UNDATED (AP) — The San Francisco Giants continue to lead the National League West by one game over the Los Angeles Dodgers following road wins for both teams.
Thairo Estrada hit two of San Francisco’s four home runs as the Giants doubled up the Rockies, 10-5. Darin Ruf and Buster Posey also went deep to give San Francisco 206 home runs this season, tops in the NL and four behind Toronto.
Winning pitcher Kevin Gausman allowed three runs while striking out nine over seven innings. Gausman also singled and scored a run as San Francisco improved to a major league-best 88-50.
The Dodgers were 5-1 winners over the Cardinals behind Max Scherzer, who struck out 13 and permitted one unearned run and six hits in eight innings. Chris Taylor hit a two-run homer for the Dodgers, who have won all seven of Scherzer’s starts since acquiring him from Washington before the trade deadline.
The Cardinals lost for the fourth time in five games and dropped 3 1/2 games back of idle San Diego for the second NL wild card.
Checking out Monday’s other major league action:
— Brad Miller homered twice and Jean Segura added a grand slam as the Phillies crushed the NL Central-leading Brewers, 12-0. Bryce Harper, Andrew McCutchen and Freddy Galvis also went deep to back Zack Wheeler, who was reached for five hits while fanning nine over six innings. The Phillies are within 1 ½ games of the NL East-leading Braves, while the Brewers remain 11 games up on the Reds.
— Frank Schwindel’s RBI single in the eighth broke a 3-3 tie in the Cubs’ 4-3 decision over Cincinnati. Schwindel is batting .441 with six homers and 14 RBIs in 34 at-bats during an eight-game hitting streak. Cincinnati lost for the seventh time in nine games to fall one game behind the Padres for the second NL wild card.
— Carter Kieboom and Andrew Stevenson hit RBI singles in the ninth off Edwin Diaz to rally the Nationals past the Mets, 3-2. Díaz blew two saves in the five-game series. Pete Alonso hit a solo homer and an RBI single for the Mets, who took three of five in Washington but fell four games behind idle Atlanta for the NL East lead.
— The Rays have spiked their lead in the AL East to 8 ½ games over the Yankees with a comeback win over the Red Sox, 11-10. Austin Meadows tied it with an inside the park homer in the ninth, one inning before Nelson Cruz singled home the go-ahead run. Cruz also homered and finished with a pair of RBI singles for the Rays, who trailed by six before winning for the 12th time in 15 games.
— The Blue Jays have continued their hot stretch with an 8-0 rout of the Yankees in the Bronx. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. slammed his 40th home run in Toronto’s fifth straight win and eighth in nine games. Marcus Semien added a pair of homers, including the Jays’ sixth grand slam of the season.
— Houston leads the AL West by 5 1/2 games over Seattle after rookie Jake Meyers and pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. highlighted the Astros’ 11-2 thrashing of the Mariners. Meyers belted a three-run homer and had four RBIs to back McCullers, who held the M’s two runs and four hits over six frames. Kyle Tucker was 3-for-3 with two RBIs and three runs scored as the Astros kept the Mariners three games behind Boston for the second AL wild card.
— A.J. Alexy allowed one hit over six innings as the Rangers blanked the Angels, 4-0. Alexy retired his final 13 batters and has limited opponents to two hits and no runs over 11 innings of his first two big league starts.
— Andrew Benintendi hit a go-ahead single in the eighth inning before leaping to rob Anthony Santander of a home run in the Royals’ 3-2 decision over the Orioles. Hanser Alberto homered against his former team, and Salvador Perez tied it at 2 with a bloop single in the eighth. Scott Barlow gave up a two-out single to pinch-hitter DJ Stewart before striking out Jahmai Jones to earn his 11th save.
— Ke’Bryan Hayes and Yoshi Tsutsugo each hit a two-run single while the Pirates scored four times in the seventh to beat the Tigers, 6-3. Hayes had three hits in helping Pittsburgh end a six-game losing streak. Kevin Newman hit a two-run homer in the first for the Bucs.
— The Twins picked up a 5-2 win over the Indians as Jorge Polanco hit a solo homer and doubled three times. Franmil Reyes connected to give the Indians at least one homer in a franchise-record 20 straight games. Cleveland’s loss gives the White Sox a 10-game lead in the AL Central.
