UNDATED (AP) — Make it a 1 1/2-game lead for the New York Mets over the Philadelphia Phillies in the NL East.
Taijuan Walker and the Mets continued their post All-Star break fade with a 5-4 loss to the Marlins.
Alex Jackson hit his first career home run and Bryan De La Cruz had three hits as the last-place Marlins handed the Mets their fifth loss in six games.
Isan Díaz also homered and Lewis Brinson had two hits and scored twice for Miami.
Walker was reached for four runs and eight hits over 5 2/3 innings. He is 0-3 with a 12.00 ERA since in four starts since pitching in the All-Star Game.
Meanwhile, the Phillies have picked up three games on New York since Sunday after Bryce Harper hit a solo shot against his former team to give Philadelphia a 5-2 lead in the eighth inning of a 5-4 win at Washington.
Jean Segura, J.T. Realmuto and Ronald Torreyes also homered to back Zack Wheeler, who was able to pitch into the eighth.
The Phils bullpen shut the door after Wheeler gave up a two-run homer to Josh Bell in the eighth.
In other major league action:
— Madison Bumgarner threw seven stellar innings to beat his former team for the first time, sending the Diamondbacks past the Giants, 3-1. The Giants scored their only run against Bumgarner on Curt Casali’s solo homer in the fifth. Asdrúbal Cabrera’s two-RBI double helped Arizona prevent San Francisco from padding its 3 1/2-game lead over Los Angeles atop the NL West.
— Lance McCullers Jr. threw 6 2/3 shutout innings and the Astros withstood the raucous, heckling fans at Dodger Stadium to blank Los Angeles, 3-0. The largest crowd at Dodger Stadium this season had waited a long time to let José Altuve, Carlos Correa and the Astros know just how they felt about possibly being cheated out of a 2017 World Series title. Michael Brantley’s RBI double gave Houston a 1-0 lead before Yordan Alvarez smacked a two-run homer to cap the scoring.
— Tommy Pham hit a leadoff homer and Austin Nola had four hits and two RBIs for the Padres in a 8-1 pounding of the Athletics. Manny Machado added two hits and scored twice in support of Blake Snell, who was reached for just one run despite pitching around traffic for five innings. Starling Marte had three hits for Oakland, which is 5 1/2 games behind the AL West-leading Astros.
— The Twins pulled out a 7-5 win over the Reds on Jorge Polanco’s three-run blast with one out in the ninth. Mitch Garver had a three-run homer in the fifth for the Twins, who had lost four of their previous five games. Jonathan India, Eugenio Suárez and Tucker Barnhart went deep for Cincinnati.
— The Reds remain 7 1/2 games off the NL Central lead after the first-place Brewers wasted a 4-0 lead in an 8-5, 10-inning loss to the Pirates. Milwaukee starter Adrian Houser was pulled after tossing hitless ball over 6 1/3 innings. Gregory Polanco singled home the tiebreaking run in the 10th and Bryan Reynolds followed with a two-run single.
— The Braves hammered Jon Lester in his first start for the Cardinals, scoring five runs in the first inning and cruising to a 6-1 victory. The 37-year-old Lester allowed the first seven hitters to reach and did not record an out until his 27th pitch. Jorge Soler smacked a two-run homer and Freddie Freeman went deep to help Atlanta climb within 2 1/2 games of the NL East lead.
— The Rockies routed the Cubs, 13-6 as Elías Díaz hit a grand slam and Kyle Freeland got his first win in more than a month. Freeland gave up two runs over five innings before being removed with a left foot contusion. Sam Hilliard also homered and C.J. Cron had three hits and three RBIs for Colorado.
— The Mariners beat the Rays for the second straight day as Abraham Toro and Jarred Kelenic homered in Seattle’s 4-2 decision over Tampa Bay. Yusei Kikuchi limited the AL East leaders to two runs and six hits over six innings after going 0-3 over his previous four starts. Randy Arozarena homered for the Rays, who are 0-6 versus the M’s this season.
— Tampa Bay’s lead in the AL East remains a game over Boston after the Red Sox absorbed their season-high fifth loss in a row, 4-2 at Detroit. Miguel Cabrera hit his 498th home run and added a single, giving him 2,944 career hits to move ahead of Frank Robinson for 36th place all-time. Garrett Richards took the loss, allowing three runs on five hits and two walks in four-plus innings.
— The Blue Jays tore through a 7-2 win over the Indians as Hyun-Jin Ryu allowed two runs over seven innings. Ryu retired the first six batters and striking out eight to help the Blue Jays win for the fifth time in six games since returning to Toronto last Friday. George Springer and Teoscar Hernandez provided first-inning homers for the Jays.
— Giancarlo Stanton contributed a three-run homer and four RBIs to the Yankees’ 13-1 assault on the Orioles. Aaron Judge also homered and winning Luis Gil won his major league debut by scattering four hits over six shutout innings. Gil was pressed into service after Gerrit Cole was placed on the COVID-19 injured list on Monday.
— Dylan Cease matched a season high with 11 strikeouts and allowed one hit in six scoreless innings, pitching the White Sox to a 7-1 win against the Royals. Tim Anderson and Andrew Vaughn homered for AL Central-leading Chicago, which had dropped three of four at fourth-place Kansas City last week. Anderson added an RBI single in Chicago’s four-run seventh, his third hit of the night.
— Top prospect Jo Adell drove in three runs while reaching base four times in his season debut as the Angels hammered the Rangers, 11-3. Phil Gosselin had three RBI singles and Jack Mayfield homered to help Los Angeles win for only the second time in six games.
