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Schwarber homers again to spark another Nats win

By WJBD Staff Jun 30, 2021 | 6:20 AM

UNDATED (AP) — The only thing hotter than the Washington Nationals right now is their starting left fielder.

Kyle Schwarber led off the first inning with his 12th home run in 10 games to ignite the Nationals’ 4-3 win over the Rays. Juan Soto followed two batters later with a two-run drive, and Victor Robles added a solo homer in the second for a 4-0 lead in Washington’s 12th win in 15 games.

Schwarber is batting .253 with 25 homers and 53 RBIs. He is tied in home runs with San Diego’s Fernando Tatis Jr., three shy of the major league-leading total of the Angels’ Shohei Ohtani.

In other major league action:

— Vince Velasquez tossed a two-hitter over seven shutout innings of the Phillies’ 4-3 win over the Marlins. Rhys Hoskins hit a solo homer and pinch-hitter Odubel Herrera drove an RBI double that gave the Phils a 4-0 lead in the seventh.

— The Mets put together a four-run seventh to rally past the Braves, 4-3. Charlie Morton had thrown 20 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings before James McCann tied it with a three-run homer and Francisco Lindor hit an RBI single off loser A.J. Minter.

— Brandon Woodruff threw four-hit ball over six innings and the Brewers made the most of two hits in winning their seventh straight, 2-1 against the Cubs. Milwaukee managed to win with just an RBI double by Christian Yelich in the first inning and an RBI single by Jace Peterson in the fourth.

— Carlos Martínez ended a seven-start winless streak and Nolan Arenado broke a fifth-inning tie with a two-run homer that pushed the Cardinals past the Diamondbacks, 3-2. Martínez allowed one run, four hits and two walks in six innings to become the second St. Louis starter since May 26 to earn a victory.

— Tommy Pham homered and Padres relievers tossed four scoreless innings in their 10th win in 11 games, 5-4 versus the Reds. Pham drove in a run with a sacrifice fly in the second and hit a solo homer in the fourth.

— Max Muncy homered on his bobblehead night as the Dodgers topped the Giants, 3-1 for a sweep of the two-game set. Walker Buehler pitched three-hit ball into the seventh inning and Chris Taylor had a two-run single in the first inning to help Los Angeles get its fifth straight win.

— German Márquez came within three outs of what would have been a record-tying eighth no-hitter this season before allowing Ka’ai Tom’s single leading off the ninth inning of the Rockies’ 8-0 thrashing of the Pirates. Elías Díaz homered for the second time in two games, a solo shot in the three-run fifth.

— J.D. Martinez drove in four runs, including two on a go-ahead double in the sixth inning of the Red Sox’s fifth win in a row, 7-6 over the Royals. Kansas City dropped its seventh straight despite homers from White Merrifield, Michael A. Taylor and Ryan O’Hearn.

— Marcus Semien drove in five runs and Bo Bichette smacked a three-run homer in the Blue Jays’ 9-3 romp over the Mariners. The Jays had 15 hits, with all nine starters getting at least one in their eighth win in nine games.

— Aaron Judge and Gary Sánchez each homered as the Yankees set a season high for runs in an 11-5 pounding of the Angels. Major League home run leader Shohai Ohtani belted his 27th and 28th round-trippers for the Angels, putting him on pace for 57 this season.

— Cedric Mullins homered among his four hits as the Orioles hammered the Astros, 13-3. Austin Hays and Maikel Franco had three RBIs each and Anthony Santander added a solo homer in a five-run eighth.

— Joey Gallo has 18 home runs after hitting two more, including a go-ahead drive in the sixth inning of the Rangers’ 5-4 victory against the Athletics. Mike Foltynewicz allowed two runs and four hits over seven innings to win for the first time in 11 starts since beating the Angels on April 27.

— Gavin Sheets had two hits and two RBIs in his major league debut to back Lucas Giolito in the White Sox’s 7-6 downing of the Twins. Leury García also drove in two runs as Chicago increased its AL Central lead to 2 1/2 games over Cleveland.

— The Tigers-Indians game in Cleveland was postponed by rain and rescheduled for Wednesday as part of a pair of seven-inning contests.