Author: Ritik

Zack Wheeler threw seven scoreless innings to get his 100th career win, Edmundo Sosa hit a home run, doubled, and drove in two runs, and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Atlanta Braves 3-0 on Saturday night.

Trea Turner also hit a home run for Philadelphia, which now leads the NL East by six games over the Braves. The Phillies have won six of their last eight games.

“He was locked in tonight,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said about Wheeler.

Michael Harris II made a spectacular catch in the seventh inning, preventing Austin Hays from hitting a home run for the Braves. “That’s probably the catch of the year,” Atlanta manager Brian Snitker said.

Wheeler (13-6) struck out seven, walked no one, and allowed four hits. The 34-year-old right-hander threw 65 of his 96 pitches for strikes. The Phillies signed him to a five-year, $118 million deal before the 2020 season.

“It’s special,” Wheeler said about his 100th win. “It’s been a long road. Hard work and just believing in myself and believing in the teams I’ve been on. Just trying to work hard and continue that and just get wins.”

In March, Wheeler signed a three-year, $126 million extension that will keep him with the Phillies until 2027. He has won 56 games with the Phillies after playing for the Mets from 2013 to 2019.

He got his first career win against Atlanta in his debut on June 18, 2013. Wheeler is from Dallas, Ga., about 35 miles northwest of Atlanta.

Wheeler got stronger as the game went on, retiring his last seven batters and leaving to a cheering crowd of 42,730 after a perfect seventh inning.

“I take pride in performing well in big games and moments,” he said. “The crowd was electric tonight, and I was really feeling it.”

Sosa gave Wheeler plenty of support with a massive, 450-foot home run off Max Fried (8-8) to start the third inning.

“To contribute so early and give us a head start was a very good feeling,” Sosa said through an interpreter.

Turner hit a 3-2, 95-mph fastball from Fried into the seats in left field in the sixth inning to make it 2-0. Sosa’s double in the seventh inning scored Weston Wilson, giving Philadelphia a 3-0 lead.

Jeff Hoffman struck out two in a scoreless eighth inning, and Carlos Estévez finished the shutout with his 23rd save in 27 chances, and his third in four tries since joining the Phillies on July 27.

The lead could have been larger if Harris hadn’t made a fantastic catch. He leaped at the wall to catch Hays’ drive to center field leading off the seventh inning. Harris caught the ball over his right shoulder while crashing into the railing.

He almost flipped over the wall but managed to pull himself back and held his glove up to show the catch.

“It hit perfectly in my glove, and as I was coming back, I saw the Phillies pitchers in awe,” Harris said. “That’s when I really knew I caught it. It was pretty cool to make that catch.”

Hays took off his helmet and raised it in admiration as he reached second base. “It’s just the feel and natural talent,” Snitker said about making the catch. “You can’t teach that. He’s must-see TV.”

Fried allowed three runs on five hits, with four strikeouts and four walks in seven innings.

Leody Taveras hit a game-winning single with one out in the ninth inning, and the Texas Rangers defeated the Oakland Athletics 3-2 on Saturday night.

With the bases loaded, Taveras, batting ninth, hit a grounder through the middle and past the infield, bringing pinch-runner Ezequiel Duran home with the winning run.

“Didn’t hit the ball hard there in the ninth, but we put it in play, and you saw what happened,” Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said.

Athletics reliever Tyler Ferguson (2-2), who had struck out three batters in the eighth inning, hit Nathaniel Lowe with a pitch to start the ninth.

Carson Kelly then reached base on a bloop single that fell between second baseman Zack Gelof and right fielder Lawrence Butler. Duran replaced Lowe on second base, and Travis Jankowski walked with one out.

“Hit batter got some momentum for them, and the blooper into right field, that’s a tough play … landed right in the middle of them,” A’s manager Mark Kotsay said. “Bad luck in the ninth inning.”

All-Star closer Kirby Yates (6-2) managed to scorelessly through the ninth inning despite allowing a single and a walk.

The reigning World Series champion Rangers (64-71), who led the American League with 5.43 runs per game last year, have been held to four or fewer runs for the sixth game in a row and the 12th time in their last 15 games.

They are 23-16 in one-run games and have won their last six one-run games. Jonah Heim’s 12th home run, a two-run shot in the second inning, put Texas ahead 2-0.

Griffin Conine hit his first career home run, and the Miami Marlins won 4-3 against the San Francisco Giants on Saturday night.

Conine, whose father is Jeff Conine, a long-time Marlins player, made his major league debut on Monday and got his first hit on Tuesday. His first home run was a two-run shot that hit the right-field foul pole in the second inning. He hit a fastball from Giants pitcher Mason Black to give the Marlins a 2-0 lead.

Black threw Conine only fastballs during that at-bat, and Conine managed to hit the fifth one — which was 92 mph — just fair. The ball would have been a home run in only two major league parks: Oracle Park and Fenway Park.

“I couldn’t hear anything, and I heard everything at the same time,” Conine said about his feelings while rounding the bases. “I felt like I was floating. It was a dream-like scenario. I’m just trying to replay it in my mind.”

Conine got the ball back from the fan who caught it, in exchange for a bat, a photo, and another ball. The home run ball, marked with a yellow spot from hitting the foul pole, is now in a glass display case.

