Lance McCullers pitched seven strong innings Anthony Duclair Jersey , Jake Marisnick homered and the Houston Astros beat the Tampa Bay Rays 1-0 on Thursday night to tie a franchise record with their 11th straight road win.
McCullers (9-3) gave up three hits while striking out seven. The Astros have won his last six starts and have won 18 of 21 overall. Their 11th straight road win matched the club record set last May 14-June 5 on the way to winning the franchise’s first World Series title.
The Rays, who had won five straight overall and eight straight at home, had runners on first and third with none out in the eighth against reliever Chris Devenski, but Matt Duffy lined into a double play and Jake Bauers grounded out.
Hector Rondon pitched the ninth for his fifth save in seven opportunities.
Marisnick’s homer in the fifth came off Ryan Yarbrough (7-4) and was his seventh of the season. It ended the Rays’ streak of 26 scoreless innings, the second-longest in franchise history.
RED SOX 4, ANGELS 2
BOSTON (AP) – Jackie Bradley Jr. hit a two-run homer and Rafael Devers had a solo shot to help Boston beat Los Angeles.
Boston completed a season sweep of the Angels for the first time since they joined the American League as an expansion club in 1961.
The Red Sox have won four straight and six of seven as they head to New York to open three-game series between the rivals on Friday night with first place in the AL East on the line.
Hector Velazquez (6-0) pitched two scoreless innings of relief. Craig Kimbrel earned his 24th save with a scoreless ninth inning.
Andrelton Simmons hit a solo homer and Albert Pujols had an RBI single for the Angels, who have lost six straight. Los Angeles was up 1-0 until Devers led off the fifth with his 13th homer, to center off of Jamie Barria (5-4).
DODGERS 11, CUBS 5
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Anthony Rizzo’s three-run double and Addison Russell’s two-run homer highlighted a seven-run seventh inning as Chicago broke loose after Los Angeles starter Clayton Kershaw exited.
The Cubs pounded out 15 hits, including four by Rizzo. Russell drove in four runs in the final regular-season meeting between the teams that played each other in the NL Championship Series the last two years.
They met seven times in 10 days, with the Cubs winning four games over the two series.
The Dodgers staked Kershaw to a 3-1 lead before he departed after five innings because of a pitch limit.
The Cubs jumped on reliever Walker Buehler (4-2), who arrived earlier in the morning from Triple-A Oklahoma City, where he had been set for a rehab assignment. Albert Almora Jr. homered on Buehler’s second pitch and Russell’s sacrifice fly tied it at 3 in the sixth.
Steve Cishek (2-0) got the win with 1 2/3 innings of relief.
ROCKIES 9, GIANTS 8
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – DJ LeMahieu hit a two-run homer in the ninth inning and set a career best with five RBIs Jared Spurgeon Jersey , rallying Colorado past San Francisco.
Nolan Arenado hit his 19th home run, tying him for the NL lead with Washington’s Bryce Harper. Trevor Story added three hits for Colorado, which had lost four straight at San Francisco.
The Rockies blew leads of 5-2 and 7-5 and were down 8-7 before scoring twice off closer Sam Dyson (2-2) to avoid a series sweep.
Adam Ottavino (4-1) gave up two runs but retired three batters to win. Wade Davis pitched the ninth for his 22nd save.
DIAMONDBACKS 4, MARLINS 0
MIAMI (AP) – Zack Greinke pitched seven innings and was an offensive dynamo, too, helping Arizona beat Miami.
Greinke singled twice, drove in a run, stole a base and scored. He leads Arizona pitchers this year with four RBIs and four runs, raised his season average to .300, and is now 7 for 7 lifetime in steal attempts.
As for pitching, Greinke (8-5) won for the fifth time in his past six starts.
Paul Goldschmidt continued his recent tear with three hits, and Nick Ahmed added two hits. Each scored and drove in a run.
Trevor Richards (2-5) allowed three runs in four innings. Miami rookie Brian Anderson went 0 for 4 to end his 24-game on-base streak, which had been the longest active string in the National League.
