Controversial balk leads Astros over Rangers
George Springer scored the tiebreaking run in the ninth inning on a balk after homering on the first pitch of the game, and the Houston Astros swept their Texas rivals in a four-game series for the first time, beating the Rangers 8-7 despite blowing a six-run lead Sunday.
Texas closer Keone Kela had already thrown a pitch to Evan Gattis with two outs when Astros manager A.J. Hinch came out of the dugout apparently to question whether Kela had balked. After a brief conversation among the four umpires, Springer was awarded home.
Replay showed Kela (3-3) not pausing in his delivery, and Rangers manager Jeff Banister was ejected while arguing the decision.
The World Series champion Astros won their fifth straight and moved a season-high 17 games over .500 (42-25) despite Dallas Keuchel failing to hold a 6-0 lead.
Cincinnati 6, St. Louis 3: Center fielder Billy Hamilton made a bunch of key defensive plays and the Cincinnati Reds ended their 13-game losing streak to St. Louis, beating the Cardinals 6-3.
Hamilton threw out two runners, then made outstanding catches against the wall in the eighth and ninth innings. He also tripled and scored twice.
The Cardinals’ overall winning streak against Cincinnati was their longest since the 1930-1931 seasons. The Reds had lost 11 straight home games to St. Louis.
Scooter Gennett drove in two runs and the Reds capitalized on the Cardinals’ season-high 11 walks.
Philadelphia 4, Milwaukee 3: Zach Eflin tied his career high with nine strikeouts over six innings and the Philadelphia Phillies snapped a four-game losing streak by holding off the Milwaukee Brewers 4-3.
Eflin (3-2) had his second strong start after two subpar outings, allowing two runs and three hits with one walk. Rhys Hoskins drove in two runs, including a go-ahead sacrifice fly in a three-run fifth off reliever Dan Jennings (3-2) in the Phillies’ fourth win in 14 games.
San Francisco 2, Washington 0: Brandon Crawford went 4-for-4 with a two-run homer, and the San Francisco Giants dealt Max Scherzer his first loss in more than two months, defeating the Washington Nationals.
After Pablo Sandoval walked leading off the third, Crawford homered into the second deck in right for his eighth of the season. He singled in the first and doubled in the sixth and eighth innings. Since May 1, Crawford is hitting an MLB-best .439 (58-for-132) and has raised his average to .338.
Hunter Strickland pitched the ninth for his 13th save.
Arizona 8, Colorado 3: Paul Goldschmidt doubled and tripled and had two RBIs to finish off a dominating series and the Arizona Diamondbacks earned an 8-3 victory over the Colorado Rockies.
Goldschmidt homered twice in each of the first two games against the Rockies. He was 8 of 13 with four home runs and nine RBI in the three-game sweep.
Oakland 3, Kansas City 2: Matt Chapman homered leading off the eighth, moments after shortstop Marcus Semien’s defensive gem, and the Oakland Athletics beat the Kansas City Royals 3-2.
Stephen Piscotty and Jonathan Lucroy both drove in runs for the A’s, who squandered numerous scoring chances before Chapman came through with a solo home run off Royals reliever Jason Adam (0-1).
Cleveland 9, Detroit 2: Corey Kluber continued his dominance of the American League Central, allowing two runs in eight innings as the Cleveland Indians beat the Detroit Tigers 9-2.
Kluber (10-2) is 5-0 with a 0.76 ERA in five starts against division rivals this season and has won his last 11 decisions against teams from the AL Central. He allowed five hits and struck out eight without walking a batter.
Melky Cabrera and Erik Gonzalez each drove in three runs for Cleveland, which expanded its divisional lead to five games over the Tigers.