Friday baseball recap for May 24, 2019 – Nationals, Tigers both . . . win, so do Rangers, Rockies, A’s, D’Backs, Braves, Astros, etc.
RANGERS 4, ANGELS 3
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Hunter Pence had a two-run single in the seventh inning, Shin Soo-Choo homered and Drew Smyly got his first win in almost three years as the Texas Rangers rallied for a 4-3 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Friday night.
Smyly (1-3) went six innings to get his first win since Sept. 13, 2016 — 32 months — when he was with Tampa Bay. The left-hander, who allowed three runs on five hits, missed the last two seasons due to Tommy John elbow surgery.
The Angels committed two errors in the seventh that led to the go-ahead run. Choo led off the inning by reaching on an error by shortstop Zack Cozart and advanced to second when Logan Forsythe was walked. After the runners advanced on a ground ball, they scored on Pence's line-drive single to center off Cam Bedrosian (1-3) that Mike Trout misplayed, allowing Pence to advance to second. It was Trout's first error since 2017.
Choo also had two hits for the Rangers, who have won eight of nine to move two games over .500 for the first time since April 23. Choo led off the game with a home run to center.
Jonathan Lucroy and Brian Goodwin homered for the Angels, who have dropped their last five and are six games under .500. Griffin Canning allowed one run and three hits in six innings. The right-hander has allowed only one run and six hits over 11 innings in his last two starts.
After Choo put the fifth pitch of the game over the wall in center field for his eighth homer of the season, Los Angeles countered with three runs in the second.
Lucroy led off the inning with a solo shot to center for his seventh to tie it at 1. Tommy La Stella singled and scored three batters later when Goodwin sent Smyly's fastball down the right-field line for a two-run shot. It was Goodwin's sixth homer of the season, with three coming against Texas.
ROCKIES 8, ORIOLES 6
DENVER (AP) — Trevor Story did a little fist pump after his seventh-inning shot. Just a way to commemorate becoming the fastest shortstop to reach 100 homers.
His 101st in the ninth? Now that was celebrated with a lot more gusto.
"I love that one," Story said of his 100th, "but I'll take the ninth-inning one."
Story hit a game-ending drive for his second two-run homer Friday night, helping the Colorado Rockies beat Baltimore 8-6 in the Orioles' first visit to Coors Field since 2004.
Nolan Arenado also went deep twice in the opener of a season-long, 10-game homestand. Scott Oberg (2-0) had two strikeouts in a scoreless ninth to earn the win.
Story lined a 2-2 slider from Mychal Givens (0-3) over the wall in right field to ignite the festivities at home plate. It was Story's second career game-ending homer.
With his long ball in the seventh, Story became the quickest shortstop in major league history to reach 100 homers (448 games). He bettered Álex Rodríguez, who reached 100 homers in 470 games.
"It's pretty special to me," Story said.
Trailing 6-3 in the seventh, the Rockies tied it up when Story and Arenado hit back-to-back drives off Shawn Armstrong. Story's homer got the crowd fired up — and Arenado, too. Arenado belted the next pitch for his second solo homer of the game. He let out an exhilarated roar.
"Trevor got me going," Arenado said. "He can do some things that I wish I could. I wish I could run like him, and I wish I could flip the ball to right-center with power. He does those things that are crazy."
Keon Broxton made an instant impact with a two-run homer on the first pitch he saw in his Baltimore debut. His blast off Jeff Hoffman in the second inning traveled an estimated 474 feet and landed on the left-field concourse.
The Orioles acquired Broxton from the New York Mets on Wednesday for $500,000 in 2019-20 international signing bonus pool allotment. Broxton was designated for assignment last week by the Mets after batting .143 in 34 games with no homers and two RBIs.
"I was actually going to bunt," Broxton said. "Out of the corner of my eye I saw Arenado back and then a couple of seconds before the pitch came I saw him creeping up I thought, 'I'm swinging right here.'"
Dwight Smith Jr. and pinch hitter Renato Nunez also homered for Baltimore.
Baltimore's bullpen allowed five runs after a solid start by John Means.
