Tigers starter pitcher Eduardo Rodríguez delivers a pitch during the first inning against the Cleveland Guardians on Wednesday at Cleveland. Nick Cammett/Associated Press
CLEVELAND — Eduardo Rodriguez struck out eight over seven innings, Javier Báez had two hits and two runs and the Detroit Tigers cruised to a 5-0 victory over the Cleveland Guardians on Wednesday to win the three-game series.
Rodriguez (4-2) gave up four hits and two walks, allowing only two runners past first base in his sixth straight dominant performance. The left-hander is 4-0 with a 0.43 ERA and 41 strikeouts in 41 2/3 innings since April 12.
Báez singled, doubled and scored twice in the first three innings as the Tigers built a 5-0 lead. Andy Ibañez and Akil Baddoo each had RBI doubles, Spencer Torkelson singled in a run and Riley Greene scored another off Cleveland starter Peyton Battenfield (0-4).
In two starts against the Guardians this year, Rodriguez has thrown 15 scoreless innings and earned two wins.
YANKEES 11, ATHLETICS 3: Rookie Anthony Volpe hit his first career grand slam to cap a seven-run fifth inning and New York pulled away for visiting Oakland to complete its first series sweep this season.
Heading into a four-game series against the MLB-best Tampa Bay Rays, the Yankees have won three straight for the first time this season.
Harrison Bader hit a three-run homer in the first inning that was upheld after a review and DJ LeMahieu added a two-run shot in the fifth. The Yankees hit nine homers in the series.
ORIOLES 2, RAYS 1: Dean Kremer pitched six scoreless innings and Baltimore edged visiting Tampa Bay, taking 2 of 3 in a series between the top two teams in the American League.
They trail Tampa Bay by 4 1/2 games in the AL East.
ROYALS 9, WHITE SOX 1: Nick Pratto homered and Brad Keller won for the first time in nearly a month as Kansas City beat visiting Chicago.
RANGERS 4, MARINERS 3: Marcus Semien homered and drove in a pair of runs, Dane Dunning allowed only two runs in six strong innings and Texas won at Seattle.
ASTROS 5, ANGELS 4: Cristian Javier struck out 11 over six strong innings of three-hit ball, and visiting Houston overcame Shohei Ohtani’s two-run homer in the ninth inning to beat Los Angeles.
Ohtani made things interesting with a two-run shot off Houston closer Ryan Pressly in the ninth, golfing a curveball below the zone into the right-field stands for his eighth homer following Mike Trout’s leadoff single.
Anthony Rendon and Hunter Renfroe then delivered singles, but Pressly retired three straight Angels for his sixth save.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
DODGERS 8, BREWERS 1: Freddie Freeman homered and drove in three runs and Clayton Kershaw won his National League-best sixth game as Los Angeles won at Milwaukee.
Will Smith and Miguel Vargas also went deep for the NL West-leading Dodgers, who top the NL in home runs (64).
Kershaw (6-2) struck out eight and walked none over seven innings, allowing five hits. Besides giving up a home run to William Contreras, he allowed only one other runner to reach second base.
ROCKIES 4, PIRATES 3: Jurickson Profar hit a tie-breaking RBI single in the top of the seventh inning and visiting Colorado rallied past struggling Pittsburgh.
Less than 24 hours after homering twice in a 10-1 rout, Profar gave the Rockies their eighth win in 10 games by lacing a Robert Stephenson (0-1) pitch into left field to score Austin Wynns. Alan Trejo had two hits and an RBI for Colorado. Randal Grichuk added a run-scoring double as the Rockies earned their third-straight series win.
Andrew McCutchen went 3 for 3, including a two-run home run, for Pittsburgh, which lost for the ninth time in 10 games.
NATIONALS 11, GIANTS 6: Riley Adams and Lane Thomas homered, Josiah Gray pitched seven strong innings and Washington won at San Francisco.
Ildemaro Vargas went 3 for 5 with three RBI, finishing a home run shy of the cycle.
MARLINS 5, DIAMONDBACKS 4: Jesús Sánchez hit a three-run homer and started the winning rally in the ninth with a double to lead Miami to a win at Phoenix.
The victory improved the Marlins to 12-0 in one-run games, the best start to a season in baseball history in that category. They had been tied with the 1972 New York Mets.
METS 2, REDS 1: Justin Verlander pitched seven innings of two-hit ball for his first victory with the Mets, and Pete Alonso hit his major league-leading 13th home run as New York won at Cincinnati.
Brandon Nimmo had three hits for the Mets, including a go-ahead single in the fourth to help New York win for only the fourth time in 16 games.
Cincinnati had been the only major league team Verlander had never beaten. The three-time Cy Young Award winner became the 21st pitcher in big league history with at least one win against every current team. He joins teammate Max Scherzer, Gerrit Cole and Zack Greinke as the only active pitchers with at least one win against every team.
INTERLEAGUE
PHILLIES 2, BLUE JAYS 1: Edmundo Sosa scored on Bryce Harper’s hard-hit grounder in the 10th inning after Toronto shortstop Bo Bichette’s throwing error and Philadelphia came back to win at home.
With Sosa on second base to start the 10th, Tim Mayza (1-1) struck out Bryson Stott before walking Trea Turner to put runners on first and second with one out. Harper lined a bouncer toward the mound and Mayza made a good play to snare it and fired to second base to set up an apparent double play. But Bichette’s throw went wide of first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Sosa just beat Guerrero’s throw home while sliding headfirst into the plate.
The Blue Jays challenged plate umpire Chad Fairchild’s safe call, but replays confirmed the call on the field.
NOTES
RAYS: The Tampa Bay Rays signed left-handed reliever Jake Diekman to a major league contract and designated right-hander Chase Anderson for assignment.
Diekman went 0-1 with a 7.94 ERA in 13 games with the Chicago White Sox this season before being designated for assignment on May 2 and released four days later.
TWINS: The Minnesota Twins returned infielder Kyle Farmer from his rehab assignment and reinstated him from the injured list, four weeks after he was hit by a pitch in the face and needed oral surgery.
Third baseman Jose Miranda was sent to Triple-A St. Paul to make room for Farmer.
Farmer missed 24 games while recovering physically and mentally from the errant 92 mph fastball thrown by Chicago White Sox right-hander Lucas Giolito that caused a laceration around his lower lip and knocked four teeth out of alignment. The 32-year-old Farmer, who is in his first season with the Twins, went 4 for 13 with two doubles and a home run in four games of his rehab assignment with St. Paul.
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