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Will Benson homers as Reds even series against Braves

CINCINNATI (AP) — Will Benson hit his ninth multi-run homer of the year to power the Cincinnati Reds to a 3-2 win over the Atlanta Braves on Friday. Left-handed batters were hitting .292 against the lefty Dylan Dodd coming into the game.
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Cincinnati Reds' Will Benson slides safely into home to score on a single hit by Matt McLain during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves, Friday, Aug. 1, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

CINCINNATI (AP) — Will Benson hit his ninth multi-run homer of the year to power the Cincinnati Reds to a 3-2 win over the Atlanta Braves on Friday.

Left-handed batters were hitting .292 against the lefty Dylan Dodd coming into the game. With two outs in the seventh, manager Terry Francona elected to let Benson face him and Benson sent it 356 feet to left field.

Matt McLain singled to score Benson to break a scoreless tie in the sixth inning. Benson singled and stole second to set up the run.

Brady Singer (9-8) struck out a season-high 10 batters in six scoreless innings. He allowed four hits and a walk. It was his first career win over the Braves in four decisions.

Bryce Elder (4-8) pitched 6 2/3 innings, allowing one run on four hits and two walks.

Scott Barlow pitched a scoreless seventh.

Tony Santillan appeared in his major league leading 55th appearance in a scoreless eighth.

The Braves scored both their runs in the ninth. Ozzie Albies singled a run home and Luke Williams hit a sacrifice fly.

Emilio Pagan got his 23rd save in 26 chances.

CUBS 1, ORIOLES 0

CHICAGO (AP) — Rookie Cade Horton tossed two-hit ball over five innings, and Chicago overcame a terrific start by Trevor Rogers to beat Baltimore.

The Cubs showed a video tribute of Ryne Sandberg and held 23 seconds of silence prior to their first home game since the Hall of Famer died. Former teammates Shawon Dunston, Jody Davis and Rick Sutcliffe then honored their friend by carrying a base onto the field and placing it at second.

Ian Happ hit a sacrifice fly in the second inning against Rogers, and the Cubs came away with the win in a game that lasted just 1 hour, 49 minutes.

Horton (5-3) delivered his third straight scoreless outing.

PHILLIES 5, TIGERS 4

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Jhoan Durán earned a save in his Philadelphia debut after Bryson Stott beat a throw to first base and was ruled safe on an overturned review call for the go-ahead RBI single in the eighth inning as the Phillies beat Detroit..

The Phillies trailed 3-0 in the seventh and 4-3 in the eighth, rallying each time against the AL Central leaders and setting the stage for Durán’s ballyhooed debut.

With former WWE star The Undertaker’s gong setting the soundtrack, Durán entered with only iPhone lights on in the ballpark and flames on the big screen to create the dramatic mood. Duran did the rest in his first appearance since his trade-deadline acquisition from Minnesota. He retired the side in order in the ninth inning — on four pitches — for his 17th save.

The Phillies rallied without slugger Bryce Harper, ejected in the seventh inning for arguing a called third strike on a check swing.

Gleyber Torres hit a three-run homer off Phillies starter Ranger Suárez in the third inning for the early lead.

BREWERS 16, NATIONALS 9

WASHINGTON (AP) — Blake Perkins hit his first two home runs of the season and drove in three runs, and Milwaukee beat Washington.

William Contreras homered as part of a five-hit night and Andrew Vaughn went deep for the sixth time in 17 games with Milwaukee, which finished with a season-high 25 hits. All nine offensive starters had at least one hit and one run for the Brewers, who have won 16 of 20.

Paul DeJong homered in the third inning for Washington, which is a season high-tying 21 games under .500. The Nationals trailed 16-4 before a five-run ninth.

Perkins hit a solo home run in the second and a two-run shot in the fifth off Nationals starter Mitchell Parker (7-11). The outfielder missed the Brewers’ first 96 games with a fractured right shin and made only his seventh start of the season as Milwaukee placed center fielder Jackson Chourio on the injured list with a right hamstring strain.

Milwaukee went ahead when it opened the third with four consecutive singles, and Danny Jansen’s sacrifice fly made it 3-1. Two batters later, Andruw Monasterio had a two-run double, then came around on Joey Ortiz’s RBI double.

Parker allowed eight runs and 12 hits in four-plus innings. He is 0-2 with a 15.58 ERA in two starts against Milwaukee this season.

Brewers starter José Quintana (8-4) allowed two runs and struck out four in five innings.

RED SOX 2, ASTROS 1, 10 innings

BOSTON (AP) — Roman Anthony lined a fly ball over drawn-in center fielder Chas McCormick’s head to score the automatic runner from third, and Boston rallied in the 10th inning to beat the new-look Houston.

Boston trailed 1-0 on Christian Walker’s second-inning home run before tying it in the seventh on Wilyer Abreu’s sacrifice fly.

