Justify Wins Belmont Stakes, Secures Triple Crown
(Elmont, NY) — Justify is the winner of the 150th running of the Belmont Stakes. With the victory, Justify is the 13th horse to complete the Triple Crown and the first since American Pharoah in 2015. Justify jumped out to an early lead and secured a wire-to-wire victory. Gronkowski, named after New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski, ended up in second and Hofburg took third. Vino Rosso and Tenfold rounded out the top-five finishers. Justify is just the second undefeated horse to win the Triple Crown, joining Seattle Slew, who did it in 1977. Jockey Mike Smith earned his third Belmont victory and first Tiple Crown. Trainer Bob Baffert has his second Triple Crown after winning with American Pharaoh. Baffert is now one of two trainers to win the Triple Crown twice, joining James Fitzsimmons, who accomplished the feat in 1930 and 1935.
Lester, Cubs Shut Down Pirates
(Chicago, IL) — Jon Lester and two relievers combined on a one-hit shutout as the Cubs downed the Pirates 2-0 at Wrigley Field. Lester’s only hit came on an Austin Meadows triple in the third inning. Ben Zobrist and Anthony Rizzo plated runs in the first and Steve Cishek [[ SEE-sheck ]] earned the save. The Cubs have won four straight games and eight-of-nine. Nick Kingham gave up both runs over six-and-a-third to take the loss for Pittsburgh. The Bucs are on a three-game slide and look to prevent the series sweep on Sunday.
Walk-Off Walk Pushes Blue Jays Past O’s
(Toronto, Ontario) — Luke Maile delivered the walk-off walk in the bottom of the 10th inning as the Blue Jays edged the Orioles 4-3 in Toronto. Mychal Givens threw four straight balls on the final at-bat and took the loss for Baltimore. Randall Grichuk’s homer put the Jays up by one in the seventh before Jonathan Schoop tied it for the O’s on a wild pitch in the eighth. Aaron Sanchez gave up two runs over six-and-a-third innings and Jon Axford earned the win for Toronto. The O’s are the only American League team under 20 wins at 19-and-44.
Nationals Hold Off Giants
(Washington, DC) — The Nats led 5-0 after two innings and held off the Giants 7-5 in DC. Anthony Rendon [[ ren-DOAN ]] drove in a pair of runs in the first two innings and scored on Matt Adams’ two-run double. Bryce Harper added a solo homer in the fourth and Spencer Kieboom doubled in an insurance run in the seventh. The bullpen cleaned up Gio Gonzalez’s mess, with Justin Miller getting the win. Dereck Rodriguez gave up six hits and five runs over two-and-two-thirds innings to take the loss for San Francisco. Nick Hundley drilled a three-run homer and added an RBI-double. The rubber match is Sunday.
Rays Cruise Past Mariners
(St. Petersburg, FL) — Blake Snell tossed six innings of two-run ball to help the Rays cruise past the Mariners 7-3 at Tropicana Field. The offense scored six runs in the first three innings to back Snell as he earned the win and Chaz Roe got the final four outs to lock down his first career save. Mallex Smith went 3-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored in the winning effort. Tampa Bay snapped an eight-game slide. Seattle starter Felix Hernandez surrendered six runs across three frames to take the loss. Nelson Cruz homered and Kyle Seager had two RBI as the Mariners fell to 40-and-24.
Duffy, Royals Shutout A’s
(Oakland, CA) — Danny Duffy struck out 10 over seven shutout innings as the Royals blanked the A’s 2-0 in Oakland. Duffy gave up three hits and walked three in his third win. Paulo Orlando singled in a run in the second and Alex Gordon tacked on a solo homer in the ninth. Kelvin Herrera notched his 14th save as the Royals ended a six-game slide. Chris Bassitt fired seven frames of one-run ball to take the tough loss for the A’s. Matt Chapman finished with three of the team’s four hits. Oakland sits at 33-and-32.
Brewers Bombard Phillies
(Philadelphia, PA) — Ji-Man Choi’s pinch-hit grand slam in the sixth inning put the Brewers up for good in a 12-3 win over the Phillies in Philadelphia. Jesus Aguilar clubbed a two-run homer and an RBI-double for Crew, and Jonathan Villar added a two-run dinger. Brett Suter tossed five frames of three-run ball to secure the win. Milwaukee leads the National League with a record of 39-and-25. Rhys Hoskins provided the offense with a three-run homer for the Phils in his return from the D.L. Jake Arrieta couldn’t complete the sixth and took the loss. The Phils are on a four-game skid.
