Cleveland Guardians third baseman Jose Ramirez attempts to turn a double play after forcing out Seattle Mariners’ Ty France at second base during the fifth inning of a baseball game, Sunday in Seattle.
SEATTLE (AP) — Robbie Ray tossed seven dominant innings, Dylan Moore and Ty France homered and the Seattle Mariners beat the Cleveland Guardians 4-0 on Sunday.
Seattle took three of four from Cleveland in a potential postseason preview. All four games were tight and well-pitched, and the Mariners squeezed out just enough offense to earn a series victory.
The teams will run it back with a three-game series in Cleveland next weekend and perhaps again in October.
The Guardians’ lead in the AL Central was trimmed to two games over Minnesota, which completed a sweep at home against San Francisco.
Ray, last year’s AL Cy Young Award winner with Toronto, continued his August surge by winning his third straight start.
Ray (11-8) scattered three hits, struck out seven and walked none. For the month, he allowed six earned runs and struck out 41 over 33 innings. He threw at least six innings in all five starts and permitted two earned runs or less in each one.
The left-hander escaped the one jam he faced. Andrés Giménez doubled and Austin Hedges followed with a bloop single to open the sixth. With runners at the corners and no outs, Ray got a fly ball from Myles Straw that wasn’t deep enough for Giménez to score, an infield popup from Steven Kwan and then struck out Amed Rosario for the third time to end the threat.
Cleveland was blanked for the eighth time this season, while Seattle posted its seventh shutout.
Moore’s three-run homer came with two outs in the sixth off starter Aaron Civale. France hit a solo shot on the second pitch of the seventh.
Seattle also got a break just before Moore’s long ball. Moore fouled a 2-2 pitch wide of first base where Owen Miller made a leaping attempt into the protective netting to make the catch. But he bobbled the ball against the net and it was ruled out of play.
On the next pitch, Civale (2-6) left a curveball in the middle of the plate and Moore’s towering drive carried into the left field stands for his first homer since July 7.
France snapped an 0-for-21 skid with a single in the fifth and followed up with his 15th homer and first since Aug. 6 an inning later.
Civale matched Ray into the sixth but has gone nine starts since his last victory back in late May. Civale allowed four hits and struck out five.
ASTROS 3, ORIOLES 1
HOUSTON (AP) — Astros ace Justin Verlander pitched three scoreless innings before departing because of right calf discomfort.
Alex Bregman homered for AL West-leading Houston, and Yuli Gurriel had a two-run single. The Astros dropped the first two games of the weekend set after winning four in a row.
It was the shortest outing of the season for Verlander, one of the front-runners for the AL Cy Young Award. Manager Dusty Baker said Verlander was going in for imaging on Monday.
Houston’s bullpen then allowed one run and four hits over six innings. Ryne Stanek (2-1) tossed a perfect seventh for the win, and Rafael Montero worked a rocky ninth for his ninth save.
Orioles starter Austin Voth (4-2) allowed one run and one hit in six-plus innings.
ROYALS 15, PADRES 7
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Michael A. Taylor homered and drove in four runs, sending the Royals to the victory.
Salvador Perez also went deep for Kansas City, and Hunter Dozier had four of the Royals’ 18 hits. Nick Pratto drove in three runs, including a two-run double off Josh Hader during a three-run eighth.
Kansas City had dropped the first two games of the series and 11 of 15 overall. Jonathan Heasley (2-7) got his first win since June 10.
Manny Machado homered twice and drove in four runs for San Diego, which had won four of six. Juan Soto also connected for his third homer with the Padres.
San Diego’s Sean Manaea (7-7) was tagged for six runs and 10 hits in four innings.
ROCKIES 1, METS 0
NEW YORK (AP) — Germán Márquez outpitched Max Scherzer, allowing one hit over seven innings and denying the New York Mets’ ace his 200th career win.
Brian Serven’s sacrifice fly off Scherzer in the seventh gave the Rockies their second 1-0 win over the Mets. The other one came in August 2012.
