ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Shohei Ohtani hit the longest home run of his major league career and became the ninth player to reach 30 homers in a season by July 1. Yet, it wasn’t enough to overcome Lourdes Gurriel Jr.’s grand slam in the second inning as the Arizona Diamondbacks defeated the Los Angeles Angels 6-2 Friday night.
4️⃣9️⃣3️⃣ feet for No. 30!
Shohei Ohtani is UNREAL! pic.twitter.com/W7TxBembrj
— MLB (@MLB) July 1, 2023
The two-way superstar from Japan drove a slider from left-hander Tommy Henry 493 feet to right field in the sixth inning to get the Angels within 5-1. It was the longest home run in the majors this year.
Ohtani became the first player since Baltimore’s Chris Davis in 2013 to hit 30 homers by the end of June. Davis had 31.
Babe Ruth, Ken Griffey Jr. and Sammy Sosa each did it twice. The others are Mark McGwire, Barry Bonds, Luis Gonzalez and Albert Pujols. Bonds had 39 by July 1 in 2001 en route to setting the single-season record with 73.
Ohtani hit 15 home runs in June. Besides being an Angels record for the most in any month, he tied Babe Ruth (1930 Yankees), Bob Johnson (1934 A’s) and Roger Maris (1961 Yankees) for the AL mark in June.
Gurriel hit his sixth career slam when he drove a full-count slider from Griffin Canning (6-3) into the Angels’ bullpen in left field.
The only big mistake for Henry (5-1) ended up being Ohtani’s homer. The left-hander allowed one run on four hits in 5 2/3 innings and struck out eight.
Canning went six innings and gave up five runs on three hits. He struck out nine, but the four walks proved costly.
Braves 16, Marlins 4
ATLANTA (AP) — Michael Soroka won his first home start in nearly three years, Matt Olson homered twice and drove in five runs and National League-leading Atlanta won its sixth straight game.
Ronald Acuña Jr., Eddie Rosario, Austin Riley and Sean Murphy also went deep to give the Braves 153 homers, by far the most in the majors. They hit 61 in June to set a franchise record for a single month, breaking the mark of 56 from June 2019.
Soroka (1-1) took the mound in a home game for the first time since Aug. 3, 2020, when he tore his Achilles tendon for the first of two times. He allowed five hits and three runs with no walks and seven strikeouts in six innings.
Miami’s Luis Arraez, the majors’ leading hitter, went 1 for 4 and his batting average dipped to .390. Jesús Sánchez hit a two-run homer and Jorge Soler added his 22nd long ball for the Marlins.
Bryan Hoeing (1-2) had made two consecutive scoreless starts but he got roughed up, allowing six hits and seven runs in 3 2/3 innings.
Rays 15, Mariners 4
SEATTLE (AP) — Luke Raley doubled and later scored on Isaac Parades’ infield grounder at the start of an eight-run eighth inning and Tampa Bay rallied from four runs down to beat Seattle.
Tampa Bay sent 13 batters to the plate in the eighth. Randy Arozarena and Josh Lowe homered earlier in the game for Tampa Bay and Jose Siri homered in the ninth inning with infielder Mike Ford on the mound.
Raley scored from third on Parades’ chopper off a 100 mph fastball from Muñoz (0-1) toward third baseman Eugenio Suárez, who wasn’t able to make a clean transfer and throw trying to get Raley at the plate. That opened the flood gates. Lowe followed with an RBI double that knocked Muñoz from the game, and Taylor Walls (single), Christian Bethancourt (double), Yandy Díaz (single), Wander Franco (double) and Arozarena (fielders’ choice) all drove in runs.
Rays ace Shane McClanahan lasted just three innings in his shortest start of the season, giving up four earned runs, five hits and three walks. However, Tampa Bay relievers held Seattle to just one hit over the final six innings. Kevin Kelly (4-1) went 1 1/3 innings for the win.
Red Sox 5, Blue Jays 0
TORONTO (AP) — Jarren Duran hit a two-run homer, James Paxton and two relievers combined on a three-hitter and Boston snapped a season-worst five-game losing streak.
Justin Turner and Masataka Yoshida each hit a solo home run and Turner added a sacrifice fly for Boston, which totaled four runs in its previous four games.
