This story was originally published by Dead Spin
Andrew Benintendi hit a walk-off homer as the Chicago White Sox halted their franchise-record home losing streak at 16 games with a 7-6 victory over the Oakland Athletics on Saturday.
Gavin Sheets also homered for Chicago, which won at home for the first time since Aug. 12. The White Sox recorded their second walk-off victory of the season after Oakland tied the score with three runs in the top of the ninth.
Gus Varland (1-0) pitched a scoreless inning for the win. Nicky Lopez, Luis Robert Jr., Lenyn Sosa and Benintendi each had three hits.
The game-winner came moments after Oakland rallied in the top of the ninth. With the bases loaded and no outs against Justin Anderson, two runs scored when Shea Langeliers reached on a fielding error by Sosa. Two batters later, Zack Gelof tied the score with an RBI single.
Red Sox 7, Yankees 1
Rafael Devers hit a two-run single after drawing a bases-empty intentional walk in his previous at-bat as Boston cruised past host New York.
Devers drew the free pass from Yankees starter Gerrit Cole (6-5) with the Red Sox down 1-0 in the fourth inning. According to the YES Network sourcing stathead.com, it was on record the earliest intentional walk with the bases empty ever issued by New York.
Masataka Yoshida and Wilyer Abreu followed with RBI hits to give Boston a 3-1 lead. Devers added his two-run single to make it 5-1 in the fifth. Cole, the reigning American League Cy Young Award winner, was tagged for a season-high seven runs on five hits in 4 1/3 innings for the Yankees.
Orioles 4, Tigers 2
Corbin Burnes tossed seven shutout innings and Gunnar Henderson blasted his 37th home run as visiting Baltimore beat Detroit.
Burnes (14-8) gave up two hits, walked one and struck out seven for the Orioles. Henderson had two hits, scored two runs and knocked in a pair, while Cedric Mullins supplied two hits and an RBI.
Parker Meadows started a two-run rally in the ninth for Detroit with a solo homer. Colt Keith had three hits and scored the Tigers’ other run.
Royals 5, Pirates 1
Bobby Witt Jr. went 2-for-3 with a homer and three RBIs and Michael Wacha hurled five quality innings, helping lead Kansas City to a win over host Pittsburgh.
Wacha (13-7) allowed just one run on four hits while striking out eight and walking three. The Royals won their seventh game in nine tries.
Mitch Keller (11-10) gave up four runs (three earned) on four hits over six innings. The Pittsburgh starter struck out six and walked one. Bryan Reynolds and Jared Triolo each tallied a pair of hits for the Pirates, who lost their second straight.
Blue Jays 7, Cardinals 2
Jose Berrios pitched seven strong innings to win his seventh consecutive start and earn his career-best 16th victory as host Toronto defeated St. Louis.
Berrios (16-9) allowed one run, two hits and two walks with four strikeouts to help the Blue Jays take the first two games of the three-game series. Davis Schneider went 3-for-4 with a solo homer and two RBIs and Alejandro Kirk also had two RBIs for Toronto, which has won three of its last four games.
Jordan Walker hit his third homer of the season for the Cardinals, who were held to three hits and have lost four of their last six games. Cardinals right-hander Kyle Gibson (8-7) allowed five runs (one earned), four hits and three walks with one strikeout in 5 1/3 innings.
Phillies 6, Mets 4
Cal Stevenson delivered a go-ahead two-run double in the seventh inning then robbed a home run in the eighth as host Philadelphia got the win over New York.
Bryce Harper hit two home runs for the Phillies, who moved eight games ahead of the Mets in the NL East standings. Stevenson hooked his clutch double to right field against Reed Garrett, then on J.D. Martinez’s deep drive to center field an inning later, Stevenson made a full-extension leaping catch at the wall to preserve the Phillies’ lead.
Starling Marte drove in three runs for the Mets, who had won 12 of their previous 14 games. Luisangel Acuna, brother of Braves star Ronald Acuna, made his major league debut for New York and went 2-for-4.
Guardians 6, Rays 1
Josh Naylor’s two-RBI single highlighted a three-run sixth and rookie Joey Cantillo tossed five scoreless innings as Cleveland beat visiting Tampa Bay.
After totaling three runs while losing the first two of this four-game set, the AL Central-leading Guardians matched that output in one inning thanks to Naylor, who had two hits on the night. Meanwhile, Cantillo (2-3), who threw 6 2/3 perfect innings against the Chicago White Sox on Monday, yielded three hits, a walk, and struck out six against the Rays.
Junior Caminero had three hits and drove home the Rays’ only run with a double against Hunter Gaddis in the top of the eighth.
Nationals 4, Marlins 1
Jose Tena had two hits, including a homer, and scored twice, and Joey Gallo and Juan Yepez also hit home runs to lead host Washington over Miami.
