DaShawn Keirsey Jr. and Byron Buxton hit back-to-back home runs and Chris Paddack pitched seven shutout innings, but the Minnesota Twins’ 11th consecutive victory was soured by a collision among teammates when they beat the host Baltimore Orioles 4-0 on Thursday afternoon.
Twins shortstop Carlos Correa and center fielder Buxton left the game following a pile-up in the bottom of the third inning. The duo was pursuing Cedric Mullins’ pop-up in shallow center field when Buxton made the catch before colliding with Correa. Both players entered concussion protocol.
The Twins completed a three-game sweep and a six-game season sweep after winning three times against the Orioles last week at home. Paddack (2-3) was splendid in allowing three hits and one walk while striking out three.
Orioles starter Tomoyuki Sugano (4-3) went 6 1/3 innings, giving up four runs on six hits. Ryan O’Hearn had two of the hits for Baltimore, which has lost nine of its last 11 games.
Braves 5, Nationals 2
AJ Smith-Shawver threw six quality innings and Drake Baldwin tallied three hits and an RBI to help Atlanta defeat visiting Washington.
Smith-Shawver (3-2) allowed one unearned run on two hits while striking out six and walking two for the Braves, who took three of four against their National League East foe. Nick Allen added two hits with an RBI single for Atlanta.
Nationals starter Trevor Williams (2-5) allowed four runs (three earned) on five hits across 4 1/3 innings. CJ Abrams had two hits — including a solo homer in the eighth — for the Nationals, who dropped their eighth game in nine tries.
Reds 7, White Sox 1
Will Benson went 2-for-3 with a home run and three RBIs for Cincinnati, which snapped a three-game skid with a win against visiting Chicago.
Reds starting pitcher Nick Martinez (2-4) was stellar through seven innings, allowing just two hits without a walk. Elly De La Cruz and Matt McLain also homered for the Reds.
Miguel Vargas went 2-for-4 in the leadoff spot and drove in the only run for the White Sox.
Rays 8, Blue Jays 3
Brandon Lowe hit two home runs, right-hander Zack Littell pitched into the eighth inning and visiting Tampa Bay defeated Toronto.
Littell (3-5) allowed three runs, eight hits and one walk with two strikeouts and induced three double-play grounders in 7 1/3 innings. Brandon Lowe had four RBIs and three hits, Josh Lowe had a home run among three hits and Kameron Misner added a homer for the Rays in the rubber match of a three-game series.
Addison Barger, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Nathan Lukes had solo homers for Toronto. Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman (3-4) allowed six runs, 10 hits and no walks with six strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings.
