UNDATED (AP) — The Giants were able to retain their three-game lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League West, with a little help from one of San Francisco’s newest acquisitions.
Kris Bryant homered in his Giants debut as they took the rubber match of their three-game set with the Astros, 5-3. Bryant was greeted by chants of “KB, KB, KB” when he trotted onto the field for pregame warmups and received a standing ovation before his first at-bat. He fanned in his initial at-bat, then went deep in the third inning.
Darin Ruf had three hits including a home run and two RBIs. Brandon Crawford and Donovan Solano both added two hits to help San Francisco improve to a major league-best 66-39.
Houston’s lead in the AL West is down to 4 1/2 games over Oakland.
The Dodgers kept pace as Albert Pujols doubled home three runs to cap a five-run second that highlighted a 13-0 trouncing of the Diamondbacks. Mookie Betts homered in his return from the injured list and finished with two hits.
Jose Urias became the majors’ second 13-game winner of the season, allowing nothing but four singles over five innings.
Meanwhile, the Rays have hiked their lead in the AL East to 1 1/2 games over the Red Sox.
Brandon Lowe socked a two-run homer and Manuel Margot added an RBI single as the Rays completed a three-game sweep of Boston, 3-2.
Shane McClanahan allowed one run and four hits over six innings to move to 5-4. He outdueled Nick Pivetta, who was reached for three runs over 4 2/3s.
Hunter Renfroe homered for the Sox, who put runners on first and third in the ninth before Matt Wisler preserved the victory.
The Red Sox have lost a season-high four straight and five of six.
Elsewhere in the majors:
— The Padres coasted to an 8-1 win over the Rockies as Ha-Seong Kim homered and drove in three runs. Kim and Jake Cronenworth delivered two-run doubles in a first inning to give San Diego a 4-0 lead. Cronenworth had three hits as the Padres earned a four-game split.
— Yan Gomes slammed a two-run homer in his Athletics debut and fellow newcomer Starling Marte went 3-for-5 with three stolen bases in an 8-3 thumping of the Angels. Former 37-th-round draft pick Daulton Jefferies earned his first major league victory, allowing three runs and three hits in five innings. Matt Olson smacked his 28th home run, a three-run clout in the third inning.
— The Rangers pulled out a 4-3 win over the Mariners on Jonah Heim’s second walk-off homer in as many games. Heim’s ninth-inning blast came right after a tying, two-run shot from Andy Ibánez. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Heim is the first Texas player with walk-off homers in consecutive games and the first rookie to do it in the majors.
— The White Sox earned a 2-1 win over the Indians on Brian Goodwin’s walk-off homer with one out in the ninth. Liam Hendriks allowed one hit in the ninth to complete a scoreless six-inning stint by the Chicago bullpen. The Indians didn’t score after Myles Straw’s home run leading off the third.
— José Berríos tossed six shutout innings in his Toronto debut and the Blue Jays completed a three-game sweep in their first series north of the border since 2019, 5-1 over the Royals. The two-time All-Star walked one and struck out seven, including four straight in the third and fourth innings. Marcus Semien and Santiago Espinal homered to back Toronto’s big-name newcomer.
— Shut out heading into the eighth inning, the Yankees completed a three-game sweep with a 3-1 victory at Miami. New York trailed 1-0 until Anthony Rizzo and Aaron Judge hit RBI singles in the eighth. Marlins starter Sandy Alcantara limited the Yanks to two hits and a walk over seven shutout innings.
— Willy Adames hit a first-inning homer and Brett Anderson pitched into the sixth inning as the Brewers took the rubber match of their three-game set in Atlanta, 2-1. Anderson gave up four hits and a run over 5 2/3s, leaving him 2-0 with a 1.72 ERA in his last four starts. Lorenzo Cain singled and scored in the fifth to make it 2-0, helping Milwaukee maintain its seven-game lead over Cincinnati in the NL Central.
— Rookie Max Schrock was terrific as Joey Votto’s replacement at first base, going 5-for-5 with a homer, two RBIs and three runs scored in the Reds’ 7-1 downing of the Mets. Vladimir Gutierrez allowed just three hits over seven innings, blanking the Mets until Jeff McNeil’s home run in the sixth inning. New York is 3-5 on its homestand and 8-9 since the All-Star break, leaving the Mets with a 3 1/2-game lead over the Phillies atop the NL East.
— Kyle Gibson made his Phillies debut and worked into the seventh inning of a 15-4 dismantling of the Pirates. J.T. Realmuto furnished five of the Phillies’ 20 hits, with two doubles and four RBIs. Bryce Harper hit three of Philadelphia’s nine doubles and Jean Segura drove in three runs as the Phils avoided a three-game sweep.
— Rookie Edmundo Sosa was 3-for-3 with a homer and two RBIs for the Cardinals in a 7-3 downing of the Twins. Adam Wainwright gave up three runs over seven innings of his 176th career win. Dylan Carlson also had three hits and Tommy Edman doubled twice as St. Louis won for the fourth time in six games.
— The Nationals earned a 6-5 win over the Cubs behind Yadiel Hernandez, whose second homer of the afternoon was a solo shot that won the game in the bottom of the ninth. Hernandez’s four-hit day helped the Nationals overcome three home runs by Rafael Ortega of the Cubs. Ortega tied a franchise record for homers in a game, leading off with a shot to right-center before adding two-run blasts in the sixth and eighth.
— Eric Haase doubled home a pair in a three-run first that kickstarted the Tigers’ 6-2 win over the Orioles. Erasmo Ramirez pitched two scoreless innings to pick up his first major league win since Sept. 3, 2018. The Tigers are 30-24 in Detroit after losing a major league-leading 59 home games in 2019.
