Rays beat Red Sox 9-5 to take AL East lead

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) – Wander Franco had two key run-scoring hits, the Tampa Bay bullpen worked out of a pair of bases-loaded jams and the Rays moved into first place in the AL East with a 9-5 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Saturday night. Franco’s RBI triple off Nathan Eovaldi (9-6) gave Tampa Bay a 6-5 lead in the sixth. Francoi added a run-scoring single during a three-run eighth that made it 9-5. Francisco Mejía had a two-run single in the eighth. Andrew Kittredge (7-1) fell behind Christian Vázquez 3-0 with the bases loaded and one out in the sixth, but rebounded to get the strikeout. He kept the game tied at 5 when he fanned Bobby Dalbec on three pitches. Mejía and Ji-Man Choi homered for the Rays. Xander Bogaerts and Dalbec homered for the Red Sox, who had at least a share of the divisional lead since June 28 but fell a half-game behind Tampa Bay. YANKEES 4, MARLINS 2 MIAMI (AP) – Anthony Rizzo homered in his second consecutive game since joining the Yankees, leading New York over Miami on a night Marlins manager Don Mattingly missed the game after testing positive for COVID-19. Obtained from the Chicago Cubs on Thursday, Rizzo drove a sinker from reliever Steven Otker near the right field upper deck in the seventh for his 16th homer. Rizzo also singled, walked twice, was hit by a pitch and scored the go-ahead run. He is 4 for 5 and has reached base eight times in two games with New York. Bench coach James Rowson managed the Marlins in Mattingly’s absence. Lucas Luetge (4-1) struck out four of six batters he retired in two scoreless innings. Chad Green followed with a perfect eighth. Jonathan Loaisiga got his third save in five chances. David Hess (2-1) was the loser. ANGELS 1, ATHLETICS 0 ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) – Shohei Ohtani ended a long run drought with an RBI double, Jaime Barria outdueled Cole Irvin and Los Angeles beat Oakland. The Japanese two-way sensation lined a double to right-center in the third that drove in Matt Thaiss and ended the Angels’ string of 29 scoreless innings against the Athletics. It was Ohtani’s 82nd RBI of the season, which is one behind Toronto’s Vladimir Guerrero Jr. for the major league lead. Barria (2-0) was outstanding in his second start of the season, pitching 6 2/3 innings and retiring 10 straight at one point. The right-hander gave up six hits and struck out three with one walk and a hit batter. Steve Cishek and José Quijada came on in relief, and Raisel Iglesias retired the side in the ninth for his 22nd save in 27 opportunities. Irvin (7-10) worked 6 1/3 innings, allowing one run on five hits with six strikeouts. GIANTS 8, ASTROS 6 SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – San Francisco hit five home runs, four off Astros ace Zack Greinke, and beat Houston in an interleague matchup of division leaders. Darin Ruf, Donovan Solano, Wilmer Flores and LaMonte Wade Jr. connected off Greinke. Mike Yastrzemski added a later shot to help the Giants become the first team in the majors with 65 wins. Brandon Crawford hit a tiebreaking single in the sixth inning for the Giants. Aledmys Díaz homered twice on his 31st birthday for the Astros, and Martín Maldonado also connected. Jay Jackson (2-0) retired three batters to win. Jake McGee pitched the ninth for his 22nd save. Blake Taylor (2-3) was the loser. BLUE JAYS 4, ROYALS 0 TORONTO (AP) – George Springer hit two home runs, Alek Manoah pitched seven dominant innings and Toronto beat Kansas City for its third straight victory. Activated off the 10-day injured list before the game, Manoah (3-1) allowed just two singles. The rookie right-hander hadn’t pitched since July 9 after slipping on the dugout steps and hurting his back in Toronto’s first series following the All-Star break.