BOSTON (AP) — Blake Snell worked into the eighth inning and struck out nine, and the Tampa Bay Rays held off the Boston Red Sox 4-3 on Friday night for their seventh consecutive victory.
Wilson Ramos hit a two-run homer in the first inning for the Rays, who handed the Red Sox just their second loss in 10 home games and spoiled Xander Bogaerts’ return to Boston’s lineup. Rob Refsnyder and Daniel Robertson also homered for Tampa Bay.
Bogaerts had Boston’s first hit off Snell (4-1), a leadoff single in the fifth. He went 3-for-4 in his first action since missing 15 games with a broken bone in his left ankle.
Snell allowed two runs on five hits and one walk in 7 1/3 innings to win his fourth consecutive start. Alex Colome worked the ninth for his fifth save in seven opportunities, striking out pinch-hitter Andre Benitendi looking to end it.
Mookie Betts and J.D. Martinez hit RBI doubles for the Red Sox, who have lost four of six.
Drew Pomeranz (0-1) lasted five innings in his second start of the season. Pomeranz, who missed the first 18 games with a forearm injury, allowed four runs — all on homers— struck out four and walked two.
Ramos’ two-out blast over the Green Monster scored C.J. Cron in the first. Refsnyder led off the third with another shot over the Monster, his first homer since October 2015. Robertson led off the fourth with another homer to left.
Boston didn’t have a baserunner until Snell walked Betts to start the fourth.
Snell took a shutout into the sixth, when Christian Vazquez led off with a double off the wall in left and scored on Betts’ one-out double to center. Martinez drove in Betts with a two-out double down the line in right.
Betts doubled again in the eighth off Chaz Roe and scored on a single by Martinez.
Orioles 6, Tigers 0
BALTIMORE — Chris Tillman pitched seven innings of one-hit ball for his first victory since last May, Pedro Alvarez went deep twice and the Baltimore Orioles snapped a five-game skid with a victory over the Detroit Tigers.
Tillman (1-4) struck out five and walked two on 98 pitches to get Baltimore its second win in 13 games. Tillman had gone 22 straight starts without a victory since May 7, 2017 — his first outing of last season. He also pitched past the sixth inning for the first time since Aug. 11, 2016.
Manny Machado hit his team-leading ninth home run and added an RBI single in the eighth. Richard Bleier pitched a perfect eighth before Mychal Givens closed out the ninth.
Tillman provided a much-needed performance for the Orioles (7-19), who are enduring the second worst 26-game stretch to begin a season in franchise history. The team started the 1988 season 0-21 before winning two of their next four games.
Rangers 6, Blue Jays 4
TORONTO — Ronald Guzman hit a tiebreaking two-run single in the sixth inning, and the Texas Rangers beat the Toronto Blue Jays.
Joey Gallo homered and scored twice and Nomar Mazara had three hits and two RBIs as the Rangers won back-to-back games for the second time this season. Texas, which beat Oakland 4-2 on Wednesday, won consecutive 10-inning games at Houston on April 14 and 15.
Guzman broke a 4-4 tie with a single to left off Marcus Stroman (0-3), driving in Gallo and Mazara.
Mike Minor (2-1) allowed four runs on nine hits in six innings to win for the first time in three starts. He walked none and struck out four.
Kevin Jepsen got two outs and Alex Claudio got one, Chris Martin worked the eighth and Keone Kela finished for his fifth save in five opportunities.
Justin Smoak had four hits but was thrown out twice on the bases for the Blue Jays, who have lost six of eight.
Stroman allowed six runs and eight hits in 5 1/3 innings, and has given up at least four earned runs in all five starts this season. His ERA rose from 8.55 to 8.88.
Indians 6, Mariners 5
CLEVELAND — Corey Kluber struck out 10 in 8 2/3 innings and the Cleveland Indians hit five solo home runs, including three in the first inning, to beat the Seattle Mariners.
Kluber (4-1) reached double figures in strikeouts for the 41st time and avenged his only loss this season, when Nelson Cruz hit a two-run homer at Seattle on opening day in the Mariners’ 2-1 win. The reigning AL Cy Young Award winner left with a 6-2 lead after Kyle Seager’s two-out single in the ninth, the Mariners’ fourth hit.
