NEW YORK (AP) — Josh Lowe drove in a career-high five runs, Drew Rasmussen extended his scoreless streak against the Yankees to 21 innings and the Tampa Bay Rays kept up their domination of New York with an 8-2 rout on Thursday night.
Lowe hit a three-run double off Ron Marinaccio to open a 4-0 lead in the sixth, then hit a two-run homer in a three-run eighth against Ryan Weber.
Tampa Bay improved to 3-1 against New York this season. The Rays are a major league-best 30-9 and dropped the last-place Yankees nine games back in the AL East.
Rasmussen (4-2) allowed two hits in seven scoreless innings with no walks and seven strikeouts, including Aaron Judge three times.
Domingo Germán (2-3) fell behind in the fifth when first baseman Anthony Rizzo allowed Lowe’s grounder to bounce off his glove for an error and Yandy Díaz hit a two-out RBI double.
GIANTS 6, DIAMONDBACKS 2
PHOENIX (AP) — Rookie Casey Schmitt had four more hits, including a two-run homer, and San Francisco’s Alex Cobb blanked Arizona into the eighth inning.
Schmitt connected for a 443-foot home run into the second deck above the Diamondbacks’ bullpen in the second inning off Tommy Henry (1-1). Schmitt, recalled Tuesday from Triple-A Sacramento, finished 4 for 4 with a run-scoring double and is 8 for 12 with two homers and four RBIs through three games.
Hall of Famer Joe DiMaggio is the only other player since 1920 with at least eight hits, four RBIs and four runs scored through his first three games, according to OptaSTATS.
The 24-year-old Schmitt drove in the Giants’ first three runs, with his double in the ninth off reliever José Ruiz starting a four-run outburst.
Cobb (3-1) lowered his ERA to 1.70 with 7 1/3 shutout innings.
RANGERS 4, ATHLETICS 0
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Nathan Eovaldi set a career high with 12 strikeouts and extended his scoreless streak to 28 2/3 innings as Texas beat Oakland.
Eovaldi (5-2) allowed three hits and one walk over 8 2/3 innings, becoming the third pitcher in franchise history to post three consecutive starts of at least eight scoreless innings. He was lifted after allowing two baserunners with two out in the ninth, and Will Smith got the final out for his seventh save.
Marcus Semien homered against his former team in front of a crowd of 2,949 that was the second-smallest of the season at the Oakland Coliseum.
Luis Medina (0-2) allowed three runs and five hits in six innings for the A’s, who fell to 8-31.
REDS 5, METS 0
CINCINNATI (AP) — Kevin Newman hit a two-run single in Cincinnati’s four-run first inning, and the Reds took two of three from New York.
The Mets lost for the fourth time in five games. They have dropped five series in a row for the first time since 2012.
New York right-hander Kodai Senga (4-2) allowed five runs and eight hits in five innings.
Ben Lively (1-0) pitched three innings of four-hit ball for his first win since his rookie season in 2017. Kevin Herget worked three innings for his first career save.
TWINS 5, PADRES 3
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Carlos Correa hit a two-run double in the seventh inning, lifting Minnesota to the victory.
Kyle Farmer homered as Minnesota earned its second straight victory after a stretch of five losses in seven games. Emilio Pagán (3-0) got three outs for the win, and Jorge López pitched a perfect ninth for his third save.
Correa, who returned to Minnesota when he finalized a $200 million, six-year contract in January, was booed again by the home crowd after two strikeouts earlier in the game. But he capped the Twins’ three-run seventh when he pulled a ground ball down the left-field line against Brent Honeywell (2-2).
San Diego star Fernando Tatis Jr. homered on the first pitch of the game. Rougned Odor connected for his first homer of the season.
ROYALS 4, WHITE SOX 3
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Freddy Fermin lifted Kansas City to the win, following a leadoff walk by Nick Pratto and a single by Matt Duffy with a perfectly executed sacrifice bunt in the ninth inning.
The Royals nursed a 3-1 lead into the eighth, but the White Sox tied it with a two-out rally against Aroldis Chapman. Andrew Vaughn and pinch-hitter Carlos Pérez singled, and Luis Robert Jr. bounced a tying double off the chalk of the left-field line.
In the ninth, Pratto worked a walk off Reynaldo López (0-3) before Maikel Garcia struck out. Duffy followed with a single to right, and Fermin laid down a bunt just in front of the plate that allowed Pratto slide home without a tag at the plate.
Scott Barlow (1-2) pitched a perfect ninth for the win.
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