3 lead.
Brayan Bello (2-1) allowed seven runs, one shy of his career high, and matched career highs of 10 hits and five walks while pitching 4 1/3 innings.
TORONTO — Spencer Torkelson drove in the tiebreaking run with a two-out single in the seventh inning and Detroit beat Toronto, improving its MLB-best record to 31-16.
Jackson Jobe (4-0) allowed two runs and six hits in six innings, becoming the first pitcher in Tigers history to have the team win the first eight starts of his career. Detroit won the first seven starts right-hander Howie Koplitz made in 1961 and 1962.
Torkelson had two hits and three RBIs as Detroit won for the 13th time in 17 games. Will Vest finished for his fifth save in seven chances.
Blue Jays left-hander Mason Fluharty (3-1) allowed two runners to reach in the seventh inning after coming on in relief of José Berríos.
Torkelson hit a two-run double off Berríos in the first but Toronto tied it in the fourth on RBI singles by Alejandro Kirk and Ernie Clement.
Akil Baddoo made back-to-back great plays to end the first after Toronto opened with consecutive singles. First, Baddoo scaled the left field wall to catch Daulton Varsho’s drive, then he made a sliding catch on Kirk’s liner and threw to second to double off Bo Bichette.
Anthony Santander was Toronto’s designated hitter after not starting the previous two games. Blue Jays manager John Schneider dropped the struggling Santander from third in the order to fifth. Santander went 0 for 4 with three strikeouts.
MIAMI — Otto Lopez hit a three-run homer in his first game off the injured list and Liam Hicks added a two-run shot to back a strong start by Cal Quantrill, powering Miami to a victory over Tampa Bay.
Quantrill (3-4) allowed one run and two hits in five innings with six strikeouts for Miami, which improved to 12-13 at home with its first series victory since winning two of three against Cincinnati from April 21-23.
Lopez, who was on the 10-day IL with a sprained ankle since May 3, homered after Matt Mervis led off with a double and Eric Wagaman singled to put runners on the corners in the third inning off Rays starter Shane Baz (3-3).
Hicks’ two-run shot off Baz came in the sixth.
Ronny Henriquez, Jesus Tinoco, Calvin Faucher and Anthony Bender all pitched a scoreless inning to complete the victory for Miami.
Taylor Wells led off the third with a walk, stole second and scored on a fielder’s choice grounder by Yandy Díaz that Lopez mishandled at second base to give Tampa Bay a 1-0 lead.
Baz allowed five runs and nine hits in six innings. He has given up 21 runs and 30 hits in four starts in May covering 18 2/3 innings.
MILWAUKEE — Jackson Chourio robbed Royce Lewis of a potential tying homer in the eighth inning, and Milwaukee ended Minnesota’s 13-game winning streak with a victory.
Isaac Collins and Sal Frelick each drove in two runs to help the Brewers end the second-longest win streak in Twins history. The Twins won 15 straight in 1991, a season that ended with a World Series title.
Minnesota trailed 4-2 when Lewis, who already had hit his first homer of the season in the fourth inning, sent a long drive to left-center against Nick Mears with a runner on second. Chourio timed his jump perfectly and reached his gloved hand over the wall to make the catch.
Rhys Hoskins had a sacrifice fly in the bottom half, and Trevor Megill worked the ninth for his sixth save.
Frelick singled home Christian Yelich in the second. That snapped Minnesota’s string of 34 straight shutout innings, a Twins record.
Milwaukee extended the lead to 4-0 in the third. Collins hit a bases-loaded, two-out single and Frelick added an RBI single.
Twins starter Zebby Matthews (0-1) came up from the minors and gave up four runs and five hits in three innings.
Milwaukee’s Freddy Peralta (5-3) allowed one run over five innings.
CINCINNATI — Will Benson had hit first two-homer game, going deep for the fourth straight day to lead Cincinnati to a victory and their first three-game sweep of Cleveland since 2012.
Benson followed Tyler Stephenson’s fourth-inning single with a 399-foot drive to right off L.L. Ortiz (2-5) then added a sixth-inning shot off Hunter Gaddis for his fifth home run this season. The Reds won their fourth straight and got back to .500 at 24-24.
Cleveland (25-21) has lost four in a row and the first three of a 10-game trip.
Andrew Abbott (3-0) allowed four hits and three walks in five shutout innings for his first win in five starts — despite giving up one earned run over 20 innings.
