NEW YORK (AP) - Yasiel Puig hit a tiebreaking homer in the seventh inning and the thundering Los Angeles Dodgers went deep five times, rallying past the New York Mets 7-4 on Saturday to extend their incredible surge.
Chris Taylor, Justin Turner, Corey Seager and rookie Cody Bellinger also connected for the Dodgers, who are 43-7 since June 7. That’s the best 50-game run by a big league team since the 1912 New York Giants compiled the same mark from May 14 to July 3.
Los Angeles has won all but one of its last 13 games, upping the top record in the majors to an astounding 78-32. That puts the Dodgers at 46 games above .500 for the first time since they were 98-51 on Sept. 15, 1962.
CUBS 7, NATIONALS 4
CHICAGO (AP) - Willson Contreras homered and drove in three runs, Alex Avila homered for his first hit with the Cubs and Chicago beat Washington to even the series between division leaders.
Kris Bryant and Jon Jay each added a run-scoring hit as the Cubs snapped a three-game losing streak.
Bryce Harper hit his 28th homer and threw out a runner at third base for the Nationals.
Saturday was supposed to be a day off for Contreras - with Avila making his first start after being acquired on Monday - but manager Joe Maddon started Contreras in left field to keep his hot bat in the lineup. He entered batting .429 with two homers and eight RBIs in the first four games of the home stand.
John Lackey (9-9) allowed three runs (two earned) and six hits in five innings to win his fourth straight start. Wade Davis got the final three outs - striking out Harper, the potential tying run, to end it - for his 23rd save.
YANKEES 2, INDIANS 1
CLEVELAND (AP) - Brett Gardner and Ronald Torreyes made sensational defensive plays in the ninth inning to save Aroldis Chapman from another late-inning meltdown in Progressive Field, and New York hung on to stop a four-game losing streak.
Chapman (4-2), making his first appearance in Cleveland since Game 7 of last year’s World Series for the Chicago Cubs, allowed a leadoff single in the ninth before Jose Ramirez hit a fly to deep left that Gardner grabbed with a jump on the warning track. Edwin Encarnacion then hit a blooper toward right that Torreyes ran down with a dive.
Chapman went to a full count on Carlos Santana before striking him out with his 21st pitch of the inning for his 14th save.
The defensive gems were a nice change for the Yankees, who made three errors in the series opener and had another error, passed ball and two wild pitches on Friday.
Chase Headley homered with one out in the eighth inning off Zach McAllister (1-1) for the Yankees, who have been anything but Bronx Bombers lately.
RED SOX 4, WHITE SOX 1
BOSTON (AP) - Andrew Benintendi and Jackie Bradley Jr. hit two-run homers, and Drew Pomeranz won a career-best fifth straight decision to help Boston beat Chicago.
Pomeranz (11-4) gave up Tim Anderson’s homer on the second pitch of the game, but didn’t allow another run before leaving with a 4-1 lead with one out in the seventh. Since starting the season 3-3, Pomeranz has lost just once in 15 starts.
Craig Kimbrel pitched the ninth for his 26th save as the AL East-leading Red Sox won for the seventh time in nine games.
James Shields (2-4) took the loss for the White Sox, who have dropped five straight games and 22 of their last 26.
ORIOLES 5, TIGERS 2
BALTIMORE (AP) - Welington Castillo hit a tiebreaking homer in the seventh inning, Adam Jones and Tim Beckham also hit solo shots, and Baltimore ended Detroit’s four-game winning streak.
Jonathan Schoop doubled in a run for Baltimore to increase his RBI total to 80, tied for the AL lead.
Justin Upton homered in a third consecutive game for the Tigers, who were unbeaten in August after trading away three stars before the non-waiver trade deadline.
After losing the first two games of the series, Baltimore fell behind 2-0 in the first inning before coming back for its sixth win in eight games.
BREWERS 3, RAYS 0
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) - Zach Davies gave up one hit in seven innings and Milwaukee remained a half-game behind NL Central-leading Chicago after a victory over Tampa Bay.
It was the second straight shutout for the Brewers, who have given up only one run while winning three straight.
Davies (13-5) walked two and struck out two. Two relievers helped the Brewers stretch their streak of shutout innings to 22.
Lucas Duda’s single to center with one out in the sixth was the only hit off Davies, who is 6-1 with a 2.38 ERA over his last eight starts.
Keon Broxton scored the game’s first run after a leadoff single off Rays starter Alex Cobb in the third. Broxton stole a base and scored on Orlando Arcia’s double.
BLUE JAYS 4, ASTROS 3, 10 INNINGS
HOUSTON (AP) - Ryan Goins hit a tiebreaking RBI single in the 10th inning, and Toronto rallied to beat Houston.
Goins hit the two-out single to left field off Francisco Liriano (6-7), and Rob Refsnyder touched home plate with his left hand just before Brian McCann tagged him. The Astros challenged the call, which stood after a nearly two-minute review.
Ryan Tepera (6-1) threw two innings for the win, and Roberto Osuna got the last three outs for his 28th save.
