Gregorius' two-run homer helps Phillies beat Mets, 4-1

Philadelphia Phillies' Didi Gregorius reacts after hitting a two-run home run off New York Mets pitcher Rick Porcello during the fifth inning of a baseball game, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2020, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Philadelphia Phillies' Didi Gregorius reacts after hitting a two-run home run off New York Mets pitcher Rick Porcello during the fifth inning of a baseball game, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2020, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

PHILADELPHIA - Jake Arrieta pitched effectively into the sixth inning before leaving with an injury, Didi Gregorius hit a two-run homer and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the New York Mets 4-1 Tuesday night.

The scuffling Mets played their first game since billionaire hedge fund manager Steve Cohen agreed to buy the team from the Wilpon and Katz families. The agreement was announced Monday and the deal is subject to the approval of Major League Baseball owners.

Arrieta (4-4) allowed one run on Brandon Nimmo's homer and eight hits in 5 1/3 innings. But he walked off the mound, grabbing the back of his right leg, after hitting Andres Gimenez with a pitch to load the bases. JoJo Romero entered and retired Wilson Ramos on a double-play grounder.

Romero tossed two innings, Tommy Hunter got two outs and Hector Neris finished for his fourth save in seven chances.

Mets starter Rick Porcello (1-5) yielded four runs and six hits in six innings as New York (21-27) lost its third straight and fell six games under .500, matching a season low.

 

YANKEES 20, BLUE JAYS 6

NEW YORK - Luke Voit and Aaron Hicks homered to key a seven-run second-inning burst made possible when right fielder Derek Fisher misplayed a pair of flyballs, and the Yankees rocketed past Toronto into second place in the AL East with a blowout that extended their winning streak to six.

Voit homered twice, raising his major league-leading total to 18, and had five RBIs for the Yankees. Gary Snchez hit a three-run homer off Anthony Kay and Clint Frazier had a two-run shot against Ryan Borucki.

DJ LeMahieu had four hits and five RBIs. LeMahieu homered on a 48.7 mph offering from infielder Santiago Espinal leading off eighth, the slowest pitch hit for a home run since MLB started tracking in 2008.

LeMahieu, batting leadoff, and Voit, hitting behind him, combined to mark the first time in Yankees history both the No. 1 and 2 hitters had five RBIs in the same game.

Rookie Deivi Garca (2-1) allowed three runs and six hits in six innings.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. had a solo homer, single and double. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. hit a two-run homer in the fourth for the Blue Jays.

 

RED SOX 2, MARLINS 0

MIAMI - Tanner Houck gave up just two singles over five innings to win his major league debut, pitching Boston past Miami.

Houck, the first-round draft pick of the Red Sox in 2017, struck out seven and walked three on 86 pitches. Matt Barnes earned his seventh save.

Jackie Bradley Jr. broke up a scoreless game with an opposite-field double off Miami starter Sandy Alcantara in the sixth. Alcantara (2-2) allowed a leadoff single to Xander Bogaerts and walked Christian Vazquez before Bradley delivered against the playoff-contending Marlins.

The Red Sox increased their lead on Vazquez's run-scoring single in the eighth.

Alcantara scattered five hits, walked two and struck out five in six innings.

 

REDS 4, PIRATES 1

CINCINNATI - Tucker Barnhart hit a home run and Brian Goodwin prevented one with a leaping catch as Cincinnati extended its winning streak to a season-high four games with a win over Pittsburgh.

Michael Lorenzen (2-1) looked sharp in a spot start. Lorenzen made his first 2020 start. He allowed one run and four hits in five innings with no walks and six strikeouts. Amir Garrett pitched the ninth for his first save.

Pittsburgh's only run came in the fourth on Ke'Bryan Hayes' double and Colin Moran's single.

The Reds took a 3-0 lead in the first. Shogo Akiyama and Nick Castellanos opened the inning with singles and Joey Votto walked. Jesse Winker forced Votto at the plate with a chopper to Musgrove, but the right-hander hit Mike Moustakas on the left foot with a pitch to force in a run. Votto scored on Goodwin's sacrifice fly. Freddy Galvis followed with an RBI single.

Musgrove (0-5) gave up six hits, four runs and one walk. He retired 11 of the last 12 batters he faced.

 

RAYS 6, NATIONALS 1

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Ryan Yarbrough stopped a personal 16-game winless streak, Nate Lowe homered and AL East-leading Tampa Bay beat Washington.

Yarbrough (1-3) followed opener John Curtiss in the second inning and gave up one run and five hits over 5 2/3 innings for his first win since Aug 11, 2019, at Seattle.

Nick Anderson replaced Ryan Sherriff with the bases loaded and one out in the ninth and struck out Luis Garca and pinch-hitter Yadiel Hernandez to get this fifth save.

Washington got a sixth-inning RBI grounder from Kurt Suzuki.

 

TIGERS 6, ROYALS 0

DETROIT - Miguel Cabrera hit a homer and a double to help Detroit beat Kansas City.

Matthew Boyd (2-6) bounced back from a rough outing with a strong performance, throwing five-plus scoreless innings and giving up just two hits.

Jakob Junis (0-2) started in place of Danny Duffy, who missed the team's flight to Detroit. Junis gave up five runs and seven hits over 2 1-3 innings.

Detroit had lost three straight and 10 of its last 13 games. Kansas City had won six straight.

Niko Goodrum, in his first at-bat after being on the 10-day injured list, hit an RBI single in the first. Jorge Bonifacio followed with a two-run double to give Detroit a 3-0 lead.

Boyd struck out five and walked four. His 105-pitch outing ended with two on and two outs in the sixth and Edward Olivares hit into an inning-ending groundout.

 

BRAVES 5, ORIOLES 1

BALTIMORE - Adam Duvall tied a Braves record with his 10th homer in September, and Atlanta used six pitchers to beat Baltimore.

Freddie Freeman had three hits, including a pair of RBI doubles, to help the Braves bounce back from a 14-1 drubbing by Baltimore a night earlier.

Duvall hit a solo shot off Thomas Eshelman (3-1) to make it 2-0 in the fourth inning. The score stayed that way until Freeman doubled and scored in a three-run ninth.

Darren O'Day (4-0) worked the fifth, the first of five pitchers to throw one inning apiece.

José Iglesias had two hits and a ninth-inning RBI for the Orioles, who have lost six of seven.

 

BREWERS 18, CARDINALS 3

MILWAUKEE - Christian Yelich broke out of his slump with a home run and three hits, Ryan Braun also went deep and Milwaukee routed St. Louis.

Keston Hiura and Daniel Vogelbach also homered for the Brewers.

With St. Louis leading 1-0 in the first, Yelich and Braun hit back-to-back solo home runs off Jack Flaherty (3-2). Yelich, who singled, and Braun, who walked, hurt Flaherty again in the third inning. They scored on a double by Vogelbach, a designated hitter claimed off waivers Sept. 3.

The game broke loose in the fourth, after Flaherty gave up two singles and a walk to load the bases. There were still no outs when three runs crossed the plate, giving Milwaukee a 7-1 lead, and Flaherty was pulled.

Milwaukee left-hander Brett Anderson (3-3) gave up an RBI double and a bases-loaded walk, both to Paul Goldschmidt.

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