Warriors Crush Cavaliers To Complete NBA Finals Sweep
(Cleveland, OH) — The sweep is complete for the Warriors, who defeated the Cavaliers 108-85 in Game Four on Friday in Cleveland to win the NBA Finals. Steph Curry nailed seven three-pointers and finished with a game-high 37 points as Golden State locked up its third NBA title in the past four seasons. Kevin Durant added a 20-point, 12-rebound, 10-assist triple double in the win. The Warriors took a nine-point lead into halftime and cruised in the second half to lock up the championship. LeBron James led the Cavs with 23 points in defeat. Kevin Love added 13 points and nine rebounds. Cleveland was swept in the Finals for the first time since losing to the Spurs in 2007.
Cubs Edge By Pirates
(Chicago, IL) — Mike Montgomery tossed six innings of one-run ball as the Cubs nipped the Pirates 3-1 at Wrigley Field. Montgomery worked around seven hits and a walk for the win and Pedro Strop locked down his first save. Anthony Rizzo plated the go-ahead run with a sac-fly in the first and Ben Zobrist had two RBI.. Chicago has won three-straight and 10-of-12. Starling Marte drove in the .Pittsburgh run. Chad Kuhl took the loss. The Pirates have lost 15 of their last 20.
Brewers Clobber Phillies
(Philadelphia, PA) — Ryan Braun homered twice as the Brewers clobbered the Phillies 12-4 in Philadelphia. Braun hilt a three-run homer in the first inning and his two-run shot in the fourth gave Milwaukee an 11-0 lead. Lorenzo Cain and Jesus Aguilar drove in two runs apiece and Christian Yelich also went deep in the winning effort. Jhoulys Chacin earned the win as the Brewers snapped a three-game slide. Phillies starter Vince Velasquez was battered for 10 runs across three-and-two-thirds innings. Carlos Santana homered and drove in a pair as the Phils lost for the sixth time in seven games.
Strasburg Exits With Shoulder Issue In Nationals’ Loss
(Washington, DC) — Gorkys Hernandez and Andrew McCutchen homered as the Giants peppered the Nationals 9-5 in D.C. Hunter Pence had two hits and drove in a pair of runs and Reyes Moronta picked up the win in relief. The Giants are 7-and-1 in their last eight games. Nationals starter Stephen Strasburg left after two innings and 35 pitches with right shoulder tightness. He allowed three runs on five hits to take the loss. Juan Soto hit a two-run homer and Bryce Harper drove in two runs for the Nationals, who are 3-and-4 in their last seven games.
Cardinals Beat Reds In 10 Innings
(Cincinnati, OH) — Jedd Gyorko drove in the go-ahead run in the tenth inning as the Cardinals beat the Reds 7-6 in Cincinnati. Jose Martinez homered twice and drove in four runs and Yairo Munoz also homered for St. Louis. Bud Norris blew the save in the ninth inning but ended up with the win and John Brebbia locked down the save. The Cardinals have won two-straight. Joey Votto and Jesse Winker had run-producing singles in the ninth as the Reds rallied to tie it. Matt Harvey gave up five runs over six innings in a no-decision and Raisel Iglesias took the loss for Cincinnati. The Reds have dropped 22-of-32 home games.
Diamondbacks Remain In First, Beat Rockies
(Denver, CO) — Paul Goldschmidt homered twice, doubled and drove in three runs as the Diamondbacks crushed the Rockies 9-4 in Denver. Goldschmidt, Jake Lamb and David Peralta each went deep in a four-run third. Zack Greinke picked up the victory. The DBacks are 5-and-2 in their last seven games and hold a game-and-a-half lead over the Rockies in the NL West. Trevor Story and Charlie Blackmon homered for Colorado. German Marquez yielded five runs in four innings to take the loss. The Rockies dropped to 11-and-17 at Coors Field.
Dodgers Power Past Braves
(Los Angeles, CA) — Yasmani Grandal hit two of the Dodgers five home runs as they powered past the Braves 7-3 in Los Angeles. Joc Pederson, Max Muncy and Cody Bellinger also left the yard for L.A. Walker Beuhler left with rib soreness after five-and-a-third innings of one-run ball. He earned the win as the Dodgers climbed back above .500 at 32-and-31 overall. Braves starter Brandon McCarthy was chased in the fifth inning to take the loss against his former club. Kurt Suzuki and Freddie Freeman had RBI doubles and Johan Camargo homered in defeat. Atlanta has dropped three-of-four.
