MLB roundup: Kemp blasts Dodgers into West tie with D-backs

Matt Kemp hit a three-run home run in the eighth inning as the Los Angeles Dodgers rallied to grab a share of first place in the National League West on Saturday with a 3-2 victory over the visiting Arizona Diamondbacks. The Dodgers had just three hits heading into the eighth inning, but they got a one-out single from Justin Turner and a walk from Manny Machado in front of Kemp's 19th home run of the season off Diamondbacks reliever Archie Bradley. Machado's walk came on a 10-pitch plate appearance. It was just the fourth home run in the second half for Kemp, who was named to the National League All-Star team. The Dodgers used home runs to put together a late rally for the second consecutive game after Turner and Enrique Hernandez went deep in a victory Friday. Eduardo Escobar and Christian Walker hit home runs for the Diamondbacks, while Patrick Corbin pitched five scoreless innings. Arizona fell into a tie for the top spot in the division for the third time since Aug. 12. Braves 5, Pirates 3 Freddie Freeman's run-scoring double drove in the go-ahead run in a four-run eighth-inning rally to help Atlanta beat visiting Pittsburgh and snap a three-game losing streak. Atlanta (75-60) extended its lead in the National League East to three games over Philadelphia and remained 7 1/2 games in front of Washington. Pittsburgh starter Chris Archer didn't allow a hit until Dansby Swanson led off the sixth inning with a double. In six innings, Archer allowed one run on two hits. Atlanta starter Kevin Gausman allowed three runs (one earned) and five hits in six innings and had a 19-inning scoreless streak end when he allowed a run in the fifth. Mariners 8, A's 7 Ben Gamel and Jean Segura combined for five hits and four RBIs, helping visiting Seattle run off to a big lead en route to victory over Oakland in a key American League West showdown. James Paxton (11-5), returning from a bruised left forearm that landed him on the disabled list, went the first five innings, allowing three runs on just two hits. He walked four and struck out 10. Khris Davis hit his 40th homer of the season for Oakland. Astros 7, Angels 3 Carlos Correa and Tyler White delivered momentum-swinging, two-out hits in the eighth inning and host Houston rallied from a three-run deficit for a victory over Los Angeles. The Astros plated five runs in their final at-bat. Correa drove home Tony Kemp with a game-tying single to center field off Angels reliever Cam Bedrosian (5-4). White, the designated hitter, followed by greeting right-hander Hansel Robles with his game-winning hit, a two-run double off the manual scoreboard in left, plating George Springer and Correa. Right-hander Josh James validated his reputation of possessing a plus fastball in his major league debut, retiring eight consecutive batters at one point in allowing three runs on three hits and three walks over five innings. His nine strikeouts matched the second-most in franchise history in a big-league debut. Cubs 7, Phillies 1 Kyle Hendricks tossed six strong innings, Kyle Schwarber supplied a two-run triple, and visiting Chicago notched a win over Philadelphia. Hendricks (11-10) won for the fifth time in his past six decisions, limiting the Phillies to one run on six hits while striking out four and walking two. Javier Baez contributed three hits, a run and an RBI for Chicago. Ian Happ had a solo homer, while David Bote and Ben Zobrist added run-scoring doubles. Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant chipped in two hits and a run. He was activated from the disabled list and played in his first game since July 23 after recovering from a shoulder injury. Red Sox 6, White Sox 1 Eduardo Rodriguez struck out 12 batters over 5 2/3 innings, and visiting Boston received solo homers from Eduardo Nunez, Jackie Bradley Jr. and Ian Kinsler in defeating Chicago. The Red Sox won for the fourth time in five games to remain 7 1/2 games ahead of the second-place New York Yankees in the American League East. The White Sox have won six of their past nine. Rodriguez (12-3) allowed one run on three hits and one walk. It was the third double-digit strikeout game in the majors for Rodriguez, who finished one whiff shy of his career high, set against the Tampa Bay Rays on Sept. 25, 2016. Nationals 5, Brewers 4 Juan Soto delivered a two-run single to center, which was the big hit in a four-run rally in the bottom of the eighth inning that helped Washington pull out a victory over visiting Milwaukee. The Brewers held a 3-1 lead heading into the bottom of the eighth. A nearly two-hour rain delay stopped play in the top of the frame but Washington bounced back in the bottom half on a rally that started with two outs against Joakim Soria (1-4). Soto went 3-for-4 with a double, two RBIs and a run scored to lead Washington. Stephen Strasburg allowed two runs in six innings for the Nationals in his third start since coming off the disabled list. Tyler Saladino and Manny Pina homered for Milwaukee. Marlins 6, Blue Jays 