Major League Baseball’s Sunday schedule featured dramatic late-inning rallies, dominant pitching performances and several lopsided victories as all 30 teams were in action on August 23.
The Chicago White Sox defeated the New York Mets 2-1 at Rate Field on a walk-off home run by Tristan Peters. Andrew Benintendi broke a scoreless tie with an RBI double in the bottom of the eighth, scoring Miguel Vargas. Jared Young answered with an RBI single in the top of the ninth to tie the game at 1-1. Peters then hit a 406-foot solo home run off Kodai Senga with one out in the bottom of the ninth to end the game. Grant Taylor earned the win despite allowing the tying run in the ninth, while Senga fell to 0-9. Mets starter Nolan McLean pitched six scoreless innings, allowing only one hit while striking out six. The game drew 27,721 fans.
The Philadelphia Phillies staged one of the day’s biggest comebacks, scoring six runs in the bottom of the ninth to defeat the St. Louis Cardinals 6-4 at Citizens Bank Park. St. Louis built a 4-0 lead behind two RBI singles from Alec Burleson, a solo home run by José Fermín and an RBI single from JJ Wetherholt. Philadelphia remained scoreless until the ninth, when Edmundo Sosa cleared the bases with a three-run double. Bryan De La Cruz followed with an RBI single to tie the game before Kyle Schwarber blasted a two-run, 459-foot walk-off home run with two outs. Alex McFarlane earned the win, improving to 3-1, while Riley O’Brien took the loss.
The Athletics erased a six-run deficit to defeat the Houston Astros 7-6. Houston jumped ahead with three runs in the first inning and eventually built a 6-0 advantage through four. The Athletics responded with six runs in the fifth, highlighted by a three-run homer from Christian Serven, an RBI double and a two-run single. Max Muncy completed the comeback with a 409-foot solo home run in the seventh inning to put the Athletics ahead 7-6. J.T. Perkins earned the victory, Steven Okert took the loss and Hogan Harris recorded his 13th save.
The Boston Red Sox rallied from an early three-run deficit to defeat the San Francisco Giants 5-4 at Fenway Park and complete a series sweep. The Giants took a 3-0 lead over the first two innings, with Jonah Cox adding a solo home run in the second. Nick Sogard began Boston’s comeback with a solo homer in the bottom of the second. The Red Sox eventually scored three runs in the fourth to move ahead 5-3. Ceddanne Rafaela finished with three hits and two RBIs. Jake Bennett earned the victory after striking out six over seven innings, while Aroldis Chapman worked a scoreless ninth for his 29th save.
The Chicago Cubs overwhelmed the Seattle Mariners 19-2 at T-Mobile Park. Seattle took a 2-0 lead through the first two innings, including a solo home run from Randy Arozarena, but Chicago exploded for five runs in the third. Michael Conforto opened the inning with a solo homer and Ian Happ later launched a grand slam. Pedro Ramírez added another grand slam during a nine-run eighth inning, while Pete Crow-Armstrong also homered. Happ and Ramírez each finished with five RBIs. Aaron Civale earned the win, while Bryce Miller took the loss as the Cubs avoided a three-game sweep.
The Los Angeles Dodgers shut out the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-0 at Dodger Stadium behind six scoreless innings from Blake Snell. Shohei Ohtani scored the first run in the opening inning when Mookie Betts grounded into a double play. Alek Thomas and Hunter Feduccia delivered RBI singles in the fourth, and Max Muncy brought home Freddie Freeman with a groundout in the fifth. Snell allowed only two hits and struck out six while improving to 2-1. Lake Bachar took the loss. The victory was the Dodgers’ sixth straight and completed a three-game sweep of Pittsburgh.
The Kansas City Royals defeated the Detroit Tigers 11-7 at Kauffman Stadium for their eighth consecutive victory. Kevin McGonigle gave Detroit an early lead with an RBI double, but Kansas City erupted for five runs in the second. Kyle Isbel drove in two with a single before Nick Loftin hit a three-run homer. Detroit rallied to tie the game 5-5 in the fifth, with McGonigle hitting a two-run homer, but Kansas City immediately answered. Vinnie Pasquantino and Salvador Perez hit RBI doubles and John Rave followed with a two-run homer. Isbel and Loftin added RBI singles in the eighth. John Schreiber earned the win for Kansas City.
