Pinch hitter Howie Kendrick, Trea Turner, Adam Eaton and Anthony Rendon connected on four consecutive eighth-inning home runs off San Diego reliever Craig Stammen on Sunday afternoon to break a tie and lead the visiting Washington Nationals to a 5-2 victory over the Padres.
The four homers came in a span of seven pitches with one out in the eighth. It was the second time in Nationals history that players had connected on four straight home runs, the first being on July 27, 2017, against Milwaukee.
Sunday marked the ninth time in major league history that a team hit four consecutive homers. The Nationals are the only team to do it twice. The Padres are the only team to twice give up four straight homers, also doing so against the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2006.
Kendrick’s one-out drive to left snapped a 1-1 tie between Nationals starter Stephen Strasburg (7-3) and the Padres’ game-long group of bullpen pitchers. Stammen (4-3) was the fourth of five relievers deployed by San Diego. Strasburg gave up one run in seven innings.
Dodgers 1, Giants 0
Max Muncy’s first-inning home run was all starting pitcher Walker Buehler needed as Los Angeles earned a fiery victory at San Francisco.
Buehler (7-1) gave up five hits over seven scoreless innings with a walk and nine strikeouts as the Dodgers rallied to win the three-game series after a defeat on Friday. Giants starter Madison Bumgarner (3-6) was nearly as good as Buehler, giving up one run on four hits over seven innings with a walk and five strikeouts.
Thinking Muncy took too long to go into his home run trot, Bumgarner shouted at the Dodgers’ left-handed hitter before Muncy even reached first base. Muncy first reacted by brushing his hands toward Bumgarner as he approached first base, then appeared to invite the pitcher for a physical altercation as he jogged between first and second base. The two shouted at each other off and on until Muncy crossed the plate.
Yankees 7, Indians 6 (10 innings)
Aaron Hicks belted an RBI double with two outs in the 10th inning as visiting New York rebounded to top Cleveland after squandering a pair of leads.
New York scored five runs with two outs in the second inning and another in the ninth, only to see Cleveland rally to forge a tie on both occasions.
The Yankees claimed a 7-6 lead in the 10th after Cameron Maybin launched a double to deep center off Oliver Perez (1-1) with one out before Hicks doubled to left-center one out later. Aroldis Chapman (1-1) picked up the win after his bid for his 16th straight save went awry following an error by shortstop Didi Gregorius with two outs in the ninth.
Rays 6, Red Sox 1
Brandon Lowe homered twice among three hits, while Yandy Diaz also went deep and had four hits as visiting Tampa Bay powered past Boston in the finale of a four-game series.
Tampa Bay hit four homers in the contest, all solo shots. Blake Snell (4-5) gave up one run on five hits and struck out seven in six innings as the Rays took three of four in the key division series. The Red Sox were held to two or fewer runs in all three losses.
Eduardo Rodriguez (6-4) was tagged for four runs on seven hits over 5 2/3 innings, striking out seven and walking two.
Cubs 5, Cardinals 1
Kyle Schwarber drove in two runs, Kyle Hendricks won his sixth consecutive decision, and Chicago pulled away to complete a three-game sweep of visiting St. Louis.
Carlos Gonzalez homered while Anthony Rizzo and David Bote also drove in one run apiece for the Cubs. Kolten Wong hit an RBI double for the Cardinals, who lost for the fourth time in their past five games.
Hendricks (7-4) allowed one run on eight hits in seven innings, walking none and striking out three. Cardinals starter Adam Wainwright (5-6) exited the game after 4 1/3 innings because of left hamstring tightness. He allowed three runs on seven hits while walking one and striking out two.
Braves 7, Marlins 6 (12 innings)
Ronald Acuna Jr. tied the score with a three-run homer in the ninth, and Matt Joyce hit an RBI single in the 12th as the Atlanta won at Miami.
Closer Sergio Romo gave up four runs in the ninth — including Acuna’s homer — and fellow Marlins reliever Tyler Kinley gave up a run in the 10th before Adam Conley (1-6) took the loss in the 12th.
Ozzie Albies sparked the winning rally by diving into third with a one-out triple. He scored on a single by Joyce, who went 3-for-4 from the No. 8 hole. Dan Winkler (3-1) got the win for Atlanta, and Josh Tomlin picked up his first career save in his 205th appearance.
Twins 12, Tigers 2
Nelson Cruz blasted one of Minnesota’s four home runs among his three hits and drove in three runs as the Twins routed host Detroit.
Eddie Rosario supplied three hits, including a homer, scored two runs and knocked in two more while Byron Buxton ripped a two-run homer and scored twice. Miguel Sano also homered, C.J. Cron had two hits and two RBIs and Ehire Adrianza scored three runs.
Twins starter Jake Odorizzi (9-2) gave up one run on five hits in six innings and struck out eight. Detroit starter Ryan Carpenter (1-3) surrendered eight runs on 10 hits in 3 2/3 innings.
