Intentional walk came back to bite Reds
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SEATTLE (AP) -- Cal Raleigh hit his sixth career grand slam, George Kirby and three relievers combined for a three-hitter and the Seattle Mariners beat the Cincinnati Reds 8-0 on Monday night.
The Mariners (51-50) are above .500 for the first time in nearly two weeks and moved a half-game ahead of Texas (50-50) atop the AL West.
In the seventh inning, Reds lefty Caleb Ferguson intentionally walked Dominic Canzone to load the bases for Raleigh, last year’s AL MVP runner-up. On the first pitch of the at-bat, Raleigh turned on a hanging breaking ball, sending it 408 feet into the left-field bleachers to make it 7-0.
It was the 10th home run this season for Raleigh, who is batting .163 after hitting 60 homers in 2025. He also knocked in a run with a groundout in the eighth to finish with five RBIs.
Kirby (8-8), who struck out six and walked one, needed only 80 pitches to get through six innings in his sixth straight quality start. Edwin Arroyo was the lone Reds hitter to advance past second base, and he was thrown out at home with ease by Mariners right fielder Victor Robles on a shallow flyball in the third.
Julio Rodríguez drove in a run with an infield single off Cincinnati starter Andrew Abbott (5-6) to make it 1-0 in the fifth. Rodríguez hit a chopper to shortstop Elly De La Cruz, and his throw to first base was off line. Robles scored from third and Rodríguez reached safely, but he soon exited the game as a precaution.
Robles moved from right field to center after Rodríguez was removed. Weston Wilson, who entered for Rodríguez, made it 3-0 with an RBI single in the seventh.
Nick Davila, Cole Wilcox and Michael Rucker each pitched a hitless inning of relief for Seattle.
Mariners shortstop J.P. Crawford was a late scratch due to wrist soreness. Colt Emerson replaced him and hit a sacrifice fly in the seventh to increase Seattle’s lead to 2-0.
Reds designated hitter Eugenio Suárez, who played parts of three seasons for the Mariners, was greeted with a standing ovation when he led off the second.
RED SOX 6, ORIOLES 5
BOSTON (AP) -- Eighty years ago, a Boston Red Sox team led by future Hall of Famer Ted Williams went on a 15-game winning streak early in the season that still stands as the longest in team history.
On Tuesday night, the Red Sox can match that mark set by the 1946 club.
Caleb Durbin hit a tiebreaking homer over the Green Monster with two outs in the eighth inning, and the Red Sox extended the second-longest winning streak in club history to 14 games, beating Baltimore 6-5 on Monday night to snap the Orioles’ season-best win streak at seven.
“I’m trying not to, but I want it,” Durbin said about the possibility of tying the club record. “I can’t speak for anyone else. We really haven’t talked about it, but I want to make history here.”
Durbin, who had a miserable start to the season after being picked up in an offseason trade with Milwaukee, connected on a 1-0 cutter from Tyler Wells, setting off a celebration by his teammates in front of Boston’s dugout.
“It would mean a lot, for sure,” first baseman Willson Contreras said. “We are trying to play the same way every day. ... If it happens, that would be great for us. We can celebrate that. If it doesn’t happen, you have to keep going.”
Boston was 37-48 when the streak began and is now in position for a wild-card playoff berth.
The Red Sox overcame three deficits on Monday.
“I can’t imagine it being more electric than tonight,” Durbin said. “It might be. Tonight was awesome, though.”
What was he thinking as he rounded the bases, heading toward a handful of players who were jumping up and down in front of the dugout?
“There’s not a lot of times that you black out — as they say,” he said. “I think that was one of the moments where I didn’t know what was happening. I couldn’t tell you what I looked like running around the bases.”
Contreras was one of the first players to jump over the railing onto the field after Durbin’s shot.
“I felt like (the) playoffs, going to the World Series, to be honest,” he said. “Hopefully it happens. We’re on the way, but there’s a lot of season left, a lot of games to be played.”