Scherzer, Springer lead Blue Jays to win over Pirates
- - Scherzer, Springer lead Blue Jays to win over Pirates
The August 19, 2025 at 7:38 PM
Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Jeff Hoffman, right, celebrates with catcher Alejandro Kirk, left, after getting the final out of a baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2025, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Matt Freed) ()
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Max Scherzer pitched six strong innings to notch his 220th career win, and George Springer hit an early two-run home run as the Toronto Blue Jays defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-3 on Tuesday night.
Scherzer (4-2) allowed one run and four hits with four strikeouts and three walks. The 18-year veteran has pitched at least six innings in five consecutive starts.
The Blue Jays (74-53) built a 5-0 lead against Mitch Keller in the first two innings.
Springer hit a 423-foot shot to center field for his 20th homer of the season in the second inning. The Blue Jays scored three runs in the first when Alejandro Kirk had an RBI single and Nathan Lukes followed with a two-run single.
Kirk added a two-run home run, his 10th, off Colin Holderman in the seventh inning to make 7-1. The All-Star catcher finished with three hits and three RBIs.
Keller (5-12) was tagged for five runs in 3 1/3 innings after giving up six runs in four innings in a loss at National League-leading Milwaukee in his previous start last Wednesday.
TIGERS 1, ASTROS 0, 10 INNINGS
DETROIT (AP) — Gleyber Torres drew a 10th-inning walk to send home Wenceel Pérez and give Detroit a win over Houston, the Astros third consecutive shutout loss.
Pérez started the 10th as the automatic runner on second base and took third on Andy Ibáñez’s fly to deep right. Kaleb Ort (2-2) intentionally walked Dillon Dingler, then struck out Javier Báez for the second out.
Jahmai Jones walked, loading the bases, and Torres took a 3-2 sweeper low and outside to register his 500th career RBI.
Will Vest (6-2) gave up one hit over two scoreless innings.
The game featured a marquee pitching matchup, with Tigers ace Tarik Skubal against Detroit native and All-Star Hunter Brown.
The pair combined to allow eight hits in 13 scoreless innings. Skubal’s 10 strikeouts in seven innings made him the first pitcher to reach 200 in 2025.
CARDINALS 7, MARLINS 4
MIAMI (AP) — Tyler Saggese went 3 for 4 and scored two runs, Iván Herrera had three RBIs, and St. Louis beat Miami.
Herrera’s RBIs accounted for the first three runs of the game and Pedro Pagés extended his season-high hitting streak to nine games with an RBI single in the fourth to make it 4-0 St. Louis.
The Marlins had their first hit of the game in the fourth inning on an infield single by Xavier Edwards, who leads the National League in batting average at .302.
He scored on Jakob Marsee’s triple and Marsee scored on a fielding error by Cardinals starting pitcher Michael McGreevy, who overthrew to third base to make it 4-2.
McGreevy (5-2) pitched six innings, allowing six hits and had five strikeouts. Riley O’Brien earned his second save of the season, pitching one inning with two strikeouts and two walks.
METS 8, NATIONALS 1
WASHINGTON (AP) — David Peterson dominated the Nationals again, Mark Vientos homered for the second consecutive game and New York pounded Washington for their third straight victory.
Peterson (8-5), who blanked the Nats on June 11 in New York for his first career shutout, extended his scoreless streak against Washington to 25 innings dating to last season. He finally allowed a run when Dylan Crews led off the eighth with a triple and scored on a double-play grounder.
The only Mets starter who has reliably pitched deep into games, Peterson finished the eighth. He allowed four hits, struck out 10 and walked one.
Juan Soto hit his 31st homer, Jeff McNeil homered and drove in three runs, and Brett Baty also went deep for the Mets, who may be breaking out of a funk that began in late July. New York had lost 14 of 16 before this run of three wins in three states that began Saturday at Citi Field and continued Sunday night at the Little League Classic in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, where Vientos hit a three-run homer.
PHILLIES 6, MARINERS 4
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — J.T. Realmuto hit a go-ahead two-run home run in the eighth inning, Kyle Schwarber and Bryson Stott also homered and Philadelphia defeated Seattle.
Realmuto’s homer was a no-doubt blast to left field on a first-pitch sinker from Seattle reliever Matt Brash (1-2). Realmuto, who hit his ninth homer, reached base three times and had three RBIs. He also had an RBI single and reached on a catcher’s interference call on Mariners backstop Mitch Garver. It was the third time in a month the Phillies were on the positive side of a catcher’s interference call.