"It's concerning," manager Brandon Hyde said. "It's a little bit of a rough patch for our bullpen."
A’s 6, MARINERS 2
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Matt Olson and Mark Canha hit back-to-back home runs in the fourth inning, and the Oakland Athletics beat the slumping Seattle Mariners 6-2 on Friday night for their seventh straight win.
Stephen Piscotty also homered and singled twice to extend his on-base streak to 22 games, the longest active streak in the majors. Ramon Laureano added two hits.
Lou Trivino, the fourth of five pitchers used by the A's, retired four batters to win after starter Daniel Mengden matched his career high with five walks.
Oakland, which had a game Sunday in Detroit suspended in the seventh inning due to weather, beat the Mariners for the first time this season after losing twice in Tokyo and twice in Seattle.
The A's combined to issue seven walks but only one of the free passes was costly. The Mariners left the bases loaded three times and stranded 15 runners overall.
Domingo Santana had three hits and an RBI for Seattle, which has lost four straight and seven of eight.
Olson hit his fifth home run with two outs in the fourth, a three-run drive to right-center field. Canha followed with his eighth homer two pitches later. Canha has homered in three straight games for the first time in his career.
Both home runs came against Wade LeBlanc (2-2), who allowed four runs and five hits in five innings. The left-hander has a 13.51 ERA and has given up six home runs in two starts since coming off the injured list May 18.
The A's scored an unearned run in the seventh on Seattle catcher Omar Narváez's throwing error. Piscotty homered off Connor Sadzeck in the eighth.
Mengden allowed one run and five hits. He threw 99 pitches in four innings.
DIAMONDBACKS 18, GIANTS 2
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Ildemaro Vargas had five hits and a home run, Adam Jones added four hits and a homer, and the Arizona Diamondbacks broke out of a slump in a big way, beating the San Francisco Giants 18-2 on Friday night.
Arizona had been held to 12 runs during a five-game losing streak before unleashing their bats on Drew Pomeranz (1-5) and an overmatched Giants bullpen.
Robbie Ray (4-1) was the beneficiary of the big offensive night, allowing two runs in 5 1/3 innings to win his fourth straight decision. Ray even got into the act on the offensive side with a two-run single in the third inning for his first hit of the year.
Ray had plenty of help. Vargas homered in the first inning and the Diamondbacks turned it into a laugher against reliever Nick Vincent with three-run homers by Jones in the fifth and Eduardo Escobar in the sixth inning.
Ketel Marte added a three-run homer off Derek Holland in the seventh, prompting cheers of "Let Pablo Pitch!" from the few fans remaining who were hoping that Giants infielder Pablo Sandoval could get his second appearance on the mound this season.
Every member of the Diamondbacks' starting lineup either scored or drove in a run in Arizona's highest-scoring game of the season.
Tyler Austin hit a two-run homer in the first inning for San Francisco, his third straight game with a home run. The Giants managed nothing else against Ray and fell to 1-4 on the homestand.
Zack Godley pitched three innings for his second save.
Pomeranz had another rough outing against an NL West opponent, allowing the solo homer to Vargas in the first, RBI singles to Marte and Vargas in the second and then the two-run single to Ray in the third that ended his night. Pomeranz allowed five runs and eight hits in 2 2/3 innings, falling to 4-18 with a 5.34 ERA in his career against NL West teams.
REDS 6, CUBS 5
CHICAGO (AP) — Eugenio Suárez hit a two-run homer in the ninth inning off Cubs reliever Steve Cishek, rallying the Cincinnati Reds past Chicago 6-5 on Friday.
Joey Votto drew a leadoff walk from Cishek (1-2) and Suárez hit the next pitch for his 14th home run.
Yasiel Puig hit a two-run homer and an RBI single for the Reds after missing two games with a sprained right shoulder.
Anthony Rizzo homered for the third straight game, and Kyle Schwarber and Kris Bryant also went deep for the NL Central-leading Cubs, who have lost three of four to the last-place Reds this season.
Pinch-hitter Willson Contreras singled home Rizzo in the eighth to put Chicago ahead 5-4. Jesse Winker's double off Brad Brach in the Reds seventh tied it at 4.
