SEATTLE (AP) - John Means threw the major leagues’ third no-hitter this season and came within a wild pitch on a third strike of a perfect game, pitching the Baltimore Orioles over the Seattle Mariners 6-0 on Wednesday.
Means (4-0) struck out 12. Seattle’s Sam Haggerty raced to first after he struck out swinging on a curveball in the dirt on a 1-2 count with one outs in the third inning that bounced away from catcher Pedro Severino.
Haggerty wasn’t on base long, getting thrown out attempting to steal second.
Means threw 79 strikes among 113 pitches, including first-pitch strikes to 26 of 27 batters. When Seattle did make contact against the 28-year-old left-hander, it was weak and there were no threats to fall in for a hit.
Means lowered his ERA to 1.37 and became the first individual Orioles pitcher to toss a no-hitter since Jim Palmer against Oakland on Aug,. 13, 1969. It was the 10th no-hitter in franchise history - six in Baltimore after four as the St. Louis Browns.
Means joined a no-hit club that includes gems by San Diego right-hander Joe Musgrove at Texas on April 9 and by Chicago White Sox left-hander Carlos Rodón against Cleveland on April 14. In addition, Arizona left-hander Madison Bumgarner pitched a seven-inning no-hitter against Atlanta on April 25, but that is not recognized as an official no-hitter because the game did not go at least nine innings, shortened under pandemic rules in effect for a second straight season.
Baltimore’s previous no-hitter came on July 13, 1991, when Bob Milacki, Mike Flanagan, Mark Williamson and Gregg Olson combined for a 2-0 victory at Oakland,
Means had plenty of offensive support. D.J. Stewart and Ramón Urias both had RBI singles against Yusei Kikuchi in the third inning. Pat Valaika hit a solo home run off Kikuchi (1-2) in the sixth and Trey Mancini provided a three-run shot off reliever Aaron Fletcher in the eighth inning.
REDS 1, WHITE SOX 0, 10 INNNGS
CINCINNATI (AP) - Cincinnati’s Joey Votto fractured his left thumb in the Reds’ victory over Chicago.
Votto was hit by Dallas Keuchel’s pitch in the fourth inning. Votto remained in the game, but in the sixth was replaced at first base by Kyle Farmer. Votto is not expected to need surgery, but could miss up to a month.
Jesse Winker hit a winning single in the 10th inning after Chicago’s Leury García was caught stealing in the top half.
Cincinnati’s Sonny Gray and Keuchel both pitched shutout ball, allowing two hits each in seven innings.
Liam Hendriks (1-1) lost for the first time since signing a $54 million, four-year contract with the White Sox as a free agent. Lucas Sims (1-1) got the victory.
YANKEES 6, ASTROS 3
NEW YORK (AP) - Giancarlo Stanton homered again and knocked in four runs, Aaron Hicks hit a tiebreaking single in the eighth inning and New York beat Houston for its fifth straight victory.
With fans in the Bronx chanting curses at José Altuve and several other Astros for the second consecutive night, the Yankees (16-14) got three innings of scoreless relief from their major league-best bullpen and won for the 10th time in 13 games to move two games above .500 for the first time this season.
New York will try for a three-game sweep Thursday afternoon, with ace Gerrit Cole facing Houston for the first time since leaving the Astros for a $324 million, nine-year contract with the Yankees before the 2020 season.
Jonathan Loaisiga (3-1) pitched a hitless eighth and Aroldis Chapman struck out two in a perfect ninth for his seventh save. Brooks Raley (0-2) was the loser.
CUBS 6, DODGERS 5, 11 INNINGS
CHICAGO (AP) - Anthony Rizzo capped Chicago’s two-run 11th inning with an RBI single, and the Cubs beat struggling Los Angeles to complete a three-game sweep.
Chicago’s Matt Duffy tied it when he drove in Willson Contreras with a two-out single against Garrett Cleavinger (0-3). Duffy stole third and pinch-hitter Tony Wolters walked before Rizzo singled on a sharp grounder to left.