Cody Allen gave up Mitch Haniger’s single and Mike Zunino’s three-run homer, then retired Ben Gamel on a lineout to shortstop Francisco Lindor.
Kluber was charged with three runs. He walked three and threw 116 pitches.
Lindor, Michael Brantley and Edwin Encarnacion homered in the first, and Yonder Alonso and Yan Gomes hit consecutive drives in the sixth for a 6-0 lead against Erasmo Ramirez (0-2), who made his second start this season. Brantley added a sacrifice fly in the third and hit the Indians’ first triple this season in the fifth. Brantley and Lindor each had three hits.
Athletics 8, Astros 1
HOUSTON — Sean Manaea followed up his no-hitter with seven solid innings, three Athletics homered and Oakland beat the Houston Astros for their fifth win in six games.
Manaea (4-2) no-hit Boston last Saturday and didn’t allow a hit Friday until the fourth inning. He gave up one unearned run on four hits and a walk and struck out seven.
Houston starter Dallas Keuchel (1-4) retired his first 13 batters before Matt Chapman hit a one-out homer in the fifth into the first row of the Crawford Boxes in left field to tie it 1-1.
Chad Pinder put the Athletics ahead 3-1 with a two-run homer in the sixth. Matt Olson’s RBI single in the seventh scored Chapman, who had doubled, and Mark Canha followed with a two-run homer to up the lead to 6-1. Jed Lowrie had a two-run triple in the eighth.
Carlos Correa singled in George Springer in the fourth, the first hit off Manaea since Seattle’s Taylor Motter hit a one-out solo homer in the fifth inning on April 15.
Manaea’s 14-inning hitless streak was the longest for the A’s since the franchise moved to Oakland, topping John Odom’s 13 innings on June 1 and 7, 1968.
The only pitcher to throw consecutive no-hitters was Cincinnati’s Johnny Vander Meer against Brooklyn and the Boston Bees in June 1938.
Keuchel allowed a season-high six runs on seven hits in seven innings. Keuchel had allowed three runs or fewer in each of his five previous starts this season.
Houston has lost three of its last four after winning six straight.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Pirates 6, Cardinals 5, 11 innings
PITTSBURGH — Starling Marte’s game-ending single in the 11th inning lifted the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 6-5 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday night.
David Freese drew a one-out walk from rookie Jordan Hicks (1-1), advanced to second on a wild pitch, moved to third on Gregory Polanco’s groundout. Marte then delivered a liner into center field, giving the Pirates their third victory in four games.
Cardinals closer Greg Holland started the ninth inning with a 5-2 lead, but failed to retire any of the batters he faced as his ERA rose to 7.11 in nine appearances. He was signed to a $14-million, one-year contract on opening day after tying for the NL lead with 41 saves last season with the Colorado Rockies. It was his first blown save with the Cardinals.
Phillies 7, Braves 3
PHILADELPHIA — Odubel Herrera hit two homers, Jorge Alfaro also went deep and Aaron Nola pitched seven innings to help the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Atlanta Braves.
Braves right-hander Julio Teheran left after three innings because of tightness in his right upper trapezius. There was no word on the extent of his injury.
Nola (3-1) settled in nicely after allowing three runs in the first. He didn’t give up another run and surrendered seven hits.
Herrera lined a three-run homer to right in the first to tie it at 3-3. His solo shot off Max Fried (0-2) gave the Phillies a 4-3 lead in the sixth. Herrera had never hit more than one homer in a game in the majors.
Alfaro drove a two-run shot out to center in the seventh off Chase Whitley, who made his first big league appearance this year after he was brought up from the minors Friday. Alfaro added an RBI single in the eighth and with three hits raised his average from .163 to .208.
Freddie Freeman got the Braves started with an RBI single. Nola almost worked out of a first-and-third, no-out jam by retiring Nick Markakis and Kurt Suzuki on pop-ups. But Ozzie Albies stole home on a double steal with Freeman beating the throw to second base. Ronald Acuna Jr. followed with an RBI double for the third run.
Acuna’s hit had 111.8 mph exit velocity, the hardest-hit ball by Braves this season, according to Statcast.
