TORONTO (AP) — After snapping the longest losing streak of his career in his previous start, Marcus Stroman went straight back to struggling.
Todd Frazier hit a two-run homer, Brandon Nimmo reached base three times and the New York Mets beat Marcus Stroman and the Toronto Blue Jays 6-3 on Wednesday night.
Stroman (1-6) lost six straight decisions before beating Detroit last Friday but couldn’t build on that performance. He allowed six runs and six hits in 4 2/3 innings, raising his ERA from 6.02 to 6.50.
“I just didn’t have a feel for anything from pitch one,” Stroman said.
Frazier gave the Mets the lead with a drive to center field off the right-hander in a five-run fifth.
Now in his fifth season, Stroman was expected to be a steadying presence in Toronto’s rotation. Instead, he has dealt with a sore shoulder that sidelined him for more than a month, and been hit hard when healthy enough to pitch.
Mets manager Mickey Callaway, a former pitcher and pitching coach, said location is at the root of Stroman’s rough stretch.
“Everything is just up a little bit from what I’ve seen in the past,” Callaway said. “I think, from a pitching coach’s perspective, for him to have his good sinker and his good slider, he’s got to make sure he gets the ball down. That’s kind of how he lived in the past and what his success was all about, getting guys to chase below the zone.”
Former teammate Jose Bautista flied out in his first two at-bats against Stroman but delivered an RBI single in the fifth.
“His stuff was moving, he just wasn’t locating as well as I’ve seen him do in the past from the outfield,” Bautista said.
Stroman, from Long Island, had never faced the Mets before.
Seth Lugo (3-3) pitched three innings of relief for the win. Jeurys Familia closed for his 16th save in 20 opportunities.
Wilmer Flores had two hits and Kevin Plawecki scored twice for the Mets, who had lost 11 of 13.
Red Sox 3, Nationals 0
WASHINGTON — Jackie Bradley Jr. drove in two runs, Eduardo Rodriguez struck out six in six innings and the Boston Red Sox beat the Washington Nationals to complete a three-game sweep.
Rodriguez (10-3) allowed three hits and walked one. Craig Kimbrel worked the ninth for his 26th save in 28 chances, finishing a six-hitter.
The Nationals (42-43) have lost five in a row to fall below .500 this late in the season for the first time since being 60-61 on Aug. 21, 2015. The preseason NL East favorites held a players-only meeting after the game.
A throwing error by Adam Eaton on Bradley’s sacrifice fly and a wild pitch by Ryan Madson (2-4) in the seventh inning contributed to Washington’s 17th loss in 22 games.
Nationals starter Erick Fedde left one batter into the second inning with right shoulder stiffness. Manager Davey Martinez said Fedde was scheduled to have an MRI.
Astros 5, Rangers 4, 10 innings
ARLINGTON, Texas — Evan Gattis drove in Jose Altuve with a sacrifice fly in the 10th inning, sending AL West-leading Houston to the road win.
Altuve stopped a 0-for-13 slide with a one-out single in the 10th. Chris Martin (1-2) then hit Yuli Gurriel with a pitch before an errant pickoff throw allowed both runners to move up. Gattis followed with a fly ball to right-center.
Gurriel homered, doubled and scored twice as the Astros overcame an early four-run deficit. Collin McHugh (4-0) pitched three scoreless innings, and Ken Giles got three outs for his 12th save.
Texas’ Shin-Soo Choo homered and singled to extend his on-base streak to 44 games, the longest in his career and in the majors this season.
Cubs 5, Tigers 2
CHICAGO — Javier Baez stole home, Willson Contreras hit a tiebreaking homer and the Cubs earned their sixth straight victory.
Conditions at Wrigley Field favored the long ball, with a game-time temperature of 92 degrees, a heat index of 102 and the wind blowing out.
David Bote also connected for Chicago. Jose Quintana (7-6) pitched six effective innings in his first win since May 31, and Brandon Morrow got three outs for his 19th save.
Nicholas Castellanos and John Hicks went deep for Detroit, which has dropped 13 of 15. Francisco Liriano (3-5) permitted three runs in six innings.
Athletics 4, Padres 2
OAKLAND, Calif. — Stephen Piscotty doubled three times and drove in three runs, powering Oakland to the win.
Khris Davis added an RBI single for the A’s, who have won 14 of 17 to move a season-high nine games over .500.
Lou Trivino (7-1) retired two batters for the win. Blake Treinen pitched the ninth for his 22nd save.
Christian Villanueva hit his 17th home run for San Diego. Jose Castillo (1-2) got the loss.
Reds 7, White Sox 4
CINCINNATI — Starting pitcher Sal Romano dropped down a suicide squeeze during Cincinnati’s six-run fourth inning.
Jesse Winker and Jose Peraza each had a two-run single during the big rally, and Scooter Gennett also singled in a run. The Reds overcame Daniel Palka’s third home run in two games to win the three-game series and complete a 4-3 homestand.
Yoan Moncada added a two-run homer for the White Sox, who have dropped five of seven. Dylan Covey (3-4) lasted just 3 2/3 innings.
Romano (5-8) was charged with four runs in five innings. Jared Hughes got five outs for his sixth save.
Marlins 3, Rays 0
MIAMI — Jose Urena and three relievers combined on a four-hitter, and Miami shook off the hangover from a 16-inning loss.