PHILLIES 4, NATIONALS 3
PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Aaron Nola pitched into the eighth inning to win his 10th game of the season Riley Sutter Capitals Jersey , Rhys Hoskins homered again and Philadelphia started a pivotal division series by beating Washington.
Hoskins hit a two-run shot in the seventh inning for his 13th home run of the year and a 4-1 lead that propelled the Phillies within two games of idle Atlanta for first place the NL East. Both the Phillies and Nationals entered this four-game set within striking distance of the Braves.
Nola (10-2) struck out eight and walked only two over 114 pitches and 7 2/3 innings. He has won seven straight decisions at home dating to last season.
Tommy Hunter allowed two runs in the ninth before Seranthony Dominguez got the final two outs for his sixth save.
Tanner Roark (3-9) struck out five over seven innings for the Nationals, who fell to 4-12 since June 9.
BREWERS 6, REDS 4
CINCINNATI (AP) – Eric Thames hit a three-run homer in the seventh inning and Milwaukee slowed Cincinnati’s best surge of the season.
The game included a benches-clearing incident in the third inning as Cincinnati’s Joey Votto exchanged words with Brewers catcher Erik Kratz.
Thames gave the Brewers a 5-4 lead when he homered in the seventh inning off reliever Amir Garrett (0-1).
Eric Sogard added a sacrifice fly in the ninth.
Junior Guerra (4-5) gave up Jose Peraza’s second career leadoff homer and Jesse Winker’s two-run shot while The Kansas City Chiefs are trading Pro Bowl cornerback Marcus Peters to the Los Angeles Rams for what is expected to be a package of draft picks, according to published reports.
ESPN.com first reported the trade, which will not become official until the start of the new league year on March 14. It’s the second major trade involving the Chiefs that will occur that day following the deal that will send quarterback Alex Smith to the Washington Redskins.
The Chiefs have been aggressively seeking to trade Peters, an All-Pro during the 2016 season, as part of both a youth movement and shift in locker room culture.
The 25-year-old Peters emerged as one of the NFL’s best cover cornerbacks, picking off at least five passes each of his first season in the league. But he also carries significant character concerns, beginning with getting thrown off his college team at Washington after a run-in with his coaches.
Peters has drawn the ire of some fans for refusing to stand for the national anthem, even though he has never explained why he is protesting. He’s been involved in shouting matches with assistant coaches on the sideline, bizarre and sometimes divisive locker room antics, and was even suspended for a game last season after tossing an officials’ penalty flag into the stands.
Peters thought he was ejected after that incident against the New York Jets and left the field, only to run back out – not wearing socks – when he realized he was not disqualified.
None of those character concerns was evidently enough to dissuade the Rams from making a deal, though. They were desperate for a shutdown cornerback for defensive coordinator Wade Phillips http://www.ravensauthorizedshops.com/authentic-anthony-averett-jersey , especially with Trumaine Johnson due to hit free agency after spending two seasons playing on the franchise tag.
The Rams’ slot cornerback, Nickell Robey-Coleman, also is expected to hit free agency, and No. 2 cornerback Kayvon Webster will be trying to return from a ruptured Achilles tendon sustained in December.
Peters will count $1.74 million toward the salary cap this season, the final year of his rookie deal, and the Rams will have until May 3 to decide whether to pick up his fifth-year option.
The Chiefs will obtain a potential replacement for Peters when the Smith deal becomes official. As part of their pending trade with the Redskins, the Chiefs will receive coveted cornerback Kendall Fuller, who many believe is on the verge of stardom, along with a third-round draft pick.
Prior to the trades, the Chiefs were only scheduled to have four picks in the upcoming draft, which would have significantly hampered new general manager Brett Veach’s chances of upgrading the roster.
They were granted a sixth-round compensatory pick Friday for allowing quarterback Nick Foles to sign with the Philadelphia Eagles last offseason, and are expected to get additional choices from the Rams. But it’s unknown whether those will occur in April’s draft or in following years.
The Rams are already without a second-round after their trade for Sammy Watkins last year.
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