He was mobbed by teammates as he ran off the field following the Cubs’ second game-ending hit in as many days. David Bote hit a winning single in the ninth the previous day in the nightcap of a doubleheader.
Alec Mills (2-0) got the win despite giving up two runs in two innings. Jake Marisnick homered, and the Cubs swept three from the Dodgers at Wrigley Field for the first time since 2008.
The Dodgers lost for the 13th time in 17 games.
BLUE JAYS 9, ATHLETICS 4
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) - Teoscar Hernández hit a tiebreaking RBI single during Toronto’s five-run eighth inning, and the Blue Jays beat Oakland.
Hernández also had an earlier run-scoring single before coming through against Lou Trivino (1-1), who was tagged for five earned runs after allowing a total of three in his first 15 appearances this year.
Ramón Laureano and Matt Chapman homered for Oakland, and Sean Murphy had two hits and two RBIs.
The A’s (19-13) are still tied for the best winning percentage in the majors after beginning the season 0-6.
Jordan Romano (3-1) worked a perfect seventh for the victory.
CARDINALS 4, METS 1, 1ST GAME
METS 7, CARDIALS 2, 2ND GAME
ST. LOUIS (AP) - Tomás Nido hit a two-run homer and Jonathan Villar added a solo shot and an RBI single, powering New York over St. Louis for a doubleheader split.
The loss ended a six-game winning streak for the NL Central-leading Cardinals (19-13).
St. Louis won the opener 4-1 as Paul DeJong hit a two-run homer and Paul Goldschmidt had a solo homer off Marcus Stroman (3-3). Kwang Hyun Kim pitched four innings, combining with Ryan Hemsley (3-0), Giovanny Gallegos and Alex Reyes (ninth save in nine chances) on a two-hitter.
While the Mets received uplifting news earlier in the day when manager Luis Rojas said ace Jacob deGrom could return to the rotation on Sunday, skidding New York did little at the plate in its first game after hitting coach Chili Davis was fired and replaced by Hugh Quattlebaum.
Nido’s homer highlighted a three-run second against Johan Oviedo (0-1), a 6-foot-5, 255-pound rookie, who allowed four runs and five hits in four innings.
Jordan Yamamoto (1-0) was the loser.
BRAVES 5, NATIONALS 3
WASHINGTON (AP) - Marcell Ozuna hit Atlanta’s third grand slam in four games, Max Fried pitched five strong innings in his return from the injured list and the Braves beat Washington.
Fried (1-1) allowed one run and four hits, struck out six and walked one, lowering his ERA from 11.45 to 8.44. He had been sidelined since April 14 with a strained right hamstring.
Rookie William Contreras hit his first career homer for the Braves in his third start, replacing the injured Travis d’Arnaud at catcher.
Washington’s Trea Turner hit his team-leading seventh homer, a two-run drive in the eighth inning off Josh Tomlin. A.J. Minter loaded the bases with two outs but got Victor Robles to pop out, and Will Smith worked the ninth for his sixth save in six opportunities.
Erick Fedde (2-3) was the loser.
ROCKIES 6, GIANTS 5
DENVER (AP) - Jon Gray tossed six strong innings and helped himself with an RBI single in Colorado’s victory over San Francisco.
Gray (4-2) allowed two runs and four hits. The right-hander struck out eight and walked two while improving to 4-0 in five home starts. Daniel Bard worked a shaky ninth for his third save.
Brandon Crawford continued his hot hitting against the Rockies with a two-run homer in the second inning. Crawford is 10 for 23 with four homers, six walks and 10 RBIs in eight games against Colorado this season.
Giants starter Logan Webb (1-3) was the loser.
Darin Ruf hit a two-run homer for San Francisco.
PHILLIES 5, BREWERS 4
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Didi Gregorius hit his eighth career grand slam and Philadelphia beat Milwaukee for its third straight victory.
The Phillies won three straight games for the first time since opening 4-0.
Enyel De Los Santos left two runners stranded to end the eighth. José Alvarado returned from a two-game suspension for triggering a bench-clearing incident and worked a scoreless ninth for his second save.
