Wright, Braves keep rolling, beat Pirates 14-2 for sweep

PITTSBURGH (AP) – Kyle Wright allowed two hits over seven efficient innings, Matt Olson hit a grand slam that found the Allegheny River and the Atlanta Braves drilled the sloppy Pittsburgh Pirates 14-2 on Wednesday to complete a three-game sweep. Wright (16-5) struck out eight and walked one to tie Houston’s Justin Verlander and the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Tony Gonsolin for most victories in the majors. Wright needed just 73 pitches to record 21 outs while trimming his ERA to 2.99. Atlanta has won 14 of 16 overall to keep pressure on the NL East-leading New York Mets. The lone highlight for the Pirates came from rookie Oneil Cruz, who ripped the hardest-hit ball since Major League Baseball began measuring exit velocity in 2015. The ball left Cruz’s bat at 122.4 mph and slammed into the 21-foot-high Clemente Wall in right field with two outs in the third. He was held to a single. William Contreras added his 17th home run for Atlanta, bashing a pitch from Mitch Keller (4-10) into the left-field bleachers in the second inning. GUARDIANS 7, PADRES 0 SAN DIEGO (AP) – Cal Quantrill shut down his former team through seven brilliant innings, All-Star José Ramírez homered in consecutive at-bats, and rookie Oscar Gonzalez connected again as AL Central-leading Cleveland completed a two-game sweep of San Diego. Quantrill (10-5) held San Diego scoreless while allowing five hits. The Padres scored only nine runs in a homestand against Washington and Cleveland. Blake Snell (5-7) was a strike away from getting out of the first inning when Ramirez homered to left-center on an 0-2 pitch. He allowed six runs and eight hits in 3 1/3 innings. RANGERS 16, ROCKIES 4 DENVER (AP) – Martín Pérez threw six scoreless innings and Nathaniel Lowe homered and drove in five runs as Texas pounded Colorado. Texas posted its highest-scoring game since 2019 in winning for the fourth time in five games and improving to 6-4 under interim manager Tony Beasley. Pérez (10-4) allowed four hits and walked one while lowering his ERA to 2.69. He struck out seven to give the first-time All-Star a career-high 139. José Ureña (2-5) needed 60 pitches to get four outs, allowing nine runs, 11 hits and three walks. WHITE SOX 5, ORIOLES 3 BALTIMORE (AP) – Lucas Giolito pitched impressively into the seventh inning as Chicago beat Baltimore. Giolito (10-7) allowed one run and four hits in 6 1/3 innings. Kendall Graveman was helped out of a bases-loaded jam in the seventh thanks to third baseman Yoán Moncada, who snagged Jorge Mateo’s bouncer down the line and started a slick double play. The White Sox loaded the bases with one out in the first against Spenser Watkins (4-4), and Gavin Sheets came through with a two-run single. CUBS 7, CARDINALS 1 CHICAGO (AP) – Zach McKinstry homered and drove in three runs as Chicago beat NL Central-leading St. Louis. Rowan Wick (4-6) got five outs for the win, leading a solid performance by the Cubs bullpen. Lars Nootbaar homered for the Cardinals, and Corey Dickerson went 4 for 4. St. Louis dropped to 17-5 in August. Miles Mikolas (10-10) allowed five runs, three earned, in 6 2/3 innings. BLUE JAYS 3, RED SOX 2, 10 INNINGS BOSTON (AP) – George Springer had three hits, including a 10th-inning double on the first pitch from Boston reliever Ryan Brasier (0-3) that scored automatic runner Jackie Bradley Jr., and Toronto beat Boston. Adam Cimber (10-5) pitched a scoreless ninth, giving up one hit. Jordan Romano worked a scoreless 10th inning, issuing an intentional walk to Rafael Devers before getting his 27th save. Franchy Cordero homered in the second off José Berrios to put the Red Sox on top 2-0. PHILLIES 7, REDS 5