Brandon Nimmo had four hits, including a grand slam and a three-run homer, and drove in a career-high nine runs as the visiting New York Mets routed the Washington Nationals 19-5 on Monday to earn a four-game series split.
Jeff McNeil also homered and added a triple and a sacrifice fly, and Mark Vientos hit a three-run homer among his two hits for New York, the first team in the majors to reach 20 wins.
New York piled on late with Nimmo hitting his three-run shot in the sixth, mashing his grand slam in the seventh and adding a two-run double in the eighth. He began the day with four homers and 12 RBIs.
Mets starter Griffin Canning (4-1) went five scoreless innings, allowing four hits. Jose Urena pitched the final three innings for his first save.
James Wood and Nathaniel Lowe hit solo homers as part of a five-run Washington eighth. Nationals starter Trevor Williams (1-3) allowed five runs on five hits in 5 1/3 innings.
Twins 11, Guardians 1
Bailey Ober allowed one run over 7 2/3 innings and Edouard Julien set the pace for a big offensive night with a leadoff home run as Minnesota won its fourth straight over host Cleveland.
Jonah Bride had three hits while Ryan Jeffers clubbed a two-run homer off position player Will Wilson in the eighth and had three RBIs for the Twins, who rapped out a season-high 17 hits. Ober (3-1) gave up only Jhonkensy Noel’s RBI single in the fifth.
Gavin Williams (2-2) allowed four runs, seven hits and two walks while lasting just two innings for the Guardians, who have been outscored 31-7 during their three-game losing streak.
Orioles 4, Yankees 3
Ryan O’Hearn hit a three-run homer, Tomoyuki Sugano struck out eight in five shutout innings and Baltimore held on to defeat visiting New York in the opener of a three-game series.
Cedric Mullins, a day after sitting out because of illness, and Ramon Laureano both had two hits for the Orioles, who won just for the second time in eight games.
Trent Grisham and Aaron Judge both had two hits for the Yankees, who nearly wiped out a four-run hole but stranded nine runners. New York failed to score at least four runs for only the eighth time in 29 games this season.
Athletics 2, Rangers 1
Tyler Soderstrom’s two-run double in the fifth inning was all the visiting Athletics needed to defeat anemic Texas in the opener of a four-game series at Arlington, Texas.
JP Sears (4-2) and three A’s relievers held the Texas offense at bay. Sears tossed 5 2/3 innings of one-run ball, permitting five hits and no walks while striking out seven.
The Rangers have dropped three straight games overall and three in a row to the Athletics, including the final two of a three-game road series last week. Texas has scored a total of 12 runs over the past six games. Texas starter Patrick Corbin (2-1) allowed two runs on seven hits in 4 2/3 innings.
Astros 8, Tigers 5
Christian Walker and Jose Altuve socked two-run home runs and Houston rallied from an early three-run deficit to defeat visiting Detroit in the opener of a three-game series.
Jeremy Pena and Altuve each had two hits for the Astros, who won their second game in a row. Steven Okert (1-0) pitched a scoreless inning in relief, and Josh Hader tossed a shutout ninth for his eighth save.
Riley Greene homered twice and Kerry Carpenter also went deep for the Tigers, whose four-game winning streak ended. Jack Flaherty (1-3) permitted four runs on six hits in five-plus innings.
Reds 3, Cardinals 1
Gavin Lux went 3-for-4, Jose Trevino homered and Nick Martinez allowed one run over six innings to lead Cincinnati past visiting St. Louis.
Martinez (1-3) worked out of trouble in the fifth and sixth innings thanks to a pair of inning-ending double plays to earn his first win in six starts this season. Lux, who doubled twice, and Elly De La Cruz both extended their hitting streaks to 12 games for Cincinnati.
St. Louis starter and loser Andre Pallante (2-2) allowed six hits and three runs over six innings.
Braves 6, Rockies 3
Nick Allen had three hits, Michael Harris II produced a tiebreaking two-run double in the fifth inning and Atlanta beat Colorado in Denver.
Eli White, Alex Verdugo and Sean Murphy had two hits each for Atlanta, and Bryce Elder tossed six solid innings. Raisel Iglesias pitched a scoreless ninth inning for his fifth save as the Braves won for the eighth time in 10 games. Elder (1-1) allowed just three runs on five hits to earn his first win of the season.
Hunter Goodman homered and Jordan Beck doubled twice for Colorado, which lost its seventh in a row and has started its homestand with four consecutive defeats. Colorado starter Ryan Feltner (0-2) allowed five runs on 10 hits in 4 2/3 innings.
