New York Mets starting pitcher Jacob deGrom works during the first inning of the team’s baseball game against the Atlanta Braves on Monday, Aug. 3, 2020, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
New York ace Jacob deGrom picked up his first victory on Monday as the visiting Mets defeated the Atlanta Braves 7-2 to end their five-game losing streak.
DeGrom, the two-time defending Cy Young winner, worked six innings and allowed two runs on five hits and one walk. He struck out a season-high 10 batters, the 42nd time in his career he’s had double-digit strikeouts. Only Nolan Ryan (46) had more through his first 173 career games than deGrom.
The Braves had their five-game winning streak snapped, but lost their ace with a significant injury. Mike Soroka had to be helped off the field in the third inning with lower right leg injury that later was diagnosed as a season-ending torn Achilles tendon.
Soroka was hurt while making a move to cover first base on a ground ball. He was unable to put any weight on his right leg and needed assistance to leave. Soroka (0-1) allowed four runs on three hits and four walks in 2 1/3 innings before his injury.
Yankees 6, Phillies 3
DJ LeMahieu, Brett Gardner and Gio Urshela all homered and Gerrit Cole tossed six strong innings to extend his regular-season winning streak to 19 decisions as host New York beat Philadelphia.
The Yankees have won seven straight and are 8-1 through nine games for only the third time in franchise history and the first time since 2003.
Cole (3-0) allowed one run — on Jay Bruce’s homer leading off the third inning — on five hits and one walk while striking out four before the game was delayed for 67 minutes by rain following the sixth inning. His 19-game winning streak is the sixth longest in baseball history.
Reds 3, Indians 2
Joey Votto hit a go-ahead, two-run homer in the sixth inning, and Cincinnati beat visiting Cleveland for its third straight victory.
Cincinnati’s Nick Castellanos homered for the fifth time, and third time in two days, and Sonny Gray (3-0) allowed two runs, one earned, while striking out eight over six innings. Gray yielded four hits and two walks.
The Indians looked to be in good shape behind starter Zach Plesac (0-1), who was strong until the sixth. After Shogo Akiyama opened the frame with a single, Votto clubbed a 3-2 pitch into the right field seats to put the Reds on top.
White Sox 6, Brewers 4
Jose Abreu had a two-run home run among his two hits and Yoan Moncada and Leury Garcia had three hits apiece as visiting Chicago defeated Milwaukee.
Chicago extended its winning streak to a season-high five games behind 12 hits and a resilient bullpen. Six White Sox pitchers combined on seven innings of three-run relief after left-hander Carlos Rodon exited early with shoulder stiffness.
Brewers center fielder Avisail Garcia had two hits and three RBIs against his former team while Christian Yelich and Ben Gamel added two hits each.
Twins 5, Pirates 4
Nelson Cruz delivered a game-winning double to deep center field with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning as Minnesota edged visiting Pittsburgh.
Minnesota had runners on second and third when Cruz blasted a 1-1 pitch from Pirates right-hander Nick Burdi (0-1). The ball landed on the warning track and bounced against the wall as Jorge Polanco easily scored from third.
Minnesota has won four straight games and seven of its past eight. Pittsburgh lost its fifth consecutive game.
Cubs 2, Royals 0
Alec Mills pitched a career-high seven innings as Chicago defeated Danny Duffy and Kansas City in an old-fashioned pitcher’s duel at Wrigley Field.
Mills picked up the win for the Cubs with seven scoreless innings. He allowed three hits, struck out four and walked three. He threw 63 of his 98 pitches for strikes. He retired 14 of the final 15 batters he faced.
Duffy was the hard-luck loser for Kansas City. He gave up one run on three hits over six innings, with six strikeouts and four walks. He became the first Royals starter this season to complete six innings. The last team to start the season with 10 straight games without a starter going at least six innings was the 1995 Atlanta Braves, who won that year’s World Series.
Rockies 7, Giants 6
Nolan Arenado and Chris Owings homered, and Colorado beat San Francisco in Denver.
Jeff Hoffman (1-0) pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings in relief for the win, and Jairo Diaz survived a two-run ninth for his second save of the season.
Alex Dickerson homered among his two hits, Mike Yastrzemski and Chadwick Tromp also went deep, and Wilmer Flores had two hits for the Giants.
Padres 5, Dodgers 4
Jake Cronenworth and Austin Hedges hit run-scoring singles against Los Angeles’ bullpen in the bottom of the sixth inning to snap a 3-3 tie and lead San Diego to a win in the opener of a three-game series at Petco Park.
The game was billed as a pitching duel between the Dodgers’ Walker Buehler and the Padres’ Chris Paddack. Buehler allowed three solo homers by Trent Grisham, Myers and Fernando Tatis Jr. — the only hits given up by the right-hander in five innings.
Paddack (2-0) picked up the win, allowing three runs on five hits and no walks with five strikeouts in six innings.
Athletics 11, Mariners 1
Ramon Laureano’s two-run single with the bases loaded in the fifth inning sparked an eight-run outburst as Oakland defeated host Seattle.
Khris Davis hit his first home run of the season for the A’s. Oakland right-hander Frankie Montas (1-1) allowed just one run on four hits in seven innings with four walks and nine strikeouts.
Mariners left-hander Justus Sheffield (0-2), making his ninth career start, didn’t allow a run through the first four innings in search of his first major league victory. However, Sheffield couldn’t make it through the fifth. The A’s scored more runs in the finale of the four-game series than they had in the first three games combined.