MLB ROUNDUP: RED SOX SWEEP YANKS, TRADE RAFAEL DEVERS
In his final appearance in a Red Sox uniform, Rafael Devers hit a solo shot as Boston shut out the visiting New York Yankees 2-0 on Sunday to complete a three-game sweep.
After the game, the Red Sox traded Devers — a three-time All-Star — to the San Francisco Giants in exchange for right-hander Jordan Hicks and left-hander Kyle Harrison, along with outfield prospect James Tibbs III and right-handed pitching prospect Jose Bello.
Brayan Bello (3-1) tossed seven shutout innings, holding New York to three hits, walking three and striking out eight while throwing a career-high 114 pitches. Devers’ home run came off New York starter Max Fried (9-2) in the fifth. It was his 15th home run of the season and increased Boston’s lead to 2-0.
Fried surrendered two runs on six hits in seven innings for the Yankees, who have lost the last five matchups with their American League East rivals. He struck out nine and walked two.
Dodgers 5, Giants 4
Andy Pages hit a three-run home run to lift host Los Angeles to a win over San Francisco.
Dustin May (4-4) pitched six innings for the win. The right-hander gave up six hits and three earned runs. Pages’ home run gave the Dodgers the lead for good in the fifth.
Joey Lucchesi (0-1) took the loss. Sean Hjelle was the last-minute starter for the Giants. Kyle Harrison was warming up in the bullpen less than 30 minutes before game time when he was told he was part of the Rafael Devers trade with Boston.
Rays 9, Mets 0
Shane Baz pitched 6 2/3 effective innings and Junior Caminero drilled a three-run home run as visiting Tampa Bay continued its surge, completing a three-game sweep of New York.
Baz (6-3) held the Mets to three hits in his second-longest start of the season, and New York’s top four hitters of Francisco Lindor, Brandon Nimmo, Juan Soto and Pete Alonso were a combined 1-of-9 against him. Baz threw a career-high 106 pitches, won his third straight decision and the Rays won with him on the mound for the fifth straight time.
The Rays won for the 18th time in 24 games and scored 24 runs in the series. Canning (6-3) allowed six runs on four hits in 4 1/3 innings. The Mets lost three straight for the second time this season and were shut out for the fourth time this season.
Cubs 3, Pirates 2 (10 innings)
Ian Happ’s single drove in the game-winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning to give Chicago a series victory against visiting Pittsburgh.
Automatic runner Vidal Brujan and Kyle Tucker pulled off a double steal with Jon Berti at the plate, and after Berti struck out, Happ knocked a single into right field off Pirates closer David Bednar (1-5) to score Brujan. Spencer Horvitz and Alexander Canario had RBIs for Pittsburgh.
Cubs reliever Chris Flexen (4-0) was perfect in the top of the 10th for the win. Starting pitcher Colin Rea allowed two runs on four hits and one walk while striking out four in six. Seiya Suzuki and Dansby Swanson each had an RBI groundout.
Padres 8, Diamondbacks 2
Jake Cronenworth and Elias Diaz homered, Fernando Tatis Jr. had four hits and scored three runs, and visiting San Diego salvaged the final game of a three-game set with a victory over Arizona.
Nick Pivetta (7-2) gave up two runs and two hits in seven strong innings for his second victory since April 29. He struck out nine, one short of a season high, and walked one. Cronenworth extended his season-high on-base streak to 13 games, Manny Machado had two RBIs and Diaz and Gavin Sheets had two hits apiece.
Eugenio Suarez homered for the third time in four games for the D-backs, who tied a season-low with three hits and had a five-game winning streak broken. Ketel Marte was 0-for-4 to break his 26-game on-base streak. Arizona starter Merrill Kelly (6-3) gave up four runs on seven hits in five innings.
Twins 2, Astros 1 (10 innings)
Mauricio Dubon hit a walk-off single to left field with two outs in the 10th inning, and Houston completed a three-game series sweep of Minnesota.
Dubon drove home Jake Meyers with a high fly ball off Twins reliever Cole Sands (3-3) that left fielder Willi Castro failed to catch at the wall. Josh Hader (4-0) earned the win for Houston with a perfect 10th.
Extending his hitting streak to 15 games, Brooks Lee finished 3-for-4 and homered for a second consecutive game for the Twins. Lee’s homer represented the lone blemish for Astros left-hander Brandon Walter, who excelled while making his third spot start for Houston.
Mariners 6, Guardians 0
J.P. Crawford hit a grand slam and Emerson Hancock pitched seven scoreless innings as Seattle completed a three-game sweep of visiting Cleveland.
Crawford, celebrating his first Father’s Day as a dad after the offseason birth of a daughter, went deep off Luis Ortiz (3-8) in a five-run second inning.
Hancock (3-2), who was coming off three consecutive no-decisions in which he went at least five innings and allowed no more than two runs, gave up just two hits, walked one and struck out four. The right-hander faced 22 batters, one over the minimum for seven innings, and didn’t allow a baserunner to reach second base.
