Jun 22, 2019 5 min read

Rookie slugger Pete Alonso hit his 26th homer to set the NL record for most homers before the All-Star Game as the New York Mets routed the Chicago Cubs 10-2 Saturday.

Alonso broke a tie with Los Angeles’ Cody Bellinger (2017). He’s still seven short of Mark McGwire’s major league record 33 accomplished in 1987.

Todd Frazier and Wilson Ramos also homered for the Mets, who won consecutive road games for the first time in over two months.

Zack Wheeler (6-5) allowed one run on five hits in seven innings to bounce back after losing his previous two starts. The right-hander retired 15 straight batters from the second through the sixth.

Alonso went 2 for 4 with a walk and tied Darryl Strawberry (1983) for the Mets’ rookie record for homers in a season.

Milwaukee 6, Cincinnati 5: Yasmani Grandal led off for the first time in his career and homered in his opening at-bat to help the Milwaukee Brewers snap a season-high five-game losing streak with a 6-5 win over the Cincinnati Reds.

Grandal, who had never batted first in 795 career games, put the Brewers ahead 5-4 with an RBI double in the fourth. Two outs later, he scored on Lorenzo Cain’s bloop single that chased Reds starter Luis Castillo (7-2).

NL MVP Christian Yelich scored a run, but went 0 for 3 to end his career-high hitting streak and the longest in the majors at 18 games.

Miami 5, Philadelphia 3: Wilkin Castillo hit a go-ahead two-run double in the seventh inning in his first game back in the majors in 10 years, lifting the Miami Marlins to a 5-3 victory over the struggling Philadelphia Phillies.

Castillo hadn’t played in the big leagues since June 20, 2009 with the Cincinnati Reds. The 35-year-old catcher suffered a torn labrum in his right shoulder and bounced around the minors before he was called up from Triple-A on Friday.

The Phillies have lost six in a row and 15 of 21. They’ve fallen five games behind NL East-leading Atlanta after holding a 3½-game lead before their skid began May 29.

Interleague

St. Louis 4, L.A. Angels 2: Albert Pujols took a curtain call for his adoring fans at Busch Stadium after homering against the Cardinals, but Marcell Ozuna connected to lead Dakota Hudson and St. Louis over the Los Angeles Angels 4-2.

Pujols hit his 13th home run, a solo drive in the seventh inning. He got a standing ovation as he rounded the bases and the cheers grew louder until Pujols emerged from the dugout and tipped his hat to the sellout crowd.

Ozuna hit his team-leading 20th homer of the season off Felix Pena in the sixth inning to make it 4-0 lead. Ozuna homered for the second straight day.

American League

Minnesota 5, Kansas City 3: C.J. Cron homered and singled in the go-ahead run in the 10th inning, and the Minnesota Twins beat the Kansas City Royals, 5-3.

Miguel Sano and Jake Cave also homered for the Twins, who blew a 3-0 lead in the eighth before pushing ahead for good in the 10th. Eddie Rosario’s double to deep right off Wily Peralta (2-3) scored Cave for a two-run cushion.

Trevor May (2-1) worked a scoreless ninth and Blake Parker retired the side in the 10th for his 10th save in 11 chances. AL Central-leading Minnesota has won two straight after losing four of its previous five.

Oakland 4, Tampa Bay 2: Matt Chapman homered in the third inning and doubled in the go-ahead run in the seventh, and the Oakland Athletics held on to beat the Tampa Bay Rays, 4-2.

Ramon Laureano had two hits, was hit by pitches twice – including once with the bases loaded – and threw out a runner from center field for the A’s. Khris Davis singled and scored.

Ji-Man Choi hit his ninth home run and Joey Wendle had two hits for Tampa Bay, which has lost nine of 12.

Toronto 8, Boston 7: Freddy Galvis and Rowdy Tellez hit back-to-back homers to help Toronto rally from a six-run deficit, and Eric Sogard drew a four-pitch, bases-loaded walk to break an eighth-inning tie and give the Blue Jays an 8-7 victory over the Boston Red Sox.

Boston scored five times in the second and led 6-0 after three before its bullpen blew a save for the 15th time in 31 chances. The Blue Jays trailed 6-1 before scoring four in the seventh on two homers and a wild pitch, then added three more in the eighth, when Matt Barnes (3-2) and Ryan Brasier combined to walk four straight batters with two outs.

Nick Kingham (3-1) pitched two hitless innings of relief for Toronto, which won for the second time in six games. Ken Giles pitching the ninth for his 12th save, allowing one run before striking out J.D. Martinez to end the game.

Baltimore 8, Seattle 4: Jonathan Villar hit a three-run homer, Anthony Santander had a two-run shot and the Baltimore Orioles ended a 10-game skid with an 8-4 victory over the Seattle Mariners.