UNDATED (AP) — The New York Yankees have added another victory to their major league-best record.
Jameson Taillon worked eight masterful innings and the Yankees homered twice in the fourth inning of their fourth win in a row, a 2-0 shutout of the Rays. Taillon allowed just two hits and improved to 5-0 with a 2.20 ERA in his last seven starts, striking out five and walking none.
It’s the first time since 2013 that the Yankees have received at least eight innings from consecutive starters. Nelson Cortes worked into the ninth inning of Thursday’s 7-2 win at Tampa Bay.
Gleyber Torres and Matt Carpenter went deep as the Yankees improved to 33-13. It was Carpenter’s second game since signing with New York on Thursday.
The outcome leads the AL East-leading Yankees 6 1/2 games ahead of the second-place Rays.
Also on Friday’s major league schedule:
— Anthony Santander smacked a two-run homer in the fourth and added a tiebreaking RBI single while the Orioles scored four times in the ninth to beat the Red Sox, 12-8. The Birds trailed 8-2 until Jorge Mateo hit a three-run homer in the seventh and Austin Hays followed with a two-run shot in the eighth. Xander Bogaerts hit a three-run homer in a four-run first for Boston.
— The Blue Jays pulled out a 4-3 win over the Angels as Alejandro Kirk scored on an error by right fielder Juan Lagares in the ninth inning. Lourdes Gurriel had three hits and drove in a run, while Kirk had two hits in Toronto’s seventh victory in 10 games. Jared Walsh and Tyler Wade homered for the Angels, who were missing injured Shohei Ohtani and Anthony Rendon from the starting lineup.
— Rookie Julio Rodríguez hit the first of the Mariners’ four home runs off Justin Verlander in a 6-1 dumping of the Astros. Kyle Lewis, Ty France and Taylor Trammell also went deep off Verlander, tying his career-high for homers allowed in a start. Verlander entered with seven earned runs allowed in 51 2/3 innings this season.
— Pinch-hitter Andy Ibañez drove in a pair of runs with a two-out single off Athletics closer Dany Jiménez, sending the Rangers to an 8-5 win against the Athletics. The Rangers rallied with six runs in the final three innings and extended their winning streak to three. Sean Murphy and Chad Pinder hit back-to-back home runs off Jon Gray for the A’s during a five-run third.
— Jorge Polanco homered in a four-run first and Carlos Correa broke a fourth-inning tie with a blast to power the Twins past the struggling Royals, 10-7. Nick Gordon was 2-for-4 with three RBIs to help Minnesota deal Kansas City its seventh loss in eight games. The Royals’ Bobby Witt Jr. finished a double shy of the cycle, providing a two-run triple and a solo homer.
— Pete Alonso leads the majors with 45 RBIs after driving in four more while the Mets built a 7-0 lead in an 8-6 downing of the Phillies. Alonso had a sacrifice fly in a three-run first, launched his 12th in the third and poked an RBI double in the fourth. Francisco Lindor scored three runs for the Mets, who avoided their first three-game skid of the season.
— The Braves squandered a three-run lead before Ozzie Albies blooped a two-run double in the seventh, breaking a 4-4 deadlock in Atlanta’s 6-4 win over the Marlins. Austin Riley also homered and Travis Demeritte snapped an 0-for-34 slump with a run-scoring single to left field for a 3-0 lead. Garrett Cooper and Jesus Aguilar belted two-run shots in the sixth to put Miami ahead, 4-3.
— Paul Goldschmidt ran his hitting streak to 18 games with a two-run homer as the Cardinals doubled up the Brewers, 4-2. St. Louis starter Dakota Hudson pitched shutout ball but was pulled with the bases-loaded in the fifth. Brandon Woodruff allowed two runs on two hits in four innings before he was pulled from the game with right ankle discomfort while warming up for bottom of the fifth inning.
— Graham Ashcraft waited out a two-hour rain delay before earning his first career victory in the Reds’ 5-1 decision over the Giants. Ashcroft limited San Francisco to four hits while throwing 92 pitches over 6 1/3 innings, hours after being recalled from the minors. Matt Reynolds doubled home the game’s first run and Brandon Drury added a solo homer.
— Edwin Ríos and Mookie Betts hit back-to-back homers in the second inning and Trea Turner added a solo shot in the sixth as the Dodgers upended the Diamondbacks, 6-4. Ríos pulled a fastball from Madison Bumgarner over the right-field wall for a three-run homer and a 3-0 lead. The Dodgers have won 11 of 13 and lead the National League with a 31-14 record.
— Wil Myers drove in Manny Machado with a shattered-bat single in the eighth inning to lift the Padres past the Pirates, 4-3. The Padres’ slumbering offense came to life when Luke Voit hit a tying three-run homer with two outs in the sixth. It was San Diego’s first home run since last Saturday against the Giants.
— The Nationals and Rockies were rained out in Washington, creating a split doubleheader for Saturday.
— The Guardians-Indians game in Detroit was postponed by rain and rescheduled as pair of a split doubleheader on July 4.
