Soto goes 4 for 4, continues to irritate Rays pitcher | The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

NEW YORK — Gerrit Cole struck out eight batters in six strong innings, Juan Soto went 4-for-4 as the New York Yankees defeated the Tampa Bay Rays 6-1 on Friday night.

Cole (3-1), making his sixth start since returning from a right elbow injury June 20, allowed one run and six hits on a night when fans received a promotional bobblehead of the 33-year-old right-handed pitcher holding his Cy Young Award. He walked one and threw 103 pitches to reach 100 for the second straight time.

“I had a little bit of everything and once we got the lead, I started attacking the zone,” said Cole, who is 3-0 with a 2.95 ERA in his last four games.

“Just a great way to come out of the All-Star break and set the tone for us, with our ace going out and giving up one run in six innings to set the tone for us,” Yankees Manager Aaron Boone said. “I thought he was sharp and I thought he had a lot of different ways to get you out tonight.”

Soto reached base five times and continued his personal run against Tampa Bay starter Zach Eflin (5-7) with three hits, including a double in the fourth inning when he scored on two Rays errors. Soto is hitting .500 (17 for 34) against Eflin, whom he faced frequently when the right-handed pitcher was with the Phillies and he was with Washington.

Soto had his fourth hit of the game, leading off the sixth with a double by Shawn Armstrong. He scored on an RBI single by Aaron Judge.

Soto had his second four-hit game since joining the Yankees from the Padres in December. It was the right fielder’s ninth career four-hit game, and his average rose from .295 to .303. In his first chance at a fifth hit, Soto walked in the eighth.

Anthony Volpe doubled in the fourth inning against Eflin to clear the bases, his first multi-hit game since June 28.

ASTROS 3, MARINERS 0 Hunter Brown worked around the jam while allowing four hits in six innings, Yainer Diaz delivered the big blow with a two-run single and Houston moved into a tie for first place in the AL West with a win over Seattle. The Astros (51-46) trailed Seattle by 10 games and were seven games under .500 on June 18 but have risen over the past 24 games.

ATHLETICS 13, ANGELS 3 Max Schuemann hit a three-run home run, JJ Bleday and Shea Langeliers each added two runs and Oakland defeated the Los Angeles Angels but lost its top prospect Jacob Wilson to a left hamstring injury in his Major League debut.

ORIOLES 9, RANGERS 1 Anthony Santander homered twice and drove in five runs after Adley Rutschman and Colton Cowser had already homered, and AL East-leading Baltimore defeated Texas in the first game after halftime. Rutschman and Cowser both homered in the first inning to give the Orioles a 4-0 lead before All-Star starting pitcher Corbin Burnes (10-4) had even thrown his first pitch.

ROYALS 7, WHITE SOX 1 Michael Wacha (7-6) threw seven scoreless innings, Bobby Witt Jr. hit a two-run homer and Kansas City defeated the Chicago White Sox. Witt hit Chris Flexen’s inside fastball over the left field bullpen for his 17th home run in the first inning. Witt added an RBI in the third on the second of his three hits for a 2-0 lead. Since June 24, Witt has hit safely in 17 of 19 games, posting a .403 batting average with 12 extra-base hits.

TIGERS 5, BLUE JAYS 4 Mark Canha and Wenceel Perez hit two-run homers, Jack Flaherty struck out eight in 5 2/3 innings to win for the sixth time in seven starts and Detroit defeated Toronto for its third straight victory. All-Star first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and outfielder George Springer hit two-run homers for Toronto.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

DIAMONDBACKS 5, CUBS 2 Gabriel Moreno had three hits, scored two and drove in a run and Ryne Nelson threw five solid innings to lead Arizona to a win over the Chicago Cubs. Nelson (7-6) struck out nine batters and allowed just three hits to help Arizona win for the seventh time in 10 games. Reliever Paul Sewald pitched the ninth inning for his 14th save.

MARLINS 6, METS 4 Jake Burger homered and doubled to help Miami beat the New York Mets. Nick Fortes had two hits and an RBI, and Jazz Chisholm Jr. singled twice and stole a base for Miami. The Marlins overcame Jeff McNeil’s two-home run game for New York.

NATIONALS 8, REDS 5 Patrick Corbin threw six sharp innings on his 35th birthday, Juan Yepez hit a three-run homer and Washington opened the second half of the season with a win over Cincinnati. Corbin (2-9) earned a rare victory by retiring the first eight batters he faced and going six innings while allowing fewer than two runs for the first time this year. The left-handed pitcher allowed one run on three hits, walked none and struck out six to thwart the Reds (47-51).

ROCKIES 7, GIANTS 3 Jake Cave hit a go-ahead three-run home run in the eighth inning of Colorado’s win over San Francisco. Cave doubled as a pinch hitter in the seventh, and Brenton Doyle and Ezequiel Tovar added home runs for the Rockies. Colorado has 15 home runs in its last four games.

INTERLEAGUE

DODGERS 4, RED SOX 1 Freddie Freeman hit a grand slam in the eighth inning to give the Los Angeles Dodgers a victory over Boston.

GUARDIANS 7, PADRES 0 Jose Ramirez’s two-run single highlighted a six-run eighth inning, Tanner Bibee and three relievers combined on a four-hitter, and American League Central-leading Cleveland defeated San Diego. Cleveland had five hits and a bases-loaded walk by David Fry in the eighth, but the big hit was a single up the middle by Ramirez that gave him 79 RBI — second-most in the majors behind Yankees slugger Aaron Judge (86).

Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Jack Flaherty throws to a Toronto Blue Jays batter during a baseball game in the first inning in Toronto, Friday, July 19, 2024. (Jon Blacker/The Canadian Press via AP)

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (27) of the Toronto Blue Jays throws his bat toward his team’s dugout after hitting a two-run home run that also scores Spencer Horwitz during a sixth-inning baseball game against the Detroit Tigers in Toronto, Friday, July 19, 2024. (Jon Blacker/The Canadian Press via AP)

Toronto Blue Jays’ Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hits a two-run home run, also scoring Spencer Horwitz, during a sixth inning baseball game against the Detroit Tigers in Toronto, Friday, July 19, 2024. (Jon Blacker/The Canadian Press via AP)

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. of the Toronto Blue Jays, left, throws his bat toward his team’s dugout after hitting a two-run home run that also scored Spencer Horwitz during the first inning of a baseball game against the Detroit Tigers in Toronto, Friday, July 19, 2024. (Jon Blacker/The Canadian Press via AP)

Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Chris Bassitt (bottom center) warms up in the bullpen before facing the Detroit Tigers in the first inning of a baseball game in Toronto, Friday, July 19, 2024. (Jon Blacker/The Canadian Press via AP)

Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Spencer Horwitz throws to first base to retire Detroit Tigers’ Riley Greene in the second inning of a baseball game in Toronto, Friday, July 19, 2024. (Jon Blacker/The Canadian Press via AP)

Detroit Tigers shortstop Zach McKinstry throws to first base to retire Bo Bichette of the Toronto Blue Jays in the second inning of a baseball game in Toronto, Friday, July 19, 2024. (Jon Blacker/The Canadian Press via AP)

Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Chris Bassitt throws to a Detroit Tigers batter during a baseball game in the first inning in Toronto, Friday, July 19, 2024. (Jon Blacker/The Canadian Press via AP)

Detroit Tigers catcher Carson Kelly asks for a replacement PitchCom device after his device stopped working in the first inning of a baseball game against the Toronto Blue Jays in Toronto, Friday, July 19, 2024. (Jon Blacker/The Canadian Press via AP)