Cardinals Hold Off Reds
(Cincinnati, OH) — Yadier Molina went 2-for-3 with three RBI to help the Cardinals top the Reds 6-4 in Cincinnati. Molina drove in three with a bases-loaded double to give the Cards a 5-0 lead in the third. Jose Martinez and Marcell Ozuna hit back-to-back solo-homers in the first, and Matt Carpenter added another in the seventh. Michael Wacha earned the win and Jordan Hicks struck out the side in the ninth for his first-career save. St. Louis won its third-straight. Eugenio Suarez and Jesse Winker went deep for Cincy. Luis Castillo surrendered five runs across six frames to take the loss, the Reds sixth in the last seven games.
Red Sox Better Than White Sox
(Boston, MA) — David Price won his fifth straight decision as the Red Sox beat the White Sox 4-2 at Fenway Park. J.D. Martinez hit a two-run tie-breaking homer in the fifth and Jackie Bradley Junior had a solo shot in the second. Craig Kimbrel worked a flawless ninth for his 20th save as Boston won for the eighth time in 12 games. Carlos Rodon absorbed the loss in his first start of the season after left shoulder surgery last September, yielding four runs over five innings. Jose Abreu doubled in a Chicago run. Chicago has lost 22 of 33 road games.
Yankees Rally Past Mets
(New York, NY) — Aaron Judge hit the go-ahead solo-homer in the eighth as the Yankees rallied past the Mets 4-3 at Citi Field. Gleyber Torres hit a solo-shot in the first and Miguel Andujar hit a two-run homer in the sixth to tie the game at three. David Robertson got the win in relief of starter Domingo German and Aroldis Chapman locked down the save. The Yanks will go for the sweep in Sunday’s finale. Todd Frazier and Asdrubal Cabrera went deep to give the Mets a 3-0 lead in the first inning. Starter Steven Matz was unable to hold the lead and Anthony Swarzak took the loss. The Mets are on an eight-game slide.
Angels Hold Off Twins
(Minneapolis, MN) — A pair of solo-homers backed a solid Tyler Skaggs outing as the Angels nipped the Twins 2-1 in Minneapolis. Ian Kinsler went deep in the third and Albert Pujols broke the deadlock with a long ball in the sixth. Pujols passed Cardinals’ legend Stan Musial for sixth on the career RBI list. Skaggs tossed seven frames of one-run ball for the win and Blake Parker locked down the save. The Halos’ have won six-straight and go for the sweep in Sunday’s finale. Minnesota starter Kyle Gibson surrendered both runs across seven innings of work to take the loss. The Twins have lost four-of-five.
Tigers Outlast Indians, Win In Extras
(Detroit, MI) — Jeimer Candelario hit a walk-off, two-run homer with two out in the 12th inning to push the Tigers to a 4-2 triumph over the Indians in Detroit. Tigers starter Mike Fiers allowed one run over seven innings in a no-decision. Warwick Saupold [[ sah-POLD ]] pitched two spotless innings to claim the victory. Detroit improved to 31-and-35. Cody Allen gave up Candelario’s walk-off homer to take the loss. Rajai Davis and Yan Gomes homered for Cleveland, which had its three-game winning streak snapped.
Astros Spring By Rangers
(Arlington, TX) — George Springer singled home the go-ahead run in the seventh inning to give the Astros a 4-3 victory over the Rangers in Arlington. Houston survived a season high 10 walks issued from its pitchers with Tony Sipp earning the win and Hector Rondon notching the save. Max Stassi homered for the Astros, who will look to complete a four-game series sweep on Sunday. Rangers starter Mike Minor allowed three runs over six innings, while reliever Jose Leclerc took the loss. The Rangers stranded 17 runners, a franchise record for a nine-inning game, and went 1-for-17 with runners in scoring position.
Diamondbacks Rally Past Rockies
(Denver, CO) — Paul Goldschmidt homered twice for the second straight game and drove in four runs as the Diamondbacks rallied past the Rockies 12-7 in Denver. Jake Lamb had the go-ahead RBI single in a six-run eighth. Nick Ahmed and David Peralta had three RBI apiece for the D-Backs. Ahmed also went deep. Arizona starter Matt Koch surrendered seven runs over five innings and Silvino Bracho picked up the win in relief. Bryan Shaw surrendered all six runs in the eighth inning, but only one was earned after he committed two errors on one play in the eighth. Trevor Story homered twice and DJ LeMahieu contributed a two-run shot. The Rockies are on a three-game slide.
Braves Hold Off Dodgers
(Los Angeles, CA) — Tyler Flowers went 2-for-4 with three RBI to help the Braves edge by the Dodgers 5-3 in Los Angeles. Charlie Culberson and Nick Markakis also plated runs in the winning effort. Anibal Sanchez tossed five-and-a-third innings of two-run ball for the win and Arodys Vizcaino locked down his 11th save. Atlanta snapped a two-game slide and improved to 37-and-27 to keep pace in the N.L. East. Dodgers starter Alex Wood surrendered four runs, two earned, in four-and-two-thirds to take the loss. Max Muncy homered for L.A. as it fell to 32-and-32.