UNDATED (AP) — Good pitching, great defense and a pair of homers have run the Chicago White Sox’s winning streak to six games.
Lance Lynn struck out nine while allowing two hits over five innings of the White Sox’s 4-2 win over the Twins. Lynn gave up an unearned run in the fourth inning and was bailed out by Billy Hamilton’s leaping catch at the wall with the bases loaded to prevent further damage.
Four relievers completed the combined five-hitter, but Hamilton came through again with a running catch that saved two runs.
Tim Anderson went deep on Minnesota starter Michael Pineda’s first pitch, two innings before Jake Lamb homered. The round-trippers helped the White Sox improve to a major league-best 22-13.
Also around the majors:
— Xander Bogaerts and Bobby Dalbec each hit a two-run home run to help the Red Sox pound the Athletics, 8-1 and avoid a three-game sweep. Boston jumped on A’s left-hander Sean Manaea, pounding out 10 hits and seven runs in the first three innings on the way to snapping a three-game skid.
— Rich Hill joined Cy Young and Nolan Ryan as the only pitchers to strike out nine against the Yankees at age 41 or older, one of the Rays’ highlights in a 9-0 dismantling of New York. Austin Meadows smacked a two-run homer and Randy Arozarena added a three-run blast as Tampa Bay avoided a three-game sweep.
— Myles Straw scored on a wild pitch in the 11th inning to give the Astros a 4-3 win over the Rangers. José Altuve gave Houston a 3-2 lead in the second on a three-run double down the left-field line.
— Zach Plesac came within six outs of ending Cleveland’s 40-year no-hitter drought before the Indians settled for a 4-2 win at Seattle. Plesac got all the offense he needed on home runs from Frammil Reyes and José Ramírez.
— Jack Flaherty is the majors’ first seven-game winner of the season after scattering four hits over six innings of the Cardinals’ 2-0 shutout of the Brewers. Milwaukee hurler Corbin Burnes struck out nine among his first 14 outs, giving him 58 strikeouts and no walks this year before he walked Tommy Edman with two outs in the fifth.
— Anthony DeSclafani allowed one hit over five scoreless innings of the Giants’ 3-1 verdict over the Pirates. Steven Duggar’s first home run in nearly two years broke a scoreless tie with one out in the fifth.
— Josh Fuentes slammed a two-run homer for the second straight game and had four RBIs as part of the Rockies’ 13-8 assault on the Reds. Chi Chi Gonzalez scattered four hits over seven shutout innings before Cincinnati exploded for eight runs off Colorado’s bullpen in the eighth inning.
— The Nationals avoided a three-game sweep as Josh Bell and Kyle Schwarber hit two-run homers in the first inning of their 5-1 victory over the Phillies. Patrick Corbin allowed one run in seven innings, giving up five hits while striking out a season-high nine to help Washington end a four-game skid and win for just the second time in nine contests.
— Trevor Rogers allowed one run and four hits with seven strikeouts over six innings as the Marlins beat the Diamondbacks, 5-1 to gain a split of the four-game series. Jesús Aguilar had three more hits to finish 9-for-17 in the series.
— Bo Bichette had two hits and three RBIs, including a go-ahead, two-run double in the ninth inning of the Blue Jays’ 8-4 comeback win over the Braves. Atlanta was swept in its six-game season series with Toronto and finished Thursday’s game without Ronald Acuña Jr. because of a left ankle injury.
— Spencer Turnbull allowed a run and six hits over 6 1/3 innings as the Tigers dealt the Royals their 11th consecutive loss, 4-3. Detroit scored its runs in the second on RBI singles by Willi Castro, Jacoby Jones and Robbie Grossman and a sacrifice fly by Akil Baddoo.
