MLB roundup: Isaac Collins’ walk-off HR lifts Brewers to 9th straight win

Isaac Collins led off the ninth inning with a walk-off homer for the red-hot Milwaukee Brewers, who stormed back from a five-run deficit to stun the reeling New York Mets, 7-6, and sweep their three-game series.
The Brewers have won nine straight and 12 of 13 to improve their MLB-leading record to 73-44. The Mets, who squandered leads in all three games this weekend, lost their seventh straight and fell for the 11th time in 12 games as their lead over the Cincinnati Reds for the final National League wild-card spot dropped to 1 1/2 games.
The Brewers, who trailed 5-0, began their comeback when William Contreras homered to lead off the fourth before Joey Ortiz laced a two-run single. Pete Alonso had an RBI double in the fifth for the Mets before Contreras added a homer in the fifth, a two-run shot, to cut the lead to 6-5.
After the Brewers’ Nick Mears (3-3) tossed a hitless ninth, Collins homered just beyond the right-field fence on Edwin Diaz’s (5-2) fifth pitch to set off a celebration.
The Mets, who scored in each of the first five innings, took their lead thanks to RBI singles by Juan Soto, Jeff McNeil and Ronny Mauricio and homers by Brett Baty and Cedric Mullins.
Blue Jays 5, Dodgers 4
Ernie Clement hit the first pitch of the ninth inning over the fence in left and Toronto avoided a three-game sweep with a narrow win in Los Angeles.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Addison Barger hit back-to-back solo home runs in the eighth inning to erase a one-run deficit for the Blue Jays. Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman homered for the Dodgers, who were trying to sweep a team with a winning record for the first time this season.
Los Angeles reliever Blake Treinen took over in the eighth with the Dodgers leading 3-2, but Guerrero homered to left-center field on an 0-2 pitch and Barger went deep to right-center field on another sweeper. Freeman tied the game with his second bases-loaded walk of the game in the bottom of the eighth.
Cardinals 3, Cubs 2
Nolan Gorman atoned for a costly throwing error by producing the game-winning RBI as St. Louis edged visiting Chicago.
The second-place Cubs fell six games behind the streaking Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Central. Pedro Pages hit a two-run homer for the Cardinals, who have won three of their last four games. Cardinals pitcher Sonny Gray (11-5) allowed two runs, one earned, on five hits in seven innings.
Matt Shaw hit a two-run homer for the Cubs, who lost for the fourth time in their last six games. Cubs pitcher Shota Imanaga (8-5) allowed three runs on four hits in 6 2/3 innings.
Astros 7, Yankees 1
Jason Alexander took a no-hit bid into the sixth inning and pitched six scoreless innings as visiting Houston defeated New York.
Making his 15th career start and fourth for Houston, Alexander (3-1) did not allow a hit until Ben Rice lined a one-out single. Alexander had a lead before taking the mound as Jose Altuve homered on the first pitch he saw from Yankees starter Max Fried (12-5). Altuve hammered a fastball into the left-field seats for his 250th career homer. Rookie Cam Smith added a two-strike, two-run double with two outs in the fifth for a 4-0 lead.
New York only managed three hits and scored their lone run on a Ryan McMahon sacrifice fly in the seventh.
Mariners 6, Rays 3
Cal Raleigh hit his major league-leading 45th home run of the season and Josh Naylor also went deep as Seattle held on to defeat visiting Tampa Bay for a series sweep and the Mariners’ seventh straight win.
Seattle starter Bryan Woo (10-6) pitched at least six innings for the 23rd straight time to open the season. The right-hander allowed three runs on seven hits, and matched his career high with nine strikeouts.
The Rays’ Adrian Houser (6-4) overcame a shaky start to go five innings. The righty gave up four runs on six hits. Ha-Seong Kim doubled and homered for the Rays, who dropped their third game in a row.
Nationals 8, Giants 0
James Wood had a pair of two-run doubles out of the leadoff spot, MacKenzie Gore combined with three relievers for a three-hitter and Washington spoiled Justin Verlander’s strikeout milestone with a thumping of host San Francisco.
Making his 546th career start, Verlander (1-9) began the day three strikeouts shy of becoming the 10th player in major league history to reach 3,500 in his career. He did not take long to reach that mark, as he struck out three in the first inning and earned a standing ovation from the big crowd.
The rest of the afternoon’s highlights belonged to the Nationals, who scored four times in the second inning and never looked back en route to a second win in the three-game series. Wood’s first double opened the scoring with two outs, after which CJ Abrams bombed his 15th home run of the season for a 4-0 lead.
White Sox 6, Guardians 4
Lenyn Sosa and Colson Montgomery each hit first-inning homers to help Chicago avert a three-game sweep by beating visiting Cleveland.
Davis Martin (4-9) allowed three runs over five-plus innings for Chicago, which led 5-0 after three innings and held on to snap its six-game losing streak.
Cleveland had its five-game winning streak come to an end despite the efforts of Kyle Manzardo, who hit a pair of solo homers.
