Matt Carpenter homered twice and tied his career high with seven RBIs, powering the New York Yankees to complete a weekend sweep of the Chicago Cubs with an 18-4 rout on Sunday, their 11th win in 12 games.
The 36-year-old was signed on May 26 after spending the first seven weeks at Texas’ Triple-A Round Rock. A three-time All-Star with St. Louis coming off three straight seasons of decline, Carpenter became the second player since 1900 to hit six home runs in his first 10 games for a team after Colorado’s Trevor Story in 2016.
Carpenter drew a tying bases-loaded walk as New York chased Keegan Thompson in a five-run first and hit a three-run homer off Daniel Norris for an 8-1 lead in the second. He added a two-run drive against Alec Mills in the sixth for his first multi-homer game in four years and an RBI double in the seventh against Middleborough’s Sean Newcomb.
Carpenter is hitting .333 with 13 RBIs, quickly becoming a clubhouse and fan favorite known for a gritty look with thick eye black. Carpenter shaved his longtime beard to comply with Yankees rules on facial hair but kept a mustache — joining pitcher Nestor Cortes. Their style inspired Marwin Gonzalez and Lucas Luetge to give mustaches a try.
Carpenter matched his seven RBIs against the Cubs in July 2018, when he had his only three-homer game. He played flawlessly at third base with two assists in his first big league game in the field this year.
Kyle Higashioka added his first two home runs of the season, after hitting seven in spring training. He was given the silent treatment when he got back to the dugout after his third-inning drive off Norris, then homered in the eighth off Frank Schwindel, usually a first baseman.
Carpenter and Higashioka were late additions to the lineup because second baseman Gleyber Torres felt nausea and catcher Jose Trevino had back pain.
Giancarlo Stanton and Isiah Kiner-Falefa had three RBIs each as the Yankees scored their most runs since beating Toronto 20-6 on Sept. 15, 2020. New York had a season-high 17 hits.
Jameson Taillon (7-1) remained unbeaten in his last 11 starts, giving up three runs and seven hits in five innings. He escaped a bases-loaded jam by getting Schwindel on a flyout that ended the fifth. Manny Bañuelos pitched three innings for his first big league save.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. sparks Blue Jays past Tigers
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. homered, Ross Stripling pitched one-hit ball for six innings and the Toronto Blue Jays went on to beat the host Detroit Tigers, 6-0. The Blue Jays (35-24) took two of three from Detroit, giving them 13 victories in 17 games. Toronto has the third-best record in the American League, trailing the East-leading New York Yankees (44-16) in its division and West-leading Houston (37-23). Stripling (3-1) allowed only one hit for the second straight start and struck out four without a walk, making the most of his opportunity to stay in the rotation . . . The Tigers had a pregame ceremony, celebrating Miguel Cabrera for joining Hank Aaron and Albert Pujols as the three players in baseball history with 500 homers, 3,000 hits and 600 doubles. Cabrera was surrounded by family on the field, where he was surprised by the appearance of former teammate Victor Martinez . . . Jeffrey Springs threw two-hit ball into the sixth inning, Randy Arozarena stole two bases after twice getting hit by pitches and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Minnesota Twins, 6-0, in Minneapolis. Springs (3-2) continued his impressive transition to the starting rotation. He struck out five and walked two in 5⅓ innings against a Twins team that had scored a combined 15 runs in winning the first two games of the series. Arozarena was hit by a pair of pitches and visibly upset with Minnesota starter Cole Sands. Arozarena then stole two bases and added an RBI double. The Twins had opened a six-game homestand by sending the New York Yankees’ Jameson Taillon, Nestor Cortes and Gerrit Cole each to season highs in runs allowed and then did the same Friday against Rays righthander Drew Rasmussen. Minnesota followed with five runs in 2⅓ innings against Shane Baz, Tampa Bay’s top pitching prospect, on Saturday in his 2022 debut. The Twins scored 57 runs in their previous eight games . . . Anthony Santander, Ryan Mountcastle and Rougned Odor hit solo home runs, leading the Baltimore Orioles over the host Kansas City Royals, 10-7. Hunter Dozier, Michael A. Taylor and Bobby Witt Jr. homered for the Royals. Baltimore jumped on Brad Keller (1-8) with three homers in the first two innings
