CINCINNATI (AP) — Spencer Steer homered in consecutive at-bats and drove in five runs, and Elly De La Cruz hit his team-leading 21st homer as the Cincinnati Reds beat the St. Louis Cardinals 6-1 on Monday night.
Andrew Abbott (10-9) allowed one run and five hits in 6 2/3 innings to snap his three-game losing streak. The left-hander was tagged for 12 earned runs over his previous 13 1/3 innings.
Cardinals starter Sonny Gray (11-7) struck out nine in five innings, but is winless in three career starts against his former club. He gave up six runs and five hits, including three homers.
Abbott escaped bases-loaded jams in the second and third. He finished with six strikeouts and retired 11 straight batters during one stretch.
Steer and De La Cruz homered on successive pitches from Gray to put Cincinnati ahead 3-1 in the third. It was the fifth time this season the Reds hit back-to-back homers.
ASTROS 6, RAYS 1
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Framber Valdez followed up his no-hit bid with 5 2/3 strong innings, and the AL West-leading won their six straight game by beating Tampa Bay.
Alex Bregman and Yainer Diaz homered for the Astros, who lead the division by one-half game over idle Seattle.
Valdez (12-5) improved to 7-0 in his last nine starts after allowing three hits, one walk and striking out nine. The lefty was pulled after walking Yandy Díaz on his 101st pitch.
Tayler Scott and Kaleb Ort completed a four-hitter.
GUARDIANS 9, CUBS 8
CLEVELAND (AP) — Josh Naylor drove in José Ramírez with the go-ahead run in the eighth inning and the Cleveland held on for a win over the Chicago Cubs.
Rookie Jhonkensy Noel hit a three-run homer and solo shot, and he made a diving catch in right field to save a couple runs for the AL Central-leading Guardians, who returned home after splitting a tense, four-game series at second-place Minnesota.
Steven Kwan added a two-run homer as the Guardians improved the league’s best home record to 36-20.
Ramírez opened the eighth with a double off Julian Merryweather (1-1) and pinch-hitter Will Brennan singled before Naylor bounced his base hit into left.
The Cubs led 3-0 and then fell behind 8-3 before tying it with four runs in the seventh and one in the eighth off Cleveland’s vaunted bullpen.
TWINS 8, ROYALS 3
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Willi Castro had a three-run home run and Royce Lewis hit a two-run shot in a six-run second inning for Minnesota on the way to a victory over Kansas City to open a key series between the division rivals and close wild card competitors.
The Twins, who improved to 6-2 against the Royals this season, remained 3 1/2 games behind American League Central leader Cleveland after splitting a four-game series with the Guardians during the weekend. The third-place Royals dropped to five games back.
The Twins (66-52) occupy the second AL wild card spot. The Royals (65-54) control the third spot, with a two-game cushion above the cut in their refreshing push to return to the playoffs for the first time since they won the 2015 World Series.
