Braves edge Giants 6-5 in matchup of NL division leaders

ATLANTA (AP) – Jorge Soler hit a go-ahead, three-run homer in the seventh inning, Joc Pederson made a leaping catch at the wall for the final out and the Atlanta Braves rallied to beat San Francisco 6-5 on Friday night to end the Giants’ five-game winning streak in a matchup of NL division leaders. Wilmer Flores led off the ninth with a homer against Braves closer Will Smith to trim Atlanta’s lead to one. Buster Posey hit a two-run homer in his return to San Francisco’s lineup. Adam Duvall also homered for the Braves. A.J. Minter (2-4) pitched a scoreless seventh for the win. Losing pitcher Tony Watson (5-4) allowed three hits, a walk and three earned runs. YANKEES 8, ATHLETICS 2 OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) – Giancarlo Stanton homered for a fourth straight game, Aaron Judge hit a three-run shot and New York extended its best winning streak in nearly 60 years to 13 in a win over Oakland. Stanton’s 25th homer was crushed an estimated 472 feet above a suite level into the second deck of left-center. Gerrit Cole (13-6) struck out nine with two walks over six scoreless innings, allowing six hits to win his third straight start. Kyle Higashioka added a two-run homer in the ninth for New York . Matt Olson hit a two-run single for Oakland, which lost its sixth straight game. NATIONALS 2, METS 1 NEW YORK (AP) – Paolo Espino struck out a career-high seven while also singling and scoring a run for the first time in the majors, leading Washington past New York, which lost for the 19th time in 25 games this month. Only two players got beyond first base against Espino and four relievers. Francisco Lindor tripled with two outs in the first and was stranded when Javier Báez, who homered in the fourth, struck out. Espino (4-4) allowed three hits and walked none over five innings. Kyle Finnegan earned his sixth save. Rich Hill (6-6) took the loss. He gave up five hits and walked none with eight strikeouts in five innings. ASTROS 5, RANGERS 4 ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) – Michael Brantley hit a tying, two-run single as the sixth consecutive Houston batter to reach starting the seventh inning, and the AL West-leading Astros rallied to beat last-place Texas. Phil Maton (3-0) got the win despite allowing two runs in his only inning of work. Ryan Pressly worked the ninth for his 20th save in 22 chances. Houston scored when Jake Meyers had a two-run double off Brett Martin (3-4) in the seventh. The Astros took the lead when Martin Maldonado, who had walked before Brantley’s big hit, came home on a grounder by Yuli Gurriel, who beat out the relay throw to avoid an inning-ending double play. Andy Ibañez homered as part of his seventh consecutive game with multiple hits for the Rangers. He had a single in the third to extend his overall hitting streak to 11 games. WHITE SOX 17, CUBS 13 CHICAGO (AP) – Yasmani Grandal homered twice and drove in eight runs in his return from the injured list, and the White Sox beat the sloppy Cubs. The eight RBIs for Grandal matched the franchise record and the career best for the switch-hitting catcher. He also doubled and singled. José Abreu added three hits and two RBIs as the White Sox improved to an AL-best 43-23 at home this year. Luis Robert also had three hits and scored three times, and Yoán Moncada extended his hitting streak to 13 games. The AL Central-leading White Sox improved to 4-0 against the crosstown Cubs, winning the season series for the first time since 2014. The fourth-place Cubs scored six times in the first but couldn’t hold on. Patrick Wisdom homered twice and drove in four runs, and Michael Hermosillo hit a solo shot. Wisdom and Ian Happ connected in the ninth against former Cubs closer Craig Kimbrel before he fanned Austin Romine for the final out.