J.T. Riddle singled, tripled and homered.
The teams took the field barely 12 hours after the Rays won a 5 1/2-hour marathon.
Urena struck out six in five innings. Drew Rucinski (4-1) pitched two innings for his second win in the series. Brad Ziegler pitched around a walk in the ninth to earn his 10th save.
After using nine pitchers Tuesday, the Rays called up right-handers Andrew Kittredge and Ryan Weber from Triple-A Durham as reinforcements. Weber (0-1) allowed two runs in five innings and was optioned after the game back to Durham.
Phillies 4, Orioles 1
PHILADELPHIA — Aaron Nola stuck out nine in seven innings, Nick Williams hit a two-run homer and the Phillies beat the Orioles to sweep a two-game interleague series.
Nola (11-2) gave up one run and seven hits to win his fifth straight decision. Victor Arano tossed two innings for his first career save.
Philadelphia pulled within 1 1/2 games of NL East-leading Atlanta and improved 10 games over .500 for the first time since finishing the 2011 season with a franchise-record 102 wins.
Orioles right-hander Yefry Ramirez (0-2) gave up two runs — one earned — and one hit in five innings.
Brewers 3, Twins 2
MILWAUKEE — Nate Orf hit a solo homer in Milwaukee’s two-run seventh after going hitless in his first seven major league at-bats.
Brad Miller homered to right-center off Jose Berrios (8-7) to lead off the bottom of the seventh for the Brewers. Two batters later, Orf sent a 2-2 curveball down the left-field line for a two-run lead.
Jeremy Jeffress (6-1) picked up the win despite allowing inherited runner Brian Dozier to score from third on Jorge Polanco’s bloop single to left for a 1-all tie in the top of the seventh.
Corey Knebel worked a rocky ninth for his 10th save.
Eduardo Escobar hit his 13th homer and Jorge Polanco singled with two out, but Max Kepler flied to left to end the game.
Knebel was helped by a sparkling defensive play from Keon Broxton. The center fielder ran full speed back to the wall and jumped with an outstretched glove to rob Dozier of a homer for the second out.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Cardinals 8, Diamondbacks 4
PHOENIX — Yadier Molina and Yairo Munoz homered, Miles Mikolas threw six strong innings and St. Louis broke loose late to beat Arizona and take two of three from the first-place Diamondbacks.
Molina’s three-run shot on the first pitch from reliever Fernando Salas highlighted a five-run seventh inning after Arizona had nursed a 2-1 lead through six. Tommy Pham drove in three Cardinals runs with a double and two singles.
The Diamondbacks dropped to 1-5 on their homestand and lead the surging Dodgers by just a half-game in the NL West.
Mikolas (9-3) gave up two runs, seven hits and four walks.
Arizona reliever Yoshihisa Hirano (2-1) had his franchise-record streak of 26 games without allowing a run end when Munoz homered on the first pitch of the seventh. Hirano gave up four runs, one earned, on three hits in two-thirds of an inning for his first loss since coming to the major leagues from Japan this season.
Rockies 1, Giants 0
DENVER — Chris Iannetta homered in the seventh, Tyler Anderson pitched eight stellar innings and the Rockies beat the Giants for the three-game series sweep.
It was the first 1-0 game at Coors Field since June 12, 2010.
Anderson (6-3) tied a season high with nine strikeouts. Wade Davis worked a shaky ninth for his 25th save.
Andrew Suarez (3-5) pitched seven crisp innings, but San Francisco managed just three hits.
The game lasted just 2 hours, 15 minutes — the shortest at Coors this season.
Dodgers 6, Pirates 4
LOS ANGELES — Rich Hill earned his first win in three months, Yasmani Grandal and Chris Taylor drove in three runs apiece, and the Dodgers swept the Pirates for the second straight year.
The Dodgers outscored the Pirates 31-8 in the three-game series while winning their fourth in a row overall.
Hill (2-3) allowed two runs in five innings for his first victory since April 1. Kenley Jansen earned a five-out save, his 23rd of the season.
Gregory Polanco hit a two-run homer for Pittsburgh. Clay Holmes (0-1) was charged with four runs in 2 1/3 innings in his first major league start.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Angels 7, Mariners 4
SEATTLE — Kole Calhoun hit a two-run homer, helping the Angels snap the Mariners’ eight-game winning streak.
Calhoun had three hits and three RBIs. Garrett Richards (5-4) got the win in his return from the disabled list, allowing three runs in 5 1/3 innings.
Kyle Seager and Ryon Healy homered for Seattle. Mike Leake (8-5) surrendered four runs and nine hits in four-plus innings.
Blake Parker pitched out of trouble in the ninth for his 10th save.
Indians 3, Royals 2
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Trevor Bauer pitched effectively into the eighth inning, and Cleveland finished a three-game sweep.
Michael Brantley had an early RBI double and the Indians scored all their runs in the first three innings on only one hit. Bauer (8-6) struck out eight in 7 2/3 innings.
The plummeting Royals have lost six straight and 18 of 21. Trevor Oaks (0-2), recalled from Triple-A Omaha to take Ian Kennedy’s spot in the rotation, allowed three runs in four innings.
Cody Allen worked the ninth for his 18th save in 19 chances.
