Jimmy Crooks hit a go-ahead solo home run in the eighth inning on Friday to lift the St. Louis Cardinals to a 2-1 victory over the visiting Atlanta Braves.

After a rain delay of nearly three hours in the top of the fourth derailed the game, Crooks hit his second home run of the season off Atlanta’s Danny Young (0-1) to help the Cardinals claim the series opener. Kyle Leahy threw three scoreless frames, surrendering a single and striking out two for St. Louis before being replaced by George Soriano after the delay.

JoJo Romero (1-2) tossed a perfect eighth inning to earn the win, and first-time All-Star Riley O’Brien posted his 23rd save in 27 tries for the Cardinals, who had dropped five of six entering the game.

Chris Sale started for Atlanta, allowing two hits in three scoreless innings, striking out five and walking one before the delay. Victor Mederos threw a pair of impressive innings in relief for Atlanta, which mustered just three hits. Austin Riley’s fifth-inning RBI single accounted for the Braves’ only run, as the visitors lost their fourth game in six tries.

In the bottom of the third, Blaze Jordan ripped a one-out double for the game’s first extra-base hit. After Sale issued a two-out walk to JJ Wetherholt, Ivan Herrera’s flyout ended the threat.

With Ozzie Albies leading off in the fourth, the game was halted by rain. After the delay, Soriano struck out Albies before retiring Matt Olson and Drake Baldwin.

Atlanta struck first in the fifth, though, as Mike Yasztremski doubled and scored on Riley’s RBI single. Justin Bruihl then relieved Soriano and threw 1 2/3 scoreless frames.

Didier Fuentes took over in the sixth for the Braves, allowing a one-out walk to Wetherholt and consecutive singles to Herrera and Jordan Walker, tying the score at one apiece.

The St. Louis bullpen retired the final seven Atlanta batters in order, with two of them flying out to the warning track.

–Field Level Media

Tristan Peters finished 4-for-4 with four RBIs while hitting for the cycle and Sean Burke pitched seven sharp innings as the host Chicago White Sox routed the slumping Athletics 14-1 on Friday.

Chicago stopped a three-game losing streak while sending the Athletics to their season-high seventh straight defeat.

Andrew Benintendi, Sam Antonacci and Peters delivered RBI hits in a decisive four-run fifth inning for the White Sox, who remained in a first-place tie with Cleveland atop the American League Central.

Peters bookended an eight-run seventh with a two-run home run and two-run triple to become the first White Sox player to hit for the cycle since Jose Abreu in 2017. He’s the third player to hit for the cycle in the majors this season.

Burke (6-4) benefited from the support to notch his third victory in five starts. He limited the Athletics to one run and four hits in seven innings, with Tyler Soderstrom’s solo home run in the seventh the lone blemish.

Tigers 10, Phillies 2

Kevin McGonigle and Spencer Torkelson hit two-run homers and streaking Detroit powered past visiting Philadelphia.

Colt Keith added a solo shot in Detroit’s sixth straight victory and ninth in its last 10 games. Riley Greene reached base four times and scored twice, while James Outman supplied a two-run triple. Jack Flaherty (3-8) held the Phillies to two runs and two hits in six innings.

Philadelphia starter Aaron Nola gave up two runs and three hits with eight strikeouts in five innings. Derek Hill led the Phillies offense with three hits, including a solo homer, and two RBIs.

Rockies 4, Giants 3

Kyle Karros flipped a deficit into a lead with a two-run single, Cole Carrigg padded the advantage with a sacrifice fly and visiting Colorado rallied for three runs in the ninth inning to stun San Francisco.

Giants closer Caleb Kilian (2-5) didn’t retire any of the four batters he faced, allowing a single to Mickey Moniak, a walk to pinch hitter Troy Johnson and a bunt single to Jake McCarthy, setting up Karros’ hit through a drawn-in infield. Antonio Senzatela (9-1), who pitched a scoreless eighth, was credited with the win.

Giants starter Robbie Ray allowed only one run on four hits and six walks in five-plus innings. Rafael Devers totaled three RBIs, while Luis Arraez joined his teammate with three hits for the Giants, who fell to 2-3 on their week-long homestand.

Orioles 5, Royals 3

Samuel Basallo hit a two-run tiebreaking home run in the bottom of the eighth inning to lift host Baltimore to a victory against Kansas City in the opener of a three-game series.

Blaze Alexander homered in the fourth inning and was the only Oriole with two hits as they totaled nine. Baltimore has won back-to-back games following a three-game losing streak.