Blue Jays Nail Orioles
(Toronto, Ontario) — The Blue Jays crushed three home runs as they dropped the Orioles 5-1 in Toronto. Russell Martin, Randal Grichuk and Kevin Pillar each launched solo homers for the Jays. J.A. Happ gave up one unearned run over seven innings to earn his eighth victory of the season and 100th of his career. Teoscar Hernandez tacked on an RBI-triple. Toronto leads the four-game set, 2-0. Andrew Cashner tossed six frames of nine-hit, three-run ball to take the loss for Baltimore. Danny Valencia scored the lone run on an error in the second. The O’s are an AL-worst 19-and-43.
Mariners Win Again, Slip By Rays
(St. Petersburg, FL) — Marco Gonzales yielded two runs on hits over seven and one-third innings as the Mariners downed the Rays 4-3 at Tropicana Field. Gonzales picked up the win and Edwin Diaz got the final four outs to earn his 22nd save. Four different players drove in a run for Seattle in the winning effort. The Mariners won for the seventh time in eight games and have 20 one-run victories. C.J. Cron belted a two-run homer and Christian Arroyo added a solo shot for the Rays. Wilmer Font was the losing pitcher. Tampa Bay is on an eight-game slide.
Indians Tame Tigers
(Detroit, MI) — Trevor Bauer struck out 12 over eight innings as the Indians shut down the Tigers 4-1 in Detroit. Jason Kipnis hit a three-run homer in the ninth to break a 1-1 deadlock. Yonder Alonso had three hits and RBI to back Bauer, who picked up the win. Cleveland won for the eighth time in 11 games. Tigers right-hander Michael Fulmer allowed one run on five hits, while striking out seven over seven innings in a no-decision. Shane Greene took the loss. Nicholas Castellanos drove in the lone Detroit run. The Tigers are 2-and-5 in their past seven games.
White Sox Edge Red Sox
(Boston, MA) — Dylan Covey and three relievers combined on a three-hit shutout as the White Sox edged the Red Sox 1-0 in Boston. Covey gave up all three hits and struck out seven over six-plus innings in the win. Joakim Soria locked down the save. Trayce Thompson broke the scoreless tie with an RBI single in the seventh to give Chicago the lead. The White Sox have won three-of-four. Red Sox starter Chris Sale struck out 10 across eight innings of one-run ball in the tough luck loss. The Red Sox are now second in the A.L. East at 43-and-21.
Astros Storm Past Rangers
(Arlington, TX) — Justin Verlander struck out nine across six innings of three-run ball to help the Astros top the Rangers 7-3 in Arlington. Jose Altuve [[ al-TOO-vay ]] and Lance Bregman homered to back Verlander, who picked up the win to improve his mark to 8-and-2. Altuve and George Springer drove in two-runs apiece for Houston. The Astros have won three-straight to improve to 40-and-25. Shin-Soo Choo homered to lead off the bottom-of-the-first to give Texas a short-lived lead. Doug Fister surrendered four runs in the top-of-the-second and five across five frames of work to take the loss.
Angels Pull Past Twins
(Minneapolis, MN) — Ian Kinsler clubbed the go-ahead two-run homer in the seventh inning as the Angels pulled past the Twins 4-2 at Target Field. Justin Upton padded the lead with a solo shot in the eighth. Garrett Richards gave up two runs over five-and-a-third innings and Noe Ramirez earned the win. The Halos are riding a five-game win streak. Lance Lynn tossed six innings of one-run ball, but Ryan Pressly gave up the go-ahead homer to take the loss for Minnesota. Robbie Grossman went deep in defeat and Miguel Sano had an RBI-double. The Twins have dropped three-of-four.
A’s Fold Royals
(Oakland, CA) — Khris Davis homered twice as the A’s folded the Royals 7-2 in Oakland. Dustin Fowler also left the yard for Oakland, and Jonathan Lucroy drove in three runs on a pair of base hits. Frankie Montas upped his record to 3-and-0 by pitching into the eighth inning and giving up two runs. The A’s are 4-and-1 versus the Royals over the past seven days. Jakob Junis gave up 10 hits and six runs over five-and-a-third to take the loss for Kansas City. Mike Moustakas broke up the shutout with a two-run homer in the eighth inning. KC’s losing streak is up to six games.
Yankees Take Down Mets
(New York, NY) — Brett Gardner nailed the go-ahead two-run home run in the eighth inning as the Yankees took down the Mets 4-1 at Citi Field. Giancarlo Stanton tacked on a solo shot in the ninth. Masahiro Tanaka struck out eight over five frames of one-hit, one-run ball. He also scored the tying run on an Aaron Judge sac-fly. Chad Green earned the win in the opener of the three-game Subway Series. Jacob deGrom fired eight innings of three-run ball with eight strikeouts to take his first loss of the season for the Mets. Brandon Nimmo homered in defeat.