Rays' 11-game streak halted by Royals, 2-1

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) – The Tampa Bay Rays’ 11-game winning streak came to an end Tuesday night when Brad Keller pitched seven strong innings and Salvador Perez hit a tiebreaking RBI single to give the Kansas City Royals a 2-1 victory. Rich Hill struck out a career-high 13 for the Rays. Tampa Bay’s winning string was the second-longest in club history, one shy of the record set in 2004 by the then-Devil Rays managed by Lou Piniella. Keller (4-4) allowed one run, four hits, four walks and struck out seven. Jake Brentz went 1 1/3 innings before Kyle Zimmer got two outs to get his second save. Perez put the Royals up 2-1 on a sixth-inning single off Hill (3-2). Hill became the oldest player to appear in a game with the Rays at 41 years, 75 days. Hall of Famer Wade Boggs was 41 years, 73 days old when he played his final game on Aug. 27, 1999. WHITE SOX 8, CARDINALS 3 CHICAGO (AP) – Lucas Giolito beat Jack Flaherty in a major league matchup of former high school teammates, leading Chicago over sloppy St. Louis. The Harvard-Westlake High reunion also had a little history behind the plate, with Joe West working a record 5,376th regular-season game, snapping a tie with Hall of Fame umpire Bill Klem. Giolito (4-4) pitched six innings of two-run ball in his second straight win, easily getting the better of a shaky Flaherty hurt by another poor defensive performance by the Cardinals. Flaherty (8-1), leading the majors in wins, lasted just 3 2/3 innings in his shortest outing of the season. José Abreu homered and drove in four runs for Chicago, which earned its second straight win since it was swept by the Yankees over the weekend. Liam Hendriks entered with the bases loaded in the ninth and struck out the side for his 10th save. St. Louis committed a season-high three errors in its fourth loss in five games. DODGERS 9, ASTROS 2 HOUSTON (AP) – Clayton Kershaw pitched into the eighth inning in his first game against Houston since the 2017 World Series, and Justin Turner hit a two-run homer for Los Angeles. Kershaw (7-3) allowed a run and four hits in 7 2/3 innings and Chris Taylor drove in two runs as the Dodgers got their eighth straight victory. Astros fans made up the bulk of the 34,443 crowd in the first full-capacity game in Houston since the pandemic, but Dodger blue also dotted the stands in the rematch of the 2017 World Series. Houston won that title over Los Angeles, a championship later tainted when it was revealed the Astros illicitly stole signs that season. The Astros lost their fourth straight game as Jose Altuve went 0 for 4 to snap a 17-game hitting streak, which was the longest in the majors this season and the second-longest of his career. Houston starter Zack Greinke (4-2) yielded three hits and four runs in six innings on a night the 18-year veteran became the 135th pitcher in MLB history to reach 3,000 career innings. METS 3, ROCKIES 1 NEW YORK (AP) – Jacob deGrom struck out nine in a successful return from the injured list and Tomás Nido hit a tiebreaking homer to send depleted New York past Colorado. Back from a bout with tightness on his right side, deGrom gave up only Ryan McMahon’s solo homer in five innings of three-hit ball. The two-time Cy Young Award winner walked none and was removed after 63 pitches. Nido connected for a two-run shot off Chi Chi Gonzalez (2-3) in the sixth after Dominic Smith singled. The Mets (22-20) remained atop the NL East despite a major league-most 16 players on the injured list. Miguel Castro (1-1) struck out four in two hitless innings for the win. Edwin Díaz whiffed three in the ninth for his eighth save. Colorado had won a season-best four straight. BLUE JAYS 6, YANKEES 2