Kluber shuts down Yankees, Rays win 2-1 to move 4 games back
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) - Corey Kluber limited the Yankees to a pair of singles over seven shutout innings and the Tampa Bay Rays withstood Aaron Judge's 52nd home run, beating New York 2-1 Saturday night to cut their deficit in the AL East to four games.
The first-place Yankees, who have seen their 15 1/2-game advantage slip away, have lost six of seven. This was the second of six games between the teams in a 10-day stretch. Yandy Diaz hit a two-run single in the third inning and the Rays made it stand up.
Judge boosted his major league homer lead with a leadoff drive in the ninth inning off Jason Adam. But Adam retired the next three batters for his eighth save.
Kluber (10-7) struck out four without a walk as the Rays improved their AL-best record since Aug. 3 to 20-9. It was the first time the 36-year old has thrown a pitch in the seventh inning since his no-hitter for the Yankees on May 19, 2021, at Texas.
DÃaz put the Rays up 2-0 on a two-run single in the third that deflected off Clarke Schmidt (5-4) and into right field. Schmidt allowed two runs and four hits over 4 1/3 innings.
GIANTS 5, PHILLIES 4
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Joc Pederson drove in three runs, drawing a bases-loaded walk that broke a sixth-inning tie and sending San Francisco past Philadelphia.
The Giants won their second in a row following a seven-game losing streak. The Phillies have lost five of six.
Philadelphia pitchers again had trouble with their control. With the score 3-all and the bases loaded with two outs, reliever Brad Hand (3-2) got ahead of Pederson in the count 0-2, then walked him to force home the go-ahead run.
Zack Littell (2-2) got one out in the sixth. Camilo Doval, the seventh Giants pitcher, worked a perfect ninth for his 19th save.
Jean Segura hit two doubles for the Phillies, including a hit in the sixth that made it 3-all. Bryson Stott homered for Philadelphia.
RED SOX 5, RANGERS 3
BOSTON (AP) - Brayan Bello pitched six scoreless innings in his first major league win and John Schreiber escaped a jam in the ninth, helping Boston beat Texas.
Bello (1-4) allowed three hits, struck out five and walked one in the longest of his eight big league appearances. Rafael Devers drove in two runs in Boston's fourth straight victory. Devers, Xander Bogaerts and Trevor Story each had two hits.
Marcus Semien and Nathaniel Lowe homered for Texas in the eighth. Dennis Santana (3-7) pitched two innings of one-run ball in his first major league start, serving as an opener for the Rangers, who lost their seventh straight.
Boston manager Alex Cora turned to Matt Barnes for the ninth, and Texas loaded the bases on consecutive one-out singles by pinch-hitter Jonah Heim and Bubba Thompson. Schreiber then came in and struck out Semien on three pitches, and then got Corey Seager to ground out for his sixth save.
ROYALS 12, TIGERS 2
DETROIT (AP) -- Kyle Isbel hit his first grand slam, Bobby Witt Jr. added a three-run home run and Kansas City routed Detroit.
Nick Pratto and MJ Melendez also homered for the Royals. Nate Eaton had four hits and drove in two runs. Winning pitcher Jonathan Heasley (3-7) gave up two earned runs and eight hits, with two walks and two strikeouts in seven innings.
Isbel, a 25-year-old outfielder, hit his grand slam over the wall in right field off Jason Foley in the fifth to give the Royals a 9-1 lead. The slam was Isbel's fourth of the season and fifth of his two-year major league career.
Tucker Barnhart hit his first home run of the season for Detroit. Tigers starter Michael Pineda (2-7) allowed five runs and six hits with three strikeouts and two walks in four innings.
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