Reds 8, Tigers 4
Cincinnati parlayed a late-inning rally into a road win over Detroit. Facing a two-run deficit entering the eighth, the Reds notched four runs in the eighth and two more in the ninth.
Elly De La Cruz continued his power surge, clubbing a homer in a fourth straight game and driving in three runs. His two-run shot accounted for both of Cincinnati’s runs in the ninth.
Jahmai Jones and Wenceel Perez homered early to open the Tigers’ scoring, but Detroit’s offense stalled in the final two frames against relievers Emilio Pagan and Tony Santillan. The Tigers also tallied nine hits, but went 2-11 at the plate with runners in scoring position.
Orioles 11, Angels 2
Gary Sanchez belted a seventh-inning grand slam to help Baltimore record a victory against visiting Los Angeles, completing a three-game sweep.
Ramon Urias and Jordan Westburg also homered as the Orioles produced its third series sweep in its last five series. Cade Povich (2-5) logged 3 2/3 scoreless innings in a bulk reliever role, allowing three hits, one walk, while fanning four.
Nolan Schanuel hit a home run and had two of the Angels’ hits. Starter Yusei Kikuchi (2-6) surrendered five runs (three earned) across 5 2/3 innings despite striking out 10.
Rockies 10, Braves 1
Colorado overcame Atlanta starting pitcher Grant Holmes’ career-high 15 strikeouts and used a late-inning outburst to beat Atlanta and avoid a series sweep.
Rookie catcher Braxton Fulford had a career-high five RBIs, including three in a bases-clearing triple in the ninth to extend Colorado’s lead to nine. Holmes was mowing down batters and allowed only one run, until he began to unravel in the seventh.
Ryan McMahon hit a go-ahead solo shot and Holmes walked Brenton Doyle before Enya De Los Santos replaced him. De Los Santos and Jose Ruiz allowed six combined runs in the seventh, pushing the game out of Atlanta’s reach.
Phillies 11, Blue Jays 4
Nick Castellanos hit a grand slam, rookie Otto Kemp went 4-for-5 with three runs scored and two RBIs and Alec Bohm also homered and drove in three runs as Philadelphia completed a three-game series sweep of visiting Toronto.
It was the second grand slam of the season for Castellanos and the ninth of his career, tied for third among active players behind Manny Machado (12) of the San Diego Padres and Giancarlo Stanton (11) of the New York Yankees. Kyle Schwarber reached base four times with two hits and two walks and also drove in two runs for the Phillies.
Zack Wheeler (7-2) picked up the win, allowing two runs (one earned) on four hits over six innings. He struck out nine and didn’t walk a batter.
Marlins 3, Nationals 1
Dane Myers had three hits including a home run and visiting Miami beat Washington to complete its first three-game sweep of the season.
Marlins starter Eury Perez, in his second start since his return from Tommy John surgery, gave up one run on four hits with three walks and no strikeouts in four innings. Lake Bachar (3-0) pitched two scoreless innings and Freddy Tarnok worked the ninth for his first save.
Washington starter MacKenzie Gore (3-6) allowed two runs on eight hits over six innings. The NL strikeout leader fanned five.
Brewers 3, Cardinals 2
Quinn Priester allowed one run and four hits over six innings to help Milwaukee capture a win against visiting St. Louis in the finale of their four-game series.
Priester (5-2) struck out three and didn’t walk a batter en route to his fourth straight win. Christian Yelich singled, doubled and homered and Caleb Durbin collected two hits and scored a run for Milwaukee, which took three of four in the series.
St. Louis starter Miles Mikolas (4-4) allowed two runs and six hits over six innings, striking out seven and walking one. Ivan Herrera had two hits, including a solo home run, and Brendan Donovan also had a pair of singles for St. Louis, which has lost seven of eight.
Athletics 3, Royals 2
Nick Kurtz’s solo home run in the top of the ninth inning broke a tie and gave the Athletics a win over host Kansas City.
The Athletics, who swept the three-game series, also got a home run from Austin Wynns. Kurtz was 2-for-4 and Brent Rooker was 2-for-3. Tyler Ferguson (2-2) got the win with 1 1/3 innings of scoreless relief, in which he struck out two. Mason Miller pitched the ninth for his 14th save.
The Royals lost their sixth straight and have only scored 11 runs in those games, despite a players-only, closed door meeting after Saturday’s 4-0 loss. Bobby Witt Jr. and Vinnie Pasquantino were each 2-for-4 with an RBI.
Rangers 2, White Sox 1
Ezequiel Duran and Marcus Semien drove in runs to back the pitching of Kumar Rocker and three relievers as Texas did just enough to beat reeling Chicago and sweep the three-game series.
