By The Associated Press
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Zach Eflin pitched seven scoreless innings against his former team and the Baltimore Orioles took sole possession of the top spot in the American League East with a 4-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday night.
Eflin (8-7) delivered four hits, one walk and seven strikeouts for his third straight win since Baltimore acquired the right-hander from Tampa Bay on July 26.
Seranthony Domínguez threw a 1-2-3 eighth. Yennier Cano allowed a home run to Dylan Carlson in the ninth inning before ending the combined five-hitter streak.
Colton Cowser and Cedric Mullins hit home runs for the Orioles, who are a half-game ahead of the Yankees, who are on break. New York’s game against Texas on Friday night was postponed because of rain.
BLUE JAYS 3, ATHLETICS 1
TORONTO (AP) — Vladimir Guerrero Jr. extended his hitting streak to 21 games, José Berríos struck out eight times in seven innings and Toronto Blue defeated Oakland.
Alejandro Kirk scored the decisive run in the sixth inning and Spencer Horwitz gave Toronto some security with a solo home run in the eighth inning, giving the Blue Jays their third win in four games.
Guerrero hit two singles and his hitting streak is the longest active streak in the major leagues.
Guerrero also dove into the net, landing in the first row of seats behind first base after catching Shea Langeliers’ foul popup that left two runners on the field in the sixth inning.
Berríos (10-9) allowed one run and six hits. He is 8-2 with a 2.83 ERA in 12 home games and 2-7 with a 5.29 ERA in 12 road games.
Chad Green pitched the ninth inning and made his eleventh save in eleven chances.
NATIONALS 3, ANGELS 2, 10 INNINGS
WASHINGTON (AP) — Alex Call hit a game-winning single in the 10th inning, Mitchell Parker pitched 6 1/3 innings without allowing an earned run, and Washington defeated the Los Angeles Angels in the opener of a three-game series.
Washington earned its second walk-off win of the season and its first since April 20 against Houston.
Los Angeles’ Anthony Rendon had three hits in his first road game against Washington, where he played his first seven seasons. The Angels had not played a road game against the Nationals since 2017.
After rookie Nasim Nuñez sacrificed automatic runner Jacob Young to third base to Matt Moore (5-3), Angels manager Ron Washington called right-hander Ben Joyce out of the bullpen. Call worked to the end before completing a hit to draftee Luis Guillorme at second base for the game-tying run.
Kyle Finnegan (3-5) threw two scoreless innings for the Nationals.
PADRES 6, MARLINS 2, 10 INNINGS
MIAMI (AP) — Manny Machado’s two-run double in the 10th inning capped another late comeback as San Diego beat Miami to win its sixth straight game.
Machado’s double off Brett De Geus (0-1) scored former Marlin Luis Arraez, who hit a single, and Jake Cronenworth. Tyler Wade broke the tie when he beat home the throw on a Cronenworth grounder to shortstop Xavier Edwards.
Jason Adams (7-2) earned the win. Bryan Hoeing pitched a strikeout in the scoreless eighth inning, two weeks after the Marlins traded him to the Padres along with fellow reliever Tanner Scott. Scott allowed one hit in the scoreless ninth inning.
ASTROS 8, RED SOX 4
BOSTON (AP) — Jose Altuve hit a two-run home run and Jon Singleton and Jeremy Peña each added an RBI single in the four-run seventh inning as AL West-leading Houston beat Boston.
Yainer Diaz hit a two-run home run for the Astros, who pressured Boston’s bullpen en route to their third straight win. Bregman and Peña finished the game with three hits each.
Altuve’s home run against reliever Lucas Sims, which tied the game in the seventh inning, was the 224th of his career, moving him into fourth place on the team’s all-time list.
David Hamilton hit a two-run double for the Red Sox, who had won three of four games and were coming off a 4-2 road trip. Boston’s bullpen allowed seven runs and 12 hits in the final three innings.