He received a text from his dad, who didn’t travel to San Francisco, saying, “Call me.”

Marlins manager Skip Schumaker praised Conine for taking full advantage of his chance.

“The guy works his tail off,” Schumaker said. “So it’s not surprising when all the hard work is equaling good luck. I love the demeanor. I love the work ethic. All that stuff is contagious.”

The Giants’ Michael Conforto hit a home run in the eighth inning to make the score 4-3, but Calvin Faucher retired the Giants in the ninth to earn his fifth save.

San Francisco (68-69) is still 6 1/2 games behind in the National League playoff race, with four teams ahead of them.

Austin Wells hit two two-run homers, one in the third inning and another in the eighth, leading the New York Yankees to a 6-3 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday night.

Wells hit his first homer in the third inning off Erick Fedde (8-8), giving the Yankees a 4-2 lead. He hit his second homer later off Riley O’Brien to extend the lead to 6-3.

This was Wells’ first game with multiple home runs. The rookie catcher is hitting .346 (28 for 81) with five homers and 21 RBIs in 20 games as the Yankees’ cleanup hitter, mostly protecting Aaron Judge when the team faces right-handed pitchers.

“I’m having a lot of fun with it,” Wells said about hitting behind Judge. “I’m accepting it and embracing the challenge.”

Wells is also hitting .327 (35 for 107) with six homers and 22 RBIs in his last 30 games since July 21, raising his average by 44 points to .256.

“You go back, the catching was ahead of where we expected last year and at the start of this year, kind of waiting on the bat to come and it sure has,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said.

“He puts together really good at-bats and then he’s got that power in there, too. So this is what we’ve seen from him now for probably more than a couple of months, just a real middle of the order presence.”

Marcus Stroman (10-6) gave up two runs and nine hits in seven tough innings to earn his third straight win. He completed seven innings for the first time since May 31 and is 3-0 with a 2.35 ERA in his last four starts.

“I feel like he’s getting better and better as the season progresses,” Stroman said of Wells, who was New York’s first-round pick in 2020. “Incredible backstop and we all feel amazingly confident with him behind the plate and he’s been swinging it.”

Paul Goldschmidt had three hits off Stroman, including an RBI single in the third that gave the Cardinals a short-lived 2-1 lead. Brendan Donovan added an RBI single after third baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. couldn’t secure his foul out on the previous pitch.

Pablo López pitched 7 2/3 scoreless innings, and Jhoan Duran bounced back from a tough game to secure the save as the Minnesota Twins ended their four-game losing streak with a 2-0 win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday night.

López (13-8) gave up six hits, struck out three, and didn’t walk any batters. The 28-year-old right-hander extended his career-best streak of innings without allowing a run to 20 2/3 and secured his fourth win in his last five games.

Even though López had one of his lowest strikeout counts of the season, he managed to get 14 outs with ground balls, which was part of his strategy.

“We knew going into the game that some hitters don’t strike out much. But if you make good pitches, you might get quick outs,” López said. “It just needs to be quality.”

López recorded the first two outs in the eighth inning before giving up a single on his 100th pitch.

After Twins manager Rocco Baldelli visited the mound but decided to keep López in, López allowed another single. Griffin Jax came in and struck out Daulton Varsho to end the inning.

“I wanted to give him a chance to finish the inning,” Baldelli said. “But once there were runners on first and second with two outs, I thought it was better to bring Griff in. He did a great job.”

Duran, who struggled in the last game, managed to get through an inning with a leadoff single and earned his 19th save in 21 opportunities.

Kevin Gausman (12-10), who had won six of his previous seven starts, gave up two runs on four hits and walked four in 5 2/3 innings, leading to his loss. He fell to 1-5 with a 6.61 ERA against the Twins in his career.

With nearly $40 million owed over the next two years for a pitcher with a 6.50 ERA this season, the Philadelphia Phillies have moved Taijuan Walker to the bullpen, making the 33-year-old right-hander a long reliever for the remainder of the season.

Phillies manager Rob Thomson informed Walker of the move before the start of Thursday’s four-game series against the Atlanta Braves.

Walker (3-6) had not won a game since May 22 for the Phillies, who lead the NL East, and had lost his last six decisions. He allowed six runs on 13 hits in six innings during a 10-0 loss to Houston on Wednesday and did not record any strikeouts.

The Phillies have lost his last nine starts.

Walker signed a four-year, $72 million contract before the 2023 season.

“The perfect situation would be one inning, low leverage, and then start building from there,” Thomson said.

Thomson did not name a new fifth starter, but Tyler Phillips, who had a strong performance in July, is a likely candidate to take Walker’s place in the rotation. The next turn for the rotation would be Tuesday in Toronto.

Thomson said Walker was a “complete professional” when he was told about the change. Walker is 0-4 with a 9.17 ERA in four starts since returning from the injured list with a right finger injury.

“I’m hoping his stuff will tick up, the velocity will tick up,” Thomson said. “He’ll get out there and just pound the ball through the zone.”

Walker, who is 6-foot-4, made the All-Star team for the first time in 2021 after a strong start to the season, but finished with a 7-11 record and a 4.47 ERA in 30 games, 29 of which were starts. He has a career record of 72-62 with a 4.12 ERA, having played for Seattle, Toronto, the Mets, and the Phillies.