MLB roundup: Rockies sweep Royals on Kyle Freeland's first complete game

Kyle Freeland struck out eight in the first complete game of his career, Jake McCarthy hit a three-run home run and the Colorado Rockies beat the Kansas City Royals 8-1 in Denver on Sunday.

Freeland (3-10), who needed 115 pitches to go the distance, retired 18 straight batters before Salvador Perez's one-out double in the ninth. Starling Marte followed with a single but Freeland got the next two batters to finish off the team's first complete game since Chad Kuhl did it June 27, 2022, against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Cole Carrigg had three hits and two stolen bases and Brett Sullivan added two doubles for Colorado, which swept a series for the first time since taking three at the New York Mets on April 24-26.

Jac Caglianone doubled for one of the five hits for Kansas City, which has lost four in a row. Royals starter Seth Lugo (4-7) allowed five runs on five hits over five innings, getting chased early in the Rockies' six-run sixth inning which blew the game open.

Braves 4, Nationals 2

Mike Yastrzemski and Matt Olson cracked solo homers as Atlanta capped a four-game sweep over visiting Washington.

Dylan Dodd (3-1) threw a perfect fifth inning to trigger five innings of hitless relief by the Braves bullpen. Raisel Iglesias claimed his 24th save while spot starter JR Ritchie allowed four hits and two runs over four innings.

Nationals starter Cade Cavalli (8-5) gave up six hits and three runs (two earned) in six innings. Washington took a brief 2-1 lead in the fourth when Andres Chaparro was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded and James Wood followed with a sacrifice fly, but Olson responded with a solo shot to lead off the bottom of the fourth.

Phillies 8, Orioles 0 (5 1/2 innings)

Bryan De La Cruz and Bryce Harper homered and three pitchers combined on another shutout as visiting Philadelphia shut out Baltimore in a rain-shortened game.

De La Cruz drove in three runs for the Phillies, who have won two straight after losing eight of their previous nine games. Justin Crawford had two hits, two RBIs and two runs while Alec Bohm added a pair of hits. Kyle Backhus pitched one inning and Tim Mayza (3-3) worked two innings in relief of starter Zack Wheeler, who saw his outing last just two innings due to an extended third-inning rain delay.

The Orioles were held without a run or extra-base hit for the second straight day. Starter Kyle Bradish (7-10), who also didn't return following the delay, was charged with two runs in three innings. The game was called when it went into a second rain delay ahead of the bottom of the sixth.

Cardinals 5, Blue Jays 1

Jordan Walker stroked a two-run single to cap a four-run ninth and visiting St. Louis defeated Toronto to avoid being swept.

The Cardinals plated four runs (one earned) on three hits, a walk and a costly error against top Blue Jays reliever Louis Varland (3-4). Lars Nootbaar also had an RBI double for St. Louis, which got six innings of one-hit shutout work from Matthew Liberatore.

Toronto tied the game in the home eighth against George Soriano (4-3). Andres Gimenez singled with two outs, stole second and scored when Luis Urias hooked a double into the left field corner. Max Scherzer allowed one run and four hits with five strikeouts in six innings, moving to 3,512 career strikeouts, three behind Walter Johnson, who is 10th on the all-time list.

Reds 10, Pirates 2

Sal Stewart continued his rise up Cincinnati's all-time rookie leaderboard and ace Chase Burns allowed just one run and two hits over six innings as the host Reds claimed three of four from Pittsburgh in the weekend series.

Stewart hit his 24th of the season, tying Joey Votto in 2008 for the second-most by a Cincinnati rookie. Frank Robinson holds the single-season franchise record for rookies with 38 in 1956. Tyler Stephenson homered, doubled and drove in two, while Nathaniel Lowe had three hits for the Reds.

Pirates starter Mitch Keller (6-8) was tagged for seven runs and six hits over two innings, walking four and striking out two, while the offense was held to just four hits on the day.

Guardians 5, Diamondbacks 0

Chase DeLauter delivered a two-run double and had three RBIs, and Patrick Bailey hit a solo homer as Cleveland avoided a series sweep against visiting Arizona.

Gavin Williams (11-6) took a perfect game into the sixth as he struck out 10 and gave up one hit and one walk over 5 2/3 innings. Hunter Gaddis, Craig Yoho, Matt Festa and Cade Smith finished off the combined two-hitter.

Diamondbacks starter Merrill Kelly (8-9) allowed five runs on eight hits over five innings. The right-hander struck out five and walked four.

Marlins 2, Mets 0

Sandy Alcantara and three relievers combined on a five-hitter for visiting Miami, which stayed hot by edging New York in the finale of a four-game set.

Joe Mack had two hits, including a homer in the fifth inning, for the Marlins. Xavier Edwards added an insurance run with a single in the ninth. Alcantara (12-6) gave up four hits and walked two over six innings. Michael Petersen replaced Alcantara and escaped a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the seventh. Pete Fairbanks finished the shutout to secure his 17th save.

Robert Stock took a hard-luck loss for the cellar-dwelling Mets in his first major league start since 2021, allowing one run on three hits over five innings. New York was 0-for-12 with runners in scoring position, stranding 10 men on base.

White Sox 9, Rays 1

Anthony Kay spun 6 1/3 shutout innings, Everson Pereira homered and drove in a career high-tying four runs and Chicago won the first series of its six-game road trip with a blowout of Tampa Bay.

The left-handed Kay (8-5) scattered seven hits -- all singles -- over 89 pitches while striking out three and walking one to win for the second time in three starts. The injury-plagued Pereira, who appeared in 23 games for the Rays last season, homered for the first time since April 16 and doubled. Miguel Vargas and Andrew Benintendi also went deep, while Chase Meidroth had two hits, a walk and two runs scored.

