August 21, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Cubs catcher Christian Bethancourt (right) celebrates a two-run home run with shortstop Dansby Swanson (left) during the fifth inning against the Detroit Tigers at Wrigley Field. Mandatory credit: Patrick Gorski-USA TODAY Sports Christian Bethancourt capped a career day with a two-run single in the top of the ninth, lifting the Chicago Cubs to an improbable 14-10 victory over the host Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday.
Bethancourt finished with seven RBIs, six coming in the final three innings. He had three hits and scored three runs.
Pittsburgh had a 10-3 lead after six innings, but Bethancourt took over. He clubbed a two-run homer in the seventh and drove in two more runs with a double an inning later, pulling Chicago within 10-7.
Ian Happ added an RBI single in the eighth. The Cubs then proceeded to load the bases with one out in the ninth against Pittsburgh closer David Bednar (3-7) and ended up scoring six runs.
Bryan Reynolds, Connor Joe and Rowdy Tellez each collected three hits as the Pirates swept the three-game series. Reynolds and Joe both homered.
Dodgers 6, Orioles 4
Shohei Ohtani played at home on bobblehead night and Teoscar Hernandez also went deep as Los Angeles earned a victory over visiting Baltimore.
Ohtani added two stolen bases and three runs. Los Angeles reliever Anthony Banda (2-2) pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings to earn the win. Michael Kopech pitched a perfect ninth for his 12th save. Walker Buehler gave up four runs (two earned) in 4 2/3 innings.
Ramon Urias stayed hot for the Orioles with two hits, including a two-run double. Orioles starter Corbin Burnes (12-7) allowed six runs (one earned) in five innings due to three errors by teammates.
Mariners 6, Rays 2
Victor Robles and Julio Rodriguez hit two-run homers in the fifth inning as Seattle defeated visiting Tampa Bay.
Randy Arozarena added a solo shot in the eighth against his former team as the Mariners improved to 4-2 under new manager Dan Wilson and remain 3 1/2 games behind division-leading Houston in the American League West.
Josh Lowe homered for the Rays, who dropped two of three games in the series.
Guardians 7, Royals 5
After trailing for the majority of the game, Cleveland put together a four-run rally in the bottom of the seventh inning and eventually lost to Kansas City.
The Guardians avoided being swept by the Royals after dropping the first three contests of the four-game series. They earned their only first place finish in the American League Central Division.
Jhonkensy Noel’s single scored kept Cleveland ahead.
Kansas City’s Vinnie Pasquntino went 4-for-5 and hit his 19th home run of the year. Bobby Witt Jr. (28) and Michael Massey (11th) also homered for the Royals. Maikel Garcia and Adam Frazier each had an RBI.
Athletics 9, Red 6
Seth Brown capped a two-homer performance with a three-run shot in the eighth inning, fueling visiting Oakland to victory over Cincinnati.
Oakland’s Lawrence Butler homered to lead off the game and also drove in a run with a fielder’s choice in the seventh inning. Brown also homered in the fourth inning and Brent Rooker launched his career-high 31st homer in the sixth to lift the Athletics to their third straight win.
Will Benson belted a three-run homer to cap a six-run seventh inning for the reeling Reds, who have lost nine of their past 12 games.
Cardinals 4, Padres 3
Nolan Arenado delivered an RBI walk to lift St. Louis over visiting San Diego.
Paul Goldschmidt went 3-for-4 with an RBI for the Cardinals, who have won five of their last eight games. Louis starting pitcher Andre Pallante allowed two runs on eight hits and two walks in 5 2/3 innings. He struck out three. Ryan Helsley (6-4) pitched the ninth inning to earn the win.
Kyle Higashioka hit a solo home run and Luis Arraez went 4-for-5 and scored a run for the Padres, whose three-game winning streak ended. San Diego starting pitcher Joe Musgrove allowed three runs on seven hits in six innings. Robert Suarez (8-2) lost.
Rockies 8, Marlins 2
Aaron Schunk hit his first major league home run and also singled, Nolan Jones had two hits, and Colorado beat Miami in Denver.
Drew Romo also had two hits and Kyle Freeland (4-6) allowed two runs over six innings to earn his first win since July 31 for Colorado.
Derek Hill homered and Otto Lopez had two hits for Miami, which committed four errors. Starter Max Meyer (3-4) allowed five runs (four earned) and struck out six in five-plus innings.
Astros 10, Phillies 0
Yordan Alvarez hit a three-run home run and Spencer Arrighetti flirted with a no-hitter as Houston avoided a three-game sweep in Philadelphia.