Emilio Pagán got a save for the third day in a row and 12th time in 14 chances. He gave up a leadoff double to Bo Naylor and a one-out infield hit to José Ramírez, then struck out Carlos Santana on a spitter on the 10th pitch of the at-bat and Will Brennan on three pitches, the last a splitter.
Carlos Santana hit a two-out RBI single in the seventh against Luis Mey.
Ortiz allowed six hits in five innings with seven strikeouts.
Ramírez went 2 for 5 and extending his hitting streak to 12 games.
CHICAGO — Pete Crow-Armstrong tripled, doubled and scored two runs, and the Chicago Cubs completed a three-game sweep with a victory over the crosstown White Sox at Wrigley Field.
Nico Hoerner doubled twice and had an RBI as the Cubs extended their franchise-record winning streak against the South Siders to eight games. Seiya Suzuki drove in two runs, and Michael Busch and Vidal Brujan each had two hits and an RBI.
The NL Central-leading Cubs improved to 75-74 in the series and handed a fourth straight defeat to the White Sox, who are last in the AL Central.
Miguel Vargas his his third homer of the series for the White Sox, taking Colin Rea deep to left-center in the fourth inning. Drew Pomeranz (1-0) relieved Ray with one out in the sixth and finished the frame.
Jonathan Cannon (2-5) allowed four runs, three earned, in five-plus innings. Cannon retired 13 straight before Brujan singled in the sixth, when the Cubs scored three times to take a 4-1 lead.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Drew Waters led off the seventh inning with a pinch-hit triple, Maikel Garcia drove him in with a single and Kansas City snapped a four-game skid and avoided a series sweep with a victory over St. Louis.
With the game tied at 1, Waters batted in place of Dairon Blanco and tripled to right field on the first pitch from reliever Chris Roycroft (1-3). Garcia hit Roycroft’s second pitch to right to score Waters with the go-ahead run.
Lucas Erceg (1-0) got five outs for the win and Carlos Estévez pitched the ninth and worked around a double by Brendan Donovan for his 13th save in 15 opportunities.
Kansas City’s Michael Wacha started against his former team and allowed one run and eight hits in five innings with six strikeouts and no walks. The Royals have scored two runs or less with Wacha on the mound in nine of his 10 starts.
Alec Burleson put the Cardinals up 1-0 in the fourth with his fourth homer of the season.
The Royals then tied it against Matthew Liberatore when Hunter Renfroe led off the bottom half of the fourth with a double and scored on a two-out double by Blanco in his first game of the season.
Liberatore allowed one run and six hits in six innings. He has gone at least six innings in seven of nine starts.
Donovan went 4 for 5 with his 15th double for St. Louis, which had won three straight and 12 of 13.
Salvador Perez had two hits for the Royals after entering in a 1-for-21 slump.
SAN FRANCISCO — Heliot Ramos hit a leadoff homer in the first inning and had a go-ahead single in the eighth, lifting the San Francisco Giants to a 3-2 victory over the Athletics on Sunday that completed a series sweep.
The three-game set was the teams’ first meeting in the Northern California rivalry since the Athletics relocated from Oakland to Sacramento.
With the Giants trailing 2-1 in the eighth, LaMonte Wade Jr. hit a leadoff triple and Patrick Bailey drove him in with a single to tie it. Ramos’ one-out single to left drove in Bailey from second to cap the rally against A’s reliever Tyler Ferguson (0-2).
Randy Rodriguez (3-0) earned the win after throwing a scoreless eighth and Ryan Walker got three outs for his eighth save.
After Ramos gave the Giants a 1-0 lead with a leadoff homer against A’s starter Jeffrey Springs, Lawrence Butler’s two-out single with the bases loaded in the fourth off San Francisco starter Justin Verlander gave the A’s a 2-1 lead.
Springs allowed two hits and walked none while striking out five in 6 2/3 innings, retiring 20 straight batters after Ramos’ homer. Springs has given up just four runs over his last four starts.
Verlander allowed two runs in four innings and is still searching for his first win of the season through 10 starts — the longest such drought to start a season in his 20-year MLB career.
DIAMONDBACKS 1, ROCKIES 0
PHOENIX — Merrill Kelly struck out a season-high 11 while giving up one hit over seven innings, Ketel Marte homered and Arizona edged Colorado.
The D-backs took two of three games over the weekend, denying the Rockies their first series win this season. Colorado fell to 8-38, the worst start for a big league team through 46 games since 1901.
