Astros throw 2 immaculate innings in 9-2 win over Rangers

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) – Astros starter Luis Garcia and reliever Phil Maton each threw an immaculate inning – nine pitches, three strikeouts – and Martín Maldonado keyed a six-run first inning that sent Houston over the Texas Rangers 9-2 on Wednesday. Maldonado hit a two-run double in the first and later homered for the AL West-leading Astros. Garcia (4-5) struck out nine without a walk over six innings while limiting Texas to two runs and four hits. He had a span of five consecutive strikeouts that began with an immaculate second inning – when he threw only nine pitches to strike out Nathaniel Lowe, Ezequiel Duran and Brad Miller. Those were the first three batters Maton faced after replacing Garcia to start the seventh. And Maton also recorded a nine-pitch, three-strikeout inning. Astros and Rangers officials said it was the first time in MLB history to have two nine-pitch, three-strikeout innings in the same game – either both by one team, or each team recording one. The Astros sent 11 batters to the plate in the first inning. The first nine faced fill-in starter Tyson Miller (0-1). PHILLIES 3, MARLINS 1 PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Garrett Stubbs hit a three-run homer with two out in the ninth inning, sending Philadelphia past Miami. Alec Bohm sparked the winning rally with a one-out single against Tanner Scott (2-2). Pinch-hitter J.T. Realmuto walked before Yairo Muñoz struck out swinging. That brought Stubbs to the plate, and he drove a 2-2 fastball deep to right for his third homer. Kyle Gibson pitched eight-plus innings for Philadelphia before Connor Brogdon (2-0) got three outs. WHITE SOX 13, TIGERS 0 DETROIT (AP) – Yoán Moncada had five hits and five RBIs and Chicago completed a three-game sweep of Detroit. Moncada, Danny Mendick and Seby Zavala homered for Chicago. The White Sox finished with 22 hits, compared to four for the Tigers. Davis Martin (1-2) pitched 5 1/3 innings of three-hit ball. Tigers starter Alex Faedo (1-3) allowed seven runs and nine hits in three-plus innings. Tigers manager A.J. Hinch gave up on his pitching staff after six innings, using position players including Kody Clemens, who made his pitching debut. The 26-year-old’s father, Roger, won seven Cy Young Awards. DIAMONDBACKS 7, REDS 4 PHOENIX (AP) – Zac Gallen pitched seven effective innings despite an early bout of wildness, and Arizona used a four-run eighth inning to top Cincinnati. Geraldo Perdomo hit a two-run homer for the Diamondbacks, who avoided a three-game sweep. Arizona went ahead to stay on David Peralta’s one-out RBI single against Art Warren (2-3). Brandon Drury hit his 13th homer for Cincinnati, a tying shot with two outs in the eighth off Noe Ramirez (2-1). Luis Castillo pitched seven innings of four-hit ball for the Reds. Gallen retired his final 16 batters. He struck out five and allowed just two hits without walking a batter. TWINS 5, MARINERS 0 SEATTLE (AP) – Ryan Jeffers hit an RBI single off the center-field wall to break a scoreless tie in the seventh inning Minnesota beat Seattle. Twins starter Sonny Gray, making his first appearance since going on the injured list with a strained pectoral muscle on June 2, threw five shutout innings. Five Twins relievers then completed the five-hitter. Griffin Jax (4-0) followed Gray and struck out two in one inning. Mariners starter Marco Gonzales (3-7) allowed one run and three hits in 6 2/3 innings. ROYALS 3, GIANTS 2 SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – Whit Merrifield broke a 2-2 tie with an eighth-inning sacrifice fly and Kansas City edged San Francisco to avoid a three-game sweep. Brandon Belt homered for the Giants, whose five-game winning streak ended.