Paxton (4-1) pitched a season-high 7 2/3 innings for his third straight win as the Red Sox improved to 5-0 against the Blue Jays. He walked two and struck out seven.
Toronto is 7-18 against AL East opponents. The Blue Jays were blanked for the third time this season and the second time in four games.
José Berríos (8-6) gave up all three Red Sox homers. He allowed four runs and five hits in six innings and struck out eight.
Giants 5, Mets 4
NEW YORK (AP) — Patrick Bailey hit a three-run homer in the eighth inning to help San Francisco beat reeling New York.
The Mets opened June by completing a three-game sweep of Philadelphia, then went 6-19 the rest of the way, losing 15 games in the NL East standings to first-place Atlanta and falling nine games behind the Giants in the race for the final wild card.
The Mets took a 4-2 lead into the eighth, but Pete Alonso misplayed Joc Pederson’s one-out grounder, and David Robertson (2-2) walked J.D. Davis before Bailey homered to straightaway center.
Sean Manaea (3-3) was the winner after throwing a scoreless seventh. Camilo Doval earned his 24th save.
Wilmer Flores homered and Brandon Crawford had an RBI single for the Giants. Tommy Pham homered for the Mets.
Pirates 8, Brewers 7
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Carlos Santana hit his eighth career walk-off home run, a two-run shot to cap a three-run ninth inning that rallied Pittsburgh for its fourth straight win.
With his team trailing 7-5, Andrew McCutchen drew the Pirates within one when he hit a one-out RBI double. Henry Davis grounded out and Santana, a 14-year veteran, drove a pitch from Matt Bush (0-2) deep to right field. Santana also doubled twice, and McCutchen homered among his three hits and had three RBIs.
Rookie Carmen Mlodzinski (1-1) pitched two scoreless innings for his first major-league win.
The Brewers’ Owen Miller had three hits and rookie Brice Turang hit a two-run double.
Brewers starter Freddy Peralta (6-7) allowed three runs in 5 1/3 innings and has now gone seven starts since his last win on May 21.
Dodgers 9, Royals 3
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Mookie Betts homered twice off big league debutant Alec Marsh, finishing 4 for 4 with two walks and four RBIs as Los Angeles beat Kansas City.
Jason Heyward added three hits and two RBIs for the Dodgers, who had 11 hits to go with nine walks, and seven players crossed the plate, giving Bobby Miller (4-1) more than enough support. The right-hander pitched into the sixth inning and allowed three runs on five hits and a walk.
Bobby Witt Jr., Nick Pratto and Freddy Fermin drove in runs for Kansas City, which has lost eight of its last nine against the Dodgers.
Marsh (0-1), the fourth Royals player to make his major league debut this season, threw 95 pitches before he was lifted with two aboard and nobody out in the fifth. He allowed five runs on four walks and six hits with five strikeouts.
Twins 8, Orioles 1
BALTIMORE (AP) — Joey Gallo, Max Kepler and Byron Buxton homered to help Minnesota break out of its offensive funk, and Pablo López allowed three hits in six innings for a win over Baltimore in a game delayed at the start for 90 minutes by rain.
López (4-5) allowed a sixth-inning homer to Adley Rutschman for Baltimore’s only run. He struck out six and walked three. Minnesota is still a game under .500, but the Twins moved a game ahead of Cleveland atop the AL Central.
Dean Kremer (8-4) lasted three-plus innings, allowing seven runs and seven hits. After Gallo’s second-inning homer, Alex Kirilloff made it 3-0 with an RBI single in the third. Then Kepler went deep.
Athletics 7, White Sox 4
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Luis Medina pitched five mostly strong innings to earn his first win as a starter this season, Carlos Pérez hit his sixth homer while his brother sat in the opposite dugout, and Oakland beat Chicago.
Medina (2-7) struggled with his command for the second consecutive outing. He walked five — three in the first inning — and allowed four hits and one run in five innings. He struck out four.
The A’s won for the third time in 15 games following their season-high, seven-game winning streak.
Luis Robert Jr. homered for Chicago, which had won four of six. Andrew Benitendi added a two-run double in the eighth.
