CLEVELAND (AP) — Michael Harris homered twice and Bryce Elder, one of Atlanta’s eight All-Stars, pitched 6 2/3 solid innings to lead the Braves to their season-high ninth straight win, 4-2 over the Cleveland Guardians on Monday night.
Harris connected for solo shots in the third and fifth innings off Guardians rookie Gavin Williams (0-1). Atlanta’s No. 9 hitter is batting .416 (37 of 89) with seven homers and 16 RBIs in his last 24 games.
Marcell Ozuna also homered for the Braves, who have won 17 of 18 and 24 of 27. Atlanta, which has had three winning streaks of at least eight games, improved MLB’s best record to 57-27.
Elder (7-1) didn’t give up a run until Amed Rosario's two-run single in the seventh. A.J. Minter came on and got out of a two-on jam and Nick Anderson retired Myles Straw with two on in the eighth. Raisel Iglesias worked a 1-2-3 ninth for his 15th save.
REDS 3, NATIONALS 2
WASHINGTON (AP) — Joey Votto hit a two-run home run to end an 0-for-21 slump, Ian Gibaut pitched out of a jam in the sixth inning and Cincinnati beat Washington for its fifth win in six games.
Votto homered in the fourth off Jake Irvin, depositing the ball just inside the visiting bullpen in left-center field and driving in Elly De La Cruz. It’s his fourth home run in 12 games this season since returning in June.
Luke Weaver (2-2) picked up the win by allowing two earned runs on six hits in five-plus innings. He was spared a 10th consecutive no-decision — or worse — when Gibaut got through the sixth, allowing just one hit, striking out Corey Dickerson and inducing a flyout from Derek Hill.
Catcher Tyler Stephenson drove in the Reds’ other run with an RBI single in the second. Fresh off being named an All-Star for the first time, closer Alexis Díaz picked up his 24th save.
Jeimer Candelario hit his 12th home run of the season, a solo shot in the fourth inning for Washington. Irvin (1-4) struck out three and allowed six hits.
MARLINS 5, CARDINALS 4
MIAMI (AP) — Nick Fortes hit a go-ahead RBI single in the seventh inning and Miami rallied to beat St. Louis.
Marlins pinch hitter Yuli Gurriel tied it in the seventh with a two-run double against reliever Andre Pallante (2-1) after two straight walks. The Marlins then inserted the speedy Jon Berti to pinch run for Gurriel, and Berti scored on Fortes’ ground-ball single.
Marlins reliever Tanner Scott worked a scoreless eighth to preserve the lead, and A.J. Puk got the final three outs for his 14 save of the season.
Paul DeJong had broken a 2-2 tie in the sixth with an RBI double for the Cardinals. Willson Contreras was 3 for 4, finishing a triple shy of the cycle.
Huascar Brazoban (3-1) got the last two outs of the seventh for the win.
YANKEES 6, ORIOLES 3
NEW YORK (AP) — Harrison Bader hit a tiebreaking three-run homer in the eighth inning and New York rallied to beat Baltimore.
Anthony Volpe scored the tying run in the seventh on a wild pitch by All-Star reliever Yennier Cano (1-1) before the Yankees completed the comeback ahead of a postgame fireworks show.
Giancarlo Stanton opened the eighth with a hard single off Cano before Anthony Rizzo followed with a single against Danny Coulombe. After showing bunt on the first pitch, Bader drove a 1-1 sweeper into the left-field seats for his seventh homer.
Tommy Kahnle (1-0) stranded former Yankees outfielder Aaron Hicks in the eighth to keep it tied. Clay Holmes struck out two in a 1-2-3 ninth for his 10th save.
The second-place Orioles lost for the fifth time in six games and are three games ahead of third-place New York in the division standings.
BREWERS 8, CUBS 6
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Newly signed Jahmai Jones hit a pinch-hit, three-run double in his first big league appearance since 2021, helping Milwaukee rally past Chicago.
With the bases loaded and two outs in the seventh inning, Jones hit a line drive on the first pitch from reliever Anthony Kay that one-hopped off the center field wall and scored Raimel Tapia, Christian Yelich and Owen Miller, tying the game at 6.
The Brewers completed their comeback from a six-run deficit in the eighth inning with an RBI single by Willy Adames and a sacrifice fly by Miller — both off Mark Leiter Jr. (1-2) — to take an 8-6 lead.
Brewers All-Star reliever Devin Williams allowed a double by Nico Hoerner and a walk to Ian Happ in the ninth, and then struck out All-Star Dansby Swanson to earn his 18th save.
Joel Payamps (3-1) pitched a perfect eighth inning for Milwaukee.
The Brewers won their third straight game and remained tied for first place in the NL Central with Cincinnati. The Cubs have lost three straight and seven of their last eight.
ASTROS 12, RANGERS 11
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — José Abreu and Chas McCormick had back-to-back RBI doubles in the ninth inning and second-place Houston Astros recovered after giving up an eight-run lead.
Abreu and McCormick also homered earlier for Houston, which took three of four against its instate rival to move within three games of the division lead. It is the closest the Astros have been in a month after trailing by as many as 6 1/2 games.
Kyle Tucker, who hit Houston’s majors-best eighth grand slam in the second for a 6-0 lead, led off the ninth with a single against Rangers closer Will Smith (1-3), who had only his second blown save in 16 chances. Abreu and McCormick then followed Alex Bregman’s deep flyout with their doubles.
The Rangers had their only lead on Corey Seager’s sacrifice fly that made it 11-10 in the eighth.
Bryan Abreu (3-2), the fifth Houston pitcher, allowed that run in the eighth before Ryan Pressly worked the ninth for his 18th save in 21 tries.
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