José Ramírez stays hot for Guardians
José Ramírez had three RBIs, including a two-run double in the first inning, to continue his torrid production and the Cleveland Guardians defeated the visiting Oakland Athletics, 6-3. Ramírez, who leads the majors with 59 RBIs, pulled a double down the left-field line that put Cleveland ahead after Oakland scored a run in the top of the inning. The three-time All-Star added an RBI groundout in the seventh and has driven in 25 runs over the last 21 games. Cal Quantrill (4-3) allowed one run in six innings, a solo home run by Ramón Laureano in the first. Laureano inspired his teammates with a fiery dugout rant that led to Oakland’s five-run seventh inning Saturday, when the A’s snapped a 10-game losing streak with a 10-5 win . . . Justin Verlander earned his major league-leading eighth win, Jeremy Peña and Jose Altuve homered and the Houston Astros snapped their three-game losing streak with a 9-4 victory over the visiting Miami Marlins. Verlander (8-2) set down the first 10 batters he faced before giving up a flare single into shallow right field in the fourth inning. Verlander gave up four unearned runs and three hits, walked one and struck out five in seven innings, lowering his ERA to 1.94. This was Verlander’s first career win against Miami and third straight start to go seven innings . . . Chicago White Sox righthander Michael Kopech exited their game against the Texas Rangers in Chicago with right knee discomfort after throwing just 13 pitches in the first inning. Kopech (2-2, 1.94 ERA) was checked on by the training staff with a full count and two outs against Adolis García. Kopech threw a warmup pitch before spiking the baseball in frustration and walking to the dugout to applause from the fans. Reynaldo López replaced Kopech and struck out García.
Diamondbacks snap Phillies win streak at nine games
Christian Walker had three hits and three RBIs, Jake McCarthy homered and the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Phillies, 13-1, to end Philadelphia’s nine-game winning streak and give interim manager Rob Thomson his first loss. Ketel Marte and Alek Thomas each drove in two runs for Arizona, which finished a 10-game trip 4-6. The Phillies lost for the first time since May 31, and Thomson was beaten for the first time since replacing Joe Girardi on June 3. Thomson’s eight wins to start his managing tenure matched the most ever for a Phillies skipper and is second overall to Boston’s Joe Morgan, who won 12 straight in 1988 . . . TJ Friedl hit a tiebreaking triple in the seventh inning and Tommy Pham added a solo homer as the Cincinnati Reds beat the host St. Louis Cardinals, 7-6, to snap a four-game losing streak. Nolan Arenado and Juan Yepez homered for the Cardinals, who have lost four of six. The Reds have fashioned an 18-16 record after a dismal 3-23 start to the season. They failed to win any of their first eight series . . . Willy Adames homered and drove in three runs, and the Milwaukee Brewers snapped an eight-game losing streak with a 4-1 victory over the host Washington Nationals. Milwaukee’s Craig Counsell tied Phil Garner for the most managerial victories in franchise history with 563 as the Brewers halted their longest skid since September 2015 . . . Adam Duvall homered twice off José Quintana, William Contreras and Matt Olson also connected, and the Atlanta Braves won their 11th straight game, 5-3, over the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates. The defending World Series champion Braves began the day having trimmed five games off the New York Mets’ division lead since the winning streak started June 1. They were 5½ games back in the NL East. This stretch is the club’s best since it won 14 in a row from July 26 to Aug. 9, 2013. During the streak, Atlanta has outscored opponents 74-30 with 22 homers. The pitching staff has a 2.32 ERA over the same span . . . Carlos Rodón pitched two-hit ball over six strong innings and the San Francisco Giants completed a three-game sweep of the division-leading Dodgers, beating Los Angeles, 2-0. Austin Slater and Mike Yastrzemski homered off Julio Urías in the first inning to send the stumbling Dodgers to their sixth loss in eight games. Chris Taylor doubled twice for Los Angeles, but was forced out of the game after suffering a cut near his right eye when he crashed into the fence in left field trying to make a catch.