Colorado avoided a four-game sweep by the NL East leaders.
Márquez (7-10) struck out five and walked two, improving to 2-1 with a 1.42 ERA in three road starts against the Mets.
Scherzer (9-4) gave up four hits and racked up 11 strikeouts over seven innings in his 110th double-digit strikeout game.
Daniel Bard worked the ninth for his 27th save, finishing a three-hitter.
RAYS 12, RED SOX 4
BOSTON (AP) — Isaac Paredes homered over the Green Monster in each of his first two at-bats, and Tampa Bay avoided a three-game sweep.
Randy Arozarena hit three doubles off the left-field wall at Fenway Park and drove in two runs. David Peralta had three hits for the Rays, who came to town on a six-game winning streak before losing two straight.
J.D. Martinez, Tommy Pham and Franchy Cordero homered for the Red Sox. Nick Pivetta (9-10) allowed five runs in five innings.
Corey Kluber (9-7) went six innings for the victory, allowing three runs and eight hits.
PIRATES 5, PHILLIES 0
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Oneil Cruz, Tucupita Marcano and Bryan Reynolds all tripled and scored, and Pittsburgh’s Roansy Contreras struck out seven over five innings.
The Pirates stopped a seven-game slide and snapped the Phillies’ six-game winning streak.
The Pirates became the second team this season to hit three triples in a game. It was the first time they had accomplished that feat since May 25, 2018.
Philadelphia right-hander Noah Syndergaard (8-9) was charged with five runs and nine hits in 5 2/3 innings.
Contreras (4-4) allowed three hits and walked two in his first win since July 7.
DODGERS 8, MARLINS 1
MIAMI (AP) — Mookie Betts homered for the third straight game, powering the Dodgers to the victory.
Justin Turner and Max Muncy had three hits apiece for the NL West-leading Dodgers, who are 28-8 since the All-Star break. Julio Urías (14-7) pitched six innings of one-run ball.
Betts hit a leadoff drive in the first for his 31st homer.
Brian Anderson hit his sixth homer for Miami. Edward Cabrera (4-2) allowed six runs in 5 2/3 innings.
TWINS 8, GIANTS 3
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Jake Cave homered and drove in four runs, and the Twins beat the Giants to finish a three-game sweep.
Cave gave the Twins a 3-2 lead with his second homer of the season in the fourth inning. He added a two-run double in the fifth.
The Twins have won three straight following a six-game losing streak that knocked them out of first place in the AL Central.
Devin Smeltzer (5-2) earned his first win since June 23.
Brandon Crawford singled three times and drove in a run for the Giants, who have dropped eight of 10. Jakob Junis (4-4) got the loss.
DIAMONDBACKS 3, WHITE SOX 2
CHICAGO (AP) — Jake McCarthy hit a tiebreaking double in the ninth inning, and the Diamondbacks completed a three-game sweep of the struggling White Sox.
Stone Garrett launched his first major league home run and Sergio Alcántara also went deep for Arizona, which earned its first interleague sweep since 2019. Noé Ramirez (5-4) pitched a scoreless eighth and Ian Kennedy got three outs for his ninth save.
Kendall Graveman (3-3) took the loss in relief of Dylan Cease, who allowed Arizona’s two solo homers while striking out eight in a career-high eight innings.
The White Sox, who allowed 17 runs in the first two games of the series, have lost nine of 11.
BREWERS 9, CUBS 7
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Christian Yelich and Kolten Wong each homered for the second straight game, leading Milwaukee to the victory.
Garrett Mitchell, one of the Brewers’ top prospects, drove in two runs with his first hit as a major leaguer. Eric Lauer (10-5) worked five innings for the win, and Devin Williams got three outs for his ninth save.
Nico Hoerner and Franmil Reyes homered for Chicago. Hoerner finished with three hits and three RBIs.
Sean Newcomb (2-1) was charged with the loss.