David Hernandez (1-2) got one out and the win. Raisel Iglesias pitched a perfect ninth for his 11th in 13 chances.
TWINS 11, WHITE SOX 4
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Though they're not yet one-third of the way through the season, the Minnesota Twins have been putting on quite the show.
These first 50 games were packed with big hits and broken records.
Eddie Rosario went 4 for 5 with three RBIs and one of three home runs in another powerful romp by the major league-leading Twins, who beat the Chicago White Sox 11-4 on Friday night for their ninth win in their last 10 games.
Max Kepler was 3 for 4 with four RBIs and a homer and Miguel Sanó also went deep for the Twins (34-16), who reached double-digit runs for the fourth time in their last eight games and became only the second team in baseball history to reach 100 homers by the 50-game mark. They're at 101. They also have the most runs (300) in the majors, the first team to get there in 50 games since the Toronto Blue Jays in 2003.
"We would never want to put any limitations on ourselves. Our guys, every night, from top to bottom, compete very well," rookie manager Rocco Baldelli said, adding: "We don't get caught up in a lot of the things going on. It's good it's being talked about, because it has been impressive and guys are doing a great job. But in the clubhouse, it's more about how do we do it again the next game."
Jose Berrios (7-2) was the latest beneficiary of the big swings, after falling behind 4-1. Rosario tied the game in the third with his 15th homer. Two batters later, Sanó swatted a 2-2 changeup from Reynaldo López (3-5) into the seats for his fifth long ball in seven games this season since coming off the injured list.
"I don't think it really fazes us. We know runs will be scored on this team. That's a given," said Kepler, who has 11 homers. "We kind of just stay in the present within each at-bat and within each pitch and just try to make the most out of it."
By outscoring their opponents 67-29 during a seven-game West Coast road trip, the Twins built an eight-game lead in the American League Central over three-time defending division champion Cleveland. The Indians won Friday to keep pace.
Back home, the Twins played in front of their third-largest crowd of the season (29,683). From the frequent "Ed-die! Ed-die! Ed-die!" chants for Rosario to the loud roars for each long fly ball, the buzz about this surging team has begun to build.
"Everybody's having fun. Everybody's happy when you're hitting a lot of bombas," Rosario said, smiling as he switched from English to Spanish.
PADRES 6, BLUE JAYS 3
TORONTO (AP) — Hunter Renfroe hit a tiebreaking, three-run home run in the eighth inning, Greg Garcia and Austin Hedges also went deep, and San Diego got its fourth straight win.
Toronto became the first team to start two players with Hall of Fame fathers after calling up Cavan Biggio — son of Craig — for his big league debut. Biggio started at second and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was at third.
Renfroe snapped a 3-3 tie by homering on an 0-2 pitch from right-hander Daniel Hudson (3-2). It was his 12th home run of the season.
Matt Wisler (2-1) got one out for the win and Craig Stammen finished for his second save in six opportunities.
Freddy Galvis hit a two-run homer and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. had a solo shot, but Toronto lost its fourth straight to fall to 6-16 in May.
TIGERS 9, METS 8
NEW YORK (AP) — JaCoby Jones homered and drove in four runs, including a go-ahead double in the seventh inning, and Miguel Cabrera also connected as Detroit snapped a nine-game losing streak.
Detroit blew an early 4-0 lead and later rallied three times from one-run deficits.
New York hit five home runs, including a tiebreaking shot by pinch-hitter Aaron Altherr off winner Buck Farmer (3-3) in his first plate appearance with the Mets. Amed Rosario, Adeiny Hechavarria, Pete Alonso and Wilson Ramos also went deep for New York.
Detroit got four hits from the No. 9 spot in the lineup, including an RBI single by pinch-hitter Brandon Dixon in the seventh that made it 9-7. More stunning were two singles off Noah Syndergaard (on 95-plus mph pitches) by Tigers starting pitcher Gregory Soto, who had never batted in the minors or majors before.
Dixon's hit followed Jones' two-run double with two outs off Drew Gagnon (3-1).
