MLB roundup: Reds’ Nick Martinez nearly no-hits Padres

Nick Martinez carried a no-hit bid into the ninth inning and Spencer Steer homered in each of his first three at-bats to lift the host Cincinnati Reds to an 8-1 victory over the San Diego Padres on Friday.

After allowing a two-out walk to Jackson Merrill in the first, Martinez (5-8) retired the next 22 batters before issuing a free pass to Trenton Brooks leading off the ninth. Elias Diaz ended the no-hit bid with a double into the left-center-field gap, bringing a close to Martinez’s night after a career high-tying 112 pitches.

Taylor Rogers entered the game and yielded two walks — including one to Bryce Johnson with the bases loaded for a run that was charged to Martinez. Rogers, however, struck out two batters in one inning to send the Reds to their fourth win in the last five games.

Martinez, who allowed one run on one hit with six strikeouts, was attempting to record Cincinnati’s first no-hitter since Wade Miley tossed one against the Cleveland Guardians on May 7, 2021. Padres starter Dylan Cease (3-7) took the loss, permitting four runs (three earned) on five hits in four innings. He struck out eight and walked three.

Cardinals 5, Guardians 0

Sonny Gray threw a one-hitter and struck out a season-high 11 and Alec Burleson and Nolan Arenado drove in two runs apiece as visiting St. Louis beat Cleveland.

Gray (8-2) only permitted a single to Nolan Jones in the fifth and did not issue a walk in his 89-pitch masterpiece. The Guardians failed to get the ball out of the infield until the fourth and did not advance a runner to second. The right-hander tossed his first shutout since July 28, 2015, and his first nine-inning complete game since Aug. 7, 2015. It was also Gray’s first complete game since 2017.

Guardians starter Luis Ortiz (4-9) worked seven innings, giving up four runs on six hits, with five strikeouts and one walk. The Guardians are 15-23 since May 13, when they were a season-high eight games over .500. Cleveland was shutout for the second straight game and has lost three of four on its homestand.

Blue Jays 9, Red Sox 0

Jose Berrios tossed seven scoreless innings to lead visiting Toronto to a shutout victory over Boston.

Berrios (4-3) limited Boston to four hits, struck out eight and walked one. Toronto’s victory extended Boston’s losing streak to six. The Red Sox have scored four runs in their last three games. Boston starting pitcher Brayan Bello (3-3) exited the mound after six innings. He gave up three runs on eight hits.

Andres Gimenez had three hits and three RBIs as part of Toronto’s 16-hit attack. The Blue Jays, who drew eight walks, also received three hits and two RBIs from George Springer.

Dodgers 5, Royals 4

Shohei Ohtani hit a leadoff homer and added a tying RBI triple as Los Angeles won its fifth straight game, edging host Kansas City. The Royals matched a club record by taking their 11th consecutive home loss.

Reliever Lou Trivino (3-0) pitched 1 2/3 shutout innings for the win. Tanner Scott got rookie Jac Caglianone to ground into a first-pitch 4-6-3 game-ending double play for his 18th save.

Bobby Witt Jr. hit a two-run homer and Kyle Isbel doubled twice, but the Royals dropped their sixth straight overall.

Twins 4, Tigers 1

Byron Buxton hit a solo homer and David Festa pitched 5 2/3 scoreless innings as visiting Minnesota downed Detroit.

Brooks Lee drove in two runs, Willi Castro scored a run and knocked in another and Buxton scored two runs as the Twins won their third straight following a five-game losing streak. Festa (2-2) allowed just two hits and struck out six.

Gleyber Torres had two hits and drove in the lone run for the Tigers, who have the best record in the American League. Starter Sawyer Gipson-Long (0-1) yielded three runs on four hits in 5 1/3 innings.

Pirates 9, Mets 1

Mitch Keller allowed one run over 5 1/3 innings to claim his first win since March 28 as host Pittsburgh rolled over New York.

Bryan Reynolds hit a three-run homer and Alexander Canario cracked two doubles as the Pirates collected 12 hits to snap a two-game losing streak. Keller (2-10) scattered five hits and one walk while fanning four to snap a 15-start winless streak.

Juan Soto poked his 20th homer to account for the Mets’ run. David Peterson (5-4) surrendered five runs, seven hits and three walks while striking out five during his 4 2/3 innings. Brett Baty contributed two doubles.

Orioles 22, Rays 8

Gary Sanchez hit a go-ahead home run and Colton Cowser doubled three times as Baltimore wiped out a six-run deficit to beat visiting Tampa Bay.

Gunnar Henderson’s four hits included a home run and a triple while Sanchez had four hits and drove in four runs as the Orioles snapped Tampa Bay’s three-game winning streak. Coby Mayo homered and knocked in four runs and Jackson Holliday also homered as Tampa Bay tied its franchise record for most runs allowed in a game.

Brandon Lowe’s three-run homer was the third long ball of Tampa Bay’s second inning, but his four runs batted in and three hits weren’t nearly enough as the Rays lost for the second time in their last seven games. Jonathan Aranda and Josh Lowe also homered for Tampa Bay while Yandy Diaz and Danny Jansen added two hits apiece.

