Zobrist homers, Cubs beat Pirates
CHICAGO—Jake Arrieta continued his dominant second half with six innings of twohit ball, Ben Zobrist homered and the Chicago Cubs beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-1 on Tuesday night.
Anthony Rizzo went 3 for 4 with an RBI, Alex Avila had an RBI single and Jason Heyward added a sacrifice fly for NL Central-leading Chicago.
Arrieta (14-8) struck out four and retired the last seven batters he faced, leaving after 97 pitches with a 3-0 lead. He hasn’t allowed more than two earned runs in any of his nine starts since the All-Star break, going 6-1 with a 1.59 ERA during that span.
Reds 14, Mets 4
CINCINNATI—Scott Schebler hit his first career grand slam, and the Cincinnati Reds ended their 14-game losing streak against the New York Mets with a 14-4 victory Tuesday night.
The Reds hadn’t beaten the Mets since Sept. 6, 2014. They’d dropped their last eight to New York at Great American Ball Park, where the Mets are 30-16 all-time—the best winning percentage by any NL team, including the Reds.
Cincinnati put it away with a seven-run eighth inning that featured Adam Duvall’s threerun homer. Mets catcher Kevin Plawecki made his second appearance on the mound this season and induced a double-play grounder.
Reds rookie Sal Romano (4-5) made his third straight solid start, allowing three runs and six hits in six innings.
Red Sox 3, Blue Jays 0
TORONTO—Chris Sale and two relievers combined on a four-hitter, Hanley Ramirez hit a solo home run and the Boston Red Sox beat the Toronto Blue Jays 3-0 on Tuesday night.
Sale (15-6) fanned 11 in his ML-best 17th double-digit strikeout game, raising his league-leading total to 264. His 15 wins lead the AL.
Sale, who matched a season-worst by allowing seven runs in his previous outing, pitched seven innings. The lefthander has not allowed a run in 22 innings against the Blue Jays this season.
After Toronto DH Kendrys Morales hit a one-out double in the second inning, Sale retired 17 consecutive batters before Morales singled to begin the eighth.
Nationals 8, Marlins 3
WASHINGTON—Giancarlo Stanton tied a major league record with his 18th home run in August, but Anthony Rendon had four RBIs and the Washington Nationals beat the Miami Marlins 8-3 on Tuesday night.
Stanton hit a long homer in the first inning, his 51st this season, to open the scoring following a 26-minute rain delay. His August output matched the mark set by Rudy York with the Detroit Tigers in 1937. Sammy Sosa set the record for homers in a month when he hit 20 in June 1998, and Stanton has two games left this month to catch the former Cubs slugger.
Stanton added an RBI with a deep sacrifice fly in the fifth inning.
Orioles 4, Mariners 0
BALTIMORE—Dylan Bundy threw a one-hitter for his first career shutout, Manny Machado hit two of Baltimore’s four solo homers, and the Orioles extended their winning streak to six games with a 4-0 victory over Seattle on Tuesday night.
Bundy (13-8) allowed just an infield single to Kyle Seager in the fourth inning and set a career high with 12 strikeouts. The right-hander has a 2.00 ERA in August and has struck out 10 or more in three of his last four starts.
Jonathan Schoop and Welington Castillo also went deep for the Orioles, who moved two games over .500 for the first time since June 10.