Cole, Yankees hold off Braves 5-4 in matchup of Cy Young winners

NEW YORK (AP) — Gerrit Cole pitched seven strong innings and outdueled Chris Sale in a matchup of Cy Young Award winners as the New York Yankees beat the Atlanta Braves 5-4 Saturday.

George Lombard Jr. hit his second career homer in the seventh to give the Yankees a 4-2 lead. The shortstop, who homered in his big league debut Tuesday, also drew a walk in the fifth following consecutive successful ABS challenges.

New York rookie Spencer Jones drove two runs, with a single in the second and his first career triple in the fifth. Jones also scored the tiebreaking run on a balk by Sale in the fifth. Ben Rice added his 32nd homer in the eighth.

Cole allowed two runs in the fifth and four of his six hits in the frame. He struck out nine and walked two in his third straight win.

Cole, who was the 2023 AL Cy Young winner, became the 13th Yankee to reach 1,000 career strikeouts when he got Matt Olson to end the fifth.

Lombard opened the fifth with a walk against Sale. Jones tripled, scoring Lombard. New York went ahead when Sale was called for a balk by plate umpire Dan Merzel before throwing a pitch to Austin Wells.

ATHLETICS 7, RED SOX 3

BOSTON (AP) — Boston failed in their bid for a second winning streak of 10 or more games in the same season, losing to the Athletics.

Boston recorded a franchise record-tying 15-game winning stretch, matching a mark from 1946 , before it was stopped on July 22. The team’s attempt for a second streak of 10 or more games for the first time in the franchise’s 126-year history fell short against the A’s.

Gage Jump worked six strong innings, Tyler Soderstrom and Henry Bolte hit solo homers, and Jonah Heim and Donovan Walton added two-run doubles for the Athletics, who snapped a nine-game skid. The A’s hadn’t won since beating the Red Sox at home on July 28.

Jump (5-7) struck out a season-high 11 and allowed two runs and six hits.

Andruw Monasterio had a two-run single in the first inning for the Red Sox, whose nine-game run started the day after Jump earned a victory by pitching six scoreless innings.

Red Sox first baseman Willson Contreras returned after missing two games with an illness, went 0 for 4 and was booed for jogging lightly on a ground out.

The Athletics’ bullpen, which entered with the majors’ highest ERA (5.64), allowed one run in the last three innings. Hogan Harris got the last four outs for his 10th save.

MARLINS 7, ANGELS 0

MIAMI (AP) — Sandy Alcantara struck out eight in seven innings, becoming the Miami Marlins’ career leader in innings pitched, and Xavier Edwards had three RBIs in a victory over Los Angeles.

Alcantara (13-6) broke the record in the third, working his 1,226th inning and passing Ricky Nolasco, who pitched 1,225 2/3 innings for the Marlins from 2006-13. He gave up three hits and walked one. Reliever Pete Fairbanks struck out all three batters in the ninth to end the game.

Edwards hit an RBI double as Miami took a 2-0 lead in the third, followed by Otto Lopez’s two-run single to double the Marlins’ lead. Jakob Marsee tripled to lead off the fifth, and Edwards singled to send him home.

Griffin Conine singled and Heriberto Hernández doubled in the fifth to make it 7-0.

Angels starter Walbert Ureña (7-8) pitched the first 2 1/3 innings. He allowed four hits and four earned runs. He walked three and struck out two. Brett Kerry pitched the final 5 2/3 innings, striking out seven and walking one. He gave up six hits.