Sal Stewart drives in 4 as Reds erase deficit to beat Pirates 8-7

CINCINNATI (AP) — Sal Stewart hit a two-run homer, had four RBIs, and scored the winning run as the Cincinnati Reds rallied to beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 8-7 on Friday night.

Stewart’s two-run single off Wilber Dotel (1-4) in the eighth tied the score 7-7. Stewart scored the go-ahead run from third on Brandon Lowe’s fielding error.

Emilio Pagán (4-1) struck out one in one inning for Cincinnati.

The Pirates trailed 5-4 with two outs in the eighth, but three straight RBI singles by Henry Davis, Jake Mangum and Lowe put them ahead 7-5.

Reds right-hander Hunter Greene, who’s been mentioned in trade speculation, made his fifth start since coming off the injured list and allowed four earned runs on seven hits with two walks and four strikeouts.

Nick Gonzales’ first-inning single with the bases loaded drove in two runs to put Pittsburgh ahead 2-0.

Pirates right-hander Paul Skenes was 5-0 with a 1.38 ERA in seven career starts against Cincinnati, but he struggled on Friday. Skenes allowed five earned runs on seven hits with a season-high four walks and seven strikeouts.

YANKEES 2, CUBS 0

CHICAGO (AP) — Will Warren pitched four-hit ball into the seventh inning, Amed Rosario and rookie Spencer Jones each homered and the New York Yankees edged the Chicago Cubs.

The Yankees rebounded from a pair of consecutive extra-inning losses against the White Sox on Chicago’s South Side and have won six of nine overall.

Warren (8-5) struck out seven, walked none and retired 12 in a row before allowing consecutive singles with two outs in the seventh and being relieved by Paul Blackburn. Warren’s sharp effort followed a loss at Philadelphia last Sunday when he gave up six runs and six hits in three innings.

David Bednar worked around Pedro Ramirez’s single in the ninth for his 23rd save to complete a five-hitter.

The homers by Rosario and Jones were the first two hits off Cubs starter Shota Imanaga (7-9), who gave up four hits total, struck out six and walked none over 6 2/3 innings in a sixth straight solid outing.

WHITE SOX 6, RAYS 1

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Miguel Vargas, Andrew Benintendi, Munetaka Murakami and Colson Montgomery homered and Chicago beat the American League-leading Tampa Bay.

Vargas, Murakami and Montgomery have all homered in the same game five times this season, becoming the first trio to accomplish that feat since Cody Bellinger, Corey Seager and Joc Pederson for the Dodgers in 2019.

Vargas opened the scoring in the first inning with the longest home run of his career at 433 feet, and Benintendi made it 2-0 in the second.

Murakami tied Kazuma Okamoto for the Japanese rookie home run record with his 24th in the third, and Montgomery gave the AL Central-leading White Sox a 6-1 lead in the sixth with a two-run shot over the Tropicana Field wall.

DIAMONDBACKS 4, GUARDIANS 1

CLEVELAND (AP) — Geraldo Perdomo and Gabriel Moreno had back-to-back RBI singles off Erik Sabrowski in a four-run eighth inning, lifting Arizona to a victory over Cleveland.

Ketel Marte also singled home a run in the eighth as the Diamondbacks won their third straight game and moved into sole possession of the second wild-card spot in the National League. Arizona, which didn’t advance a runner past second base in the first seven innings, is an NL-best 13-5 since July 9.

Jonathan Loaisiga (3-3) pitched a scoreless seventh for the win. Brandyn Garcia worked the ninth for his third save, wrapping up a combined three-hitter that began with rookie Mitch Bratt throwing five innings.

Guardians starter Tanner Bibee (4-11) allowed two runs and three hits in 7 1/3 innings. Sabrowski entered with two runners aboard and issued a walk to Corbin Carroll before Perdomo and Moreno both delivered.

Carroll scored on Moreno’s base hit when right fielder Angel Martínez committed a fielding error.

ORIOLES 6, PHILLIES 4

BALTIMORE (AP) — Gunnar Henderson hit a two-run triple in a four-run seventh inning and Baltimore rallied again, this time to a victory over Philadelphia.