Brandon Kintzler (2-1) tossed 1 1/3 scoreless innings for the win.
Gregorius’ slam off Freddy Peralta (3-1) highlighted a five-run first inning, and six pitchers preserved the win. Gregorius has three grand slams in 86 career games with the Phillies.
RAYS 3, ANGELS 1
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) - Brandon Lowe hit a three-run homer and Tampa Bay overcame five scoreless innings from Los Angeles’ Shohei Ohtani to beat the Angels.
Lowe went deep to center off Junior Guerra (2-1) in the seventh after Brett Phillips led off the inning with a walk and Willy Adames flared a single to left.
Ryan Yarbrough (2-3) allowed one run on five hits in four-plus innings to help the Rays win their fourth straight. The Angels have dropped four straight and 10 of their last 14.
TIGERS 6, RED SOX 5, 10 INNINGS
BOSTON (AP) - Jeimer Candelario hit a tiebreaking three-run homer in the 10th inning, and Detroit held off Boston.
Robbie Grossman began the Detroit 10th on second and advanced to third on Jonathan Schoop’s leadoff single. Candelario then went deep against Garrett Whitlock (0-1), sending a drive to right for his third homer.
Boston got two back in the bottom half. Marwin Gonzalez singled in Xander Bogaerts and eventually came around to score on an error on second baseman Willi Castro. But Michael Fulmer retired Bobby Dalbec and Kiké Hernández for his first career save.
Gregory Soto (2-1) pitched 1 1/3 innings for the win, allowing two runs and three hits.
MARLINS 8, DIAMONDBACKS 0
MIAMI (AP) - Adam Duvall hit his fifth home run and finished with four RBIs, Miguel Rojas scored three times and five Miami pitchers scattered five hits to lead the Marlins over Arizona.
Duvall connected for a three-run homer in a four-run second off Luke Weaver (1-3), Duvall’s first home run in 19 games.
Rojas was 2 for 3 and drove in two runs for Miami, which remained under .500 at 13-16 but is the only team in the NL East to have outscored opponents. Of the Marlins’ plus-18 differential, 14 was in the two games of this series, which began with 9-3 victory.
Jordan Holloway (1-0), the second Marlins pitcher in a bullpen game, allowed two hits and struck out three in three innings.
INDIANS 5, ROYALS 4
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - Josh Naylor homered in the ninth inning, sending Cleveland past Kansas City.
Naylor greeted Wade Davis (0-1) with a leadoff drive to right for his second homer. Nick Wittgren (2-1) struck out the side in the eighth for the win, and James Karinchak worked the ninth for his third save.
Cleveland trailed 4-0 after five innings. It has rallied to win in the first three games of the four-game set.
Indians ace Shane Bieber allowed four runs, three earned, and nine hits in six innings. He struck out nine to extend his major league record to 19 straight games with at least eight.
PADRES 4, PIRATES 2
SAN DIEGO (AP) - Jake Cronenworth hit a go-ahead, two-run single in the sixth inning and San Diego beat Pittsburgh.
Mark Melancon pitched the ninth for his big league-leading 11th save in 11 chances. Craig Stammen (2-1) got the final out of the sixth for the win in relief of Yu Darvish.
Cronenworth’s go-ahead hit came a half inning after Darvish surrendered a two-run lead and was chased with the score tied at 2. Darvish didn’t factor in the decision but struck out eight in 5 2/3 innings while allowing six hits and one walk.
Duane Underwood Jr. (1-1) took the loss.
RANGERS 3, TWINS 1
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Hyeon-Jong Yang made his first major league start after 14 years in the Korea Baseball Organization, getting Texas off to a strong start in a victory over Minnesota,
Yang, the former KBO MVP, struck out seven of the first nine batters he faced and eight overall in 3 1/3 innings. Making a spot start after two relief appearances earlier this season, Yang gave up four hits.
John King (3-1) picked up the win in relief of Yang, giving up just two hits in 2 2/3 innings. Ian Kennedy notched his ninth save.
Lewis Thorpe (0-1) took the loss.
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