MLB roundup: Cristian Javier fans career-high 14 in Astros’ win

Cristian Javier became the fourth pitcher in Astros history with consecutive starts of 13-plus strikeouts as Houston rolled to an 8-1 win over the visiting Los Angeles Angels on Friday.

Javier (6-3) anchored a combined no-hitter of the New York Yankees with seven shutout innings on June 25. He was equally effective against the Angels, allowing one run on one hit and no walks while recording a career-high 14 strikeouts over seven innings.

The only baserunner off Javier came when Shohei Ohtani homered in the first inning.

Yuli Gurriel and Jake Meyers homered for the Astros in the second inning, and Chas McCormick went deep in the third. Angels starter Michael Lorenzen (6-6) allowed eight runs (seven earned) in three innings.

White Sox 1, Giants 0

Leury Garcia’s two-out, two-strike single in the top of the ninth inning scored the only run of the game as Chicago beat San Francisco in the opener of a three-game interleague series.

Kendall Graveman worked a 1-2-3 bottom of the ninth for his fourth save, locking down a first career win for rookie Tanner Banks (1-0), who pitched a scoreless eighth despite allowing two walks.

The shutout was the White Sox’s eighth of the season. The Giants, who were outhit 6-3, were blanked for just the fourth time.

Twins 3, Orioles 2

Byron Buxton hit a walk-off, two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to lift Minnesota past Baltimore in Minneapolis.

Juan Minaya (1-0) earned the victory with 1 1/3 scoreless innings of relief. Twins starter Joe Ryan gave up one run on two hits in seven innings while striking out seven and walking one.

Jorge Lopez (3-4) took the loss after Spenser Watkins (six innings), Cionel Perez and Felix Bautista combined to allow only one run on three hits (all against Watkins) in eight innings.

Dodgers 5, Padres 1

Max Muncy and Cody Bellinger hit home runs while Tony Gonsolin dominated yet again as Los Angeles beat visiting San Diego.

Gonsolin (10-0) gave up one run on four hits in 7 2/3 innings. He struck out eight without walking a batter. He lowered his major-league-leading ERA to 1.54 while becoming the first 10-game winner in the National League.

Trent Grisham hit a home run and Blake Snell struck out 12 for the Padres, who lost for the fifth time in their past six games. San Diego has been held to two total runs over the first two games of the series.

Blue Jays 9, Rays 2

Lourdes Gurriel Jr. had three hits, including a solo home run, and Toronto blasted visiting Tampa Bay.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. added three RBIs for the Blue Jays on Canada Day as Toronto has won the first two games of a five-game series. Blue Jays right-hander Jose Berrios (6-4) allowed two runs, eight hits and two walks with three strikeouts in five innings.

Tampa Bay right-hander Corey Kluber (3-5) allowed five runs, seven hits and two walks with one strikeout in three innings.

Cubs 6, Red Sox 5

Rookie Christopher Morel homered for a third straight game, during a go-ahead, three-run sixth inning, and four relievers held visiting Boston scoreless as Chicago overcame an early four-run deficit.

Down 4-0, the Cubs scored three times in the fifth. Then trailing 5-3 in the sixth, with two out and a man on, Morel (three RBIs) drove the ball into the left-field bleachers. Chicago then went ahead when Willson Contreras scored on Jake Diekman’s wild pitch with the bases loaded.

Boston’s Jarren Duran homered on the first pitch of the game and had two RBIs, while Jackie Bradley Jr. snapped a 0-for-26 slump with his three-run double in the second. However, the Red Sox, who went 20-6 in June, couldn’t maintain that early cushion due to an offense that went quiet and a season-high 10 walks allowed.

Athletics 3, Mariners 1

James Kaprielian pitched a season-high six innings to earn his first victory of the year as Oakland defeated host Seattle.

Sean Murphy went 3-for-5 with a double, a home run and two RBIs for the A’s, who snapped a four-game losing streak. Kaprielian (1-5) allowed one run on three hits and two walks with four strikeouts. Lou Trivino worked a scoreless ninth inning for his fifth save of the season.

Mariners left-hander Marco Gonzales (4-9) lost despite a quality start. He went six innings and allowed two runs on eight hits with one walk and two strikeouts.

Marlins 6, Nationals 3

Brian Anderson hit a home run and an RBI single as visiting Miami opened a four-game series by defeating Washington.