Schwarber opened the scoring in the first inning with his 44th homer. He leads the NL in homers and the majors with 104 RBIs.
Stott hit his eighth homer of the season, and Bryce Harper drove in a run on a sacrifice fly.
David Robertson (1-0) picked up the win in relief in his first appearance at Citizens Bank Park as a member of the Phillies since Game 5 of the 2022 World Series. Jhoan Duran pitched a perfect ninth for his his 22nd save and sixt5h with Philly since being acquired at the trade deadline.
ORIOLES 4, RED SOX 3, 11 INNINGS
BOSTON (AP) — Samuel Basallo drove in the go-ahead run on a groundout in the 11th inning and Baltimore held on to beat Boston after blowing a two-run lead in the ninth.
The Orioles won their third straight and for the sixth time in their last seven games, sweeping the two-game series at Boston but needing extra innings after Nathaniel Lowe hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth to tie it.
Boston loaded the bases with one out in the 10th before a double play ended the threat. The Red Sox had another opportunity with a runner on third with one out in the 11th but couldn’t get him home. The Red Sox went 0 for 13 with runners in scoring position and left 13 on base.
BRAVES 11, WHITE SOX 10
ATLANTA (AP) — Drake Baldwin hit a two-run single with two outs in the eighth inning and Atlanta rallied from a six-run deficit to defeat Chicago.
Michael Harris II and Jurickson Profar each hit a two-run homer. Ozzie Albies went 3 for 5 with two RBIs and Matt Olson had four hits for the Braves, who trailed 10-4 in the seventh.
Raisel Iglesias pitched a perfect ninth for his 20th save. Harris made a sliding catch in center field for the final out.
Atlanta starter Bryce Elder gave up eight runs in 4 2/3 innings. Dylan Lee (2-3) worked a scoreless eighth for the win.
Baldwin’s go-ahead hit dropped just in front of diving right fielder Mike Tauchman, who short-hopped the ball with his glove.
White Sox rookie Shane Smith went six innings, giving up four runs and seven hits — including two homers. Tyler Alexander (4-11) took the loss.
ROYALS 5, RANGERS 2
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Vinnie Pasquantino homered in the first inning and then scored the go-ahead run in the seventh when Jonathan India was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, helping Kansas City to a win over Texas.
Bobby Witt Jr. added a two-run shot in the eighth for his 100th career homer, and Mike Yastrzemski went deep for the Royals, who have won five straight and improved to 7-1 on their season-high 10-game homestand.
Rangers reliever Hoby Milner (1-3) allowed three consecutive hits to start the seventh, including Pasquantino’s double. Cole Winn then entered the game and hit India with his first pitch, giving Kansas City its first lead of the game.
Angel Zerpa (4-1) got five outs for the Royals before John Schreiber took care of the ninth for his first save.
Royals starter Seth Lugo and Rangers counterpart Merrill Kelly had matched each other pitch-for-pitch for most of the night.
ATHLETICS 6, TWINS 3
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Shea Langeliers hit his 27th home run, Tyler Soderstrom extended his hitting streak to 17 games and the Athletics beat Minnesota.
Rookie slugger Nick Kurtz went 3 for 3 with two walks, including a leadoff double in the first inning and an RBI double that capped a three-run fourth. Brett Harris had a sacrifice fly and Luis Urías delivered an RBI single in the inning as the A’s took a 5-1 lead against All-Star pitcher Joe Ryan (12-6).
Jacob Lopez (7-6) struck out eight in six innings of four-hit ball. He allowed three runs — two earned.
Justin Sterner pitched two scoreless innings and Hogan Harris worked a perfect ninth for his first major league save.
Ryan was charged with five runs — two earned — and six hits in four innings. He struck out six and walked one.
DODGERS 11, ROCKIES 4
DENVER (AP) — Shohei Ohtani hit his 44th home run and Alex Call matched a career high with four hits as Los Angeles beat Colorado.
Call and Ohtani each launched a solo homer in the second inning to help the defending World Series champions open a 7-0 lead against winless Austin Gomber in the third.
Ohtani remained tied for the National League lead in home runs with Philadelphia slugger Kyle Schwarber, who also went deep Tuesday night.
