UNDATED (AP) — Byron Buxton is a big reason why the Minnesota Twins own a three-game lead in the American League Central at 16-11. So is rookie Jesse Winder.
Buxton belted his ninth homer of the season and Winder tossed six shutout innings as the Twins handed the Athletics their seventh consecutive loss, 2-1. Jose Miranda smacked his first big league homer to support Winder, who struck out eight while allowing three hits.
Winder has tossed six scoreless frames in each of his last two starts after coming out of the bullpen at the start of the season.
Also around the majors:
— Chas McCormick and Martín Maldonado hit consecutive homers in the second inning to account for the Astros’ scoring in a 3-2 downing of the Tigers. McCormick’s two-run homer to center in the second inning put the Astros up 2-1. Luis Garcia had his best outing of the season, one earned run on two hits with nine strikeouts over six innings of Houston’s season-high, fifth straight win.
— Luis Robert hit a two-run homer over the Green Monster to power the White Sox to their fourth win in a row, 4-2 at Boston. Vince Velazquez limited the Red Sox to a run and three hits in five innings after entering the night 0-7 with a 13.50 ERA in his last seven road starts. The Bosox have dropped 12 of their last 16.
— The Rays pulled out an 8-7 win over the Mariners on Manuel Margot’s, three-run homer in the top of the ninth. Tampa Bay erased three deficits to earn its sixth comeback win of the season and 52nd since the start of last year. Pinch-hitter Jarred Kelenic put Seattle up 6-5 in the eighth with a two-run homer.
— Mike Trout had a two-run double and Jhonathan Díaz pitched five strong innings in his first start of the season, leading the surging Angels to a 3-0 victory over the Nationals. Shohei Ohtani also drove in a run in the Angels’ third straight victory and 10th in their last 13 games. The AL West-leaders are eight games above .500 for the first time since June 2018.
— Christian Yelich’s infield single was the big hit in Milwaukee’s four-run sixth inning, leading a 6-3 victory in Atlanta. Eric Lauer gave up one earned run on two hits with eighth strikeouts over 6 1/3 innings to move to 3-0. The NL Central leaders have won four straight and nine of 10.
— Dylan Carlson laced an RBI single in the ninth inning to give the Cardinals a 3-2 win over the Giants. Harrison Bader launched a two-run homer to left field for the Cardinals to open the scoring in the fifth. The Giants countered in the bottom half when pinch-hitter Darin Ruf delivered a two-run single.
— Yu Darvish pitched seven strong innings in the Padres’ 3-2 victory against the skidding Marlins. Manny Machado reached base three times and had two hits, including a big RBI single as the Padres won for the fourth time in five games. Miami has dropped six straight.
— Merrill Kelly came within one out of a complete game while pitching the Diamondbacks to a 4-1 verdict over the Rockies. The game was tied 1-1 before Daulton Varsho and David Peralta hit homers in the eighth inning. Peralta delivered a two-run shot to help Arizona earn its fourth straight win.
Weather plays havoc with schedule
UNDATED (AP) — Friday’s 15-game major league schedule became a nine-game slate following rain in the Northeast and Midwest.
American League games called off are Toronto at Cleveland, Baltimore against visiting Kansas City and the New York Yankees versus Texas in the Bronx. Over in the National League, the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs were rained out at Wrigley Field, along with the New York Mets and Phillies in Philadelphia, and the Reds and Pirates in Cincinnati.
The Guardians, Orioles and Cubs will make up their home games by playing Saturday doubleheaders. The Yankees will host the Rangers for two games on Sunday, and the Mets-Phillies game has been rescheduled as part of a day-night doubleheader in August. The Red and Pirates will make up their game on July 7 as part of a twinbill.
