Story's Monster slam lands in former Red Sox player's hands

BOSTON (AP) – Trevor Story hit a grand slam over the Green Monster – and into the hands of a former Red Sox player – a night after hitting three over Fenway Park’s fabled left field wall, leading Boston to a 7-3 victory over the Seattle Mariners on Friday night. Story connected on a thigh-high 1-2 slider off Robbie Ray (4-4), driving it into the first row of seats to give Boston a 4-0 lead in the third inning. Former Red Sox outfielder Jonny Gomes, a member of Boston’s 2013 World Series champions, was seated atop the Monster. He moved a few steps to his right and caught Story’s slam against his body, high-fiving the person next to him with a big smile. Jackie Bradley Jr. added a three-run shot for the Red Sox, who won for the seventh time in 10 games following a season-high five-game losing streak. Austin Davis (1-1) relieved starter Michael Wacha with two on and two outs in the fifth, striking out J.P. Crawford before working a perfect sixth for the victory. Abraham Toro hit a two-run homer for the Mariners, who have dropped four of five. DIAMONDBACKS 10, CUBS 6 CHICAGO (AP) – Josh Rojas launched his first three longballs of the season and Arizona powered past Chicago in a game of home run derby at Wrigley Field. With a strong wind blowing out on a warm day, the teams combined to clear the walls 11 times – the Diamondbacks connected seven times. David Peralta went deep twice and Alek Thomas and Christian Walker added solo shots as the Diamondbacks won their second straight after a six-game slide. Humberto Castellanos (3-1) allowed three runs and five hits in 5 1/3 innings for the win. Rojas posted his first three-homer game and third career multi-homer effort. After a flyout in the first inning, he hit a solo homer in the third, a two-run drive in the fifth and another solo home run in the seventh. Jonathan Villar homered and doubled for the Cubs in his 1,000th big league game. Patrick Wisdom hit his seventh homer to end an 0-for-10 slump Cubs rookie Christopher Morel and Ildemaro Vargas also homered. Kyle Hendricks (2-4) yielded a season-high seven runs and eight hits in five innings. BRAVES 5, MARLINS 3 MIAMI (AP) – Ronald Acuña Jr. led off the game with a deep double and later singled and stole a base as Atlanta beat Miami in the Braves slugger’s first game at the stadium where he sustained a season-ending knee injury last year. Acuña didn’t play in the World Series after tearing his knee in a game at Miami on July 10. Because of the synthetic surface at loanDepot Park, the star outfielder is scheduled to be the designated hitter during the weekend series. Marcell Ozuna homered for the third consecutive game, while Dansby Swanson and Travis d’Arnaud also went deep for the Braves. Charlie Morton (3-3) pitched 5 1/3 innings of three-run ball. Will Smith threw a scoreless ninth for his second save. Jorge Soler hit his eighth homer for Miami. It was his first against Atlanta since he was the MVP of the World Series for the champion Braves last season. Atlanta struck quickly against Trevor Rogers (2-5) in the first. Ozzie Albies hit a single that scored Acuña, and Ozuna followed with a two-run shot. Swanson made it 4-0 when he led off the second with his fifth homer. Rogers allowed five runs and eight hits in four innings. RANGERS 3, ASTROS 0 HOUSTON (AP) – Martín Pérez pitched his first shutout since 2014, scattering seven singles as Texas ended Houston’s nine-game home winning streak. It was the first complete-game shutout for Texas since Kyle Gibson beat the Astros 1-0 on Sept. 16, 2020. Pérez (3-2) struck out five, walked one and threw 108 pitches. The 31-year-old lefty won his third straight start and has a 1.64 ERA in eight outings this season. Pérez last threw a shutout on April 23, 2014, against Oakland.