MLB roundup: Pirates' Paul Skenes tames Tigers on his 22nd birthday
Skenes (2-0), the top pitching prospect in baseball, allowed two runs and three hits in his fourth major league start. He had two strikeouts apiece in the first two innings and struck out the side in the fourth, relying as much on his splitter as his fastball. The flamethrowing right-hander has a 2.45 ERA, 30 strikeouts and five walks in 22 innings.
Andrew McCutchen blasted a three-run homer in the third inning on his 1,600th hit with the Pirates. McCutchen, who has played for five different teams in 16 years in the major leagues, also doubled and singled while driving in four runs. Nick Gonzales added three hits, including a solo homer, and drove in two runs.
Matt Vierling hit his fourth homer in three games for Detroit. Tigers starter Keider Montero, making his major league debut, gave up four runs and five hits while striking out five in 4 1/3 innings.
Yankees 2, Angels 1
Luis Gil gave up just two hits through eight innings, Alex Verdugo homered and the Yankees hung on to beat the Angels in Anaheim, Calif.
Gil (7-1) allowed only a single to Luis Rengifo in the third inning and a solo homer to Logan O'Hoppe - his sixth of the year - in the seventh on his way to winning his sixth consecutive start.
Gil struck out nine and walked two while making 95 pitches, and at one point retired 11 straight Angels. With Gil out of the game in the ninth, however, the Angels nearly rallied, putting runners on first and second with no outs against Yankees closer Clay Holmes, who eventually escaped for his 16th save.
Mariners 2, Astros 1 (10 innings)
J.P. Crawford's sacrifice fly with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 10th inning brought home the deciding run as Seattle defeated visiting Houston.
Dominic Canzone homered for the Mariners, who will attempt to sweep the four-game series against their American League West rivals on Thursday afternoon.
Justin Verlander allowed one run on three hits in seven innings. He walked one and matched his season-high with nine strikeouts for the Astros.
Brewers 10, Cubs 6
Christian Yelich, Blake Perkins and Willy Adames each hit a two-run homer and Milwaukee roughed up previously undefeated Shota Imanaga en route to a win over the visiting Cubs.
Yelich put the Brewers up 2-0 in the first and Milwaukee added five runs in the third off Imanaga, who entered the contest with a 0.84 ERA. He had allowed a total of five earned runs in his first nine starts. But Imanaga (5-1) was tagged for seven runs on eight hits in 4 1/3 innings on Wednesday, striking out one and walking one as his ERA climbed to 1.86.
Jared Koenig (5-1) got the win with two innings of scoreless relief.
Dodgers 10, Mets 3
Will Smith hit two homers, including the tiebreaking solo shot in the eighth inning, as the Dodgers beat the slumping Mets to complete a three-game sweep.
The Dodgers outscored the Mets 18-5 in the series, which was played over a 27-hour span due to a rainout Monday. Smith finished 3-for-5 while Miguel Rojas tied a career-high with four hits and had an RBI single in the eighth.
First baseman Pete Alonso, who leads the Mets with 12 homers, left after being hit on the right hand by a pitch in the first inning. He underwent imaging during the game, and initial examinations didn't reveal a broken bone. CT scan results are expected on Thursday.
