Jose Fermin’s two-run double with one out in the ninth inning capped a four-run rally as the St. Louis Cardinals overcame a near-shutout and beat the host Pittsburgh Pirates 4-2 on Monday.
St. Louis, which had lost four straight and five of six, was hitless through 6 2/3 innings and scoreless through 8 1/3 before breaking through against Dennis Santana, who came into the contest with two saves and a 0.69 ERA with only one earned run allowed in 13 appearances.
Those numbers took a hit right away as Pedro Pages, St. Louis’ backup catcher, and rookie JJ Wetherholt hit back-to-back home runs off Santana (2-2) to even the game.
It was Pages’ third home run of the season, and second in his last two games, while Wetherholt went deep for the third straight game and sixth time this season.
Ryan O’Hearn and Jake Mangum drove in runs for Pittsburgh, which dropped its second straight game.
Yankees 4, Rangers 2
Max Fried pitched six scoreless innings and was backed by three homers as New York prevailed in Arlington, Texas.
Ben Rice, Aaron Judge and Jazz Chisholm Jr. homered as the Yankees won for the ninth time in 10 games. Fried (4-1) allowed four hits and produced his fourth scoreless start this season. David Bednar gave up a run in the ninth but got his eighth save.
Rangers starter Jack Leiter (1-2) yielded four runs on eight hits in six innings. Joc Pederson delivered a solo homer.
Rays 3, Guardians 2
Ryan Vilade singled in the go-ahead run in the eighth inning and Steven Matz worked a season-high seven innings to lead visiting Tampa Bay over Cleveland.
Vilade had two RBI singles in a three-inning span as the Rays scored three unanswered runs to erase a 2-0 deficit. Vilade went 3-for-4 and Jonathan Aranda added a home run for the Rays. Matz (4-1) gave up two runs on four hits.
Cleveland took a 2-0 lead in the fifth on Daniel Schneemann’s two-run homer to left off Matz. Chase DeLauter went 2-for-4 with a double. Parker Messick tied his career high with nine strikeouts over 5 2/3 innings, giving up one run on three hits.
Red Sox 5, Blue Jays 0
Ranger Suarez pitched eight innings of one-hit ball as visiting Boston blanked Toronto.
Suarez (2-2) struck out 10 one in the opener of a three-game series. Carlos Narvaez hit a solo homer for the Red Sox and Marcelo Mayer and Wilyer Abreu each had two hits, a walk and an RBI.
Dylan Cease (1-1) allowed four runs and seven hits in 5 2/3 innings. Toronto had only a walk before Jesus Sanchez led off the home sixth with a double past third base, breaking up a no-hit bid. Dalton Varsho had the Jays’ other hit, a double in the ninth inning.
Twins 11, Mariners 4
Kody Clemens went 2-for-5 with a homer and five RBIs, and Minnesota cruised to a win over Seattle in Minneapolis.
Byron Buxton hit a two-run homer and Trevor Larnach went 2-for-4 with a triple and an RBI for Minnesota, which snapped a five-game losing streak. Ryan Jeffers went 2-for-4 with a pair of RBIs.
Cal Raleigh hit a two-run homer for Seattle, whose four-game winning streak ended.
