By GIDEON RUBIN
The Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO — Jacob deGrom pitched eight strong innings and Wilmer Flores hit a home run and drove in two runs as the New York Mets defeated the San Francisco Giants 5-2 on Saturday.
DeGrom (7-3) struck out seven and allowed one run while scattering four hits to lead the Mets to their second win in a row after they had lost four straight and seven of eight entering the series. It was also the third straight game deGrom pitched eight full innings.
The Giants, who are on pace to lose more than 100 games for the first time since arriving on the West Coast, continued their freefall. They’ve lost 11 of their last 12 games, 13 of 15 and 20 of their last 25.
Curtis Granderson tripled off Sam Dyson (0-1) to lead off the eighth inning and scored on Jay Bruce’s RBI single. Flores doubled in Asdrubal Cabrera later in the inning to extend the lead to 3-1. The Mets made it a four-run lead in the ninth when Michael Conforto drove in Jose Reyes and later scored on a wild pitch.
Brandon Belt homered in the seventh for the Giants.
Johnny Cueto started for the Giants and kept pace with deGrom, whom he beat in Game 2 of the 2015 World Series with Kansas City. Cueto allowed one run and five hits in seven innings. His biggest mistake was a 2-2 changeup he left over the middle of the plate that Flores clubbed into the left-field bleachers for his seventh homer.
The Giants trailed 1-0 going into the bottom of the seventh when Belt hit an opposite-field homer to left off deGrom. Belt’s team-leading 14th home run came on a hanging first-pitch curveball.
Asdrubal Cabrera, whose request to be traded on Friday triggered some controversy in the Mets’ clubhouse, was 2 for 3 with two walks. The veteran shortstop, who’s 5 for 9 since coming off the disabled list, was at second base — a move he was unhappy about — for a second straight day. He made a tough play fielding a grounder well to his left to rob Austin Slater of a hit in the bottom of the fifth.
Pirates 7, Cardinals 3
ST. LOUIS — Jordy Mercer and Josh Harrison homered and starter Gerrit Cole pitched six innings, lifting the Pittsburgh Pirates to a victory over the St. Louis Cardinals.
Cole (6-6) extended his winning streak to three games, allowing five hits and one run with five strikeouts and two walks.
In Cole’s four losing starts from May 22 through June 8, he surrendered 23 runs in 19 1/3 innings. Since then, he has reeled off three solid starts. Before Saturday, he allowed just three hits and one run in seven innings in each of his previous two starts.
Pittsburgh has won four of its last six games.
Slumping St. Louis has dropped eight of its last 11. The 33-40 start for the Cardinals is their worst since 2007.
Cubs 5, Marlins 3
MIAMI — Jon Lester gave up a three-run homer to J.T. Realmuto in the first inning and then settled down to help the Chicago Cubs beat the Miami Marlins.
Lester (5-4) went seven innings, retiring 13 in a row after Realmuto’s seventh homer of the year. Cubs starters have an ERA of 2.52 over the past 11 games.
Wade Davis completed the four-hitter with a 1-2-3 ninth for his 15th save.
Javier Baez had an RBI single in the fourth, and his two-run double off Nick Wittgren (1-1) in the sixth put the Cubs ahead to stay. Jon Jay, a one-day sub for Anthony Rizzo in the leadoff spot, had two hits and scored a run. Addison Russell had two hits and scored twice.
Lester beat Miami for the first time in five career starts.
Braves 3, Brewers 1
ATLANTA — Brandon Phillips gave Atlanta the lead with a two-run homer in the third to continue his productive homestand, R.A. Dickey threw seven strong innings and the surging Braves beat the Milwaukee Brewers.
Phillips has homered in three straight games after delivering game-winning hits in back-to-back games against Miami on June 17-18, early in the 10-game homestand. The Braves have won four straight and nine of 12.
Dickey (6-5) allowed one run in seven innings to improve to 5-1 at SunTrust Park. He has won three straight home starts.
The NL Central-leading Brewers began the day 1 1/2 games ahead of the Cubs.
Phillips had two hits, including the homer off Matt Garza (3-4) into the Brewers’ bullpen behind the left-field wall. The homer drove in Ender Inciarte, who singled.
Nationals 18, Reds 3
WASHINGTON — Michael Taylor homered twice among his four hits, Trea Turner finished 5 of 5 with a walk and the Washington Nationals beat the Cincinnati Reds.
Daniel Murphy had four RBIs for the Nationals. His three-run double highlighted the six-run second inning and Taylor’s two-run homer capped a four-run fourth inning. Taylor added a solo shot in the sixth.
Turner, Ryan Zimmerman, Matt Wieters each drove in two runs. All of Turner’s career-high five hits were singles including run-scoring hits in the second and eighth.
Washington led 13-0 as Joe Ross (4-3) blanked the Reds until Patrick Kivlehan’s pinch-hit home run in the sixth.