Jac Caglianone and Isaac Collins homered for the Royals, who lost their third game in a row and for the seventh time in their last 10 games. Josh Rojas joined Caglianone and Collins with two hits apiece as Kansas City totaled nine.

Reds 4, Cubs 0

Elly De La Cruz and JJ Bleday homered, Hunter Greene tossed seven strong innings and host Cincinnati opened the three-game series with a shutout of Chicago.

De La Cruz hit a solo homer and tripled for the Reds, who out-hit the Cubs 13-4 and won for just the fourth time in their last 12 games. Bleday slugged a two-run homer and Spencer Steer had three hits. Greene (1-1) yielded three hits and struck out 12 batters in his second start back from elbow surgery in March.

Seiya Suzuki had two hits for Chicago, which struck out 16 times and was blanked for the ninth time this season. De La Cruz ended Cincinnati’s 15-inning scoreless drought with a leadoff homer in the fifth inning against Shota Imanaga (5-8). The 400-foot liner was his 15th homer of the season.

Guardians 3, Marlins 2

Parker Messick took a no-hit bid into the sixth inning and Chase DeLauter slugged a two-run homer as Cleveland cooled off host Miami.

Messick (8-5) lasted six innings, allowing one hit and one run. The left-hander struck out just one batter, but he induced 10 ground balls.

Sandy Alcantara (10-5) allowed five hits and three runs while fanning eight in seven innings. Miami had its six-game win streak snapped. Miami got a homer from Heriberto Hernandez to break up the no-hit bid while Leo Jimenez also went deep.

Rays 7, Mariners 2

Nick Martinez posted his eighth win on the day he was named to his first All-Star team, and Tampa Bay opened the final series before the break with a victory over Seattle in St. Petersburg, Fla.

Martinez (8-2) tossed 5 1/3 innings, yielding two runs on four hits. Junior Caminero went 2-for-4 with a homer — his 28th of the year and 13th in 17 games — a double, two RBIs, two runs and a walk. Victor Mesa Jr. (homer), Jonathan Aranda (double) and Chandler Simpson had three hits apiece.

Cole Young hit a home run, and J.P. Crawford was 2-for-4 with a run as the Mariners lost their fourth straight. Starter Luis Castillo (3-8) allowed four runs on nine hits over five innings.

Rangers 7, Astros 3

Wyatt Langford slugged a tiebreaking home run as Texas exploded for four runs in the bottom of the eighth inning en route to a win over Houston in Arlington, Texas.

Langford answered the Astros’ rally from a three-run deficit with his ninth homer of the season. It marked the first homer left-handed reliever Bryan King (2-2) has allowed to a right-handed hitter this season. Three batters later, Jake Burger joined Langford in that exclusive category with his three-run shot.

Trailing 3-0 entering the top of the sixth, Yordan Alvarez blasted his 30th home run of the season and 200th of his career leading off the sixth. Yainer Diaz clubbed a two-run homer that knotted the score at 3-3 in the seventh, setting up the Rangers’ rally.

Red Sox 6, Mets 2

Wilyer Abreu had a two-run homer among his three hits, Anthony Seigler was 2-for-5 with a two-run homer and Boston capped an eventful day by beating host New York for its seventh straight win.

The first pitch was pushed back from 7:15 to 7:51 p.m. ET after the Red Sox didn’t land at nearby LaGuardia Airport until after 4 p.m. ET. Sonny Gray (11-1) won his ninth straight decision after giving up one run on five hits and one walk while striking out three over six innings.

Brett Baty homered and went 3-for-4 as he extended his career-long hitting streak to 10 games for the Mets, who lost for the second time in six games.

Angels 4, Twins 3

Vaughn Grissom hit a solo home run and sacrifice fly and Grayson Rodriguez threw 5 1/3 solid innings to lead Los Angeles to a win over host Minnesota.

Grissom hit his fifth home run of the season in the fourth inning, and the Angels built a 4-1 lead and held on after Rodriguez (3-2) left the game having allowed three earned runs on six hits.

Josh Bell, Trevor Larnach and Brooks Lee each hit two doubles for Minnesota, which went 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position.

Yankees 5, Nationals 3

Jazz Chisholm Jr. hit a go-ahead two-run homer in the ninth inning and New York rallied past Washington to win consecutive games for the first time since June 23-24.

Jasson Dominguez singled with one out against Matt Krook (0-1) before Chisholm homered. Austin Wells provided some insurance when he followed with his own homer, and Ben Rice hit his 29th homer in the first inning. Ryan Weathers allowed a run on six hits over 5 1/3 innings, and David Bednar (3-3) threw the final two innings.