Pinch-hitter Christian Encarnacion-Strand added a two-run double in the rally off Orion Kerkering (6-1) before Henderson found the gap off Tim Mayza as the Orioles overcame a two-run deficit two days after coming from seven down in a 10-9, 12-inning victory at Detroit.

Pete Alonso connected on his 23rd home run early for Baltimore, which began Friday 2 1/2 games behind Cleveland for the final AL wild-card place and finished July with a 15-8 record.

Josh Walker, Anthony Nunez (3-2) and Yennier Cano combined for 2 2/3 scoreless relief innings before Tyler Wells worked a perfect ninth for his fourth save.

J.T. Realmuto and Trea Turner hit solo homers for Philadelphia, which lost its fourth straight and sank to 3-10 since the All-Star break.

BLUE JAYS 3, CARDINALS 1

TORONTO (AP) — Pinch-hitter Luis Urías broke an eighth-inning tie with a two-run single and Toronto beat St. Louis.

Cardinals reliever Peter Strzelecki (0-1) exited after one-out walks to George Springer and Daulton Varsho. Gordon Graceffo came on and walked Ernie Clement to load the bases for Urías, who grounded a two-run single through the left side.

Jeff Hoffman (6-7) worked one inning for the win and Louis Varland finished for his 24th save in 24 opportunities as Toronto extended its home winning streak over St. Louis to seven games.

The Blue Jays have won five of their past eight games after losing the previous four.

St. Louis lost for the fifth time in six games. The Cardinals went 10-18 in July.

Cardinals outfielder Jordan Walker opened the scoring with a two-out RBI single off Dylan Cease in the fifth.

MARLINS 5, METS 2

NEW YORK (AP) — Jakob Marsee snapped a scoreless tie with a two-run double in the fifth inning and Kyle Stowers homered for the second straight night Friday, powering Miami to a win over New York.

Marsee and Stowers, both of whom homered Thursday, have combined for five of the Marlins’ seven RBIs in the first two games of the series. Stowers has gone deep four times in Miami’s last six games.

Joe Mack and Xavier Edwards added RBI singles later in the fifth for the Marlins, who began the day 2 1/2 games behind Philadelphia and Arizona for the final two NL playoff spots.

Janson Junk (5-6) earned the win after giving up an unearned run while striking out four over five innings. Pete Fairbanks, the Marlins’ fifth pitcher, threw just seven pitches while earning his 16th save with a perfect ninth.

A.J. Ewing laced an RBI single and Francisco Lindor hit a 392-foot homer — his 150th round-tripper in a Mets uniform — for New York, which began dismantling a last-place team by trading reliever A.J. Minter to the Minnesota Twins earlier Friday.

BRAVES 6, NATIONALS 2

ATLANTA (AP) — Michael Harris II and Matt Olson hit long home runs and Atlanta pulled away from Washington in a victory.

Olson was 2 for 4 with a double and a run scored and Jim Jarvis was 3 for 3 with 2 RBIs. Mauricio Dubón had two hits and two runs scored for the first-place Braves, who are 10-5 since the All-Star break.

Nationals starter Foster Griffin (12-3) struggled in what could have been his final start for the Nationals. Trade speculation has surrounded the 30-year-old left-handed rookie, who entered with a 2.76 ERA in 21 starts. Griffin gave up six runs on nine hits in 5 1/3 innings, including the home runs to Olson and Harris.

Bryce Elder (7-6) recorded his 12th quality start of the season, allowing one run in six innings. He gave up four hits and three walks. Elieser Hernández threw three scoreless innings for his first career save.

Harris broke the game open with a 421-foot three-run homer in the sixth inning that landed inside the Chop House restaurant in right field and gave the Braves a 5-1 lead. It was his 20th home run of the season, matching his career-high.

Atlanta native C.J. Abrams hit a solo home run in the fourth inning, his 28th. Andrés Chaparro hit a ninth inning home run, which gave the Nationals a franchise-record 50 home runs in the month of July.

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