Chris Sale took a two-hitter into the seventh inning before being ejected Noah Fant Jersey , and the Boston Red Sox completed a three-game sweep of the Baltimore Orioles with a 5-1 victory Wednesday.



Sale struck out nine, allowed one run and gave up two hits in ending a run of three straight losing starts. Mookie Betts and J.D. Martinez homered for the Red Sox, who are 9-1 against the Orioles this season. Baltimore has lost seven straight and 14 of 16.

Betts, the major league leader in batting average, came off the disabled list Monday after missing 14 games with an abdominal strain. He played Monday, was rested Tuesday and returned to the top of the lineup in the series finale. Betts hit a 3-2 pitch from Yefry Ramirez over the center-field wall in the third for his 18th home run. A three-run fifth made it 4-0, and Martinez hit his team-leading 22nd in the seventh.

Ramirez (0-1) gave up three runs and four hits over 4 1/3 innings, striking out six.

NATIONALS 5, YANKEES 4

NEW YORK (AP) – Teenage rookie Juan Soto homered twice and drove in four runs, becoming the youngest player in 29 years to go deep in a regular-season game at Yankee Stadium, and Washington beat New York.

After getting a game off Tuesday, his first in three-plus weeks as a major leaguer, a refreshed Soto showed exactly why he was rated one of baseball’s best prospects.

The 19-year-old outfielder lofted a three-run homer into the left-field corner off Sonny Gray in the fourth inning to give Washington, shut out in its previous two games http://www.denverbroncosteamonline.com/dalton-risner-jersey , a 4-3 lead. Soto then launched a titanic shot to right-center in the seventh against Chasen Shreve (2-1), putting the Nationals back in front 5-4.

Projected at 436 feet, the drive soared to the back of a standing-room terrace above and beyond the Yankees‘ bullpen in right-center. It also ended a 23-inning shutout streak for New York relievers and made Soto (19 years, 231 days old) the youngest player in Nationals history to have a multihomer game.

ASTROS 13, ATHLETICS 5

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) – Evan Gattis hit two home runs, including the first of back-to-back shots with Marwin Gonzalez during a seven-run second inning, and streaking Houston beat Oakland for its seventh straight win.

Jake Marisnick also homered, Carlos Correa had a two-run triple and Yuli Gurriel had three hits and three RBIs to help Gerrit Cole (8-1) win his sixth straight decision.

The defending World Series champs moved a season-high 19 games over .500. This is Houston’s longest winning streak since taking seven in a row from Aug. 31-Sept. 6, 2017.

One night after homering and setting a career-high with five RBIs, Gattis had another huge day at the plate. He drove in five again, becoming the first player in franchise history to drive in five in consecutive games.

DODGERS 3, RANGERS 2, 11 INNINGS

LOS ANGELES (AP) – Enrique Hernandez dodged home on a wild throw by pitcher Matt Bush in the 11th inning and, hours after a hard collision at the plate led to a bench-clearing incident and a pair of ejections, Los Angeles edged Texas.

Hernandez drew a leadoff walk from Jesse Chavez (2-1) and moved up on a long flyout. Yasiel Puig was intentionally walked and Chavez was yanked after a walk to Logan Forsythe loaded the bases.

Austin Barnes followed with a comebacker Drew Lock Jersey , and Bush reached out to grab it. But Bush hurried as he spun around, and his throw home for a potential forceout pulled catcher Carlos Perez off the plate. Hernandez stepped over Barnes’ bat, danced around the catcher and touched home with his right hand, leaving Perez tagging nothing but thin air.

Adam Liberatore (2-1) got the win in relief.

BRAVES 2, METS 0

ATLANTA (AP) – Mike Soroka did not allow a hit until the seventh inning, Freddie Freeman homered and drove in both runs, and Atlanta beat New York.

Soroka, at 20 the youngest pitcher in the major leagues, returned from a right shoulder strain that sidelined him since May 17 to outpitch NL ERA leader Jacob deGrom (4-2) in a game that lasted only 2 hours, 12 minutes. The Mets have lost 10 of their past 11 and 17 of their past 21.

Making his fourth career start, Soroka (2-1) gave up one hit, one walk and struck out four in 6 1/3 innings. Freeman, the NL batting leader, has hit safely in 23 of his past 24 games. He drove in the first run with a single in the fourth off deGrom (4-2). He homered off Jeremy Blevins in the eighth.

DeGrom (4-2) allowed seven hits and one run and struck out seven in seven innings.

WHITE SOX 3, INDIANS 2

CHICAGO (AP) – Dylan Covey carried a shutout into the eighth inning, continuing his impressive June and helping Chicago beat Trevor Bauer and Cleveland.