Twins 5, Royals 3 (11 innings)
Luke Keaschall hit a walk-off two-run homer in the bottom of the 11th inning to lift the Twins to a win over the Royals in Minneapolis.
Keaschall provided a dramatic finish with two outs in the 11th, muscling a fastball to right for the second homer of his rookie campaign. Fellow rookie Ryan Fitzgerald hit a two-run homer for his first big-league hit in the third inning.
Vinnie Pasquantino hit a two-run homer for Kansas City, which could not hold on to a one-run lead heading into the bottom of the eighth. Adam Frazier went 4-for-5 with an RBI, while Maikel Garcia reached base five times with two singles, a double, and a pair of walks.
Braves 7, Marlins 1
Matt Olson, Marcell Ozuna, and Michael Harris II all homered for the Braves, who defeated the visiting Marlins.
All four players contributed to a four-run seventh inning that put the game away and secured the victory for Joey Wentz (3-3). The lefty allowed four hits and three walks over 5 1/3 innings.
Xavier Edwards logged two of Miami’s six hits. Marlins starter Cal Quantrill allowed only three hits and one run across four innings.
Athletics 3, Orioles 2
Willie MacIver delivered a two-run double in the ninth inning to lift the Athletics past host Baltimore. Elvis Alvarado (1-0) notched his first major league victory by logging the last 1 2/3 innings without allowing a hit or run.
Baltimore starter Cade Povich turned in six strong innings, holding the Athletics to four hits and one run. Jordan Westburg homered and Coby Mayo doubled in a tiebreaking run in the seventh. Keegan Akin (3-2), who gave up a lead-off walk to Darell Hernaiz and a one-out single to Gio Urshela before MacIver’s go-ahead double in the ninth, took the loss.
Brent Rooker had two of the Athletics’ six hits. They used six pitchers a day after ace and scheduled starter Luis Severino went on the injured list.
Reds 14, Pirates 8
Spencer Steer, Miguel Andujar and Noelvi Marte all hit homers and combined to drive in 11 runs to help Cincinnati outlast host Pittsburgh and earn a split of the four-game series.
Marte followed up his three-double performance on Saturday with three more hits, including a three-run home run off Pirates rookie reliever Cam Sanders with the Reds leading 9-8 in the top of the ninth inning. Cincinnati would add two more runs in the inning.
Marte finished with four RBIs, as did Steer, who also went 3-for-5 with a two-run double off Yohan Ramirez (1-1) as part of a three-run sixth inning that put Cincinnati ahead for good. Isiah Kiner-Falefa finished with three hits.
Tigers 9, Angels 5
Kerry Carpenter drove in four runs, including a three-run homer, and host Detroit rolled past Los Angeles to take two of three in the series.
Riley Greene knocked in three runs, including a two-run homer, while Gleyber Torres reached base three times while scoring twice and driving in another run. Detroit starter Casey Mize (11-4) allowed two runs and three hits in five innings.
Nolan Schanuel and Luis Rengifo each hit two-run homers for Los Angeles while Angels starter Jack Kochanowicz (3-10) surrendered seven runs (six earned) and nine hits in three-plus innings.
Phillies 4, Rangers 2
Edmundo Sosa hit a solo home run and Bryce Harper had an RBI double as Philadelphia beat slumping Texas to sweep a three-game interleague series in Arlington, Texas.
The Phillies’ Zach Wheeler (10-5), working with two extra days of rest because of a sore shoulder, allowed two runs on three hits over five innings while striking out seven and won for the first time since July 6.
Patrick Corbin (6-8) went 4 1/3 innings, surrendering three runs on four hits and three walks with one strikeout. The loss snapped a streak of four straight no decisions for Corbin.
Diamondbacks 13, Rockies 6
Adrian Del Castillo had three hits, including his first homer of season, and Arizona set a franchise record with nine consecutive two-out hits in an eight-run fifth for a series-sweeping victory over visiting Colorado in Phoenix.
Every Diamondbacks starter had a hit in the fifth, which began with Lourdes Gurriel Jr.’s two-out single off Tanner Gordon (2-5). Ketel Marte had the only extra-base hit, a two-run double that capped the rally. Starter Brandon Pfaadt (12-7) set a career high for victories while giving up three runs and 11 hits in five innings.
The teams combined for 33 hits, 11 for extra-bases. Brenton Doyle had two hits and his second homer in as many games and Ezequiel Tovar and Braxton Fulford had three hits for the Rockies, who lost their seventh straight.
Padres 6, Red Sox 2
Dylan Cease took a shutout into the seventh inning while Luis Arraez delivered a two-run double to lead host San Diego past Boston.
In winning consecutive starts for the first time this year, Cease (5-10) permitted just four hits and two runs. It marked the first time since July 18 that the right-hander had pitched past the fifth inning. Arraez, Fernando Tatis Jr. and Freddy Fermin each collected two hits. Tatis reached base four times.
Red Sox starter Brayan Bello (8-6) absorbed the loss as he allowed five runs off six hits in 5 2/3 innings, whiffing seven. All the runs came with two outs, including the pair Arraez knocked in to initiate scoring in the bottom of the third.