MLB roundup: Cubs combine to no-hit Pirates

Shota Imanaga threw the first seven innings of a combined no-hitter as the host Chicago Cubs recorded a 12-0 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday.

Nate Pearson and Porter Hodge each tossed a perfect inning to complete the 18th no-hitter in franchise history.

Imanaga (12-3) struck out seven and walked two while throwing 95 pitches for the Cubs.

The Pirates were held hitless for the first time since they were stymied by the Chicago White Sox’s Lucas Giolito on Aug. 25, 2020.

White Sox 8, Orioles 1

Chicago hit three home runs, starting pitcher Jonathan Cannon supplied a solid effort and the team finally won again, topping host Baltimore to end a 12-game losing streak.

Cannon (3-9) worked 5 2/3 innings, shedding a personal skid of losses in four straight starts and winning for the first time since Aug. 6. He held Baltimore (81-60), which had amassed a total of 22 runs in the first two games of the series, to one run on five hits. Cannon struck out four and walked one.

The White Sox (32-109) won for the first time in seven meetings with the Orioles (81-60) this year. Baltimore lost for just the second time in its last six games.

Phillies 4, Blue Jays 2

Kyle Schwarber homered for the fourth time in two games, Cristopher Sanchez pitched seven effective innings and visiting Philadelphia defeated Toronto.

Schwarber’s solo shot followed a three-homer game on Tuesday. Kody Clemens added a two-run blast and J.T. Realmuto had a solo homer for the Phillies, who swept the two-game set. They took the season series 3-1 over Toronto.

Blue Jays right-hander Bowden Francis (8-4) allowed three runs and six hits with six strikeouts in six innings. He was coming off a 4-1, 1.05 ERA, record in August.

Royals 4, Guardians 1

Tommy Pham’s tiebreaking homer and Seth Lugo’s solid start lifted Kansas City over visiting Cleveland to salvage the series finale and end the Royals’ seven-game losing streak.

Lugo (15-8), who leads the majors with 186 innings pitched, allowed a run on six hits and a walk in seven innings, striking out four. Guardians starter Ben Lively (11-9) allowed four runs on seven hits and a walk with three strikeouts in four innings.

The Royals cut the Guardians’ American League Central lead to 4 1/2 games over Kansas City and the Minnesota Twins, who lost to the Tampa Bay Rays.

Reds 12, Astros 5

Jonathan India sparked a nine-run first inning with a leadoff homer and Elly De La Cruz doubled, singled and drove in two in the opening inning as Cincinnati routed visiting Houston.

De La Cruz finished with three hits, two doubles, three runs scored and two RBIs as the Reds defeated the Astros for an eighth straight time dating to Houston’s last win over Cincinnati in 2016. Cincinnati won its third straight game while Houston, which entered the series with a five-game win streak, lost its second in a row.

The victim of Cincinnati’s uprising was Spencer Arrighetti (7-12), who retired just two batters and threw 38 pitches before being lifted for Tayler Scott. Arrighetti was charged with nine runs and six hits, walking three and striking out none.

Braves 5, Rockies 2

Jarred Kelenic’s three-run homer highlighted a four-run first inning and sparked Atlanta past visiting Colorado.

Atlanta’s Charlie Morton (8-7) got the win. He pitched five innings and allowed two runs on five hits with three walks and matched his season high with eight strikeouts. The Atlanta bullpen finished the job with four scoreless frames.

Colorado starter Bradley Blalock (1-2) survived a rough four-run first inning before settling down and working five solid frames without giving up another run. Blalock allowed four hits, six walks and two strikeouts.

Mariners 16, Athletics 3

Luis Urias homered and had four RBIs and Mitch Garver also drove in four as Seattle pounded host Oakland.

Victor Robles had three hits, three RBIs and three runs, and Urias also had three hits for the Mariners, who bounced back after losing the first two contests of this four-game series on walk-off hits. Dylan Moore and Randy Arozarena each had two hits and two RBIs, and Garver also had two hits for Seattle.

Brent Rooker had two hits and an RBI for Oakland, which had won six of its previous nine games. JP Sears (11-10) gave up five runs and five hits over six innings for the Athletics.