In his first appearance since Aug. 28, Homer Bailey (0-1) allowed eight runs and six hits with three walks in 1 2/3 innings.
The Reds, who have lost 13 of 14, also gave up 17 runs on May 29 at Toronto.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Athletics 10, White Sox 2
CHICAGO — Matt Olson hit his first two major league home runs, Jaycob Brugman and Franklin Barreto also launched their first career shots and the Oakland Athletics routed the Chicago White Sox.
Olson, Brugman and Barreto became the second trio of teammates to hit their first home runs in the same game, the Elias Sports Bureau said. It also happened in 1914 with the Kansas City Packers of the Federal League — the rival circuit lasted a couple of seasons, and included many big leaguers.
Former White Sox ace Mark Buehrle had his No. 56 jersey retired in a pregame ceremony. After the 30-minute tribute ended, the A’s roughed up James Shields (1-1).
Daniel Gossett (1-2) took advantage of an early 6-0 lead to win for the first time in three big league starts. He gave up two unearned runs in six innings.
White Sox manager Rick Renteria was ejected for the second straight game. He threw his hat to the ground and was tossed, right after third baseman Todd Frazier was ejected for showing his displeasure over a replay review that wasn’t reversed.
Angels 6, Red Sox 3
BOSTON — JC Ramirez rebounded from his shortest career start with six solid innings, Cameron Maybin doubled home a run and scored another and the Los Angeles Angels held off the Boston Red Sox.
The Angels look for their fifth series win in their last six on Sunday.
Mitch Moreland hit a solo homer for the Red Sox, who lost for only the third time in their last 13 home games.
Ramirez (7-5) allowed one run and four hits with five strikeouts after lasting just three innings and giving up five runs in his previous start.
Blake Parker struck out pinch-hitter Chris Young with the bases loaded for the final out for his first save of the season after Boston scored twice in the ninth.
Red Sox manager John Farrell was ejected by third-base umpire and crew chief Bill Miller after Fernando Abad was called for a balk, scoring a run that made it 5-1 in the seventh.
Royals 3, Blue Jays 2
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Jason Vargas earned his major league-leading 11th victory, pitching seven efficient innings to lead the surging Kansas City Royals over the Toronto Blue Jays.
The Royals won for the 11th time in 13 games and moved over .500 for the first time this season at 37-36.
Vargas (11-3) allowed two runs on eight hits, walked none and striking out two. Troy Tulowitzki and Pillar homered off Vargas.
Alcides Escobar had three hits and scored twice, including the go-ahead run in the seventh. He singled with one out and scored on Alex Gordon’s triple down the right-field line off Marco Estrada (4-6).
After Joakim Soria struck out two in the eighth, Kelvin Herrera pitched the ninth for his 18th save in 20 chances.
Orioles 8, Rays 3
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Dylan Bundy helped Baltimore avoid a dubious pitching record, throwing seven solid innings as the Orioles beat the Tampa Bay Rays.
The Orioles had given up at least five runs in 20 straight games, matching the major league mark set by the 1924 Philadelphia Phillies.
Bundy (8-6) allowed three runs and five hits in seven innings. Relievers Donnie Hart and Mychal Givens combined to keep the Rays scoreless over the final two innings.
Jose Alvarado (0-3) walked the only batter he faced, Seth Smith, leading off the seventh. He was replaced by Jumbo Diaz, who gave up a two-run double to Mark Trumbo and Trey Mancini’s two-run homer that put Baltimore ahead 7-3.
Baltimore also got a second-inning, two-run homer from Welington Castillo and Adam Jones hit a solo shot in the third.
Corey Dickerson and Evan Longoria homered on consecutive pitches in the third for the Rays.
Rays catcher Wilson Ramos singled in four at-bats in his season debut. The 2014 NL All-Star with Washington missed the first 76 games this season after right knee surgery.
Twins 4, Indians 2
CLEVELAND — Brian Dozier hit a leadoff homer off closer Cody Allen to break an eighth-inning tie and the Minnesota Twins defeated the Cleveland Indians for the second straight day.
Dozier homered into the left field porch on a 3-2 pitch and narrowed Cleveland’s lead over Minnesota in the AL Central to one-half game.
The Indians swept a four-game series at Target Field last weekend, but the Twins have responded in the first two games of this series.
Cleveland’s Corey Kluber struck out a season-high 13 and allowed three hits in seven innings, but throwing errors by second baseman Jason Kipnis and catcher Yan Gomes led to two unearned runs in the first.
Minnesota used five pitchers in the win. Taylor Rogers (4-1) recorded the final out of the seventh and pitched 1 1/3 innings.
Brandon Kintzler pitched the ninth for his 20th save. Francisco Lindor doubled with two outs, but center fielder Byron Buxton made a diving catch of Kipnis’ liner to end the game.