The New York Yankees defeated the Toronto Blue Jays 8-3 at Yankee Stadium. Spencer Jones and Austin Wells hit RBI doubles in the second inning to give New York a 2-0 advantage. Toronto tied the game with sacrifice flies from Brett Bateman and Daz Cameron, but the Yankees took control in the sixth. Trent Grisham drew a bases-loaded walk to break the tie and Ben Rice followed with a two-run single for a 5-2 lead. Jazz Chisholm Jr. added a two-run homer in the seventh, and Grisham hit a solo homer in the eighth. Paul Blackburn earned the win, while José Soriano took the loss.
The Tampa Bay Rays defeated the Baltimore Orioles 3-1 at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Nick Martinez delivered six innings of one-hit, scoreless baseball, striking out four without issuing a walk. Tampa Bay scored all three of its runs in the sixth inning, with Junior Caminero and Chandler Simpson delivering RBI singles during the rally. Baltimore was held scoreless until Colton Cowser hit a solo home run in the bottom of the ninth. Bryan Baker recorded his 37th save despite allowing the homer, while Martinez improved to 13-4.
The Miami Marlins defeated the Washington Nationals 6-2 at loanDepot park to complete a three-game sweep. Miami scored first before Dylan Crews doubled home Daylen Lile in the fourth to tie the game. Xavier Edwards delivered the decisive blow in the fifth with a two-run single that put the Marlins back in front. Joe Mack finished with two RBIs, while Otto Lopez added a sacrifice fly as Miami pulled away. Michael Petersen earned the victory, improving to 3-3, while Jacob Kent took the loss.
The Texas Rangers defeated the Los Angeles Angels 5-3 at Globe Life Field behind six scoreless innings from Cal Quantrill. Ezequiel Durán opened the scoring with a solo home run in the second inning. Cody Freeman followed with an RBI triple before Elias Díaz added a sacrifice fly. Díaz homered in the fifth and Brandon Nimmo drove in Corey Seager with a sacrifice fly to make it 5-0. The Angels rallied for three runs in the eighth on a Zach Neto home run, a Josh Lowe sacrifice fly and a Gustavo Campero RBI single. Quantrill allowed six hits, walked none and struck out six, extending his scoreless streak to 15 innings. Jacob Latz recorded his 26th save. The win moved Texas into a tie with Houston atop the AL West at 65-66.
The Cleveland Guardians defeated the Colorado Rockies 7-2 at Coors Field to complete a three-game sweep. Chase DeLauter had three hits, including two triples, and drove in two runs. Jo Adell also collected two RBIs, while Steven Kwan went 2-for-5 and scored twice. Cleveland scored three times in the first and twice in the second to take early control. Foster Griffin allowed two earned runs over five innings to improve to 15-4. The victory was Cleveland’s fourth straight and sixth in its last eight games.
The San Diego Padres defeated the Minnesota Twins 8-1 at Petco Park to finish a three-game sweep. Fernando Tatis Jr. went 4-for-5 with two home runs and four RBIs. Brooks Lee homered for Minnesota in the fifth to tie the game, but San Diego broke it open in the sixth. Luis Rengifo hit a two-run double and Tatis followed with a two-run single. Jackson Merrill added a solo home run in the seventh, Xander Bogaerts drove in another run with a double, and Tatis hit his second homer in the eighth. Walker Buehler earned the victory after pitching six strong innings as San Diego won for the 11th time in 14 games.
The Arizona Diamondbacks rallied from a three-run deficit to defeat the Cincinnati Reds 5-3 at Chase Field. Cincinnati scored three times in the third inning on an RBI single by Sal Stewart and a two-run single from Eugenio Suárez. Gabriel Moreno’s sacrifice fly cut the deficit to 3-1 in the sixth before Arizona erupted for four runs in the seventh. Lars Nootbaar brought home Tim Tawa with a groundout, and Ildemaro Vargas followed with a go-ahead two-run triple that scored Jordan Lawlar and James McCann. Corbin Carroll added a sacrifice fly to score Vargas and make it 5-3. Jonathan Loáisiga earned the win and Kevin Ginkel recorded the save as Arizona remained in the National League wild-card race.
The Atlanta Braves defeated the Milwaukee Brewers 4-2 in the Little League Classic at Journey Bank Ballpark at Historic Bowman Field in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Mauricio Dubón gave Atlanta the lead with an RBI ground-rule double in the second inning before Jake Bauers tied the game with an RBI single in the third. Sean Murphy put Atlanta back ahead in the fourth, and the Braves added another run in the sixth. Milwaukee pulled within one on an RBI triple in the eighth, but Michael Harris II gave Atlanta insurance with a solo home run in the ninth. Tyler Mahle earned the victory after allowing one run over five innings, while Raisel Iglesias recorded his 27th save.