Mets 8, Red Sox 3

Jesse Winker hit a first-inning grand slam for host New York, which went on to beat Boston.

Tyrone Taylor, Jeff McNeil and Francisco Alvarez drew bases-loaded walks in the eighth and Harrison Bader added a sacrifice fly that inning for the Mets, who swept the three-game interleague series to extend their winning streak to seven games.

Jarren Duran had two hits, including a run-scoring double, for the Red Sox, who have lost five straight.

Cardinals 3, Brewers 2 (10 innings)

Luken Baker drove in the go-ahead run with a pinch single in the 10th to lift visiting St. Louis past Milwaukee.

Milwaukee reliever Joel Payamps (3-7), who entered to start the 10th, retired the first two hitters before walking Nolan Arenado intentionally. Hoby Milner took over on the mound, and Baker lined an RBI single up the middle to score automatic runner Masyn Winn from second.

Milwaukee leads the National League Central by nine games over the Chicago Cubs, who no-hit the Pittsburgh Pirates in a 12-0 win on Wednesday. The Cardinals are 10 games back.

Marlins 4, Nationals 3 (10 innings)

Xavier Edwards sliced a walk-off single to center as host Miami defeated Washington.

Marlins rookie Valente Bellozo pitched six-plus scoreless innings. Even though he struck out just one batter, Bellozo allowed just three hits and two walks. He got 12 outs in the air.

Nationals left-hander MacKenzie Gore, who was perfect through 5 1/3 innings, allowed one run on one hit and one walk in six innings, striking out nine.

Rays 9, Twins 4

Yandy Diaz clubbed a two-run homer in Tampa Bay’s season-high eight-run fourth inning as the Rays blasted Minnesota in St. Petersburg, Fla.

Diaz rocketed his 13th homer to straightaway center to cap the big inning for Tampa Bay, which holds a 2-1 lead in the series entering the finale on Thursday.

For the Twins, Carlos Santana hit his 20th home run and walked twice, and Kyle Farmer went deep for the third time. Matt Wallner (RBI) and Jose Miranda (double) had two hits apiece.

Rangers 10, Yankees 6

Nathan Eovaldi was solid through seven innings while Wyatt Langford and Ezequiel Duran each went 3-for-4 with two RBIs to help Texas beat New York in Arlington, Texas.

Eovaldi (11-7) struck out six while allowing two runs on four hits and three walks for the Rangers, who won the last two games of the three-game series.

Juan Soto went 3-for-3 and hit his 38th homer of the year for the Yankees, who have lost six of eight.

Angels 10, Dodgers 1

Griffin Canning allowed one run in 6 2/3 innings and was backed by three home runs in the Angels’ victory over the Dodgers in Anaheim, Calif.

Mickey Moniak’s three-run homer highlighted a five-run first inning for the Angels, who also got long balls from Taylor Ward and Niko Kavadas. Ward went 3-for-4 with a walk, two runs and two RBIs while extending his hitting streak to 14 games.

Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani failed to reach base in the game, going 0-for-4 with one strikeout. The Dodgers had six hits in all, including two from Gavin Lux.

Diamondbacks 6, Giants 4

Zac Gallen threw no-hit ball for six innings, Eugenio Suarez and Pavin Smith hit home runs and visiting Arizona beat San Francisco.

Having allowed five runs in five innings in his previous start against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Gallen (11-6) dominated the Giants, allowing just four baserunners in his six innings, all on walks.

Tyler Fitzgerald, who scored twice, and LaMonte Wade Jr., who totaled four RBIs, had two hits apiece as the Giants dropped their fourth straight game.

Padres 6, Tigers 5 (10 innings)

Fernando Tatis Jr. singled with two outs in the bottom of the 10th inning to score Jackson Merrill as San Diego rallied from a five-run deficit to edge visiting Detroit.

Jeremiah Estrada (5-2) pitched a scoreless 10th inning for the win as the Padres (80-61) maintained a half-game lead over the Arizona Diamondbacks for the National League’s first wild-card spot. They also moved within 4 1/2 games of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West after their 10-1 loss at the Los Angeles Angels.

Trey Sweeney hit a two-run home run for the Tigers, who have lost four out of their past six games.

–Field Level Media