Garrett Cooper drove in a run with one of his two doubles for Miami, Joey Wendle returned from the injured list to go 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI. Marlins starter Trevor Rogers (4-6) gave up one run on two hits and three walks in five innings.

Washington starter Josiah Gray (6-5) took his first loss since May 24, giving up six runs on 10 hits in 5 2/3 innings. Keibert Ruiz homered for the Nationals, who have lost two straight following a three-game winning streak.

Brewers 19, Pirates 2

Luis Urias, Keston Hiura and Rowdy Tellez homered in a seven-run second inning and Willy Adames added a grand slam in the eighth as visiting Milwaukee crushed Pittsburgh.

Victor Caratini also homered, Tellez added a two-run double to give him five RBIs, Mike Brosseau hit a two-run double, Kolten Wong hit an RBI double and Christian Yelich added an RBI single for the Brewers. Milwaukee starter Corbin Burnes (7-4), who had a no-hitter through 5 1/3 innings, completed six innings, giving up one run and one hit with five strikeouts and four walks.

Pittsburgh rookie starter Roansy Contreras (2-2) got knocked around for seven runs and five hits in 1 2/3 innings with one strikeout and two walks.

Diamondbacks 9, Rockies 3

Alek Thomas homered, tripled and drove in three runs to help Arizona earn a win against Colorado in the opener of a three-game series in Denver.

David Peralta added a homer and a double, Carson Kelly also homered and Josh Rojas had three hits, including two doubles, for the Diamondbacks, who have won three of four following a five-game losing streak. Arizona starter Merrill Kelly (7-5) allowed two runs, one earned, and five hits over seven innings.

Ryan McMahon and Charlie Blackmon homered for the Rockies, who have lost four of six. Colorado starter Antonio Senzatela (3-5) left after two innings because of apparent shoulder tightness.

Phillies 5, Cardinals 3

Rhys Hoskins hit a home run and a sacrifice fly, walked twice and drove in two runs to help host Philadelphia get past St. Louis.

Nolan Arenado hit for the cycle and knocked in three runs for the Cardinals. It was the second cycle of his career. Arenado tripled in the first inning, hit a two-run home run in the third, doubled in the sixth and singled in the eighth.

Phillies rookie Darick Hall hit the go-ahead home run in the sixth, Kyle Schwarber contributed two hits and an RBI and Mickey Moniak added an RBI double for Philadelphia.

Mets 4, Rangers 3

David Peterson matched a career high with 10 strikeouts and Eduardo Escobar belted a three-run homer to lift host New York to a victory over Texas.

Mark Canha tallied an RBI and a run and Pete Alonso had two of New York’s six hits to help the Mets snap a season-high, three-game losing streak. Peterson (5-1) allowed three runs on five hits and did not walk a batter in six innings.

Marcus Semien and Nathaniel Lowe each launched a solo homer for the Rangers, who have lost two in a row after winning five of their previous seven games.

Braves 9, Reds 1

Dansby Swanson homered as part of his four-hit game while starter Max Fried pitched seven strong innings to lead visiting Atlanta to a rout of Cincinnati.

Austin Riley belted his 19th home run while Swanson finished 4-for-5 with two doubles and fell a triple shy of the cycle for the Braves, who won for the 22nd time in 28 games. The game featured the return of right fielder Ronald Acuna Jr. after a six-day absence after taking a foul ball off his left foot last week.

Tommy Pham drove in Cincinnati’s only run and finished with three hits for the Reds, who suffered their ninth straight home loss, their longest such skid since losing nine straight from May 27 to June 19, 2001.

Royals 3, Tigers 1

Vinnie Pasquantino’s first major league hit was a solo home run and Brad Keller pitched six-plus strong innings as Kansas City topped host Detroit.

Pasquantino was playing in his third game after being called up from Triple-A Omaha earlier in the week. Hunter Dozier had three hits, including a solo homer. Andrew Benintendi added two hits and drove in a run. Keller (3-9) gave up five hits and two walks while striking out five.

Eric Haase spoiled Kansas City’s shutout bid with a ninth-inning sacrifice fly. The Tigers went 0-for-12 with runners in scoring position and left 10 men on base. Detroit starter Michael Pineda (1-3), who was activated after recovering from a broken finger and completing a rehab stint, gave up three runs and seven hits in five innings.

–Field Level Media

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