Acuña Jr. hits 2 homers as Braves beat Reds for their 40th win

CINCINNATI (AP) — Ronald Acuña Jr. homered for a third straight game — hitting a pair of solo shots — to lead the Atlanta Braves over the Cincinnati Reds 5-2 on Saturday night.

Acuña homered to right-center field off Brady Singer (2-5) to tie it at 2 in the third inning. The 2023 NL MVP capped the scoring with a two-out shot in the ninth off Lyon Richardson. He also stole two bases to help the Braves become the first team to 40 wins.

Jorge Mateo hit his third homer — to the second deck in left field off Singer for a 3-2 lead in the fifth. Matt Olson followed with his 16th — off Brock Burke — to make it 4-2 in the seventh.

Martín Pérez (3-3) allowed two runs and four hits and walked three in five innings to earn the win. Three relievers each pitched a scoreless inning before Raisel Iglesias closed it with a perfect ninth for his 10th save.

Ozzie Albies hit a ground-rule double leading off the second before scoring on a single by Mike Yastrzemski to put Atlanta up 1-0.

Spencer Steer drew a one-out walk from Pérez to extend his on-base streak to 18 games and JJ Bleday hit his ninth home run and second in as many days to put the Reds up 2-1 after two innings.

De La Cruz answered with a one-out triple, but was stranded when Pérez retired Sal Stewart on a grounder to third before striking out Eugenio Suárez to keep it 2-2.

Singer gave up three runs and four hits and four walks in five innings. He has allowed eight home runs in his last 12 innings.

WHITE SOX 7, TIGERS 1

CHICAGO (AP) — Edgar Quero, Colson Montgomery and Andrew Benintendi each homered, and Chicago topped Detroit without injured slugger Munetaka Murakami.

Montgomery and Benintendi doubled, and Quero added a hit and sac fly as the White Sox won their fourth straight and climbed to four games above .500 for the first time since Sept. 20, 2022.

Wenceel Pérez hit a solo shot for the Tigers, who lost for the 20th time in their last 24 games dating to May 4.

White Sox stater Anthony Kay yielded one run on six hits through five innings to earn the win. Relievers Grant Taylor, Seranthony Dominguez and Trevor Richards allowed one base runner over the final four innings.

Kay (5-1) went 4-0 in six starts in May, posting a 1.67 ERA in 32 1/3 innings. In this one, the left-hander went deep into counts, throwing 54 of 84 pitches for strikes, before Taylor relieved with two runners on in the sixth. Taylor retired the next three hitters to escape the jam, then struck out the side in the seventh.

Detroit’s Framber Valdez (2-4) allowed four runs on six hits in 6 2/3 innings.

Murakami went on the injured list on Saturday with a Grade 2 hamstring strain and is expected to miss four to six weeks.

NATIONALS 9, PADRES 4

WASHINGTON (AP) — Luis García Jr.’s two-run single highlighted a six-run seventh inning for Washington as they rallied to a win over San Diego.

Washington hit only two balls out of the infield during its big inning, but the Nationals sent 10 men to the plate in a frame that included the first ejection for Padres rookie manager Craig Stammen. The first six Washington batters came around to score.

Fernando Tatis Jr. finally hit his first homer of the season for San Diego, and Xander Bogaerts and Manny Machado also went deep to help the Padres build a 3-1 lead. Drew Millas homered in the third for Washington, and he was involved in perhaps the game’s most important play in the seventh.

After CJ Abrams led off the Washington seventh with a single to center, José Tena’s grounder forced a diving stop by Tatis, and the second baseman was unable to make an accurate throw for the force play. It was scored a fielder’s choice.

Jorbit Vivas then walked, and Michael King (4-4) hit Dylan Crews with a pitch to force in a run.

Bradgley Rodriguez come on to face Millas and induced a grounder to second, but everybody was safe when Bogaerts, the shortstop, was ruled to be off second base when he received the throw from Tatis. The play was reviewed, the call was upheld and Stammen was tossed after coming out to argue. Bogaerts was charged with an error.

Pinch-hitter Curtis Mead drew a walk to force in another run, and after James Wood struck out, García’s single up the middle made it 6-3. Daylen Lile then bounced into a force play, but a run came home when the Padres were unable to turn two.

ASTROS 9, BREWERS 2

HOUSTON (AP) — Christian Walker hit a three-run homer and Jeremy Peña had a home run among his three hits to help Houston roll to a win over Milwaukee.

