Aaron Nola pitched six scoreless innings and Jhoan Duran escaped a tense situation in the ninth as the Philadelphia Phillies nipped the visiting New York Mets 1-0 on Monday.
Nola (4-8) gave up just three hits and two walks while striking out seven in his most effective start since coming back from a three-month stint on the injured list. Duran struck out Jeff McNeil and Francisco Alvarez with runners on second and third in the final inning to close out Philadelphia’s eighth victory in 11 games.
After winning each of his first four starts to begin his major league career, Nolan McLean (4-1) took a tough-luck loss. The right-hander allowed one run and seven hits in 5 1/3 innings. He struck out five and walked three.
The Phillies stretched their lead over the second-place Mets in the National League East to eight games with three games left in this series — final time these teams play one another.
Rangers 5, Brewers 0
Michael Helman drove home every Texas run with a grand slam and an RBI double to back the solid start of pitcher Jacob Latz as the surging Rangers past Milwaukee in the opener of a three-game interleague series in Arlington, Texas.
Latz (2-0) went 5 2/3 innings in his seventh start of the season, allowing three hits and a walk while striking out four. He was followed to the mound by Cole Winn, Jacob Webb and Chris Martin as the Texas pitchers faced just four batters over the minimum.
Milwaukee had a three-game winning streak snapped. The Brewers managed just six hits (all of them singles) and reached second only twice in the game. Blake Perkins had two of Milwaukee’s hits.
Guardians 10, Royals 2
Slade Cecconi held Kansas City without a hit until the eighth inning and Nolan Jones had a two-run double during a six-run fourth, sending Cleveland past the visiting Royals.
Cecconi (6-6) only allowed Michael Massey’s leadoff single to center over eight scoreless innings and 100 pitches, while striking out three and walking three. The right-hander won for the first time in nine starts since July 18 against the Athletics.
C.J. Kayfus, Brayan Rocchio and Daniel Schneemann also had RBI doubles in the fourth off Royals starter Ryan Bergert (2-2), marking Cleveland’s first inning with four RBI doubles since Aug. 13, 2018, against the Cincinnati Reds.
Nationals 15, Marlins 7
Josh Bell went 4-for-6 with two home runs and six RBIs to help and Washington tied season highs in runs and hits (19) to overpower host Miami.
Dylan Crews had three hits, including a homer, and drove in four while James Wood added three hits for the Nationals, who have won three straight and six of seven. Washington starter Cade Cavalli (3-1) allowed two runs on six hits across five innings, striking out one and walking one.
Victor Mesa Jr. hit his first career homer, a three-run shot for Miami, which has dropped six of seven. Jakob Marsee also went deep. Janson Junk (6-3) gave up six runs on eight hits in 4 1/3 innings while striking out three and walking two.
Braves 4, Cubs 1
Bryce Elder pitched 6 1/3 quality innings and host Atlanta topped Chicago to give manager Brian Snitker his 800th career victory.
Ozzie Albies and Matt Olson hit solo homers and Raisel Iglesias pitched the ninth inning to earn his 25th save as the Braves snapped a two-game losing skid. Elder (7-9) gave up one run on five hits while striking out six. He has a 1.37 ERA over his last four outings.
Cubs starter Shota Imanaga (9-7) pitched six innings, allowing three runs and five hits in the loss. Chicago scored its run in the seventh on Matt Shaw’s sacrifice fly to shallow center. It brought home Nico Hoerner, who had his team’s lone extra-base hit of the night.
