Vinnie Pasquantino homered for the fourth straight game, this time a go-ahead shot leading off the sixth inning, and the Kansas City Royals went on to beat the Texas Rangers 6-4 on Thursday for their sixth win in their last seven games.
Nick Loftin also homered for the Royals, who boosted their playoff hopes by going 8-2 on a season-high 10-game homestand.
Michael Lorenzen failed to make it through five innings for Kansas City, but Angel Zerpa (5-1), Daniel Lynch IV, John Schreiber and Taylor Clarke were able to shut down the Rangers. Carlos Estévez handled the ninth for his AL-leading 33rd save.
Corey Seager had three hits and Josh Smith drove in a pair of runs for Texas. Jacob Webb (4-4) served up Pasquantino’s homer.
Athletics 8, Twins 3
Tyler Soderstrom went 4 for 4 to stretch his hitting streak to 19 straight games, and the Athletics swept the Minnesota Twins with an 8-3 victory on Thursday.
Lawrence Butler had a three-run double, Brent Rooker added an RBI double and Nick Kurtz hit his 26th homer of the season for the young A’s, who have won eight of their last 11 games and are 18-13 since the All-Star break.
Soderstrom, who also walked to reach base all five times he batted, logged his first career four-hit game. He’s batting .370 with eight doubles, four homers and 14 RBIs in 73 at-bats during his hitting streak, which is the longest active run in the majors.
A’s rookie Jack Perkins (3-2) won his third straight start, allowing two runs in five innings, and Osvaldo Bido earned a three-inning save to finish the first sweep of the Twins since Milwaukee won all three games at Target Field from June 20-22.
Padres 8, Giants 4
Manny Machado drove in three runs against Justin Verlander and the San Diego Padres beat the San Francisco Giants 8-4 on Thursday in a sloppy game.
The Padres took three of four from the Giants and have won three straight going into a second straight weekend showdown against the defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers. Los Angeles swept the Padres last weekend at Dodger Stadium and comes in with a one-game lead in the NL West.
San Francisco’s Rafael Devers hit a 435-foot home run off Dylan Cease (6-11) leading off the sixth and Willy Adames followed with a 400-footer, also to right-center.
The Giants took a 2-0 lead after the Padres misplayed three straight balls to open the third, the first two by right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr.
Nationals 9, Mets 3
James Wood broke out of a slump with a three-run homer, Riley Adams hit a go-ahead, two-run single in the fifth inning, and the last-place Washington Nationals beat the New York Mets 9-3 on Thursday to take two of three from their banged-up NL East rivals.
Wood’s opposite-field shot to left in the ninth was his 26th homer of the season but just his second since the second-year slugger played in his first All-Star Game.
Rookie Brady House had three hits and an RBI for the Nationals, who got another strong performance from their inexperienced bullpen after All-Star MacKenzie Gore couldn’t get through the fifth.
Jackson Rutledge (2-2), Clayton Beeter, PJ Poulin, Cole Henry and Jose A. Ferrer combined to allow one hit in 4 2/3 innings, with Ferrer getting the last four outs for his fourth save.
Francisco Lindor broke the Mets’ franchise record for leadoff homers in a season with his eighth. It was his 25th homer of the season and 28th career leadoff shot.
Brewers 4, Cubs 1
Brice Turang hit a two-run homer, Isaac Collins drove in two insurance runs and the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Chicago Cubs 4-1 on Thursday.
Turang and Sal Frelick each had two hits as the Brewers opened a seven-game lead over Chicago in the NL Central.
Milwaukee took the finale in a five-game series at Wrigley Field after the Cubs won three straight. The Brewers won Monday’s opener 7-0.
Milwaukee starter Quinn Priester allowed one run on three hits in 4 1/3 innings, but fell short of winning his 11th straight decision. The right-hander issued a season-high five walks while striking out four and was relieved by Nick Mears (5-3) in the fifth.
Dodgers 9, Rockies 5
Freddie Freeman hit a two-run home on the sixth pitch of the game, Clayton Kershaw won his fourth straight start, and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Colorado Rockies 9-5 on Thursday.
Andy Pages had two hits including a homer as the Dodgers salvaged a split of the four-game series at Coors Field. Alex Freeland had three hits and was a homer short of the cycle, and Freeman and Mookie Betts had two hits apiece.
Kershaw (8-2) gave up three runs and six hits in 5 2/3 innings, leaving one out short of his fourth consecutive quality start after Brenton Doyle’s two-out single in the sixth made it 8-3.
Kershaw, who struck out three and walked one, improved to 29-11 against the Rockies, his most victories against any opponent.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.timesleader.com ’