Peña’s two-run shot made it 3-1 in the second and the Astros added three runs in the fifth to pull away after the Brewers got within 1. Walker’s shot to the seats in right field made it 9-2 with two outs in the eighth.

It’s the seventh win in nine games for the Astros and snaps Milwaukee’s four-game winning streak.

Houston starter Peter Lambert (4-4) allowed five hits and two runs with three walks in five innings for the win.

Milwaukee’s Brandon Sproat (1-4) permitted six hits and five runs in 4 1/3 innings.

William Contreras gave the Brewers an early lead with a two-out RBI double in the first.

Cam Smith was on second base with one out in the second when he scored on a single by Jake Meyers to tie it.

The home run by Peña came with two outs in the inning to put the Astros on top 3-1.

ORIOLES 6, BLUE JAYS 5

BALTIMORE (AP) — Pete Alonso singled in the winning run with the bases loaded in a five-run ninth inning to give Baltimore a victory over Toronto.

The Orioles had four hits in the ninth inning after managing only three and hitting into a season-high four double plays in the first eight.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. had his first four-hit game since Sept. 5 for the Blue Jays, whose winning streak was halted at four. Toronto (29-30) was attempting to move over .500 for the first time since it was 4-3 on April 3.

After Orioles designated hitter Samuel Basallo walked back to the dugout grimacing and holding his left shoulder upon striking out against Jeff Hoffman to open the ninth inning, Coby Mayo was hit by a pitch. He scored on Leody Taveras’ triple, and Jackson Holliday followed with a single to right to pull the Orioles to 5-3.

Hoffman (4-4) then gave up a double to Colton Cowser before Taylor Ward worked a four-pitch walk. Gunnar Henderson followed with a walk to force in a run to end Hoffman’s outing.

Adley Rutschman then walked against Connor Seabold to tie it, and Alonso singled up the middle against a drawn-in infield to win it.

Albert Suárez (2-0) allowed an unearned run in the ninth for Baltimore.

RED SOX 9, GUARDIANS 1

CLEVELAND (AP) — Connor Wong and Jarren Duran drove in three runs apiece, Sonny Gray allowed one run in six innings and Boston defeated Cleveland.

Caleb Durbin also drove in a pair of runs for the Red Sox, who won for only the second time in eight games.

Cleveland — which is 2-3 on its six-game homestand — committed a season-high four errors, including one by Jose Ramirez. The All-Star third baseman also accounted for the Guardians’ lone run with an RBI double in the first inning to drive in Travis Bazzana, who had a pair of doubles.

Wong hit the go-ahead double off the left-field wall off Cleveland’s Matt Festa (1-1) in the sixth. It was originally ruled a two-run homer, but instant replay overturned the call when it was determined the ball struck an area of the field that is in play. It would have been the Boston catcher’s first homer since 2024.

Boston put it out of reach with six runs in the ninth, including Duran’s line-drive, three-run homer.

Duran has eight home runs in May and is 12 for 34 with seven RBIs in the last seven games.

Gray (6-1) became the fourth AL starting pitcher this season to get four wins in May. The left-hander — who went 4-0 with a 2.00 ERA this month — allowed one run and four hits in six innings and struck out seven.

Cleveland rookie left-hander Parker Messick allowed one run in five innings and struck out four.

RANGERS 7, ROYALS 6

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Ezequiel Duran hit an opposite field RBI single to cap a three-run ninth inning as Texas walked off Kansas City.

Joc Pederson hit a home run to start a string of five consecutive hits off closer Lucas Erceg (3-3). Josh Jung then singled to shortstop, Brandon Nimmo singled off Erceg’s glove, Jake Burger hit an opposite field liner to right to tie the score, before Duran’s hit to right.

Texas’ rally made a first-time major league winner of Peyton Gray (1-0), a 30-year-old rookie who made his big league debut in late April.

The Rangers have won two consecutive games, matching their longest winning streak since early April. It was their first walk-off win in 12 home games when trailing going into the ninth.

The Royals have lost five straight and 15 of their last 18, falling a season-low 14 games below .500. They lost for the fifth time in 22 games when leading through eight innings.

Jung and Burger had three hits each, including Jung’s first-inning home run.

METS 6, MARLINS 1

NEW YORK (AP) — Christian Scott finally earned his first big league win on Saturday and batterymate Hayden Senger hit his first career home run as New York beat Miami.