Teheran didn’t allow a hit in the next two innings before coming out.
The Phillies are off to a 16-9 start, their best mark after 25 games since going 17-8 to begin the 2011 season. A win today would put them eight games over .500 for the first time since finishing the 2011 season with a franchise-best 102 wins.
Cubs 3, Brewers 2
CHICAGO — Yu Darvish bounced back from a pair of poor outings to allow only an unearned run in six innings, Addison Russell scored the go-ahead run on shortstop Eric Sogard’s seventh-inning error, and the Chicago Cubs beat the Milwaukee Brewers.
Cubs slugger Kris Bryant missed his fourth straight game after he was beaned during a victory at Colorado last Sunday. Chicago manager Joe Maddon said the third baseman could return to the lineup today.
Darvish gave up nine runs, 14 hits and eight walks in his previous two outings, losses to Atlanta and Colorado. He yielded just three hits against the Brewers with eight strikeouts and two walks, lowering his ERA from 6.86 to 5.26.
The four-time All-Star signed a $126 million, six-year contract with the Cubs and entered with just one solid outing: He allowed one run over six innings at Milwaukee on April 7.
Darvish got his second big league double and fifth hit with a drive into the right-field corner in the fifth inning against Brent Suter. After trotting into second, Darvish slipped, but he got to his feet and pitched a scoreless sixth.
Pedro Strop (3-0) retired Jesus Aguilar — his only batter — on a flyout that ended the seventh. Brandon Morrow, the Cubs’ fifth reliever, pitched a perfect ninth for his sixth save in six chances.
Brent Suter allowed two runs and five hits in five innings. Milwaukee lost its second straight after an eight-game winning streak.
Diamondbacks 5, Nationals 4
WASHINGTON — A.J. Pollack homered and scored three runs to help the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Washington Nationals.
The NL West-leading Diamondbacks have won five of six and are now 9-4 on the road. That matches Arizona’s 2000 team for the best road start in franchise history.
Zack Godley (4-1) allowed four runs on 10 hits over five innings to improve to 3-0 lifetime at Nationals Park. The Arizona bullpen retired 12 of the 13 batters it faced, with Brad Boxberger working a perfect ninth for his seventh save in as many attempts.
Stephen Strasburg (2-3) allowed a season-high five runs over 6 1/3 innings for Washington, which has lost five of its last six.
The Diamondbacks took a 5-4 lead in the sixth when Paul Goldschmidt’s leadoff flare over first base landed just inside the foul line. Pollack then belted a triple off the wall in right-center and scored on Daniel Descalso’s sacrifice fly.
Pollack homered to lead off the second, then singled and scored on Descalso’s double in the fourth.
Howie Kendrick hit a two-run homer in the third inning for the Nationals.
Rockies 1, Marlins 0
MIAMI — Antonio Senzatela entered for injured starter Tyler Anderson, hit an RBI double and allowed one hit over 3 2/3 innings to lift the Colorado Rockies over the Miami Marlins.
Senzatela (2-1) entered with one out and one on in the second after Anderson appeared to hurt his left side. Senzatela struck out four and walked one, departing after 62 pitches.
Anderson initially showed discomfort when warming up before the second inning but persuaded manager Bud Black to leave him in the game.
Bryan Shaw pitched the sixth, Jake McGee got two out and Adam Ottavino four. Wade Davis allowed Derek Dietrich’s leadoff double in the ninth, threw called third strikes past Miguel Rojas and Lewis Brinson, then walked J.B. Shuck before J.T. Realmuto hit into a game-ending forceout. Davis, who has 10 saves in 11 chances, completed a six-hitter that extended Colorado’s winning streak to three.
Gerardo Parra had two hits for the Rockies, including a one-out double in the fifth off Jose Urena (0-4). Senzatela pulled a 95 mph fastball down the left-field line for his fifth big league hit and second double in two seasons. He has six RBIs.
Rockies second baseman DJ LeMahieu left after 3¢ innings because of right hamstring tightness. He was picked off second base in the third, when he slid into the bag with his right leg.
Miami’s Martin Prado went 0 for 4 in his season debut after missing the first 24 games with a left hamstring strain. Last-place Miami dropped to 7-18.
