UNDATED (AP) — Willson Contreras had three hits and stole a base in his first game against younger brother William, helping the Chicago Cubs beat the Atlanta Braves 6-3. Chicago won a day after ending its 10-game losing streak and also stopping the Braves’ 14-game winning string.
The Contreras brothers both started at catcher, marking the first time they shared a field. They hugged before the 30-year-old Willson, a two-time All-Star, singled in the first inning. Contreras then stole second base against his brother and scored on Jonathan Villar’s two-run single. Willson Contreras later doubled and drove in a run. His 24-year-old brother had two hits for the Braves.
— Nolan Arenado hit a two-run homer over the Green Monster in the first inning and the St. Louis Cardinals broke it open with a six-run sixth in an 11-2 victory over the Boston Red Sox. Nolan Gorman and Tyler O’Neill both had a solo shot for the Cardinals, who rebounded after losing the opener of the three-game series. Paul Goldschmidt and Tommy Edman each had a two-run single during the big inning. The Red Sox lost for just the fourth time in 16 games.
In other MLB action:
— Taijuan Walker retired 18 in a row and pitched into the seventh inning, Francisco Lindor homered for the second straight game and the New York Mets beat the Miami Marlins 3-2. The Mets have won three straight and five of six, earning their NL-best 44th victory and improving to a season-high 21 games over .500. Walker pitched one-run ball and struck out nine over 6 2/3 innings in front of a large crowd on an unseasonably cool and breezy day. Jon Berti singled to lead off the game and stole a base in each of the next two at-bats, but the speedster was stranded as the right-hander fanned the side.
— Rhys Hoskins’ 10th-inning, pinch-hit single led the surging Philadelphia Phillies to a 2-1 win over the Washington Nationals on Saturday afternoon. Philadelphia has won 15 of its last 17 games and is 14-2 since firing former manager Joe Girardi on June 3 when the team was 22-29. It is a season-high five games over .500. The last-place Nationals sunk to 23-46 on the day they retired the No. 11 of organizational stalwart Ryan Zimmerman in front of a sellout crowd of 42,730. Aaron Nola pitched eight shutout innings for the second time in three starts.
— Freddie Freeman had three hits, Trea Turner homered and four Los Angeles pitchers limited Cleveland to two hits in the Dodgers’ 7-1 victory over the Guardians. Julio Urías pitched six strong innings to earn his first win since May 20. The left-hander, who had gone 0-3 with a 3.09 ERA in his last four outings, allowed an unearned run on two hits with six strikeouts and two walks. It was a season low in hits for Cleveland, which was missing AL RBI leader José Ramírez due to right thumb discomfort. The loss snapped a season-best five-game winning streak.
— Brandon Crawford tied the game with an RBI single in the sixth and provided some breathing room with an RBI double in the ninth as the San Francisco Giants rallied past the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-5. The victory was the seventh in eight games for San Francisco, which is a season-best 10 games over .500 at 37-27. Wilmer Flores and Austin Slater homered for the Giants. Diego Castillo hit a three-run home run for Pittsburgh. The Pirates have dropped 11 of 12.
— Ryan McMahon’s third hit of the game was a tiebreaking solo homer in the bottom of the eighth inning, leading the Colorado Rockies to a 5-4 win over the San Diego Padres. C.J. Cron and Charlie Blackmon also homered for the Rockies, who won their second straight after a seven-game home losing streak. Alex Colomé pitched a scoreless eighth for the victory and Daniel Bard earned his 14th save in 16 chances. Manny Machado homered for the Padres, who lost their ninth in a row to the Rockies at Coors Field.
— Willy Adames and Hunter Renfroe both homered for the second straight day, rookie Jason Alexander earn his first career win and the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Cincinnati Reds 7-3. Jace Peterson drove in two runs with a sixth-inning double on a chopper over the head of leaping first baseman Mike Moustakas, and Milwaukee won a second straight game for the first time this month. The roller-coaster Reds have lost three straight after a three-game winning streak, which followed a four-game slide. Alexander allowed one unearned run through five innings of his fourth start before giving up four hits and two runs in the sixth.
— Jameson Taillon and two relievers combined on a five-hitter, Aaron Hicks lined a three-run double and the New York Yankees extended their winning streak to nine by beating the Toronto Blue Jays 4-0. Taillon allowed four hits and struck out eight in 5 2-3 innings to win his eighth straight decision. New York’s shutout was its 11th of 2022.
— Gary Sánchez smashed a long two-run homer that capped a six-run third inning, Dylan Bundy threw eight effective innings and the Minnesota Twins beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 11-1. The Twins jumped ahead for a 6-0 lead with their big third inning, highlighted by a mammoth two-out, two-run homer from Sánchez that traveled 456 feet into the left-center seats and left his bat at over 107 mph. It was the two-time All-Star’s eighth homer of the season. Bundy retired the first 10 hitters he faced before Alek Thomas bounced a single through the middle of the infield.
— Johnny Cueto and Reynaldo López combined for a three-hitter and Luis Robert tied a career-high with four RBIs as the Chicago White Sox jumped on Justin Verlander early and cruised to a 7-0 win over the Houston Astros. Cueto allowed two hits and struck out five in a season-high seven innings to get his first win since July 29 with San Francisco. Robert tied a season-best with three hits and José Abreu drove in two runs as the White Sox built a 7-0 lead after four innings to get their fourth win in five games.
— Mike Trout hit his 51st career home run against Seattle, Jared Walsh added a pinch-hit two-run homer and the Los Angeles Angels swept a doubleheader from the Mariners, winning the nightcap 3-0. Los Angeles won the first game 4-2 after Trout hit a two-run drive with two outs in the 10th inning off Diego Castillo. Trout hit his 20th homer of the season and his 32nd at T-Mobile Park with a solo shot off Tommy Milone with two outs in the third inning. The pitch wasn’t in the strike zone, but Trout barreled it up and drove it out to center field.
— Brad Keller allowed one hit in seven crisp innings to lift Kansas City to a 2-0 win over the Oakland Athletics. Jose Cuas retired two batters and allowed a one-out double in the eighth. Scott Barlow set down the final four batters for his eighth save to complete the two-hitter and give the Royals a third consecutive win. The A’s were shut out for the eighth time this season, dropped their eighth straight at home, and fell to a majors-worst 22-45. Oakland has lost 15 of 17. Keller was dominant in his first win since May 3. The 22-year-old retired 17 of the first 18 batters he faced and worked around three walks for his first road victory in five starts this season.
— Harold Ramirez hit a tiebreaking sacrifice fly in the top of the ninth inning, and the Tampa Bay Rays snapped their four-game losing streak with a 7-6 victory over the Baltimore Orioles. Francisco Mejía had a career-high four hits for the Rays and Yandy Díaz had three. Calvin Faucher pitched a perfect eighth to earn his first career win, the day after taking the loss in Baltimore’s 1-0 victory. Robinson Chirinos had three hits and four RBIs for the Orioles.
— Eric Haase had three hits, including one of three Detroit homers, and the Tigers snapped a six-game losing streak with a 14-7 win over the Texas Rangers. The Tigers had scored only two runs in their last four games but set a season high for runs against Texas. Javy Baez and Robbie Grossman also homered and top prospect Riley Greene scored twice in his major league debut. Rony Garcia picked up the win, allowing four runs on four hits in six innings. Texas starter Taylor Hearn allowed eight runs and 10 hits in 3 2/3 innings.