RANGERS 4, TWINS 1
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Cole Hamels threw the 16th complete game of his career - his first in nearly two years - and turned in his most efficient start of the season to lead Texas past Minnesota.
With Hamels dominating on the mound, Nomar Mazara’s first-inning, two-run homer off Kyle Gibson (6-9) was all the offense Texas needed to beat the Twins.
In his first complete game since Oct. 4, 2015, Hamels (6-1) scattered four hits and allowed only four batters to reach base. The Twins’ only run against him was unearned.
Hamels entered the game with a 6.35 career ERA against Minnesota, the highest of any opponent with at least six starts, but breezed through the lineup using 96 pitches to pick up his third career win against the Twins.
PADRES 5, PIRATES 2
PITTSBURGH (AP) - Rookie Dinelson Lamet allowed just one hit in 5 2/3 innings, Wil Myers broke out of a slump with a home run and three RBIs and San Diego quieted Pittsburgh.
Lamet (6-4) struck out five and walked three, giving up just a single to Josh Bell in the fourth to win his third consecutive start. He also picked up his first major league hit, a flare to right field off Gerrit Cole (9-8) in the sixth. Brad Hand worked a perfect ninth for his eighth save.
Myers ended an 0-for-16 slide by doubling home Cory Spangenberg in the third to give San Diego the lead. He then hit a two-run shot to center in the fifth off Cole for his 21st home run of the season. Dusty Coleman went 3 for 4 for the Padres, including his third homer.
Josh Harrison hit a solo home run in the seventh and Adam Frazier added an RBI single but couldn’t stop the Pirates from falling 5 1/2 games behind first-place Chicago in the NL Central.
BRAVES 7, MARLINS 2
ATLANTA (AP) - Mike Foltzynewicz had a career-high 11 strikeouts, Freddie Freeman hit a three-run homer and Atlanta beat Miami.
Miami led 1-0 in the sixth when Giancarlo Stanton slugged his 36th homer, most in the majors. One night after homering twice, Stanton crushed Foltynewicz’s fastball deep into the seats in the left field, but the Braves took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the inning on Freeman’s RBI single and Nick Markakis’ RBI double.
Freeman hit his 20th homer and Brandon Phillips had a two-run single in a five-run seventh.
Foltynewicz (10-6) struck out eight of the first 12 batters he faced. He allowed four hits and one run in 6 1/3 innings and did not issue a walk for the first time in 15 starts.
CARDINALS 4, REDS 1
CINCINNATI (AP) - Paul DeJong hit a two-run homer and Lance Lynn got past Joey Votto’s first-inning home run to win his fourth straight start as St. Louis eased past Cincinnati.
Lynn (10-6) retired 12 of the last 14 batters he faced, walking Votto twice. The right-hander limited the Reds to three hits and a run with three walks and four strikeouts.
Seung Hwan Oh allowed a harmless two-out single in the seventh, Tyler Lyons struck out all three batters he faced in the eighth - including Votto looking to end the inning - and Trevor Rosenthal worked around a walk and a single in the ninth for his eighth save in 10 chances.
The win was the Cardinals’ first in six games at Cincinnati this season and the first in their last six overall decided by more than one run.
ATHLETICS 5, ANGELS 0
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) - Rookie Paul Blackburn allowed five hits in 6 2/3 innings and Oakland cooled off Los Angeles.
The Angels had their four-game winning streak snapped after they had scored at least five runs in each of their previous seven games.
Blackburn (3-1) was in control all night and didn’t walk a batter. The 2012 No. 1 draft pick of the Cubs struck out one.
Just called up last month, Blackburn, 23, has a 2.60 ERA in seven starts.
Catcher Dustin Garneau, claimed off waivers from Colorado on Friday, singled in two runs in his first game for the A’s.
Tyler Skaggs (1-2) went four innings, allowing three runs on six hits and two walks, in his first start since going on the disabled list April 29 with an oblique strain.
ROCKIES 8, PHILLIES 5
DENVER (AP) - Jon Gray pitched seven innings of one-run ball, Pat Valaika homered and Colorado rode a big early lead to a victory over Philadelphia.
Gerardo Parra added three hits and two RBIs for the Rockies who won for the fourth time in five games.
Daniel Nava homered, tripled and singled to finish a double shy of the cycle for the Phillies, who fell to 0-5 on their eight-game road trip.
Gray (4-2) allowed six hits and struck out four, giving the Rockies a quality start the night after they had to lean on their bullpen when starter Kyle Freeland was forced to leave in the first inning because of a left groin strain.
GIANTS 5, DIAMONDBACKS 4, 10 INNINGS
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Denard Span scored on Jarrett Parker’s two-out infield single in the 10th inning, lifting San Francisco over Arizona.
Hunter Pence homered, Nick Hundley had three hits and Pablo Sandoval doubled in three at-bats to celebrate his return to the Giants.
Span led off the 10th with a double off T.J. McFarland (4-4) past Arizona right fielder J.D. Martinez. After Kelby Tomlinson was intentionally walked and Brandon Crawford hit into a double play, Buster Posey was intentionally walked before Parker beat out a grounder to second baseman Adam Rosales as Span crossed the plate.
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