Arrighetti (7-11) didn’t allow a hit until the eighth inning. The rookie right-hander yielded two hits and four walks in 7 2/3 innings with 11 strikeouts. Alvarez went 4-for-4 and posted his third career three-homer game.
Phillies starter Taijuan Walker (3-6) gave up Alvarez’s first home run and was torched over six innings with 13 hits in six innings. Austin Hays broke up a no-hitter with an infield single to lead off eight for Philadelphia, which had its four-game winning streak snapped.
Rangers 3, White Sox 1
Marcus Semien posted a go-ahead RBI double and Corey Seager had two hits and an RBI as visiting Chicago beat in the resumption of a game suspended by rain on Saturday.
It ended up being the first game in major league history to be postponed before it was recorded. Rangers left-hander Andrew Heaney pitched five innings of one run, five hit balls with one walk and two strikeouts.
Pitching in relief of Tuesday’s starter Garrett Crochet, who threw just four pitches, Chicago righty Chris Flexen (2-13) allowed three runs and nine hits in 6 1/3 innings. He walked two and struck out four. Corey Julks hit an RBI single in the third for Chicago.
Rangers 4, White Sox 3
Corey Seager had four hits, including the go-ahead RBI single in the ninth inning, and Wyatt Langford smacked a three-run home run to lift visiting Texas to victory over skidding Chicago.
Rangers left fielder Travis Jankowski went over the wall to rob Andrew Vaughn of a potential game-ending, three-run home run for the second out of the ninth. Texas got two wins in one day as they improved to 6-0 against Chicago this season.
The White Sox have lost six in a row, 10 of 11 and 103 overall. Chicago needed to win 12 of their remaining 28 games to match the 1962 New York Mets’ modern major league record for most losses in a season (120).
Red Sox 3, Blue Jays 0
Brayan Bello pitched a career-high eight innings and Tyler O’Neill hit a two-run home run as Boston beat Toronto.
The 25-year-old Bello (12-6), who had worked eighth just once in his previous 63 major league appearances, struck out nine while allowing just two hits and one walk. Wilyer Abreu’s first-inning RBI single was the only support Bello needed, but O’Neill sent insurance in the eighth with his 24th home run this season.
Blue Jays starter Chris Bassitt (9-13) was a tough-luck loser, striking out nine over 6 2/3 innings of one-run ball. He yielded five hits and one walk.
Nationals 5, Yankees 2
Rookie Dylan Crews made his major league debut as Washington beat New York.
James Wood, Jacob Young and Nasim Nunez each added two hits for Washington, which took two of three games from New York. The Nationals stole five bases, including three by Wood.
Jazz Chisholm Jr. homered, while Aaron Judge had an RBI single and a double for New York. The slugging trio of Judge, Juan Soto and Giancarlo Stanton finished the streak a combined 4-for-34 (.118).
Brave 5, Twin 1
Luke Williams doubled and had two RBIs, Chris Sale hit 15 and Atlanta beat Minnesota in Minneapolis.
Matt Olson posted an RBI double for the Braves, who completed a three-game sweep. Jorge Soler belted a solo home run and Ramon Laureano finished 2-for-4 with an RBI.
Willi Castro drove in the lone run for the Twins, who have lost four straight and eight of the past 10.
Brewers 5, Giants 3
Freddy Peralta allowed two hits over six scoreless innings and William Contreras had a two-run homer as Milwaukee beat San Francisco.
Held to one hit through four innings by San Francisco starter Kyle Harrison (7-6), Milwaukee capitalized on two walks to score five runs in the fifth, capped by Contreras’ 18 homers, to make Peralta (9-7) the winner.
The Giants scored one in the seventh and two in the eighth to pull within 5-3 before Devin Williams threw a perfect nine for six saves in seven innings.
Tigers 3, Angels 2
Spencer Torkelson hit a two-run homer and host Detroit notched a season-best sixth straight victory by edging Los Angeles.
Kerry Carpenter drove in another Detroit run as the Tigers moved two games above .500 for the first time since May 7.
Mickey Moniak hit a two-run homer for the Angels, who had lost seven straight. Griffin Canning (4-12) gave up all three runs in five innings. He gave up five hits and four walks while striking out four.
Diamondbacks 8, Mets 5
Corbin Carroll’s second homer of the night, his eighth grand slam, lifted Arizona over New York in Phoenix.
Joc Pederson hit a two-run homer for the Diamondbacks, who have won seven of eight games and 25 of the past 32. Arizona leads the San Diego Padres by one game for the National League’s top wild card berth.
Harrison Bader hit a two-run homer for the Mets, who fell four games behind the Atlanta Braves for the NL’s final wild-card spot.
–Field Level Media
