Here are the rest of Friday’s scores and highlights:
Rockies 5, Cubs 3: After kicking off the month of June with a promising five-game winning streak, the Cubs are back on shaky footing after taking their third consecutive loss on Friday. Seth Frankoff took the loss during his Major League debut, tossing two innings with four hits, a two-run homer and two strikeouts.
Not helping matters: these clowns, who showed up to interrupt Kris Bryant’s first at-bat.
Rangers 5, Nationals 2: There’s little hope of catching the Astros for first place in the AL West these days, but the battle for second place rages on. The Rangers put on a good show during their series opener this weekend, quashing the Nationals with seven innings of one-run ball from Andrew Cashner and a pair of home runs from Jonathan Lucroy and Rougned Odor.
Marlins 12, Pirates 7: Giancarlo Stanton did what Giancarlo Stanton does best, hammering a no-doubt home run to the batter’s eye in PNC Park during Friday’s 12-7 win.
According to Statcast, the blast measured 449 feet, his third-longest knock of the year. Still not impressed?
Indians 7, White Sox 3: After going 1-4 on the road, the Indians kicked off their homestand with a much-needed win. Corey Kluber fired six strong innings, striking out eight and giving up three runs on seven hits and two walks. Edwin Encarnacion powered the Indians’ seven-run drive with a three-hit night of his own, including his 11th home run of the season.
The win brought the Indians within two games of first place -- and, more importantly, preserved Francisco Lindor’s precious locks:
.@Lindor12BC has a very important message. https://t.co/UwVEWpZDYB pic.twitter.com/qh4tCW1zOe
— Cut4 (@Cut4) June 10, 2017
Red Sox 5, Tigers 3: Jackie Bradley Jr. capped an impressive rally on Friday night, smoking his eighth home run of the season at 110 MPH -- the hardest-hit home run he’s recorded in the Statcast era to date.
Rays 13, Athletics 4: The Rays didn’t mean to treat outfielder Mallex Smith like a yo-yo. The 23-year-old has been yanked to and from Triple-A Durham this year, mostly used as filler between disabled list stints. With Kevin Kiermaier sidelined due to a hip fracture, Mallex received yet another call-up on Friday and responded in kind, batting leadoff and going 2-for-3 with a base hit, home run and three stolen bases.
Not only did Smith’s performance fuel the Rays’ outstanding win, but it matched a nifty little franchise record, too:
Mallex Smith: 2nd player in Rays history with a HR & 3 SB in the same game, joining Carl Crawford, who did it in 2006. pic.twitter.com/kX8D75Tdut
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) June 10, 2017
Yankees 8, Orioles 2: Aaron Judge went hitless during Friday’s 8-2 win over the Orioles, but that doesn’t mean the fans in the Judge’s Chambers were left hanging. Aaron Hicks muscled a solo shot to the Yankee faithful, depositing his ninth home run of the year to put the Yankees up 3-2 in the fifth:
Hicks returned for his second blast in his next at-bat, taking Edwin Jackson to task with a two-run, 372-foot homer in the seventh inning.
Braves 3, Mets 2: Terry Collins is reportedly considering a six-man rotation after watching his pitching staff succumb to repeated injury this season. The rotation wasn’t the problem on Friday, however, as Matt Harvey bounced back from last week’s six-run outing to hurl five scoreless innings against the Braves. Things didn’t go as well for Paul Sewald, who earned his second blown save after Dansby Swanson ripped a two-run double in the sixth inning.
Angels 9, Astros 4: Alex Bregman might not have improved the Astros’ winning percentage on Friday, but he brought them one game closer to their franchise home run streak. He launched a first-pitch homer off of Matt Shoemaker in the seventh inning, marking both his seventh home run of the year and the Astros’ 17th consecutive game with at least one home run. If they can extend it to 18 games, they’ll have tied the record established by the club back in May 2000.
Cardinals 3, Phillies 2: The Cardinals didn’t win once on their road trip last week, making Friday’s win all the sweeter when they returned to Busch Stadium for a six-game homestand. Behind six innings of two-run ball from Michael Wacha, three scoreless innings from the bullpen and a game-winning home run from Aledmys Diaz, left fielder Tommy Pham stole the show with a highlight reel catch to end the game:
[mlbvideo id="1482571883" width="600" height="336" /]
Brewers 8, Diamondbacks 6: Jonathan Villar was having a banner night against the Diamondbacks -- until he wasn’t. The second baseman went 2-for-5 with a base hit and RBI double and capped his night with a terrific, run-saving play in the eighth. Something went wrong on the catch, however, and Villar left the field on a cart after suffering severe back spasms on the throw to first.
Dodgers 7, Reds 2: Justin Turner didn’t waste any time getting back into the swing of things on Friday. He made a triumphant return from the disabled list in his first at-bat and ripped a 369-foot home run off of the Reds’ Amir Garrett in the first inning:
His secret? Cody Bellinger’s bat, apparently.
Padres 6, Royals 3: Matt Szczur finally crested the Mendoza line on Friday night, delivering the go-ahead run in the seventh inning with his second home run of the season:
He wasn’t the only pinch-hitter to come up big in the Padres’ win, either. Franchy Cordero plated two insurance runs in the eighth with a two-run double, preserving a strong start from Jhoulys Chacin and setting up Brandon Maurer for his tenth save.
Mariners 4, Blue Jays 2: Rookie right-hander Sam Gaviglio furthered his hot streak against the Blue Jays, crafting his best start of the year with two runs, six hits and five strikeouts over six innings. Danny Valencia and Jarrod Dyson came through with a two-run rally in the seventh inning, giving the Mariners a narrow lead to get the club back to .500.
Twins 4, Giants 0: The rest of the Twins’ lineup looked superfluous next to Ervin Santana, who recorded his third shutout of the season (and third career Maddux) and hit a three-run double during the team’s 4-0 win on Friday. It’s a nice change of pace for Santana, who tossed four innings with seven runs, seven hits and three walks during his outing against the Angels last Saturday.