Rocker (2-4) drew the start for Texas after being activated by the team earlier in the day and went five scoreless innings, allowing four hits and a walk and striking out six despite battling dehydration in the fifth inning. He posted his first win since April 17, a stint covering three Major League starts.
Aaron Civale (1-3), who was acquired by the White Sox on Friday in a trade with Milwaukee, gave up two runs on six hits and four walks over five innings while striking out four.
REPORT: RED SOX TRADING RAFAEL DEVERS TO GIANTS IN SURPRISE BLOCKBUSTER
BOSTON (AP) — The Boston Red Sox traded slugger Rafael Devers to the San Francisco Giants on Sunday in a deal that could shake up pennant races on both coasts.
The Giants sent right-hander Jordan Hicks, lefty Kyle Harrison, outfield prospect James Tibbs III and minor league righty Jose Bello to the Red Sox for the 28-year-old designated hitter, who had bristled at his demotion from third base this year.
The Giants are two games back of NL West-leading Los Angeles after losing 5-4 to the Dodgers on Sunday night. San Francisco shortstop Willy Adames said on the ESPN broadcast that the team found out about 15 minutes before the game.
“Everybody’s so excited,” he said during an on-field interview in the second inning. “Me, personally, I’m like thrilled to have him on the team. He’s one of the best hitters in the game, and to have him on the team, I think is going to help us do a lot of damage in the division. Obviously we need a bat like him in this lineup.”
A three-time All-Star who signed a 10-year, $313.5 million contract with the Red Sox in 2023, Devers is batting .272 with 15 homers and 58 RBIs in 73 games, including a solo shot in Boston’s 2-0 victory over the New York Yankees on Sunday that completed a three-game sweep.
But his relationship with the team began to deteriorate when the team signed Gold Glove third baseman Alex Bregman during spring training and asked Devers to move to DH; he balked before agreeing to the switch. When first baseman Triston Casas sustained a season-ending knee injury, the Red Sox approached Devers about playing the field and he declined, saying the front office “ should do their jobs ” and look for another player.
A day after Devers’ comments to the media about playing first, Red Sox owner John Henry, team president Sam Kennedy and chief baseball officer Craig Breslow flew to Kansas City to meet with Devers and manager Alex Cora.
The situation became more difficult when Bregman sustained what the team called a significant right quadriceps injury on May 23.
“Everybody around the league, I think, was paying attention to that. When any team is having some kind of drama like that, with a player like Devers — he basically was the face of the franchise,” Adames said.
“We’re thrilled to have him. Everybody’s excited. So we’re going to make him feel at home,” Adames said. “I feel like it sends a message that we’re going to compete. That we’re going to do whatever it takes to come over here and win the division.”
The Red Sox have won five out of six against the rival Yankees over the last two weekends to improve to 37-36, but they are still fourth in the AL East, 6 1/2 games behind division-leading New York.
Devers was 20 when he made his major league debut with the Red Sox in 2017. He helped the Red Sox win the 2018 World Series and led the team in RBIs for five consecutive seasons from 2020-24. He has finished in the top 20 in voting for AL MVP five times.
The Giants have lacked slugging since Barry Bonds hit 45 homers in 2004 — his 13th straight season with at least 30; they are the only team in the majors who have not had a batter hit 30 homers since then. Devers has hit at least 30 homers in three different seasons.
Devers is not the first Red Sox All-Star to be traded away: The team sent Mookie Betts to the Los Angeles Dodgers before the 2020 season in a salary dump — just a year after he won the AL MVP award and led Boston to a franchise-record 108 wins and its fourth World Series title since 2004.
But the Devers deal is perhaps most reminiscent of the 2004 midseason shakeup when Boston traded disgruntled shortstop — and fan favorite — Nomar Garciaparra to Minnesota.
The Red Sox went on to win the World Series that year, ending their 86-year championship drought.
This is the latest big move by Buster Posey, a seven-time All-Star who took over as San Francisco’s president of baseball operations in September. He signed Justin Verlander to a $15 million, one-year contract in January and Adames to a $182 million, seven-year deal in December.
“It makes them better right now, for sure,” Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw said in a TV interview from the dugout at Dodger Stadium. “Buster Posey’s really doing it. Good for Buster over there. He’s going for it. I’d consider Raffy one of the top 10 hitters in the game, at worst. He’s definitely a game-changer. It will be interesting to see what position he plays over there.”
Harrison, 23, is 9-9 with a 4.48 ERA and 178 strikeouts in 39 games for the Giants over three seasons. Hicks, 28, was 5-12 with a 4.83 ERA and 139 strikeouts in 42 games over two seasons. Tibbs, 22, was the 13th overall pick in last year’s draft; he is hitting .246 with 12 homers and 32 RBIs in 57 games for Single-A Eugene of the Northwest League this season. Bello, 20, is 1-0 with a 2.00 ERA in eight games for the Giants’ rookie league team in Scottsdale, Arizona.
