UNDATED (AP) — The Tampa Bay Rays have retained their five-game lead over the New York Yankees atop the AL East.
The Rays wrapped up a four-game sweep by dealing the Orioles their 15th consecutive loss, 7-2. Brandon Lowe smacked his career-high 29th home run, a two-run blast in the second inning of Tampa Bay’s 11th win in 14 games. Shane McClanahan won his fourth straight start by limiting Baltimore to a run and five hits over five innings.
Ji-Man Choi delivered a two-run single that put the Rays ahead 7-0 in the fourth. Austin Meadows walked with the bases loaded for his 83rd RBI.
Jorge Lopez became the majors’ first 14-game loser, allowing four runs over two innings.
The Rays lead their division by 5 1/2 games over the Yankees, who are hosting the Twins right now.
The Yankees kept pace as they scored four runs in the third inning of a 7-5 win over the Twins. Leadoff hitter Luke Voit had a two-run double in the third inning of New York’s season-high, seventh-straight win. Kyle Higashioka and Giancarlo Stanton homered for the Yanks, who lead the AL wild card by one game over Oakland.
Checking out Thursday’s other major league action:
— The Athletics’ four-game losing streak is over after Matt Chapman, Matt Olson and Sean Murphy homered in Oakland’s 5-4 downing of the White Sox. Olson supplied a tiebreaking, two-run homer in the seventh inning as the A’s avoided a four-game sweep. Winning pitcher Cole Irvin allowed three runs on seven hits in six innings to help Oakland move a half-game ahead of Boston for the second AL wild card.
— Like the A’s, the Astros avoided a four-game sweep as Aledmys Díaz singled in the go-ahead run in the 10th inning to lead a 6-3 win over the Royals. Díaz finished 3-for-4 with a double and two RBIs as the AL West leaders maintained their 2 1/2-game lead over Oakland. Houston added two more runs in the 10th on a bases-loaded walk by Chas McCormick and a sacrifice fly by Taylor Jones.
— Ty France slammed a two-run homer in the 11th inning to give the Mariners a 9-8 victory and a three-game sweep of the Rangers. France went deep off Joe Barlow after Texas tied it with a five-run ninth. Mitch Haniger hit his 27th homer for the Mariners who won for the seventh time in eight games and are 10 games over .500 for the first time since their 13-3 start in 2019.
— The Angels overcame an eight-run deficit to beat the Tigers, 13-10. Max Stassi had three RBIs, including a go-ahead, two-run homer in the eighth inning. Tigers DH Miguel Cabrera drove in four runs but remains stuck on 500 career home runs.
— Trea Turner furnished two of the Dodgers’ six hits and singled home the final run in a 4-1 verdict over the Mets. Ex-Met Billy McKinney laced an RBI double as Los Angeles pulled within 2 1/2 games of the NL West-leading Giants. Seven pitchers combined to limit New York to six hits as the Mets dropped five games behind the NL East-leading Braves.
— The National League-worst Diamondbacks completed a 6-1 homestand and a three-game sweep of the Phillies, 6-2. Madison Bumgarner carried a one-hitter into the eighth inning and allowed one run and three hits over eight frames. Bumgarner also had a broken-bat RBI single in the Diamondbacks’ five-run seventh against Zack Wheeler, helping Arizona deal Philadelphia it’s seventh loss in nine games.
— Tyler O’Neill and Lars Nootbaar hit back-to-back home runs in a five-run fifth inning that launched the Cardinals past the Brewers, 8-4. Nolan Arenado also drove in a pair as St. Louis erased a three-run deficit to avoid a three-game sweep. Brandon Woodruff allowed six runs on eight hits and a walk in five innings as the Brewers lost for just the second time on a season-high, 10-game road trip.
— The Reds knocked off the Marlins, 6-1 as Joey Votto slammed a three-run homer and Luis Castillo pitched seven innings of one-run ball. Kyle Farmer and Jonathan India each had run-scoring doubles for the Reds, who rebounded after dropping two in a row to the Cubs. The outcome puts Cincinnati one game behind San Diego for the second NL wild card.
