Brice Turang drove in the go-ahead run in the eighth inning and Jake Bauers homered for the second straight game to lead the Milwaukee Brewers to a 3-1 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday night in Anaheim, Calif.
Jackson Chourio doubled and scored a run and William Contreras also doubled for Milwaukee, which moved atop the major league standings at 69-41, a half-game ahead of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Chad Patrick (6-4) struck out five and gave up one hit over two shutout innings to pick up the win in relief. Trevor Megill pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to pick up his 18th save.
Mike Trout went 2-for-3 with a walk and a run scored and Jorge Soler doubled and drove in a run for Los Angeles, which lost its fifth straight game. Samy Natera Jr. (1-1) picked up the loss, allowing one run on two hits in two innings with four strikeouts. Natera was the third of four pitchers used by the Angels, who elected to go with a bullpen game after scheduled starter Jose Soriano, the subject of trade rumors, was scratched a few hours before the game.
Rays 1, White Sox 0
Starter Drew Rasmussen struck out 10 over six shutout innings, Nick Fortes singled in the only run and Tampa Bay opened August by blanking Chicago in St. Petersburg, Fla.
In reaching double figures in victories for the third time in his career, Rasmussen (10-5) allowed just four singles and walked one. The right-hander and four relievers combined for 16 strikeouts. Bryan Baker notched his 31st save in 34 chances with a perfect ninth.
Yandy Diaz went 2-for-4 as the Rays managed just five singles in squaring the three-game series. Jonny DeLuca had a hit, scored and stole a base. For the White Sox, Jordan Hicks pitched as the opener and fired a perfect inning before giving way to Noah Schultz (3-8), who was sharp but allowed one run on three hits in five innings.
Red Sox 3, Dodgers 2
Ceddanne Rafaela hit two home runs, Andruw Monasterio doubled and scored the go-ahead run in the eighth inning and visiting Boston slipped past Los Angeles.
Payton Tolle gave up two runs on nine hits over six innings with seven strikeouts and Aroldis Chapman pitched the ninth for his 27th save for the Red Sox, who were without Wilson Contreras after he was beaned Friday. Boston stayed hot after it went 21-4 in July to set a franchise record for a full month with a .840 winning percentage.
Teoscar Hernandez hit a home run among his three hits for the Dodgers, who lost for the fourth time in their past six games. Los Angeles right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto (11-7) continued a run of solid pitching since the All-Star break by allowing three runs on four hits over eight innings but still took the loss.
Astros 5, Rangers 4
Josh Hader moved into fifth place in franchise history with his 77th save, and Houston extended its lead in the American League West over visiting Texas.
Hader worked a perfect ninth inning for his 15th save in 15 chances. The Astros, who got a two-run single from Taylor Trammell, preserved their one-run lead over the final three innings despite stranding 11 baserunners. They extended their division lead over the Rangers to 1 1/2 games with their 10th victory in 11 games, including five in a row.
Wyatt Langford and Eliaz hit solo shots, but Texas right-hander Jacob deGrom (7-7) allowed five runs on seven hits and a season-high five walks over 3 1/3 innings.
Blue Jays 5, Cardinals 1
Kevin Gausman allowed one run in 5 2/3 innings as host Toronto defeated St. Louis to clinch the three-game series.
Gausman (5-10), a pending free agent who may be dealt by the trade deadline on Monday, scattered nine hits, walked one and struck out four. George Springer had two hits and two RBIs for the Blue Jays, who have won three in a row. Alejandro Kirk added a two-run single.
Alec Burleson, Jordan Walker and Blaze Jordan each had two hits for the Cardinals, who lost their third straight despite outhitting Toronto 11-9. St. Louis was 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position and stranded 11.
Marlins 6, Mets 2
Tyler Phillips tossed five solid innings and earned the win for visiting Miami, which continued surging with a victory over New York in the third game of a four-game series.
Liam Hicks delivered the first of his two RBI singles in the opening inning to give the Marlins a lead they’d never relinquish on their way to winning for the fifth time in six games. Javier Sanoja and Griffin Conine each homered for Miami, which saw Phillips (3-5) allow two runs on six hits while Lake Bachar recorded his fifth career save.
Tyrone Taylor hit a two-run home run in the second for the Mets, who fell to 7-8 since the All-Star break. Zac Thornton (2-2) surrendered four runs (three earned) on six hits and three walks while striking out two over 4 2/3 innings.
Mariners 4, Twins 3
Randy Arozarena doubled, homered and scored three times, including the winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning, as Seattle defeated visiting Minnesota.
Closer Andres Munoz (4-4) pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings as the Mariners snapped a three-game losing streak and won for just the third time in their past 11. Logan Gilbert went seven innings and gave up three runs on five hits as the right-hander walked one and fanned six.
Luke Keaschall and Trevor Larnach went deep for the Twins, who overcame an early 3-0 deficit. Minnesota lost for just the third time in its past 10 games. Twins starter Connor Prielipp, a rookie left-hander, overcame his early struggles to last 5 1/3 innings. He allowed three runs on four hits, with four walks and five strikeouts.
Pirates 4, Reds 1
Starter Braxton Ashcraft threw five solid innings and Jake Mangum had two hits and a run to lift visiting Pittsburgh to a victory over Cincinnati.
Ashcraft (11-4) allowed one run on two hits with one walk and five strikeouts before a 106-minute weather delay preceded the bottom of the sixth. Bryan Reynolds, Esmerlyn Valdez, Nick Gonzales and Henry Davis finished with an RBI apiece for the Pirates, who snapped a four-game losing streak.
