MLB roundup: Mariners climb within 1 1/2 games of playoff spot

September 28, 2021

The Seattle Mariners continued their dominance of the visiting Oakland Athletics on Monday night, riding Mitch Haniger’s pair of three-run home runs to a 13-4 trouncing of their American League West rivals in the opener of a three-game series.

Seattle pulled within 4 1/2 games of the first-place Houston Astros in the AL West while moving within 1 1/2 games of Boston in the chase for the second AL wild card. The A’s fell 3 1/2 games behind the Red Sox in the wild-card race.

Ty France finished 4-for-4 with four RBIs and three runs for Seattle. Chris Flexen (14-6) got the win, tossing five innings and allowing four runs and seven hits. He walked one and struck out six.

Seth Brown hit a three-run homer for the A’s. Cole Irvin (10-15) yielded five runs on six hits in three-plus innings.

White Sox 8, Tigers 7

Cesar Hernandez and Zack Collins drove in two runs apiece during a six-run, fourth-inning outburst and visiting Chicago edged Detroit after a benches-clearing incident in the final inning.

The ninth-inning altercation occurred after Chicago’s Jose Abreu and Detroit shortstop Niko Goodrum exchanged words after Abreu was thrown out trying to advance on a low pitch. Abreu had been hit earlier in the inning by an Alex Lange pitch one inning after the Tigers’ Isaac Paredes was hit by a pitch.

Eloy Jimenez had three hits, including a two-run homer, for the White Sox. Yasmani Grandal added a solo shot in the makeup of a game postponed last Wednesday. Jonathan Schoop had two hits, including a solo homer, and drove in two runs in Detroit’s home finale.

Reds 13, Pirates 1

Nick Castellanos homered to highlight his five-RBI performance and Joey Votto belted a pair of two-run shots to propel host Cincinnati to a blowout victory over Pittsburgh.

Castellanos launched a three-run blast in the sixth inning for his 33rd homer of the season and has gone deep in four straight games for the Reds, who banged out 17 hits. Rookie Jonathan India belted a two-run homer to highlight his first career four-hit performance. Eugenio Suarez had a solo shot among his three hits.

The offense was more than enough for Reiver Sanmartin (1-0), who was recalled from Triple-A Louisville to make his major league debut. The 25-year-old left-hander allowed one run on five hits while striking out five in 5 2/3 innings. Anthony Alford had two hits and scored a run for the Pirates, who have gone 4-12 against Cincinnati this season.

Indians 8, Royals 3

Amed Rosario went 4-for-5 with three RBIs as Cleveland defeated visiting Kansas City in a makeup game from a Wednesday rainout.

The Indians concluded the home portion of their schedule at 40-41. The top two batters in their lineup — Myles Straw and Rosario — went a combined 6-for-10 with four runs. Bradley Zimmer added a homer off his brother, Royals reliever Kyle Zimmer.

It was the final away contest for the Royals, who finished 20-15 on the road after the All-Star break after a 15-31 road record before the break. Kansas City’s Salvador Perez was 2-for-4 and drove in two runs, raising his major-league-leading total to 117 RBIs.

Nationals 5, Rockies 4

Alcides Escobar had three hits and an RBI as Washington ended a three-game losing streak by beating Colorado in Denver.

Josiah Gray (2-2) pitched 5 1/3 innings for the win, and Tanner Rainey picked up his third save. Lane Thomas and Luis Garcia contributed two hits apiece for Washington.

Ryan McMahon hit a three-run double and Elias Diaz and C.J. Cron had two hits each for the Rockies, who have lost five straight and 10 of 11. Colorado starter German Marquez (12-11) allowed four runs on six hits in five innings.

-Field Level Media

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