Houston Astros right-hander Justin Verlander threw a no-hitter Sunday in a 2-0 win over the host Toronto Blue Jays, becoming one of just six major league pitchers with three or more no-hitters. After walking Cavan Biggio with one out in the first inning, Verlander (17-5) retired 26 in a row, with rookie Bo Bichette grounding out to third baseman Abraham Toro to end the game. The Astros ace struck out 14 and walked one. Entering the ninth inning, the game was a scoreless tie, with four Blue Jays pitchers holding the Astros to just four hits. The Astros then took a 2-0 lead in the top of ninth inning on a two-run home run from rookie Toro. Verlander joins Larry Corcoran, Cy Young and Bob Feller in the club with three no-hitters. Sandy Koufax had four, and Nolan Ryan fired seven. Yankees 5, A's 4 Brett Gardner hit a game-tying home run leading off the ninth, and pinch hitter Mike Ford followed with a walk-off blast as New York stormed back from a four-run deficit to record a victory over visiting Oakland. Gardner forged a 4-4 tie when he lined a 2-1 fastball by Liam Hendriks (4-2) into the right-center-field seats. Ford then slammed a full-count fastball into the Yankees' bullpen beyond the right-center field fence for his first career pinch-hit homer and first career walk-off hit. Six outs away from being shut out for the first time in 220 games since June 30, 2018, against Boston, the Yankees stormed back in the eighth for three runs before picking up their second straight against Oakland after dropping their first four meetings with the A's. Twins 8, Tigers 3 Michael Pineda struck out nine over six innings, Nelson Cruz had three hits and drove in two runs, and Minnesota won at Detroit. Pineda (11-5), who gave up two runs on five hits, matched his season high for strikeouts while winning his fifth consecutive decision. Jake Cave added two hits and two RBIs as the Twins won for the seventh time in eight games. Detroit starter Spencer Turnbull (3-14) gave up six runs on eight hits in 4 2/3 innings. He has lost his last 10 decisions, including his last five starts. Jordy Mercer homered for Detroit, which has lost seven of its past eight games. Rays 8, Indians 2 Nate Lowe belted a two-run homer as Tampa Bay recorded a victory over Cleveland to complete a three-game sweep at St. Petersburg, Fla. Travis d'Arnaud drove in a pair of runs and Austin Meadows had an RBI single to highlight a three-hit performance for the Rays, who moved a half-game ahead of the Indians in the American League wild-card race. Cleveland's Carlos Carrasco received a standing ovation from both teams prior to coming on in relief in the seventh inning, marking his first game action since being diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia. Carrasco retired the first two batters he faced before allowing a double and an RBI single. Brewers 4, Cubs 0 Christian Yelich clubbed a three-run home run, and seven pitchers combined for a four-hit shutout as Milwaukee won at Chicago. Orlando Arcia also drove in a run for the Brewers, who blanked the Cubs for the second consecutive contest. Milwaukee notched its seventh shutout of the season, with three of those coming against Chicago. Kris Bryant, Victor Caratini, Addison Russell and Ian Happ each singled for the Cubs' only hits. Chicago dropped its second home series in a row. Dodgers 4, Diamondbacks 3 (11 innings) Joc Pederson hit a 454-foot homer to lead off the 11th inning, and Los Angeles rode four solo shots to a win over Arizona in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks had a season-high, six-game winning streak snapped and were seeking the first four-game sweep of the Dodgers in franchise history. Cody Bellinger tied the game with a one-out homer in the ninth inning as the Dodgers set a franchise season record with 238 homers. They hit 235 last year. David Freese and Russell Martin also homered for the Dodgers, who had lost five of seven. Casey Sadler (4-0) stranded two runners in the 10th inning, and Pedro Baez retired the side in order in the 11th for his first save of the season. Closer Kenley Jansen had worked the eighth. Cardinals 4, Reds 3 (Game 1) Harrison Bader's walk-off RBI single lifted St. Louis to a victory over visiting Cincinnati in the first half of a day-night doubleheader. Jose Martinez drew a leadoff walk in the ninth. Pinch runner Tyler O'Neill had to stop at third when Yadier Molina's ground-rule double hopped into the right-center-field seats. That set the stage for Bader, who lifted a fly ball over the pulled-in defense to win the game. Carlos Martinez (4-2) pitched a scoreless ninth inning to earn the victory. Reds 5, Cardinals 3 (Game 2) Phillip Ervin homered, had three hits and drove in two runs as visiting Cincinnati posted a win over St. Louis to earn a doubleheader split. Nick Senzel also hit a homer and scored twice for the Reds. Luis Castillo (14-5) worked six innings, striking