Los Angeles finished with 18 hits, and Call was a triple shy of the cycle. Will Smith had three hits to raise his NL-leading batting average to .308.
All nine starters had at least one hit for the Dodgers, who beat Colorado for the 11th time in 12 meetings.
Kyle Karros hit his first major league home run for the last-place Rockies, who had won four in a row.
REDS 6, ANGELS 4
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Hunter Greene had 12 strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings, Noelvi Marte homered, doubled and drove in two runs, and Cincinnati beat Los Angeles.
Jose Trevino scored on a sacrifice fly by TJ Friedl and Gavin Lux followed with an RBI double off Kenley Jansen (5-3) in the ninth inning to give Cincinnati a 6-4 lead.
Miguel Andujar was 3 for 4 with a double and two RBIs.
Greene allowed three runs on six hits and walked none. Luis Mey (2-0) pitched the eighth inning and gave up Jo Adell’s second solo homer of the game but got the win.
CUBS 6, BREWERS 4, 1ST GAME
CUBS 4, BREWERS 1, 2ND GAME
CHICAGO (AP) — Jameson Taillon pitched six effective innings in his return from a calf injury, and Chicago beat Milwaukee for a sweep of their split doubleheader.
Michael Busch drove in two runs as Chicago improved to 4-2 on an eight-game homestand. Ian Happ had two hits, and Owen Caissie contributed a bloop RBI single.
Coupled with their 6-4 win in the first game of the day, the Cubs (72-54) moved within seven games of the NL Central-leading Brewers (79-47).
Andrew Vaughn’s first-inning RBI single accounted for Milwaukee’s only run in the second game. Sal Frelick nearly had a sacrifice fly in the seventh, but right fielder Willi Castro made a perfect throw to the plate to complete an inning-ending double play.
Milwaukee right-hander Brandon Woodruff (4-1) permitted three runs and five hits in 4 1/3 innings in his eighth start of the season.
DIAMONDBACKS 6, GUARDIANS 5
PHOENIX (AP) — Lourdes Gurriel Jr. drove in three runs, Jake McCarthy hit a solo homer and Arizona beat Cleveland.
McCarthy finished with two hits and Corbin Carroll tripled twice, his fourth game this season with two triples.
Diamondbacks starter Eduardo Rodriguez gave up four runs on five hits and three walks in 6 2/3 innings. Juan Burgos (1-0) got one out to earn his first major league win. The 25-year-old rookie entered with two outs and a runner on first in the seventh, gave up a double to Angel Martínez and intentionally walked José Ramírez before pinch-hitter Kyle Manzardo grounded out to end the inning.
Andrew Saalfrank pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his second save.
YANKEES 13, RAYS 3
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Giancarlo Stanton and Cody Bellinger both hit two home runs, Aaron Judge launched his 40th of the season and New York matched a franchise record with nine longballs in a win over Tampa Bay.
Judge, Bellinger and Stanton went back-to-back-to-back in the first inning to give the Yankees a 3-0 lead four batters into the game — after the first pitch was delayed nearly two hours by rain.
José Caballero connected twice for his first career multihomer game. Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Ben Rice also went deep for the Yankees, who won their fourth straight and looked awfully comfortable in a road game at their spring training home.
New York took full advantage of the cozy dimensions before a crowd of 10,046 at George M. Steinbrenner Field, where the Rays are playing while Tropicana Field undergoes repairs.
Bellinger finished 4 for 5 with three RBIs.
PADRES 5, GIANTS 1
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Nick Pivetta allowed a leadoff homer by Jung Hoo Lee and then settled down to tie his season high with 10 strikeouts in six innings and lead San Diego to a victory against San Francisco.
The Padres snapped a four-game losing streak and remained two games behind the defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West.
Lee homered to right-center on Pivetta’s second pitch. It was his second career leadoff shot and sixth homer of the season. Pivetta (13-4) walked two batters that inning but allowed only three more baserunners, on two hits and a hit batter. He combined on a four-hitter with All-Star relievers Adrian Morejon, Jason Adam and Robert Suarez.
Pivetta beat the Giants in consecutive starts, with his most recent outing being an 11-1 win at San Francisco on Aug. 13 during a three-game sweep that helped the Padres take a one-game lead over the Dodgers. The Padres were then swept in a weekend series at Dodger Stadium.
Source: “AOL AOL Sports”