Tanner Banks (0-3) took the loss. He allowed five hits and four runs in five innings. He struck out three and walked one.
Astros 5, Rangers 3
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Mauricio Dubón lined a go-ahead, two-run double in the sixth inning, and Houston opened its series against AL West-leading Texas.
Jose Altuve crushed that first pitch from Jon Gray for a game-opening homer, but the defending World Series champion Astros fell behind 3-1 on back-to-back solo home runs from two of Texas’ four All-Star starters, Josh Jung and Jonah Heim.
Houston had cut the deficit to one when Dubón sent a liner past the rookie Jung at third base after José Abreu and Yainer Diaz opened the sixth with consecutive singles.
Houston’s Ronel Blanco (2-0) allowed three runs with four hits, four walks and two home runs in five innings. Ryan Pressly picked up his 16th save.
Gray (6-4) had his second rough outing in four appearances since winning five consecutive starts, allowing seven hits and five runs in six innings.
Reds 7, Padres 5, 11 Innings
CINCINNATI (AP) — Spencer Steer hit a game-winning two-run home run in the 11th inning and Cincinnati overcame Alexis Díaz’s first blown save of the season.
Elly De La Cruz doubled to drive in Jonathan India with the tying run, and De La Cruz tried to score from third on Nick Senzel’s grounder to third off Drew Carlton, but was called out because he touched catcher Gary Sánchez’s left foot. Steer followed with his homer off Drew Carlton (2-1).
Sánchez drove in Xander Bogaerts from second base in the top of the 11th inning to put the Padres up 5-4, but they couldn’t avoid their sixth straight loss.
David Duarte got the final out of the 11th for his first career win.
San Diego got RBI hits from Fernando Tatis Jr. and Juan Soto to take a 4-2 lead in the top of the 10th, but Matt McLain tied it again with a two-out, two-run homer to center off Ray Kerr in the bottom of the inning.
Nationals 2, Phillies 1
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Stone Garrett hit a two-run homer and Josiah Gray forced two pop-ups and struck out a batter that left the potential go-ahead run stranded in the pivotal sixth inning as Washington snapped Philadelphia’s three-game winning streak.
Gray (6-6) struck out eight and walked one over six innings to win his second straight start. Hunter Harvey worked a scoreless ninth for his seventh save.
Alec Bohm had an RBI single in the second to account for Philadelphia’s run. Starter Cristopher Sánchez (0-2) took the loss, striking out six, walking one and allowing one earned run in six innings.
Cubs 10, Guardians 1
CHICAGO (AP) — Justin Steele tossed a three-hit shutout into the seventh inning and won his third straight start as Chicago snapped a four-game skid and spoiled the return of Cleveland manager Terry Francona.
Steele (9-2) struck out six and walked one in 6 1/3 innings. Christoper Morel hit a two-run homer and finished with three RBIs, and Nick Madrigal added a solo homer in Chicago’s 13-hit attack. Nico Hoerner had three hits and two RBIs.
Francona was back managing the Guardians following a health scare that led to him being hospitalized in Kansas City and missing three games.
Will Brennan hit a solo homer in the ninth inning for Cleveland. Cal Quantrill (2-5) lasted only 3 1/3 innings, allowing six runs on eight hits. The right-hander hasn’t won since May 7.
Rockies 8, Tigers 5
DENVER (AP) — Ezequiel Tovar hit a three-run homer and extended his hitting streak to a career-high 13 games in Colorado’s win over Detroit.
Tovar’s eighth homer gave the Rockies an 8-3 lead in the sixth inning, and the shortstop also singled in a five-run second for an 5-0 lead.
Left-hander Austin Gomber (6-7) gave up three runs (two earned) and six singles in seven innings, with a season-high seven strikeouts and one walk. Pierce Johnson pitched the ninth for his 13th save.
Miguel Cabrera had his 3,123rd hit, a run-scoring single in a two-run fourth inning that cut the Colorado lead to 5-3, and Andy Ibanez hit a two-run homer off reliever Jake Bird that cut it to 8-5 in the eighth.
Detroit’s Michael Lorenzen (2-6) has lost his last four decisions.
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