out eight batters while allowing three runs on five hits and three walks. Raisel Iglesias struck out all three batters in the ninth inning to earn his 28th save. Reds slugger Eugenio Suarez exited in the fifth inning due to a left hand injury after Cardinals starting pitcher Daniel Ponce de Leon hit him with a pitch. Suarez will undergo further examination Monday in Cincinnati. Phillies 5, Mets 2 Scott Kingery laced a tiebreaking, three-run double in the eighth inning for host Philadelphia, which salvaged the finale of a three-game series against New York. Hector Neris (3-5) uncorked a wild pitch that allowed the tying run to score in the top of the eighth, but he recorded the final five outs to earn the win. Pete Alonso homered for the Mets in the first inning, his 43rd of the season. New York's Wilson Ramos doubled in the fourth inning to extend his hitting streak to a career-long 25 games — the longest run in the majors this year. Braves 5, White Sox 3 Freddie Freeman smacked a pair of two-run home runs and added an RBI single to support six strong innings from Julio Teheran and lift the Atlanta past Chicago for its fourth straight victory. Atlanta secured a three-game series sweep while prevailing for the 12th time in the past 14 contests to surge to a season-high 30 games over .500 at 84-54. Mark Melancon pitched a perfect ninth inning to earn his eighth save and send the White Sox to their sixth straight defeat. Teheran (9-8) limited the White Sox to two runs and three hits with four walks and five strikeouts. Red Sox 4, Angels 3 Xander Bogaerts finished a triple shy of the cycle, leading Boston to a victory over Los Angeles in Anaheim, Calif. Bogaerts hit an RBI single in the first inning, homered in the third and doubled in the fifth. With one opportunity to complete the cycle, he grounded into a double play in the seventh. J.D. Martinez hit his team-leading 34th home run of the season, and Rafael Devers chipped in with two hits as the Red Sox took two of three in the weekend series and six of eight in a now-concluded road trip. Justin Upton homered for Los Angeles. Mariners 11, Rangers 3 Tom Murphy and Daniel Vogelbach hit back-to-back home runs in the third inning, and Kyle Seager added a three-run shot as Seattle defeated Texas to earn a split of a four-game series in Arlington, Texas. Mariners left-hander Yusei Kikuchi (6-9) allowed three runs on six hits in five innings to earn the victory. He didn't walk a batter and struck out one. The Mariners took a 4-0 lead in the top of the first against left-hander Brett Martin (1-3), who lasted just two-thirds of an inning. Pirates 6, Rockies 2 Adam Frazier hit a home run on the first pitch of the game, Steven Brault pitched 6 1/3 effective innings and clubbed his first career homer, and Pittsburgh beat Colorado in Denver. Bryan Reynolds had three hits and Frazier, Josh Bell, Colin Moran and Elias Diaz added two each for the Pirates, who swept the four-game series. Brault (4-3) allowed two runs, one earned, on four hits with five strikeouts and two walks. Nolan Arenado went deep for the Rockies, who have lost six consecutive games and 10 of their last 11. Royals 6, Orioles 4 Meibrys Viloria drove home Alex Gordon with the go-ahead run in the seventh inning to give host Kansas City a victory over Baltimore. Viloria's key hit came after Gordon drove in Adalberto Mondesi with the tying run. Whit Merrifield's home run in the eighth gave the Royals an insurance run. Mondesi matched a career high with four hits after being activated from the 10-day injured list earlier Sunday. He also stole three bases after missing the previous 41 games with a left shoulder subluxation. Nationals 9, Marlins 3 Anthony Rendon hit a go-ahead, two-run homer in the fifth, Juan Soto drove in three runs, and Washington completed a three-game sweep of visiting Miami. Rendon went 2-for-3, including his 32nd homer of the season, and now has 111 RBIs, setting a single-season Nationals record. Rendon, who is hitting .337, went 7-for-10 with three homers and seven RBIs in the series. Soto went 3-for-4 with his 31st homer of the season and two doubles. He went 7-for-12 with five doubles, two homers and seven RBIs in the series. Padres 8, Giants 4 Rookie Ty France hit two home runs, matching the total from his previous 48 major league games, and San Diego spoiled Giants manager Bruce Bochy's final meeting against his former team with a victory at San Francisco. Eric Hosmer collected a single, a double and a triple, and Eric Lauer (8-8) tossed six innings of four-run ball, helping the Padres win for the third time in the four-game series. The 64-year-old Bochy, who has announced he will retire at year's end after 25 seasons as manager, saw his career record fall to 1,992-2,014. The first 951 of those wins came as 12-year skipper of the Padres, a stretch that included an appearance in the 1998 World Series. — Reuters