With Abreu starting the bottom of the 10th on second base, Ceddanne Rafaela tried unsuccessfully to bunt him to third before swinging away -- and hitting the ball just a few feet in front of the plate. Catcher Yanier Diaz tried to get Abreu at third, but his throw was late.

Anthony lined a 2-2 pitch to center. McCormick ran after it and it flew just beyond his glove for what was scored as a walk-off single.

Greg Weissert (4-3) pitched a perfect 10th for the win as the Red Sox won for the fifth time in six games to reach a season-high nine games above .500.

GUARDIANS 4, TWINS 2, 10 innings

CLEVELAND (AP) — Kyle Manzardo singled home Brayan Rocchio with one out in the 10th inning for his second walk-off hit of the season, giving Cleveland a victory over Minnesota.

The Guardians loaded the bases against Kody Funderburk (1-1) on a single by Steven Kwan and an intentional walk to José Ramírez. Manzardo brought in automatic runner Rocchio with a liner to left field.

Cade Smith (3-4) pitched the final two innings as Cleveland improved to 9-5 since the All-Star break.

Ramírez drove in Kwan in the first inning, then stole second base to become the 17th player with 275 steals and 275 home runs in a career. He is the first primary third baseman to reach the milestone and the second switch hitter, joining Carlos Beltrán.

ROYALS 9, BLUE JAYS 3

TORONTO (AP) — Mike Yastrzemski homered in his first at-bat with Kansas City, Michael Wacha limited Toronto to a run in eight innings in his longest outing of the season and the Royals beat the Blue Jays.

Acquired from San Francisco just before the trade deadline Thursday, Yastrzemski had a two-run shot off Kevin Gausman (7-8) in the second inning to make it 2-1.

Wacha (5-9) allowed three hits and stuck out five, helping the Royals improve to .500 for the first time since June 20. He gave up one run for the fourth consecutive start.

Bobby Witt Jr., Salvador Perez and Adam Frazier also homered for Kansas City.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. had two-out homer in the first inning to give Toronto a 1-0 lead. After Yastrzemski gave the Royals the lead in the second, and Witt’s three-run homer made it 5-1 in the third.

DODGERS 5, RAYS 0

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Freddie Freeman homered for the second straight game and drove in three runs, Clayton Kershaw gave up five hits in six innings and Los Angeles beat Tampa Bay.

Kershaw (5–2) picked up his first win in over a month and the 217th of his career. He struck out three before Justin Wrobleski struck out five over the final three innings for the first save of his career.

Freeman hit a two-run double in the first inning and hit his 12th home run of the season leading off the fifth to make it 5–0.

After getting Mookie Betts to ground out, Shane Baz (8-8) walked Shohei Ohtani and then gave up back-to-back doubles to Will Smith and Freeman to make it 2-0. That extended Freeman’s on-base streak to 17 games.

GIANTS 4, METS 3, 10 INNINGS

NEW YORK (AP) — Pinch-hitter Dominic Smith hit a tiebreaking RBI single against his former team in the 10th inning leading San Francisco to a win over New York.

The victory snapped a six-game losing streak for the Giants, who dealt relievers Tyler Rogers and Camilo Doval, as well as outfielder Mike Yastrzemski, prior to Thursday’s trade deadline.

The Mets overcame a 3-0 deficit to force extra innings before losing their fourth straight game and falling out of first place in the National League East. New York is a half-game behind Philadelphia.

Casey Schmitt and Patrick Bailey each had an RBI double and Jung Hoo Lee added a run-scoring groundout before Pete Alonso began the Mets’ comeback with a homer in the seventh — the 249th of his career. Alonso is within three homers of Darryl Strawberry, who holds the franchise record at 252.

The Mets tied the game in the eighth when Juan Soto had an RBI single and Alonso lofted a sacrifice fly.

But, Ryan Walker (3-4) retired New York in order in the ninth and Smith, who spent the first six seasons of his career with the Mets, singled home automatic runner Willy Adames with one out in the 10th.

Randy Rodríguez worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the 10th by striking our Ronny Maurcio to earn his second save.

MARLINS 13, YANKEES 12

MIAMI (AP) — Xavier Edwards hit a tying two-run single in the ninth, then raced home with the winning run on Agustín Ramírez’s chopper in front of the plate as Miami rallied to beat New York in front of an electric Miami crowd on Friday night.

Edwards’ hit came off new Yankees reliever Camilo Doval (4-3) and he beat the attempted tag at home on Ramírez’s fielder’s choice grounder.

Giancarlo Stanton and Trent Grisham hit three-run homers that helped the Yankees build a 9-4 lead before the Marlins stunned New York with a six-run seventh.

Kyle Stowers hit a grand slam off newly acquired Yankees reliever Jake Bird, and Javier Sanoja hit a solo shot off David Bednar, another new acquisition. Ramírez singled twice, including a leadoff base hit and a go-ahead single that put the Marlins up 10-9.