Tampa Bay starter Griffin Jax (6-9) allowed two unearned runs in the first inning and finished with one earned run over five frames. He yielded four hits and fanned eight. Ben Williamson homered and Chandler Simpson collected three hits. Ryan Vilade and Junior Caminero each added two hits as the Rays, who stranded 10 baserunners, finished 6-3 on their homestand.

Yankees 2, Cubs 1

Jose Caballero's two-run homer and 5 2/3 innings of one-run ball from Gerrit Cole powered visiting New York over Chicago.

Cole (5-5) worked around four hits and three walks, striking out five, as New York took the third and decisive game of the weekend series. David Bednar got the final four outs for his 24th save.

Colin Rea (8-8) struck out seven and allowed just four baserunners in six-plus innings, but he was the hard-luck loser as the Cubs went 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position. Michael Busch had the lone RBI for Chicago.

Astros 7, Rangers 3

Yordan Alvarez capped his second four-hit game of the season with a two-run double in the seventh inning, helping Houston complete a three-game series sweep of visiting Texas with its sixth straight victory.

Alvarez finished 4-for-5 with three doubles, two RBIs and a run scored. Jeremy Pena added a two-run homer, and Jose Altuve, Cam Smith, LaMonte Wade Jr. delivered RBI singles. Astros starter Peter Lambert retired the first 12 batters he faced before he was tagged for two runs in the fifth.

Brandon Nimmo hit his 11th homer for the Rangers to tie the game at 3 in the top of the seventh. Kumar Rocker gave up three runs on 10 hits over 5 1/3 innings. With the sweep, Houston moved 2 1/2 games clear of Texas atop the AL West.

Angels 3, Brewers 0

Rookie Walbert Urena allowed three hits over six innings and Wade Meckler hit a two-run homer to lead Los Angeles to a victory over Jacob Misiorowski and Milwaukee in Anaheim, Calif.

Zach Neto added an RBI single for the Angels, who snapped a five-game losing streak. Urena (7-7) allowed just three singles, walked three and struck out seven while outdueling National League Cy Young frontrunner Misiorowski. Ryan Zeferjahn struck out four and allowed two hits over 1 2/3 innings to pick up his fourth save.

Misiorowski (11-5) walked one and struck out 10. It was the 10th time he has registered double-digit strikeouts in 21 starts this season, setting a new franchise single-season record. After Meckler's second-inning home run, he retired 16 straight batters and 17 of the last 18 hitters he faced but still took his first loss since July 2 against Cincinnati.

Padres 5, Giants 4

Jackson Merrill belted a two-run homer during a four-run second inning and San Diego won for the eighth time in nine games, holding off visiting San Francisco.

Merrill's 16th homer of the year off Landen Roupp (7-10) got the Padres off to the fast start they needed to repel the Giants' rally. Two more runs came in on Jake Cronenworth's single. Kyle Hart delivered three scoreless innings as an opener in place of Michael King, whose start was moved to Monday at Arizona.

Osleivis Basabe and Rafael Devers homered for San Francisco. Roupp gave up six hits and five runs in 4 2/3 innings.

Tigers 11, Athletics 0

Keider Montero allowed two hits in six shutout innings and Eduardo Valencia drove in four runs with a pair of doubles as Detroit blanked the Athletics at West Sacramento, Calif.

The Tigers swept the series and have scored at least eight runs in five straight games for the first time since 1996, and over the same dates of July 28 to Aug. 2. Detroit swept the season series 6-0 -- reportedly the first time the Tigers have swept a season series from an American League opponent.

Montero (8-6) walked two and struck out two in 86 pitches. A's starter Gage Jump (4-7) gave up six runs on four hits in 3 2/3 innings. The A's, who have lost five straight and 10 of their last 12, issued nine walks to the Tigers.

Mariners 7, Twins 6

Colt Emerson lined a run-scoring single through a drawn-in infield with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning as host Seattle edged Minnesota after blowing a six-run lead.

Leadoff hitter Cole Young had his first career four-hit game and Cal Raleigh homered for the Mariners, who took the final two games of the series on walk-off wins after losing the opener. Seattle starter George Kirby tossed seven scoreless innings before the bullpen squandered the lead.

The Twins' Luke Keaschall led off the ninth inning with a homer just over the right field wall off Mariners closer Andres Munoz (5-4) to tie the score. Josh Naylor led off the bottom of the inning by lining a single to right field off Yoendrys Gomez (2-1). An out later, Victor Robles lined a single to center, with Naylor advancing to third on an ugly belly-flop slide on which he bloodied his face. The Mariners brought in Stuart Fairchild to run for Naylor and Emerson hit his single to right to win the game.

Red Sox 8, Dodgers 4

Ceddanne Rafaela continued his home-run barrage and Boston finished off a three-game road sweep over the Los Angeles to complete a 6-1 California road trip that also included a stop in West Sacramento to face the Athletics.

Wilyer Abreu, Masataka Yoshida and Jarren Duran also went deep as the Red Sox improved to 2-0 in August after going 21-4 in July to set a franchise-record winning percentage (.840) for a full month. Rafaela hit the first of three Boston homers in the third inning and delivered four homers in the series.

Andy Pages drove in three runs for the Dodgers, who went 2-4 on their homestand. Los Angeles right-hander Emmet Sheehan (4-8) lasted just 2 2/3 innings, allowing five runs on six hits. Red Sox rookie left-hander Jake Bennett (7-4) gave up three runs on six hits over 5 2/3 innings with two walks and four strikeouts.

--Field Level Media