Shane Greene got three quick outs for his 16th save.
ASTROS 4, RED SOX 3
HOUSTON (AP) — Jake Marisnick homered early off Chris Sale, then made two dazzling defensive plays in center field to help Houston get the win.
The Red Sox, who committed three errors, ended Ryan Pressly's MLB-record streak of 40 straight scoreless appearances when Jackie Bradley Jr. launched the first pitch from the Houston reliever for a home run in the eighth inning.
Wade Miley (5-2) yielded four hits and two runs in six innings, striking out a season-high eight to win his fourth straight decision.
Christian Vázquez homered off Roberto Osuna with two outs in the ninth, but the Houston closer struck out Bradley for his 13th save.
Sale (1-6) gave up three hits and four runs in six innings.
DODGERS 10, PIRATES 2
PITTSBURGH (AP) — David Freese hit a grand slam off opener Michael Feliz and Cody Bellinger added his 18th homer, helping Los Angeles beat Pittsburgh.
The Pirates gave Feliz (2-1) his first major league start in 157 career appearances in an effort to address their injury-riddled starting rotation. The move backfired. Feliz recorded just one out and exited after Freese sent a pitch into the first row of seats in right-center field for his fourth homer of the season and third career grand slam.
Bellinger hit a two-run shot in seventh off Geoff Hartlieb. By then the Dodgers had things well in hand. Bellinger finished 1 for 5, and his major league-leading batting average dipped to .389.
Walker Buehler (5-1) cruised after being given the early cushion, giving up one run and five hits in six innings.
INDIANS 3, RAYS 1
CLEVELAND (AP) — Roberto Perez's crawling infield single scored Francisco Lindor with the go-ahead run with two outs in the eighth inning as Cleveland snapped a season-high, four-game losing streak.
With the bases loaded, Perez, who returned to the lineup after missing two games with a concussion, hit a slow roller off José Alvarado (0-4) that third baseman Daniel Robertson charged but couldn't field with his bare hand.
Alvarado then walked Jake Bauers to force in Carlos Santana, giving the Indians a 3-1 lead. Alvarado, who replaced Cy Young winner Blake Snell in the seventh, walked three in the eighth.
A.J. Cole (2-1) struck out the side in the eighth and Brad Hand worked the ninth for his 13th save in 13 tries.
Jordan Luplow homered in the fourth off Snell for the Indians.
NATIONALS 12, MARLINS 10
WASHINGTON (AP) — Juan Soto and Matt Adams hit back-to-back home runs in the eighth inning and Washington snapped a five-game losing streak.
Soto's three-run shot off Marlins reliever Tayron Guerrero was his eighth homer of the season and put the Nationals ahead for the first time at 11-9. Adams provided insurance with his fourth homer of the season, and 100th of his career.
Adam Eaton and Anthony Rendon drew one-out walks off Nick Anderson (1-2) before Soto's homer.
Sean Doolittle gave up a homer to Jorge Alfaro in the ninth before earning his ninth save.
Starlin Castro's two-out, RBI single off Kyle Barraclough (1-1) in the eighth gave Miami a 9-8 lead. But it wasn't enough as Miami had its six-game winning streak snapped.
Brian Anderson and Curtis Granderson homered for Miami. Eaton and Rendon also homered for Washington.
BRAVES 5, CARDINALS 2
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Dansby Swanson homered twice and Freddie Freeman also connected, helping Mike Foltynewicz and Atlanta beat St. Louis.
Swanson drove Miles Mikolas' first pitch of the sixth inning over the wall in left, giving Atlanta a 2-1 lead. Freeman then hit his 13th homer, giving Atlanta its third set of back-to-back homers this season.
Foltynewicz (1-3) allowed an unearned run in six innings in his first win since Sept. 28. The right-hander struck out seven and walked none.
Swanson helped put it away with a two-run drive off Giovanny Gallegos in the eighth for his 10th homer. It was his second career multihomer game.
Mikolas (4-5) matched his career high with nine strikeouts in seven innings. He was charged with three runs and seven hits.