MLB roundup: Betts’ 8 RBIs lead Red Sox past Jays

TORONTO — Mookie Betts had two homers and matched his career best of eight RBIs, Drew Pomeranz pitched six effective innings and the Boston Red Sox trounced the Toronto Blue Jays 15-1 to complete a sweep of the three-game series.

Betts had three-run and two-run homers and an RBI single and a two-run single as the Red Sox won their fourth game in a row.

Hanley Ramirez added three hits, including a two-run homer, and three RBIs for the Red Sox (47-35), who outhit the Blue Jays 21-5.

Pomeranz (8-4) allowed five hits, two walks and one run in six innings to win his second straight start.

Fernando Abad replaced Pomeranz in the seventh and allowed one walk in three innings to pick up his first save of the season.

The Blue Jays completed a six-game homestand with one win and have lost four in a row.

Giants 5, Pirates 3

PITTSBURGH — Brandon Belt drove in three runs as San Francisco erased a two-run deficit to gain a three-game road sweep of Pittsburgh.

Belt was 3-for-4 with his 16th homer and an RBI single as San Francisco won its sixth in a row and got its second series sweep in a row. The Giants’ last sweep in Pittsburgh was April 29-May 1, 2005.

San Francisco starter Jeff Samardzija (4-9) allowed two runs, both on Jordy Mercer’s fourth-inning homer, and six hits in six innings with five strikeouts and no walks.

Cubs 6, Reds 2

CINCINNATI — Jake Arrieta allowed only one hit in seven innings, and Ian Happ homered twice for Chicago, which avoided a sweep.

Arrieta allowed only a first-inning single by Joey Votto.

Anthony Rizzo added a solo home run for Chicago, which avoided its first three-game sweep in Cincinnati since 1996. The Cubs have beaten the Reds in 24 of the past 31 meetings.

Cubs second baseman Javier Baez, who entered Sunday’s game 1-for-16, went 3-for-4 with two doubles and an RBI.

Orioles 7, Rays 1

BALTIMORE — Kevin Gausman threw seven scoreless innings, Manny Machado had a three-run homer and Baltimore avoided a three-game sweep against Tampa Bay.

Mark Trumbo also homered for Baltimore, which plays seven straight road games heading into the All-Star break. Tampa Bay still managed its first series win at Camden Yards in two years.

Tampa Bay catcher Jesus Sucre ended the shutout bid with a solo homer in the eighth off Mychal Givens.

Rays manager Kevin Cash fractured his left ankle running near Camden Yards early Sunday morning but did not miss the game.

Phillies 7, Mets 1

NEW YORK — Rookie right-hander Nick Pivetta tossed seven innings of one-hit ball as Philadelphia routed New York.

The Phillies avoided being swept in the three-game series by the Mets, who lost for just the second time in nine games.

Pivetta (2-4) opened the game with 4 1/3 no-hit innings before T.J. Rivera homered to left.

Daniel Nava went 3-for-5 with two RBIs for the Phillies.

Royals 6, Twins 2

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Whit Merrifield had three hits, including two doubles, and stole three bases as Kansas City beat Minnesota.

The Royals took three of four from the Twins in the series.

Twins left-hander Hector Santiago (4-8) was removed after 3 1/3 innings after allowing four runs. He has not won since May 3 and his ERA is 5.63.

Left-hander Travis Wood, who has making his first start since Sept. 19, 2015, while with the Chicago Cubs, held the Twins scoreless for the first four innings but was removed in the fifth when he faced three batters and retired none as his pitch count ascended.

Indians 11, Tigers 8

DETROIT — Jose Ramirez homered twice and knocked in four runs, Carlos Santana doubled twice and drove in three runs, and Cleveland held off Detroit, which scored six runs in the ninth.

Losing pitcher Justin Verlander (5-5) surrendered seven runs on nine hits in 3 1/3 innings. He didn’t record a strikeout for the first time since May 4, 2007. The streak lasted 331 games and had been the majors’ longest active streak. The strikeout streak was tied for the sixth longest since 1913.

Ramirez, who has three multi-homer games, reached base four times and scored four runs. He hit his homers from opposite sides of the plate for the second time this season, the first player in franchise history to accomplish that feat.

Astros 8, Yankees 1

HOUSTON — Carlos Correa had four hits and Yuli Gurriel chipped in with his second consecutive three-hit game for Houston in its win over New York.

Correa had two doubles, and Gurriel hit a home run and fell a triple shy of the cycle as the Astros won the rubber match of the three-game series.

Five Astros relievers yielded just one run over the final five innings.

White Sox 6, Rangers 5

CHICAGO — Yolmer Sanchez drilled a go-ahead, two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth inning to lift Chicago over Texas.

With two outs, Sanchez hit a 1-2 pitch from Rangers right-hander Jose Leclerc (1-2) into the stands in right field, helping the White Sox win the rubber match of the three-game weekend series.

The Chicago bullpen shined behind 4 2/3 innings of scoreless ball from Anthony Swarzak, Tommy Kahnle and David Robertson.

Chicago left fielder Melky Cabrera opened the scoring with a one-out home run to center field in the first inning.

Marlins 10, Brewers 3

MILWAUKEE — Marcell Ozuna hit two home runs and Dan Straily struck out four as Miami snapped a four-game losing streak.

Straily (6-4) held the Brewers to three runs, five hits and a walk in his six innings. He remained perfect against Milwaukee, improving to 4-0 with a 2.12 in six career appearances (four starts).

The Marlins finished with 17 hits, two short of their season high of 19 set in May, but went 5-for-21 with runners in scoring position and stranded 15.

Mariners 5, Angels 3

ANAHEIM, Calif. — James Paxton allowed two hits and a run in 6 1/3 innings, Robinson Cano slugged a three-run home run in the seventh and center fielder Guillermo Heredia made a game-saving catch in the eighth to give Seattle the win.

Paxton (6-3) had a perfect game through 5 1/3 innings before a Danny Espinosa single broke it up in the sixth.

Leading 2-1 in the eighth, Cano slugged his 16th home run of the season, a three-run shot off the right field foul pole, to give the Mariners a 5-1 lead.

The Angels cut the deficit to 5-2 and had the bases loaded with no outs in the eighth when Cameron Maybin slugged a line drive to dead center that Heredia was able to catch over his head with his back to the infield, turning a potential game-tying extra base hit into an out.