All-Stars Albert Pujols and Mike Trout hit two of Los Angeles’ four home runs and the Angels routed the Colorado Rockies 10-2 on Tuesday night.
Matt Joyce and Chris Iannetta also went deep as the Angels jumped on Colorado starter Chad Bettis for 10 runs in just 2 1-3 innings to win their fourth straight.
Angels left-hander Andrew Heaney (2-0) had another impressive outing in just his third career start. He allowed two runs on eight hits and struck out five in 7 1-3 innings. He surrendered a solo home run to Drew Stubbs in the third and an RBI single to Troy Tulowitzki in the sixth that extended his hitting streak to 19 games.
Heaney’s outing was more than enough for the offense. Pujols hit a three-run shot in the first inning for his AL-leading 26th homer of the season. Joyce gave Los Angeles a 5-0 lead with his fourth of the year in the second, and Trout hit his 22nd later in the inning to make it 8-0.
Across the Major Leagues Tuesday:
— Johnny Cueto is one of the five players hoping to land the final National League All-Star berth for next week’s game in Cincinnati. Cueto gave the voters something to remember by firing a two-hitter while striking out 11 in the Reds’ 5-0 shutout of the Nationals in Washington on Tuesday. He preserved the shutout by fanning three straight Nats after Ian Desmond tripled leading off the bottom of the fifth. Cueto outdueled All-Star Max Scherzer, who was chased after surrendering all five runs and seven hits in 4 2/3 innings. Joey Votto drove in three runs and came within a triple of the cycle to help the Reds beat the Nationals for the second straight night.
— Jake Arrieta pitched into the seventh inning and collected a career-high two hits as the Chicago Cubs downed St. Louis 7-4 in Game 1 of a day-night doubleheader. Anthony Rizzo smacked a two-run homer while the Cubs scored four times in the eighth after the Cardinals pulled within 3-2. Chris Denorfia had two hits and three RBIs as the Cubbies beat the Redbirds for the first time in their last six meetings.
— The Cubs completed the sweep by putting together a three-run seventh in a 5-3 victory. Addison Russell singled home the tying run in the seventh before Jonathan Herrera scored on a throwing error by reliever Kevin Siegrist.
— Pittsburgh pulled out a 3-2 win over San Diego on Gregory Polanco’s RBI triple in the bottom of the eighth. Jung Ho Kang also tripled home a run and Andrew McCutchen lined an RBI double after Matt Kemp’s two-run double put the Padres ahead 2-0 in the third. The Pirates’ fourth straight win leaves them five games behind the NL Central-leading Cardinals.
— Brett Lawrie bashed a solo homer off Dellin Betances leading off the 10th inning to send Oakland past the New York Yankees 4-3. Billy Butler tied the game with a solo shot in the sixth before Lawrie’s blast sent the Yankees to their fifth loss in eight games. Sonny Gray gave up two runs in seven innings to get a no-decision in his first start since an illness sent him to the hospital.
— Toronto was a 2-1 winner over the Chicago White Sox as Felix Doubront allowed a run and six hits in 6 2/3 innings. Josh Donaldson homered for the second straight night to help the Blue Jays move into a second-place tie with Baltimore in the AL East, 1 1/2 games behind the Yankees.
— The Orioles were 8-3 losers in Minnesota. Miguel Sano hit his first major league home run and had three RBIs for the Twins, who are 4 ½ games behind the AL Central-leading Royals. Eddie Rosario delivered a two-run single, and winning pitcher Kyle Gibson gave up two runs while whiffing seven in six innings.
— Paulo Orlando launched a walk-off grand slam off Brad Boxberger with one out in the bottom of the ninth to lift the Royals past Tampa Bay 9-5 in Game 1 of a doubleheader. Orlando had homered just once in his first 116 major league at-bats before going deep against the All-Star reliever. Alex Gordon smacked a solo homer and Kendrys Morales hit a two-run single as the Royals overcame home runs by James Loney and Evan Longoria.
— Kansas City swept the twinbill by getting four RBIs from Alex Gordon in a 7-1 win over the Rays. Gordon was 4-for-5 with a two-run double and a pair of RBI singles. Alcides Escobar also laced a two-run double in the Royals’ third consecutive win.
— Cleveland blanked Houston 2-0 as Corey Kluber held the Astros to five hits while striking out seven in 6 2/3 innings. Michael Brantley smacked a solo homer and David Murphy doubled home the Indians’ first run. The Astros have dropped three of four since a five-game winning streak.
— Jeff Francoeur socked a solo homer and had three RBIs as Philadelphia hammered the Dodgers 7-2 in Los Angeles. Ben Revere hit a two-run single and Chad Billingsley worked six innings to help baseball’s worst team improve to 29-57. Yasmani Grandal cracked a two-run homer for the Dodgers, who top the NL West by four games over San Francisco.
— Hunter Pence made a triumphant return as the Giants blanked the Mets 3-0 to end a seven-game skid. The right-fielder had two RBIs and threw out Curtis Granderson at the plate in his first action since missing more than a month with tendinitis in his left wrist. Matt Cain tossed two-hit ball in six innings to help the Giants keep the Mets 3 ½ games behind the NL East-leading Nationals.
— Manny Banuelos looked good in Atlanta’s 4-3 victory in Milwaukee, allowing a run and five hits over 5 1/3 innings. A.J. Pierzynski was 3-for-4 with a solo homer and two RBIs to support Banuelos’ first major league win. Jonathan Lucroy and Adam Lind homered for the Brewers, who have dropped two straight since winning eight in a row.
— Seattle and Detroit combined for seven homers before Robinson Cano’s RBI single in the bottom of the 11th completed the Mariners’ 7-6 win over the Tigers. Cano also belted one of the Mariners’ three home runs after Austin Jackson launched a grand slam. The Tigers fell despite long balls from Nick Castellanos, Marc Kraus, Alex Avila and Yoenis Cespedes.
— Jake Lamb was 3-for-4 with a two-run single in Arizona’s 4-2 verdict over Texas. Robbie Ray carried a shutout into the eighth and limited the Rangers to a pair of unearned runs and four hits in 7 2/3 innings.
— Xander Bogaerts lined a three-run single in the seventh inning to turn Boston’s 3-1 deficit into a 4-3 win over Miami. Travis Shaw had three of the Red Sox’s eight hits.