Colorado threatened in the ninth when Kyle Farmer hit a one-out single and Hunter Goodman doubled. Ryan McMahon was intentionally walked, Shelby Miller coaxed a popup from Brenton Doyle and Michael Toglia hit a game-ending lineout to shortstop Geraldo Perdomo.
The hard-fought pitcher’s duel came one night after the Rockies won a 14-12 slugfest.
Kelly (5-2) didn’t allow a hit until the sixth, when Jordan Beck’s hard grounder down the third-base line got past Eugenio Suárez for a double. The 36-year-old has given up one run or none in five of his past seven starts.
Marte homered to right in the first, his sixth long ball of the season. He reached base three times and had two hits.
Rockies rookie right-hander Chase Dollander (2-5) gave up three hits and two walks through 4 2/3 innings, striking out six.
SAN DIEGO — Randy Arozarena homered off Michael King in the three-run fourth inning and AL West-leading Seattle beat San Diego Padres to sweep the opening series of the inaugural Vedder Cup.
The Mariners homered six times and outscored the Padres 15-3 in the three-game series. If needed, run differential will be the first tiebreaker in the Vedder Cup, named after Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder, who has ties to both cities. The two teams, who share a spring training complex, formalized the competition in March. The winner gets a trophy featuring a guitar provided by Vedder, who was born in a Chicago suburb and is a Cubs fan. The teams play again Aug. 25-27 in Seattle.
Bryan Woo (5-1) settled down after giving up a leadoff homer on an 0-2 count to Fernando Tatis Jr., his 12th. Only one Padres player reached scoring position against Woo, who allowed one run and five hits in seven innings. He struck out five, walked none and retired his final 11 batters and 16 of his last 17.
The Padres were 0 for 21 with runners in scoring position in the series.
King (4-2) held the Padres hitless until Arozarena lined a 2-2 pitch to left with two outs in the fourth for his sixth homer. The Mariners followed with four more consecutive hits, including a ground-rule RBI double by Leody Taveras and a single by Miles Mastrobuoni that ticked off King’s glove.
Arozarena reached on a two-base fielding error by Tatis in right field leading off the sixth and scored on Mitch Garver’s one-out single
King allowed four runs, three earned, and six hits in 5 1/3 innings. He struck out eight and walked one.
LOS ANGELES — Travis d’Arnaud broke an eighth-inning tie with his first home run of the season, and the Los Angeles Angels beat the Dodgers for their first three-game Freeway Series sweep since 2010.
With the score 4-4, d’Arnaud homered off left-hander Anthony Banda (3-1) for his second RBI of the game. The Angels added a run in the ninth on singles by Zach Neto and Nolan Schanuel followed by Yoán Moncada’s double-play grounder.
Shaun Anderson (1-0) got his first Angels win, giving up a tying three-run homer in the seventh to Will Smith and then retiring the side in order in the eighth and ninth. He ended the game by getting Shohei Ohtani to swing over a changeup for strike three.
Angels left-hander Yusei Kikuchi gave up one run and three hits and struck out seven in 5 2/3 innings before hurting his right ankle in a collision at first base with Tommy Edman.
NEW YORK — Cody Bellinger hit a grand slam that capped a six-run eighth inning and gave him six RBIs on Sunday night, sending the New York Yankees to an 8-2 victory over the New York Mets.
A throwing error by Mets first baseman Pete Alonso allowed Jasson Domínguez to score the tiebreaking run in the eighth. Paul Goldschmidt added an RBI single off Ryne Stanek (1-4) and Bellinger connected against left-hander Génesis Cabrera for his ninth career slam.
In a matchup of first-place teams, Max Fried pitched six effective innings as the Yankees took two of three at home in the first Subway Series this season. The crosstown rivals meet again July 4-6 at Citi Field in Queens.
Juan Soto was booed all weekend and went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts Sunday to the vocal delight of Yankees fans. He finished 1 for 10 with four walks during his first series back in the Bronx since leaving the Yankees for a record $765 million, 15-year contract with the Mets.
An error by third baseman Mark Vientos helped the Yankees establish a 2-0 lead in the first inning on Bellinger’s two-run double that deflected off the mitt of a diving Alonso.
Jeff McNeil pulled the Mets even. He laced a two-out RBI single in the second, then drew a leadoff walk in the fifth and scored without a ball leaving the infield. McNeil alertly dashed home from third when Fried’s wild pitch to Soto kicked far enough away from catcher Austin Wells.
Fried and Mets starter David Peterson both permitted three hits in six innings. They exited with the score tied 2-all.
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