Covey (3-1) allowed 10 hits – all singles – and walked none. The 26-year-old right-hander http://www.denverbroncosteamonline.com/dre_mont-jones-jersey , who was acquired from Oakland in the 2016 Rule 5 draft, improved to 3-0 with a 1.53 ERA in five starts since he was recalled from Triple-A Charlotte last month.

Covey got a warm ovation from the crowd of 19,390 when he departed after the first two batters reached in the eighth. Edwin Encarnacion hit a one-out RBI single and Yonder Alonso doubled home another run before Jace Fry struck out Melky Cabrera and Jason Kipnis, preserving Chicago’s 3-2 lead.

Bauer (5-5) struck out 12 in 7 2/3 innings while becoming the third pitcher in franchise history to record at least 10 Ks in four consecutive starts, joining teammate Corey Kluber and Hall of Famer Bob Feller.

BREWERS 1, CUBS 0

MILWAUKEE Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints face the prospect of seeing their season end where it began.

That is, unless they’ve improved enough to turn the tables on the Minnesota Vikings, who beat New Orleans convincingly in Week 1.

”That feels like ages and ages ago,” Brees said of the 29-19 loss in Minnesota, describing the difference between the Saints then and now as ”night and day.”

The Saints (12-5) rebounded from double-digit losses to the Vikings and New England Patriots in their first two games to win the NFC South. Now they’re on to the divisional round of the NFC playoffs after holding off Carolina (11-6), 31-26 on Sunday.

New Orleans’ next game comes one day before Brees turns 39 years old, and will come one week after the veteran quarterback reminded everyone he’s still capable of big passing days if opposing defenses sell out to stop the Pro Bowl running back tandem of Mark Ingram and Alvin Kamara.

Brees completed 23 passes to eight different receivers for 375 yards and two touchdowns. Only two of his completions went to Ingram or Kamara, who accounted for only 68 yards from scrimmage combined.

”We trust our system. We trust each other and what we proved is we can beat you in a lot of different ways,” Brees said. ”There’s no better feeling than knowing you just won, not only won but won a playoff game as a team and now you’re on to the next one.”

His touchdown passes of 80 yards to Ted Ginn and 9-yards to tight end Josh Hill helped New Orleans open up a 21-6 lead late in the first half. Michael Thomas caught eight passes for 131 yards, including a 46-yarder that set up Kamara’s short TD run in the fourth quarter.

For the Panthers T.J. Hockenson Jersey , it was an excruciating end to the season. Beaten soundly by the Saints twice before this season, they pushed New Orleans to the brink in the third matchup.

Aided by the return of star tight end Greg Olsen, the Panthers drove inside the Saints 22-yard line five times, only to come away with nothing twice and field goals three other times.

”That was the difference in the game,” said Olsen, who had eight catches for 107 yards and a touchdown. ”We moved the ball pretty much at will the whole game. We just struggled in the first half in the red zone and it turned out to be points that we kept chasing.”

Still, the Panthers had a first down on the Saints 21 with 41 seconds left. It wasn’t until Newton’s intentional grounding in the face of end Cameron Jordan’s pass rush, followed by Vonn Bell’s sack on a safety blitz on fourth down, that the Saints sealed the victory.

Some other things to know from the Saints’ win:

GETTING PRESSURE: The Saints sacked Newton four times. Jordan, Bell, linebacker Jonathan Freeny and defensive tackle David Onyemata each had one. Jordan, a newly named All-Pro, also tipped two passes and might have made his biggest play when he ran through two blockers to force Newton’s intentional grounding. Their pass rush could be a factor against Minnesota QB Case Keenum, who’s been sacked 17 times in Minnesota’s last six games.

Certainly, Jordan expects a different game that Week 1, when the Saints had one sack – by Jordan – against then-starter Sam Bradford.

”We had a young defense that was still learning Justice Hill Jersey ,” Jordan said. ”We’ve clearly turned the corner. We’ve clearly turned to the next chapter. Now we’re into the playoffs and we’ve got bigger and better goals.”

SECONDARY CONCERNS: While the Saints’ defense has been far better this season than last, the secondary has looked more vulnerable lately. Against Carolina, they allowed Newton to pass for 349 yards, his second most all season. New Orleans struggled to cover Olsen and versatile running back Christian McCaffrey, who six catches for 101 yards, including a 56-yard score.

END ZONE PROTECTION: While the Saints defense gave up 413 net yards, their ability to keep Carolina out of the end zone was crucial.

”It’s better to hold them to three than six,” Bell said. ”We held them in the red zone and we won the game.”

ROAD WOES: While the Saints won their sixth straight home playoff game and improved to 5-0 in the Superdome in postseason games under coach Sean Payton, they’ve won only one road playoff game in their history. That was during the 2013 season, when they won a wild-card round game at Philadelphia before losing the next week at Seattle.

The Saints’ all time road playoff record is 1-6.

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