Astros 4, Orioles 0
Yordan Alvarez homered in his second career plate appearance to support a strong outing from veteran Wade Miley as Houston claimed the rubber match of its three-game series with Baltimore.
Alvarez, the Astros’ third-ranked prospect according to MLB Pipeline, broke a scoreless tie with his two-run, opposite-field homer off Orioles starter Dylan Bundy (3-7) with two outs in the fourth inning.
Miley (6-3) completed his afternoon having allowed six hits and two walks while recording five strikeouts over six-plus innings.
Mariners 9, Angels 3
Edwin Encarnacion hit two home runs, the latter the 400th of his major league career, as Seattle defeated Los Angeles in Anaheim, Calif.
Encarnacion is the 56th player to reach the 400-homer plateau and the third active player after Albert Pujols and Miguel Cabrera. Tom Murphy also homered twice, and Daniel Vogelbach and Kyle Seager added solo shots for the Mariners, who took two of three games in the series.
Wade LeBlanc (3-2) entered after an opener and went six innings, allowing two runs on six hits with one walk and eight strikeouts. The Angels’ Jose Suarez (1-1) gave up two runs on four hits in 4 2/3 innings, with two walks and six strikeouts.
Brewers 5, Pirates 2
Mike Moustakas broke an eighth-inning tie with a two-run home run to carry host Milwaukee to a three-game series sweep of Pittsburgh.
Moustakas drilled the second pitch from reliever Francisco Liriano (1-1) out to right-center field for his 20th homer after the Brewers erased a 2-0 lead by tying the game in the seventh on a pinch-hit single by Ben Gamel.
Milwaukee’s Hernan Perez went 3-for-3 with a walk and a stolen base, Christian Yelich went 2-for-4 with a solo homer, and reliever Jeremy Jeffress (1-0) got the win. Jung Ho Kang clubbed a two-run homer, and Starling Marte had two hits and a stolen base for the Pirates.
Athletics 9, Rangers 8
Matt Olson and Khris Davis hit home runs as Oakland opened an early eight-run lead and held on to beat Texas to earn a split of a four-game series in Arlington, Texas.
Ryan Buchter got Shin-Soo Choo to ground out as the potential tying run in the eighth inning, and Blake Treinen survived a shaky ninth for his 14th save. A’s right-hander Frankie Montas (8-2) was charged with three runs (two earned) on seven hits and one walk with 10 strikeouts.
Olson hit a two-run homer as part of a three-run second inning, and Davis added a two-run shot with two outs in the third, helping Oakland jump to a quick 5-0 lead against struggling Drew Smyly (1-5).
Mets 6, Rockies 1
Noah Syndergaard allowed just one hit over seven scoreless innings, and Todd Frazier homered and drove in four runs as New York topped visiting Colorado.
The Mets took the final two games of the three-game series and have won four of their past five. The Rockies have dropped four of six since an eight-game winning streak.
Syndergaard (4-4) walked two and struck out seven. Rockies starter Jeff Hoffman (1-3), who grew up near Albany in upstate New York, allowed six runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out seven over 4 2/3 innings.
Reds 4, Phillies 3
Eugenio Suarez’s single capped a three-run seventh inning, and visiting Cincinnati rallied past Philadelphia to snap a three-game losing streak.
The Reds trailed 3-1 when Curt Casali hit an infield single with two outs and pinch hitter Josh VanMeter walked. Jose Alvarez (0-2) replaced Philadelphia starter Aaron Nola and allowed a single to Nick Senzel to load the bases before Joey Votto lined a first-pitch single to center to score Casali and VanMeter. Suarez followed with a single off Vince Velasquez to score Senzel and give the Reds the lead.
Zach Duke (3-1) pitched one-third of an inning and got the win as four Cincinnati relievers combined for 3 1/3 scoreless innings. Raisel Iglesias got the final four outs for his 13th save.
Diamondbacks 8, Blue Jays 2
Ketel Marte and Carson Kelly homered in an eight-run third inning, Robbie Ray struck out 10 and visiting Arizona defeated Toronto.
Ray (5-3) held the Blue Jays to two runs, five hits and one walk in 6 2/3 innings as the Diamondbacks completed a three-game sweep to open a 10-game road trip.
Lourdes Gurriel Jr. homered and doubled for the Blue Jays, who have lost four in a row. Toronto starter Clayton Richard (0-2) allowed seven runs, seven hits and two walks in 2 2/3 innings.
White Sox 5, Royals 2
Reynaldo Lopez allowed one run on four hits over six innings to lead Chicago past host Kansas City.
Yoan Moncada had four hits and an RBI, and Eloy Jimenez had the longest home run (471 feet) in Kauffman Stadium in nearly two years. Lopez (4-6) walked one and struck out eight.
Glenn Sparkman (1-2) was the hard-luck loser for the Royals. He allowed three runs (two earned) on eight hits in 6 2/3 innings.
–Field Level Media