James Wood finished a triple short of the cycle and scored twice. Keibert Ruiz also homered for the Nationals, who got a combined seven innings of two-run work from opener Carson Palmquist and bulk reliever Zach Littell.

Blue Jays 5, Padres 3

Kazuma Okamoto belted a historic three-run homer during a four-run fifth inning as visiting Toronto stopped San Diego.

Okamoto’s 22nd homer of the year gave the Blue Jays a 5-2 lead in the fifth, tying Shohei Ohtani’s major league rookie homer record for a Japanese-born player. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Alejandro Kirk added RBI hits for Toronto, which saw Louis Varland record his 19th save in as many attempts despite allowing a run in the ninth.

Xander Bogaerts staked the Padres to a 2-0 lead with a first-inning two-run shot. Jackson Merrill added an RBI single, with JP Sears (2-2) absorbing the loss after yielding six hits and three runs over 4 1/3 innings.

Diamondbacks 9, Dodgers 3

Tim Tawa homered and matched his career high of four RBIs to help Arizona roll to a victory over host Los Angeles.

Tawa had three hits and Gabriel Moreno had two hits and two RBIs as Arizona won its second straight game. Eduardo Rodriguez (8-3) pitched seven strong innings as the Diamondbacks improved to 3-5 against the Dodgers this season.

Shohei Ohtani and Andy Pages homered for Los Angeles, which lost for the fifth time in its past 17 games. Pages had three hits.

Cardinals 2, Braves 1

Jimmy Crooks hit a go-ahead solo home run in the eighth inning to lift St. Louis to a victory over visiting Atlanta.

After a rain delay of nearly three hours in the top of the fourth derailed the game, Crooks hit his second home run of the season off Atlanta’s Danny Young (0-1) to help the Cardinals claim the series opener.

Chris Sale started for Atlanta, allowing two hits in three scoreless innings before the delay. Austin Riley’s fifth-inning RBI single accounted for the Braves’ only run, as the visitors lost their fourth game in six tries.

–Field Level Media

Ryan Johnson will look for a rare positive result on Saturday afternoon when he takes the mound for the Los Angeles Angels in their game against the Minnesota Twins in Minneapolis.

Johnson (1-4, 6.99 ERA) has allowed 14 earned runs and six homers in 23 1/3 innings over five starts this season. The 23-year-old right-hander was charged with five runs (two earned) on six hits over four innings in a 7-5 loss to the Boston Red Sox on Sunday.

Johnson has one career appearance against Minnesota, receiving a no-decision in which he allowed two hits but struck out four in two innings in April of last season.

The Twins will turn to right-hander Joe Ryan (6-5, 2.85 ERA) to start Saturday’s game.

Ryan, who will make his 20th start of the season, scattered three hits and struck out nine batters over seven scoreless innings in a 6-1 victory over the New York Yankees on Sunday.

He has pitched at least five innings in all but three of his 19 starts this season.

Ryan is 2-0 with a 3.13 ERA in four career starts against the Angels.

The Twins lost their second straight game on Friday, 4-3, in the series opener vs. the Angels.

Also on Friday, Minnesota acquired right-handed reliever Tommy Nance from the Toronto Blue Jays and also received international bonus pool money, sending catcher prospect Ryan Sprock to Toronto.

“That’s one of those moves where it’s like, OK, that’s exciting,” injured Twins star Byron Buxton told the Minnesota Star Tribune. “Me and Royce (Lewis) were talking. That was one guy we never wanted to face coming out of their bullpen. Little things like that get us sparked up in here. It seems like a small move, but to us, it’s big.”

Second baseman Kody Clemens is one home run away from 50 for his career. Since June 4, he’s gone deep 10 times.

The Angels had lost eight of their last nine games until Friday’s win.

With the tying run at second base in the bottom of the ninth inning, Los Angeles first baseman Nolan Schanuel made a leaping catch to rob a potential hit from Clemens that might have tied the score. The play ended the game.

The Twins got catcher Ryan Jeffers back from the injured list Friday, and he played all nine innings in the game.

Jeffers doubled and walked and said he felt no effects from a previously broken hamate.

“I had success on the rehab assignment, but that really wasn’t what I was looking for,” he told MLB.com. “It was more just, how does it feel? How do my ABs feel? Am I tracking the ball? Am I taking my walks? So, today, early on, getting some ABs in, putting some hard contact on the ball, felt like I was in the right spot.”

Before Saturday’s game, the Twins will honor longtime former broadcaster Dick Bremer by inducting him into their Hall of Fame.

Bremer was the team’s lead TV announcer from 1983-2023.

–Field Level Media