Sunday’s Baseball Capsules.
Chris Sale celebrated his return from the disabled list by striking out 12 over five dominant innings, and the Boston Red Sox moved 50 games over.500 by completing a sweep of the lowly Baltimore Orioles with a 4-1 victory on Sunday.
Sale (12-4) was placed on the DL on July 28 with left shoulder inflammation. Judging by his performance, the injury is no longer an issue.
The left-hander allowed just one hit, a clean third-inning single to left field by Renato Nunez, and walked none. Craig Kimbrel, the last of five Boston relievers, worked the ninth for his 35th save.
Steve Pearce homered for the Red Sox, who have won 10 of 11 to improve to 85-35.
Alex Cobb (3-15) took the loss despite allowing only two runs, one earned, over seven innings.
MARINERS 4, ASTROS 3,10 INNINGS
HOUSTON (AP) — Ryon Healy hit a tying homer with two out in the ninth inning, Mitch Haniger delivered an RBI double in the 10th and the Mariners swept a four-game series from the AL West-leading Astros.
It’s the first time in franchise history that Seattle swept a four-game series from Houston. The third-place Mariners pulled within four games of the Astros.
Healy’s solo drive off Hector Rondon made it 3-all. Pinch-hitter Dee Gordon singled against Roberto Osuna (1-1) with one out in the 10th, and the speedster easily scored on Haniger’s double that skipped down the left field line.
Zach Duke (5-4) pitched 1 1/3 innings for the win. Edwin Diaz got three outs for his 46th save.
YANKEES 7, RANGERS 2
NEW YORK (AP) — CC Sabathia threw six shutout innings, Giancarlo Stanton homered again and the Yankees won for the sixth time in seven games.
Didi Gregorius also homered and turned in a nifty defensive play for New York. Sabathia (7-4) allowed one hit in his first win since July 4.
Joey Gallo had two hits for Texas, which dropped three of four in the series. He also reached over the left-field wall to take a home run away from Austin Romine in the eighth.
Stanton hit his 30th homer, giving New York a first-inning lead for the second straight day by connecting off Martin Perez (2-5). The slugger has five homers in his last six games.
CARDINALS 8, ROYALS 2
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Yadier Molina hit a tiebreaking two-run single in the seventh inning, and St. Louis matched a season high with its fifth consecutive win.
The Cardinals moved eight games above .500, equaling their season high set on June 11, and improved to a National League-best 12-4 since July 27.
Molina’s bases-loaded single scored Harrison Bader and Patrick Wisdom, who had two hits, drove in a run and scored twice in his major league debut.
Tyson Ross (7-9) pitched six solid innings in his St. Louis debut after he was claimed him on waivers last week from San Diego. Ross stepped in for Luke Weaver, who was scratched after cutting his right index finger on the aluminum foil cover of his clubhouse meal on Saturday night.
The lowly Royals have dropped nine of 10. Jason Hammel (2-12) got the loss.
BRAVES 8, BREWERS 7
ATLANTA (AP) — Ozzie Albies led off the seventh inning with a tiebreaking homer, one of three for Atlanta, and the Braves overcame 19 hits by Milwaukee.
Ronald Acuna Jr. and Dansby Swanson each hit a two-run homer for Atlanta, which took two of three in a matchup of playoff contenders. Jonny Venters (2-1) pitched a scoreless inning for the win, and A. J. Minter worked the ninth for his 10th save.
Jesus Aguilar hit a three-run homer and drove in four runs for Milwaukee. The Brewers left 13 runners on base.
Albies gave Atlanta the lead by lining his 21st homer over the left-field wall on a slider from Dan Jennings (4-4).
DIAMONDBACKS 9, REDS 2
CINCINNATI (AP) — Paul Goldschmidt hit two of Arizona’s five homers, and the Diamondbacks avoided a sweep.
Daniel Descalso, Eduardo Escobar and David Peralta also connected for Arizona, and Zack Godley (13-6) pitched 6 2/3 innings of two-run ball. Goldschmidt finished with three hits and three RBIs.
The Diamondbacks were tied with the Dodgers for the NL West lead coming into the day.
Last-place Cincinnati had won three of four, including the first two games of the weekend series. Jose Peraza and Eugenio Suarez each had two hits, but Luis Castillo (6-10) was tagged for five runs and five hits in 5 2/3 innings.
INDIANS 9, WHITE SOX 7
CHICAGO (AP) — Carlos Carrasco struck out nine in seven innings, and the Indians held on for the win.
AL Central-leading Cleveland had a 9-1 lead heading into the bottom of the eighth, and almost blew it. Run-scoring singles by Tim Anderson and Kevan Smith trimmed the Indians’ lead to 9-5 in the ninth before manager Terry Francona replaced Dan Otero with Cody Allen.
Adam Engel greeted the closer with a two-run triple before Allen struck out Nicky Delmonico and Yolmer Sanchez for his 23rd save in 26 chances.
Carrasco (14-6) allowed one run and three hits. Melky Cabrera hit a three-run homer against one of his former teams, helping the Indians take two of three in the series.
Chicago’s Dylan Covey (4-9) allowed six runs and seven hits in just 2 2/3 innings.
TIGERS 4, TWINS 2
DETROIT (AP) — Matthew Boyd pitched six strong innings and the Tigers beat the Twins on Jack Morris Day at Comerica Park.
The game started 20 minutes late because of the ceremony to retire Morris’ No. 47 jersey. Morris and longtime teammate Alan Trammell were inducted into the Hall of Fame earlier this month.
Boyd (7-10) won for the third time in four starts, giving up one run and two hits. Shane Greene pitched the ninth for his 25th save.
Kohl Stewart (0-1) took the loss in his major league debut, allowing three runs and eight hits in 4 1/3 innings.
METS 4, MARLINS 3
MIAMI (AP) — Jose Reyes hit a two-run homer and Noah Syndergaard struck out seven in seven innings, leading the Mets to the victory.
Michael Conforto also connected for New York, which took two of three in the weekend series. Wilmer Flores knocked in a run with a sacrifice fly.
Syndergaard (8-2) allowed three runs and seven hits. He improved to 4-1 in his last five starts.
Seth Lugo worked around two hits in the ninth while recording his first career save.
