WASHINGTON — Max Muncy had two RBIs and Ross Stripling was fabulous in six innings of one-run, four-hit pitching as the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Washington Nationals 4-1 Saturday in the first game of a day-night doubleheader at Nationals Park.
Los Angeles won for the second straight outing after it ended a six-game losing streak with Thursday’s 7-0 win at Miami. Conversely, the loss was Washington’s third in its last 16 games.
Stripling (1-1) struck out nine and didn’t walk a batter in his 96-pitch stint. He was followed to the mound by JT Chargois, Josh Fields and Kenley Jansen, who each threw a scoreless inning. Jansen earned his seventh save of the season.
Washington outfielder Howie Kendrick exited the game in the second inning with what turned out to be a right Achilles injury. Kendrick got twisted around making a catch at the warning track in left-center for the second out of the inning and needed to be carted off the field after being looked at by the training staff. He was placed on the 10-day disabled list after the contest and will receive an MRI.
Dodgers 5, Nationals 4 (Game 2): Pinch hitter Matt Kemp ripped a two-run double off Washington closer Sean Doolittle in the ninth inning to propel Los Angeles to a thrilling come-from-behind victory and complete the sweep of the doubleheader.
Kemp’s double came after singles to lead off the inning by Austin Barnes and Logan Forsythe and made a loser out of Doolittle (1-2), who suffered his first blown save of the season. Los Angeles’ Kenley Jansen earned his eighth save of the season, and second of the day, with a perfect ninth that included one strikeout.
The Dodgers’ comeback denied Max Scherzer’s bid to became the major league’s first eight-game winner. Scherzer left with a 4-2 lead after seven innings of two-run, five-hit pitching, in which he struck out 13 and walked three in his 121-pitch outing. Scherzer now has 104 strikeouts on the year, becoming the fastest pitcher ever to reach 100 K’s in a season. He did it in 63 innings.
Reds 5, Cubs 4 (11 innings, Game 1): Center fielder Billy Hamilton walked with the bases loaded in the 11th inning to drive in the winning run and Scooter Gennett had two hits as host Cincinnati won a thriller over Chicago in walk-off fashion in the first game of a day-night doubleheader.
Cubs 10, Reds 0 (Game 2): Center fielder Jason Heyward had a three-run triple and drove in four runs, Ian Happ homered and left-hander Jose Quintana pitched seven scoreless innings as Chicago split its doubleheader with Cincinnati.
Indians 5, Astros 4: Corey Kluber fanned 10 batters to move into fifth place on Cleveland’s all-time strikeouts list and allowed two runs on six hits over seven innings to beat host Houston.
Yankees 8, Royals 3: Gary Sanchez highlighted a four-hit showing by hitting two solo homers as New York beat host Kansas City.
Red Sox 6, Orioles 3: Rafael Devers, Mookie Betts and Andrew Benintendi all homered as Boston defeated visiting Baltimore.
Mariners 7, Tigers 2: James Paxton pitched a complete game, retiring the final 15 batters he faced, as host Seattle defeated Detroit.
Rays 5, Angels 3: Daniel Robertson’s grand slam and the first career start by Sergio Romo added up to a win for visiting Tampa Bay, its sixth in a row, over Los Angeles.
Mets 5, Diamondbacks 4: Wilmer Flores lofted a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the ninth inning as host New York came back to beat Arizona.
Braves 8, Marlins 1: Sean Newcomb’s shutout streak ended, but he allowed only one run and pitched Atlanta to a win over visiting Miami.
Giants 9, Rockies 4: Brandon Crawford highlighted a 17-hit attack with a two-run double and two-run home run, lifting San Francisco to a rout of visiting Colorado.
Brewers 5, Twins 4: Minnesota outfielder Jake Cave homered in his second major league at-bat, but Christian Yelich broke a late tie with a home run of his own, lifting Milwaukee to victory in Minneapolis.
Phillies 7, Cardinals 6: Jorge Alfaro’s RBI single in the eighth inning snapped a tie and lifted visiting Philadelphia to a wild, rain-interrupted win over St. Louis.
Athletics 5, Blue Jays 4: Chad Pinder hit his first career grand slam to cap a five-run eighth, and visiting Oakland defeated Toronto.
White Sox 5, Rangers 3: Daniel Palka hit a two-run triple, helping erase an early deficit, and Jose Abreu clubbed his eighth home run as Chicago topped visiting Texas.
Padres 6, Pirates 2: Left-hander Clayton Richard pitched into the eighth and Christian Villanueva drove in two runs with a double and a home run as San Diego beat host Pittsburgh. — Reuters