Yankees 3, Athletics 0

Will Warren pitched five innings and combined with four relievers on a three-hitter as New York recorded a victory over the visiting Athletics, who lost for the fifth time in six games.

Jazz Chisholm Jr. homered in the second off starter Mitch Spence (2-3). Cody Bellinger and DJ LeMahieu hit RBI singles in the third and fourth, respectively, as the Yankees reached the halfway point with a 47-34 record.

Warren struck out seven. The rookie right-hander tied a career high by issuing four walks and threw 100 pitches — two shy of his career high. Meanwhile, Spence allowed three runs (two earned) on three hits in five innings. The right-hander struck out five and walked four.

Phillies 11, Braves 0

Philadelphia hit a season-high five home runs, including three-run shots by Nick Castellanos and Otto Kemp, to awaken its dormant bats en route to win over host Atlanta in the opener of a three-game series.

Snapping a three-game skid, the Phillies also got a pair of solo homers from Trea Turner, the second coming in the ninth against position player Luke Williams. Kyle Schwarber added a two-run homer, his 25th, tied for second in the National League.

Following a two-hour, 19-minute rain delay before the game, Atlanta starter Bryce Elder (2-5) was hammered for 10 runs (nine earned) in two-plus innings. He allowed eight hits and four walks with two strikeouts and saw his ERA soar from 4.77 to 5.82.

Mariners 7, Rangers 6 (12 innings)

Miles Mastrobuoni’s single in the top of the 12th inning drove home Randy Arozarena with the deciding run as Seattle eked out a victory in Arlington, Texas.

Mastrobuoni’s two-out hit off Shawn Armstrong (2-3), the eighth Rangers pitcher, came after the substitute infielder made a clutch over-the-shoulder catch near the left field line in the bottom of the 11th to send the game to another inning.

Eduard Bazardo (3-0) pitched the final two innings for Seattle, which snapped a two-game losing streak. Texas, which overcame a 5-1 deficit before falling, had won two straight.

Giants 3, White Sox 1

Wilmer Flores doubled home a run, Patrick Bailey tripled in a pair and San Francisco opened a 10-game trip with a victory over Chicago.

Landen Roupp (6-5) and four relievers helped the Giants rebound from a three-game home sweep at the hands of the Miami Marlins. San Francisco earned just its fourth victory in the past 12 contests.

After the White Sox took advantage of a San Francisco error to go up 1-0 in the first, the Giants did the rest of the scoring, beginning with Flores’ two-out double in the third. The Giants broke the tie against reliever Tyler Alexander (4-8) in the sixth on Bailey’s two-run triple.

Astros 7, Cubs 4

Yainer Diaz and Cam Smith slugged three-run home runs, and Brandon Walter earned his first career victory as host Houston topped Chicago in the opener of a three-game interleague series.

The Astros stretched their winning streak to five games with their early power display against Cubs right-hander Cade Horton (3-2), who gave up seven runs on eight hits in four innings. Houston is 18-4 over its last 22 home games and is riding a nine-game home winning streak.

Walter (1-1) worked around a leadoff triple from Dansby Swanson in the second and surrendered a homer to Nico Hoerner in the fifth. Walter allowed one run on five hits with five strikeouts over six innings. For Chicago, Matt Shaw drove in three runs.

Marlins 9, Diamondbacks 8

Otto Lopez went 3-for-5 with a homer, Kyle Stowers homered for the second straight game and Miami extended its season-best winning streak to five games with a victory over Arizona in Phoenix.

Heriberto Hernandez homered, Stowers and Connor Norby had two hits apiece, and Lopez and Norby each scored twice. The Marlins had 13 hits, the fifth straight game with 10 more. Lopez is 15-for-32 (.469) with 10 RBIs during an eight-game hitting streak.

Jake McCarthy, Geraldo Perdomo and Alek Thomas homered for the Diamondbacks, who scored three runs in the ninth inning and had runners on first and third with one out before Tyler Phillips got Tim Tawa to ground into game-ending double play.

Brewers 10, Rockies 6

Jackson Chourio homered and drove in four runs, Caleb Durbin finished with three hits and host Milwaukee beat Colorado.

Sal Frelick, William Contreras and Brice Turang had two hits each for Milwaukee, which has won three in a row.

Thairo Estrada and Braxton Fulford had three hits apiece and Jordan Beck contributed two hits for Colorado. The Rockies have lost seven of their last eight.

Nationals 15, Angels 9

Brady House’s tiebreaking double in the seventh inning helped lift Washington to a comeback victory over Los Angeles in Anaheim, Calif.

Each Nationals batter had at least one hit and drove in at least a run, with eight of them scoring at least once. Friday marked just the second time in the franchise’s history where all nine starting batters had an RBI.

Jo Adell, Nolan Schanuel and Taylor Ward all homered for the Angels, who couldn’t hold on after leading 5-2, 7-5 and 9-8. Brad Lord (2-5) got the win over Sam Bachman (1-1).

–Field Level Media