Home plate umpire Adam Beck restrains Tampa Bay’s Randy Arozarena after Arozarena was hit by a pitch Sunday against the New York Yankees. The Rays won, 7-4. Scott Audette/Associated Press
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Brandon Lowe homered and drove in four runs as the AL wild card-leading Tampa Bay Rays beat the Yankees 7-4 in a contentious matchup on Sunday and kept New York winless in series since June.
Benches and bullpens emptied twice in the eighth inning after one of five hit batters in the game, but no punches were thrown.
The Yankees lost their eighth straight series rubber game and are 0-8-2 in series since winning two of three games at Oakland in late June.
Tampa Bay rallied from a 4-2 deficit in the sixth when Harold Ramírez flared a bases-loaded, two-out single to right off Ian Hamilton (2-2) that went just over a slow-to-react Gleyber Torres at second. Lowe followed with a two-run single against Wandy Peralta.
Tempers flared after Randy Arozarena was hit on a 3-1 pitch by Albert Abreu, the fourth Tampa Bay player hit in the game.
Several players had to be restrained, including Rays first baseman Yandy Díaz. Arozarena stole second and then third, resumed yelling at Abreu, and players ran onto the field for a second time.
MARINERS 3, ROYALS 2: Luis Castillo pitched seven shutout innings and Seattle grabbed sole possession of first place in the AL West, beating visiting Kansas City to complete a three-game sweep.
Teoscar Hernández and Julio Rodríguez homered as Seattle won for the 11th time in 12 games. The Mariners improved to a major league-best 36-14 since July 1.
TWINS 7, RANGERS 6: Jonathan Hernández walked three batters in the 13th inning, among a season-high 10 walks by Texas pitchers, and the Rangers dropped out of first place in the AL West for the first time since early April with a loss in Minneapolis.
ASTROS 17, TIGERS 4: Justin Verlander struck out seven over five scoreless innings and Kyle Tucker hit his 26th homer, helping visiting Houston rout Detroit.
Verlander (10-6) gave up just two hits, walked two and hit three batters for career victory No. 254, pulling him into a tie for 43rd on the all-time list with Hall of Famers Jack Morris and Red Faber.
WHITE SOX 6, ATHLETICS 1: Mike Clevinger struck out 10 in seven sparkling innings, and Chicago won at home to split a four-game series between two of the worst teams in the majors.
Yoán Moncada went 4 for 4 for Chicago, and Tim Anderson, Andrew Benintendi and Andrew Vaughn each had two hits.
GUARDIANS 10, BLUE JAYS 7: Kole Calhoun hit a tie-breaking double in the 11th inning and Cleveland won at Toronto.
José Ramirez and Ramón Laureano each hit a two-run homer as the Guardians took two of three from the Blue Jays.
Laureano went 3 for 4 with two walks, and Calhoun was 3 for 5 with a walk. Both scored three runs.
Davis Schneider, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and George Springer homered for Toronto.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
CUBS 10, PIRATES 1: Cody Bellinger had three hits and five RBI, and Chicago closed out a 5-2 trip with a win in Pittsburgh.
Nico Hoerner had three hits and scored three times. Jeimer Candelario homered and drove in three runs.
The Cubs (69-61) took three of four in Pittsburgh. Next up is a big three-game series against NL Central-leading Milwaukee at Wrigley Field beginning on Monday night. Chicago trails the Brewers by four games.
BREWERS 10, PADRES 6: William Contreras homered and doubled, Sal Frelick drove in three runs, and Milwaukee capitalized on San Diego’s control problems to beat the visiting Padres for its eighth consecutive victory.
Milwaukee took the lead for good by scoring seven runs in the sixth. The Brewers drew five walks during that rally, including one to Carlos Santana that forced home the go-ahead run.
DIAMONDBACKS 5, REDS 2: Christian Walker hit a sacrifice fly with the bases loaded that scored the go-ahead run in the eighth inning, and Arizona won in Phoenix.
The Diamondbacks took three of four games against the Reds and held on to the National League’s last wild-card spot. Arizona leads the Cincinnati by 11/2 games.
PHILLIES 3, CARDINALS 0: Aaron Nola allowed one hit and struck out nine in seven sharp innings, Kyle Schwarber homered, and NL wild-card leading Philadelphia completed a three-game sweep at home.
Johan Rojas doubled among his three hits and Bryce Harper hit an RBI single for the defending NL champion Phillies, who outscored the Cardinals 22-3 in the series.
MARLINS 2, NATIONALS 1: Jorge Soler hit a two-run drive for his 35th homer, and Miami won at home to avoid a series sweep.
Luis Arraez reached on a leadoff single in the third inning before Soler connected against Trevor Williams, giving Miami a 2-1 lead. It was Soler’s 19th go-ahead homer of the season, extending his major league lead.
GIANTS 8, BRAVES 5: Patrick Bailey hit a tiebreaking three-run double in the fifth inning, fellow rookie Casey Schmitt hit his first homer in 3 1/2 months, and San Francisco won at home to avoid a three-game sweep.
INTERLEAGUE
ROCKIES 4, ORIOLES 3: Hunter Goodman had two hits and RBI in his major league debut and scored the tie-breaking run in the ninth inning as visiting Colorado snapped a six-game losing streak.
Goodman, a fourth-round draft pick in 2021, hit an RBI single off Jack Flaherty in the sixth for a 3-1 lead and reached on an infield single against Yennier Cano (1-3) leading off the ninth with the score 3-all. He eventually scored on a groundout by Elias Díaz
METS 3, ANGELS 2: Pete Alonso hit a tying double in the eighth inning and Rafael Ortega singled home the winning run as host New York stopped a four-game losing streak.
NOTES
ROCKIES: Colorado released veteran outfielder Jurickson Profar, who hit .236 with eight homers and 39 RBI after signing a one-year contract as a free agent that paid him $8.75 million.
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