Anthony Volpe then tied it at 10 with a leadoff home run in the eighth, and Bednar pitched a scoreless inning before Ryan McMahon’s single against Anthony Bender (3-5) in the ninth. Volpe, who had four hits, gave the Yankees a two-run cushion with a run-scoring double.

PADRES 4, CARDINALS 1

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Nick Pivetta gave up one hit and one run in seven innings, Jackson Merrill drove in two runs, and San Diego won their sixth game in a row, over St. Louis.

Pivetta (11-3) struck out five and did not give up a walk. His only blemish was a solo homer by Willson Contreras in the fifth that gave the Cardinals a 1-0 lead.

San Diego answered with four runs in the bottom of the fifth in large part to two errors that led to three unearned runs.

Robert Suarez notched his major league-best 31st save with a scoreless ninth.

Cardinals starter Matthew Liberatore (6-9) pitched 4 1/3 innings, giving up four hits and four runs (one earned).

ROCKIES 17, PIRATES 16

DENVER (AP) — Brenton Doyle hit a walkoff, two-run homer in a five-run ninth inning and Colorado overcame a nine-run first-inning deficit to beat Pittsburgh.

The Rockies are the sixth team in major league history to win after surrendering nine first-inning runs according to Elias Sports Bureau. Cleveland was the last to do it in 2006.

Colorado trailed 16-12 before rallying off Dennis Santana (3-3). Hunter Goodman hit his 20th homer with one out. Jordan Beck walked and scored on rookie Warming Bernabel’s first triple. Thairo Estrada had an RBI single, and Doyle hit his eighth home run with one out to win it.

Bernabel went 4 for 6 and hit his third homer for the Rockies — a three-run shot in the third to cut it to 9-4. Ezequiel Tovar went 4 for 6 and tied a major league record with four doubles. Doyle also finished with four of Colorado’s 22 hits. Rookie Yanquiel Fernández hit his first homer — a two-run shot off Yohan Ramírez in the eighth to get the Rockies within four.

Oneil Cruz hit his 18th homer and second career grand slam and Andrew McCutchen added a three-run shot — his 11th — off Antonio Senzatela as the Pirates became just the second team in 132 years to score nine-plus runs in the first inning on 10-plus hits that included a slam and a three-run homer. Cincinnati did it against the Louisville Colonels on June 18, 1893.

WHITE SCOX 6, ANGELS 3

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Andrew Benintendi had a double and a home run, Lenyn Sosa also homered among his two hits, and the Chicago White Sox beat the Los Angeles Angels 6-3 on Friday night.

White Sox starter Shane Smith gave up two runs and two hits while striking out four over 4 1/3 innings in his first start since July 11 following a stint on the 15-day IL. Jordan Leasure (4-6) earned the win in relief, striking out four in 1 2/3 innings.

Benintendi and Sosa each hit solo home runs in the second inning off Angels starter Tyler Anderson (2-7), and Luis Robert Jr. had a sacrifice fly drove Miguel Vargas home in the fourth inning to make it 3-0.

Gustavo Campero’s second home run of the year, a two-run blast to deep center field in the fifth, got the Angels within one, but Colson Montgomery answered with a deep homer of his own in the sixth inning.

Steven Wilson got the last six outs for his second save of the year.

ATHLETICS 5, DIAMONDBACKS 1

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Shea Langeliers hit a two-run homer in a four-run first inning and the Athletics beat Arizona.

Brent Rooker had a sacrifice fly, Langeliers followed with his 19th home run and Carlos Cortez added a two-out RBI single as the A’s built a 4-0 lead against Anthony DeSclafani. Rooker singled and scored on Tyler Soderstrom’s second double of the game to make it 5-0 in the fourth.

Jacob Lopez (4-6) gave up five hits in five scoreless innings for the Athletics, who have won three straight and seven of their last eight. Luis Morales allowed a run in two innings in his major league debut. Elvis Alvarado and Sean Newcomb each pitched a scoreless inning to close it out.

Langeliers led the way with three of the Athletics’ 11 hits.

Corbin Carroll’s sacrifice fly drove in Jose Herrera, who singled before advancing to third on Ketel Marte’s ground-rule double in the seventh to get Arizona on the scoreboard.

MARINERS 4, RANGERS 3

SEATTLE (AP) — J.P. Crawford hit a two-run home run in the ninth inning to give Seattle a victory over Texas.

Dominic Canzone led off the ninth with a single off closer Robert Garcia (1-6), bringing Crawford to the plate. On the third pitch Crawford saw, he sent a 95 mph fastball into the seats in right.

Seattle gained another game on AL West-leading Houston and firmed its grip on the third wild-card spot by two games over the Rangers.

Rowdy Tellez, Josh Smith and Marcus Semien had RBI hits in the third to give Texas a 3-1 lead. Seattle newcomer Josh Naylor had an opposite-field double in the fifth to cut it to 3-2.

Eduard Bazardo (5-0) pitched the ninth for the victory.

The Associated Press