Scott’s afternoon began inauspiciously when he was charged with a pitch clock violation before throwing his first pitch. But the right-hander allowed only one run and struck out a career-high eight while snapping a 15-start winless streak dating back to his debut on May 4, 2024.

Scott (1-0) underwent Tommy John surgery in September 2024 and missed last season.

Scott’s winless streak was the second-longest career-opening drought for a pitcher performing exclusively as a starter. Liam Hendriks was winless in his first 17 starts from 2011-12.

He benefited Saturday from a pair of impressive catches by rookie outfielders Carson Benge and A.J. Ewing. Benge made a running grab of Kyle Stowers’ shot to the right-centerfield wall leading off the fourth and Ewing ran down Otto Lopez’s fly to almost the same spot to rob him of an RBI hit ending the fifth.

A quartet of relievers tossed a scoreless inning apiece as the last-place Mets won their third straight — one shy of their season-high.

PIRATES 10, TWINS 9

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Jake Mangum went 3 for 4 with his first homer of the season and a go-ahead RBI single after the Pirates blew a six-run lead as Pittsburgh held off Minnesota.

Mangum went deep against Bailey Ober (6-3) in the second inning for the fourth home run of his career. He later tagged Ober with a line drive single in the fifth that scored Konnor Griffin to help the Pirates steady themselves after the Twins erased a massive early deficit. Mangum also contributed defensively, going deep in the gap in left-center to rob Minnesota’s Orlando Arcia of extra bases in the ninth with the tying run on first.

Gregory Soto got the final four outs for his seventh save. Yohan Ramirez (3-2) earned the win in relief after starter Mitch Keller couldn’t hold an early 7-1 lead.

Oneil Cruz hit his 13th home run of the season and second in as many days as the Pirates won for the fifth time in seven games. Spencer Horwitz had two hits for Pittsburgh, including a leadoff homer in the bottom of the first.

Nick Gonzales had three hits for Pittsburgh, which handed former manager Derek Shelton a second consecutive loss in his return to PNC Park since being fired by the Pirates last May early into his sixth season with the club.

ANGELS 14, RAYS 3

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Wade Meckler hit his first grand slam in the majors for the first of Los Angeles’ four homers in its victory over Tampa Bay.

Meckler connected off Drew Rasmussen (4-2) in the first inning. He also singled and stole a base.

Mike Trout hit his 14th homer of the season in the fifth and Jo Adell and Oswald Peraza had back-to-back shots in a seven-run ninth. Trout, the major league walks leader, also walked twice and scored three of the Angels’ season-high 14 runs.

Tampa Bay lost for just the second time in its last 18 home games.

Yandy Díaz’s 24th career leadoff homer, his second in two games, put the Rays on the board in the first. But Angels starter Reid Detmers (2-5) pitched out of a bases-loaded jam.

Junior Caminero doubled in the third, when his popup dodged the Tropicana Field catwalks before landing in the infield. But Detmers left him at second and Tampa Bay finished 1 for 12 with runners in scoring position, stranding 11 overall.

Four Angels relievers combined to one-hit the Rays over the final four innings.

CUBS 6, CARDINALS 1

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Pete Crow-Armstrong had four hits including a homer, Ben Brown allowed three hits in seven innings and Chicago beat St. Louis.

Crow-Armstrong hit his seventh homer of the season in the eighth, also doubled and scored twice, driven in both times by Michael Busch. Nico Hoerner hit an RBI single in the sixth inning, Ian Happ scored on a wild pitch in the eighth and the Cubs finished with 12 hits while winning for the third time in four games.

Ryan Fernandez (1-1) gave up two unearned runs and walked two after replacing starter Kyle Leahy.

He threw a wild pitch to Alex Bregman in the fourth, advancing Busch to second. With one out in the sixth, his throwing error allowed Miguel Amaya to reach and he walked Dansby Swanson in the following at-bat before being pulled for Justin Bruihl. Bruihl hit Crow-Armstrong with a pitch to load the bases before Hoerner singled for one run and Busch’s sacrifice fly made it 3-1.

Alec Burleson hit an RBI single in the third inning for the Cardinals to score first. He had another hit in the ninth, but runner Iván Herrera was out at third on the throw from outfielder Seiya Suzuki, and Crow-Armstrong made a diving catch for the final out in left center field.