ST. PETERBURG, Fla. (AP) — Triston Casas homered and drove in four runs, Brayan Bello earned his team-leading 11th win and the Boston Red Sox stopped a 13-game losing streak at Tropicana Field by beating the Tampa Bay Rays 7-3 on Monday.
Wilyer Abreu had a leadoff double before Justin Turner drew a one-out walk in the sixth inning, ending Aaron Civale’s day. Chris Devenski (3-4) entered and gave up Casas’ three-run shot.
Casas added a run-scoring single and Masataka Yoshida connected on a two-run homer off Andrew Kittredge in the eighth. Casas has three homers and 11 RBIs during a career-best 11-game hitting streak.
Bello (11-8) gave up three runs, all in the first, and five hits over six innings.
Boston closer Kenley Jansen, who pitched the ninth in a nonsave situation, was checked by an athletic trainer with one out but remained in the game.
REDS 6, MARINERS 3
CINCINNATI (AP) — Spencer Steer hit a three-run home run to help Cincinnati beat Seattle in an interleague matchup of playoff contenders.
The Reds began the day in a four-way tie for the third NL wild-card spot, and the AL-west leading Mariners are 39-18 since July 1 for the best record in the major leagues in that span.
With their pitching staff hit hard by COVID-19 and injuries, the Reds used seven pitchers on Monday. Lucas Sims (5-3) got the last out of the seventh to pick up the win and Ian Gibaut got the last out of the ninth to get his second save.
Mariners starter Bryan Woo (2-4) allowed five runs, hit three batters and walked three in five innings. He did not record a strikeout.
ASTROS 13, RANGERS 6
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Mauricio Dubón and Jose Altuve twice hit back-to-back home runs, rookie catcher Yainer Diaz had a three-run shot to cap Houston’s big seventh inning, and the Astros pulled within a percentage point of first-place Seattle.
The Astros went ahead to stay with a six-run seventh, which began with them loading the bases on a walk and two singles off reliever Josh Sborz (5-7). José Abreu walked to force in the run that made it 6-5.
All-Star shortstop Corey Seager, who homered twice for Texas, then misplayed a grounder for an error that allowed two more runs to score before Diaz hit his 21st homer of the season.
There were nine home runs in all, a single-game record at Globe Life Field, which opened in 2020.
Rafael Montero (3-3), the second of six Houston pitchers, worked a perfect sixth.
BLUE JAYS 6, ATHLETICS 5, 10 INNINGS
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Pinch-hitter Santiago Espinal hit a tiebreaking double in Toronto’s three-run 10th inning on the first pitch thrown by Francisco Pérez, and the Blue Jays held on to beat Oakland.
The A’s made it interesting when Lawrence Butler hit his second home run of the game with a two-run drive against winner Jordan Romano (5-5).
Cavan Biggio added an RBI single in the 10th as insurance for the Blue Jays, who are 3-1 so far on their six-game West Coast road trip. That chased Pérez (1-2) and Spencer Horwitz added an RBI double.
Esteury Ruiz stole his AL-leading 55th and 56th bases in the ninth to put the go-ahead run on third but the A’s couldn’t bring him home.
CUBS 5, GIANTS 0
CHICAGO (AP) — Justin Steele (16-3) tossed dominant two-hit ball through eight innings to move into a tie for the major league lead in wins, blanking San Francisco.
Seiya Suzuki hit a 432-foot solo shot off Giants starter Logan Webb (9-12) in the second, then drove in Chicago’s second run with a line double to the right-center wall in the seventh.
After allowing a solid line single to Casey Schmitt with two outs in the second, Steele retired 16 straight until walking J.D. Davis to start the eighth. Davis was erased on a double play before Paul DeJong singled for San Francisco’s second hit.
José Cuas pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to seal the win.
Webb allowed three runs on five hits and walked one through 6 2/3 innings as San Francisco lost its fourth straight.
DIAMONDBACKS 4, ROCKIES 2
PHOENIX (AP) — Merrill Kelly matched a career high with 12 strikeouts in seven dominating innings, Jace Peterson hit a two-run double and Arizona beat Colorado.
Kelly (11-6) bounced back from a rare shaky start, filling the afternoon with whiffs and weak contact while allowing a run and four hits. The right-hander started to warm up for the eighth inning before leaving with what appeared to be cramps for the second time in three starts.
Paul Sewald gave up a run-scoring double to Elias Diaz in the ninth before closing out his 30th save in 35 chances. Arizona remains three games behind the Chicago Cubs for the second NL wild-card spot.
The Diamondbacks needed one time through the batting order to get to Peter Lambert (3-6), who gave up all four runs and six hits while striking out five in six innings.
ROYALS 12, WHITE SOX 1
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Cole Ragans continued his recent success with six scoreless innings as Kansas City trounced Chicago in the first of a three-game series.
The American League Pitcher of the Month for August, Ragans (6-4) retired the first 13 batters he faced and finished with just one hit allowed. He struck out seven and didn’t walk anyone. He now has a 21-inning scoreless streak.
Edward Olivares was 3-for-4 with a pair of home runs. Every Royals starter except for Salvador Perez had at least one hit, and Perez had an RBI.
Jesse Scholtens (1-7) took the loss after allowing five runs on nine hits in 3 2/3 innings.