It marked the seventh time this season that the Nationals hit three or more home runs in a game. Keibert Ruiz added a double and two hits for the Nationals, who improved to 10-2 against Miami this season with their second consecutive win.
Otto Lopez went 2-for-3 with a walk and an RBI, and Jonah Bride had two hits, including a double, and scored a run for the Marlins, who lost for the fifth time in their past six games. Valente Bellozo (2-4) suffered the loss, allowing three runs on six hits over 5 1/3 innings. He walked one and struck out four.
Reds 11, Twins 1
TJ Friedl went 4-for-4 with a homer and two RBIs, and Cincinnati cruised past Minnesota in Minneapolis.
Noelvi Marte finished 2-for-5 with a double and two RBIs for Cincinnati, which erupted for nine runs in the fourth inning. Spencer Steer and Jonathan India also drove in two runs apiece for the Reds, who will go for the three-game sweep on Sunday.
Byron Buxton drove in the lone run for the Twins, who have lost six of their past eight games.
Braves 10, Dodgers 1
Chris Sale allowed one run and five hits in six innings to help Atlanta beat visiting Los Angeles in the second game of their four-game series.
Sale (17-3), who’s trying to become the first National League pitcher since Dodgers left-hander Clayton Kershaw in 2011 to lead the league in wins, ERA and strikeouts, fanned six and walked two while lowering his ERA to 2.35.
Dodgers right-hander Jack Flaherty (12-7) lasted a season-low three innings, allowing four runs and five hits while striking out four and walking a season-high four.
Rockies 6, Cubs 5 (10 innings)
Brenton Doyle ripped a game-winning RBI single in the 10th inning as Colorado walked off visiting Chicago in Denver.
Colorado forced extra innings on Sam Hilliard’s pinch-hit two-run homer with two outs in the ninth against Porter Hodge. In the 10th, Doyle then lined a 3-2 curveball from Drew Smyly (3-8) into left, scoring Aaron Schunk to give the Rockies their third straight win.
Tyler Kinley (6-1) retired the Cubs in order in the top of the 10th to get the win. Doyle also had two sacrifice flies to lead Colorado with three RBIs. Cody Bellinger and Pete Crow-Armstrong homered for the Cubs, who fell six games behind the New York Mets and Atlanta Braves for the National League’s final wild-card spot.
Brewers 15, Diamondbacks 8
Willy Adames hit a grand slam to cap a seven-run second inning and added a solo homer in the fourth, and Milwaukee held on to beat Arizona in Phoenix to take the second of a three-game series.
Adames finished 3-for-3 and had five RBIs to take over the National League lead with 107. He was one of six Brewers to score at least two runs as Milwaukee finished with 16 hits and built a 13-run lead before Arizona scored eight unanswered in three innings.
Randal Grichuk had three RBIs and a homer for the Diamondbacks, who remain one game ahead of the New York Mets and Atlanta Braves for the final NL wild-card berth.
Padres 8, Giants 0
Donovan Solano collected three doubles among his four hits, Joe Musgrove combined with two relievers on a five-hitter and San Diego made it two straight shutout wins over host San Francisco.
The win not only moved the Padres to 1 1/2 games ahead of the rest of the pack in the National League wild-card race, but they also crept within 3 1/2 games of the Los Angeles Dodgers, who sit atop the NL West.
Xander Bogaerts made it 2-0 in the fourth with his 10th home run before the Padres broke the game open with three in the fifth and three more in the eighth. Manny Machado had a two-run single to highlight the fifth-inning uprising, while Jackson Merrill lashed a two-run double in the eighth.
Mariners 5, Rangers 4
Randy Arozarena’s single with one out and the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth inning scored the winning run as host Seattle defeated Texas to spoil Max Scherzer’s return.
Julio Rodriguez and Luke Raley homered for the Mariners, who rallied for a second consecutive victory and sit 2 1/2 games out of the final American League wild-card spot. Mariners closer Andres Munoz (3-6) earned the victory and Rangers closer Jose Leclerc (6-5) took the loss.
Max Scherzer, who took the mound for the first time since July 30 after being on the injured list with right shoulder fatigue, went four innings and allowed two runs on five hits, with two walks and two strikeouts. Leody Taveras and Marcus Semien went deep for the Rangers.
Astros 5, Angels 3
Yordan Alvarez hit a go-ahead two-run homer in the fifth inning for Houston, which beat Los Angeles in Anaheim, Calif., in the second game of a three-game series between the American League West rivals.
Justin Verlander tossed five innings to earn his first win in over three months for the division-leading Astros, who have won the first two games of the series. Houston remained 4 1/2 games ahead of the second-place Seattle Mariners in the AL West.
The Angels, who are trying to avoid finishing last in the AL West for the first time since 1999, have lost four straight.
–Field Level Media