Pittsburgh took a 3-0 lead in the third despite collecting only one hit off Reds starter Andrew Abbott (5-7), who allowed three runs on three hits while matching a season high with five walks over five innings.
Phillies 5, Orioles 0
Cristopher Sanchez struck out 11 in six innings as visiting Philadelphia beat Baltimore to even the three-game series at one game apiece.
Bryce Harper, Brandon Marsh and Trea Turner each had two of Philadelphia’s 10 hits and Justin Crawford provided a two-run single as the Phillies won for only the second time in a 10-game stretch. Sanchez (14-4), who threw 99 pitches, worked around five walks and has the highest win total in the major leagues this year.
Orioles starter Shane Baz (4-10) turned in a solid outing as well, lasting 6 1/3 innings and giving up one run on six hits and one walk. The right-hander became the sixth 10-game loser in the big leagues this season.
Braves 8, Nationals 3
Veteran left-hander Martin Perez received the last-minute starting assignment and responded by throwing 6 2/3 no-hit innings and leading host Atlanta past Washington for its fourth consecutive victory.
Perez learned he would start just before gametime when Reynaldo Lopez complained of left knee soreness during his pregame routine. Perez (7-6) did not allow a hit until Brady House lined a 2-0 sinker into right field for a clean single. Perez walked two and struck out six in seven scoreless innings.
Nationals right-hander Miles Mikolas (3-8) worked six innings and allowed four runs on nine hits — three of them solo home runs by Ronald Acuna Jr., Matt Olson and Dominic Smith.
Cubs 5, Yankees 2
Nico Hoerner slugged the tying homer and Pete Crow-Armstrong hit a go-ahead triple to help host Chicago post a victory over New York.
Seiya Suzuki and Michael Busch added RBI singles as the Cubs won for the sixth time in their past nine games. Spencer Jones homered and Jose Caballero had an RBI single for the Yankees, who lost for the third time in the past four games. Ali Sanchez had three hits and Jones had two and scored both New York runs.
Yankees starter Max Fried gave up one run and two hits over 5 1/3 innings. The left-hander struck out seven and walked one. David Peterson struck out eight over 6 1/3 innings for Chicago. The left-hander allowed two runs (one earned) and five hits and walked none.
Diamondbacks 12, Guardians 8
Geraldo Perdomo hit a go-ahead solo homer and Corbin Carroll belted a three-run shot in a seven-run seventh inning, powering Arizona past host Cleveland for its fourth straight victory.
Perdomo smacked the first pitch thrown by reliever Hunter Gaddis (1-3) into the right field stands and Carroll went deep against Franco Aleman. James McCann added a two-run double and Ildemaro Vargas had an RBI single as the Diamondbacks seized a 9-2 advantage.
Arizona extended its lead to 10-2 on a solo homer by Nolan Arenado in the eighth. Gerardo Carrillo (2-0) tossed two scoreless innings for the victory. Perdomo finished with a career-high-tying four hits along with three RBIs. Rhys Hoskins and Chase DeLauter homered for the Guardians.
Rockies 12, Royals 6
Hunter Goodman homered twice and drove in five runs, Willi Castro also went deep and Colorado rallied from an early 4-0 deficit to beat Kansas City in Denver.
TJ Rumfield finished with three hits and three RBIs, Kyle Karros had two hits and two RBIs and Jake McCarthy also had two hits for the Rockies, who won their 44th game of the season, eclipsing last year’s victory total with 51 games remaining. Starter Ryan Feltner (4-5) allowed four runs on eight hits over six innings.
Jac Caglianone, Salvador Perez and John Rave all went deep, and Tyler Tolbert, Nick Loftin and Rave had two hits each for the Royals. Kansas City right-hander Luinder Avila faltered in the third when Colorado sent 11 batters to the plate and scored six runs. Avila (5-4) was charged with six runs on four hits in 2 2/3 innings.
Tigers 8, Athletics 6
Kevin McGonigle, Gleyber Torres and Max Clark each homered and drove in two runs apiece as Detroit notched a victory over the Athletics at West Sacramento, Calif.
McGonigle had three hits on a night in which the Tigers reportedly dealt two-time Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal to the Los Angeles Dodgers for three prospects ahead of Monday’s trade deadline. Colt Keith and Spencer Torkelson each had two hits and one RBI, and Clark, Torres and Eduardo Valencia also had two hits apiece.
Framber Valdez (6-7) allowed two runs and nine hits over seven innings for Detroit. Henry Bolte had three hits, including a three-run homer, for the Athletics, who have dropped seven of eight and 28 of 35. Jack Perkins (2-7) was roughed up for six runs and nine hits over 5 1/3 innings. He struck out a career-high nine and walked one.
Padres 6, Giants 5
Jake Cronenworth’s two-out RBI single in the bottom of the ninth inning lifted San Diego past visiting San Francisco.
Xander Bogaerts started the winning rally by lining a double off Dylan Smith (0-3). After Freddy Fermin sacrificed Bogaerts to third, pinch hitter Gavin Sheets grounded out to third. Fernando Tatis Jr. was intentionally walked, then Cronenworth got behind Smith 0-2 and fouled off four pitches before lining a fastball into center field for his sixth career walk-off hit. It was the Padres’ eighth walk-off win of the season.
Mason Miller (4-1) pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings, although he blew his first save in 29 chances this season. The Giants’ Osleivis Basabe rifled a two-run double to the left field wall in the eighth to erase a 5-3 deficit. Basabe also hit a two-run homer in the third and finished 2-for-4 with four RBIs and one run scored.