3 Martin Prado slugged a three-run double, and J.T. Realmuto homered as Miami snapped a four-game losing streak with a home win over Toronto. The Blue Jays had snapped a four-game losing streak of their own with a win in the series opener on Friday. The Marlins blew the game open with four runs in the fifth to take a 6-1 lead, with Prado delivering a double to deep center that cleared the bases and made it 6-1. The offense was more than enough support for Wei-Yin Chen (6-9), who allowed just one run on three hits and struck out seven in eight innings. Reds 4, Cardinals 0 Luis Castillo pitched 6 2/3 shutout innings and Eugenio Suarez had a two-run double as visiting Cincinnati slowed red-hot St. Louis. Castillo (8-11) struck out 11 with two walks and held the Cardinals to just two hits, both singles. His gem came after giving up five earned runs in two of his last three outings. Relievers David Hernandez and Raisel Iglesias combined for 2 1/3 hitless innings to finish off the shutout. The Cardinals dropped to 4 1/2 games behind the Chicago Cubs for best record in the National League. The NL Central rivals still have three games remaining against each other. St. Louis remains in possession of one of the two NL wild-card spots, along with the Milwaukee Brewers. Rangers 7, Twins 4 Ronald Guzman hit a go-ahead three-run homer in the second inning and host Texas slugged four homers and snapped a five-game losing streak with a victory over Minnesota. Guzman gave the Twins a 4-2 lead when he hammered a first-pitch fastball from Jose Berrios (11-10) a few rows back into the upper deck above right field. It was Guzman's 14th homer and was his first since Aug. 13 at Arizona, three days after the rookie first baseman slugged three at Yankee Stadium. Nomar Mazara, Adrian Beltre, and Rougned Odor hit solo homers as the Rangers homered four times for the eighth time this year and the first time since Guzman's memorable night. Beltre's 470th career homer and eighth of the season moved him to three behind Carlos Delgado for 32nd on the all-time list. Rays 5, Indians 3 Blake Snell struck out nine to win his fifth consecutive start, Matt Duffy hit a two-run double in a four-run sixth inning, and visiting Tampa Bay defeated Cleveland. Snell (17-5) allowed two runs (one earned), eight hits and one walk in 6 2/3 innings. The left-hander has won nine of his past 10 decisions. Brandon Lowe hit a solo homer for the Rays, and Ji-Man Choi chipped in with three hits, including two doubles. Pinch hitter Jason Kipnis hit a solo homer for Cleveland. Rockies 4, Padres 2 Colorado's offensive slump came to an end in snapping host San Diego's four-game winning streak, which was a season high. Down 1-0 after the first of two Hunter Renfroe homers, the Rockies entered the fourth inning at Petco Park having gone scoreless for 19 innings. DJ LeMahieu snapped his 0-for-14 slump with a solo homer off Padres starter Robbie Erlin that led to a three-run inning for the Rockies. The Padres' only damage against starter Jon Gray (11-7) over six innings game on Renfroe's first multi-homer game of the season and the fourth of his career. Renfroe has 19 homers on the season, with 11 coming in 25 games since Aug. 5. Royals 5, Orioles 4 Kansas City left fielder Whit Merrifield hit a two-run, walk-off homer with one out in the ninth inning to lift the host Royals to victory over Baltimore. Brian Goodwin had three hits and an RBI, and Brett Phillips had two hits as the Royals won their third consecutive series, a season first. Tim Beckham had four hits including a homer, and Trey Mancini also homered for the Orioles, who had taken the lead with two runs in the top of the eighth inning. Mancini opened the eighth with his 21st home run of the season and has nine homers and 24 RBIs since the All-Star break. Yankees 2, Tigers 1 Gleyber Torres hit a go-ahead two-run home run in the fifth inning, and host New York recorded a victory over Detroit in the return of Gary Sanchez and debut of Andrew McCutchen. After getting the go-ahead, two-run, bases-loaded single Friday, Torres gave the Yankees a 2-1 lead when he hammered a 1-0 breaking ball from Daniel Norris (0-3) into the first row of the left field bleachers. Besides being the rookie infielder's 22nd homer, it was New York's first hit of the game. It also lifted the Yankees to their 11th win in 15 games. McCutchen batted leadoff and went 0-for-3 after being acquired from the San Francisco Giants on Friday. Sanchez went 0-for-4 in his first action since July 23. Mets 2, Giants 1 (11 innings) Wilmer Flores led off the 11th inning with a double and scored on a one-out sacrifice fly by Todd Frazier, allowing New York to even its three-game series with host San Francisco. Mets left-hander Steven Matz allowed only one hit through three innings before Evan Longoria homered to left-center to open the fourth. Matz went seven innings in the no-decision, allowing three hits. He walked one and struck out a career-high 11. Four New York pitchers struck out a total of 16 in the game. --Field Level Media