Rookie Montero throws Tigers’ first shutout in 3 seasons

DETROIT — Rookie Keider Montero pitched Detroit’s first shutout in three seasons and the Tigers beat the Colorado Rockies 11-0 Tuesday night.

Montero (5-6) was making his 14th major league start and became the first Tigers pitcher with nine shutout innings since Spencer Turnbull’s no-hitter in Seattle on May 18, 2021. The 24-year-old right-hander needed 96 pitchers while facing the minimum 27 batters. He allowed three singles and struck out five without walking a batter.

All of Colorado’s singles — Ryan McMahon in the second, Ezequiel Tovar in the seventh and Aaron Schunk in the eighth — were followed by double plays by the Tigers’ infield.

Parker Meadows hit a solo homer in the first inning, his seventh, and drove in three runs.

Rockies starter Bradley Blalock (1-3) allowed five runs on five hits with five walks in four innings.

PIRATES 6, MARLINS 4

PITTSBURGH — Andrew McCutchen hit a three-run blast to reach the 20-homer plateau for the 10th time in his career and Pittsburgh beat Miami.

The 37-year-old designated hitter turned on a fastball from Miami’s Adam Oller (1-3) with two on and two out in the fifth inning and sent it into the first row of bleachers in left field to give Pittsburgh a five-run lead.

McCutchen has had eight of his 20-homer seasons with Pittsburgh, the second-most in franchise history behind Hall of Famer Willie Stargell.

Isaiah Kiner-Falefa and Bryan Reynolds had two hits apiece for the Pirates, who have won three straight. Joey Wentz (1-2) earned the victory. Aroldis Chapman survived a rocky ninth to earn his eighth save on a night the Pirates used six relievers behind opener Carmen Mlodzinski.

Jhonny Pereda had three hits for Miami. Kyle Stowers added a pair of doubles for the Marlins.

BRAVES 12, NATS 0

WASHINGTON — Michael Harris II hit two of Atlanta’s four home runs and the Braves had 15 hits in a rout of Washington, despite losing starter Reynaldo López to a right shoulder injury after one inning.

López left with right shoulder tightness after throwing 25 pitches, 16 for strikes. His fastball velocity — usually 96 mph — was down to the 92-94 mph range. He and three relievers limited the Nationals — losers of seven of their last 10 games — to three hits.

It was the fourth multi-homer game of Harris’ career. Sean Murphy hit a two-run shot and Orlando Arcia had solo homer one night after the Braves mustered only a pair singles by Matt Olson in a 1-0 loss to the Cincinnati Reds.

Atlanta hit three doubles in the four-run third, then added three runs in the next frame to chase Nationals left-handed starter MacKenzie Gore and move within one-half game of the idle Mets for the final NL wild card.

PHILLIES 9, RAYS 4

PHILADELPHIA — Kyle Schwarber set an MLB record with his 14th leadoff homer of the season before leaving due to injury, and pinch-hitter Cal Stevenson hit a tiebreaking two-run double in the eighth inning as Philadelphia beat Tampa Bay.

Trea Turner hit two, two-run homers and Bryce Harper added four hits as the Phillies (87-58) moved 29 games over .500, matching a season high.

Schwarber set the single-season leadoff homer record on the second pitch he saw from Taj Bradley, sending the ball 437 feel to center field for a 1-0 lead and moving past Alfonso Soriano, who had 13 leadoff homers with the New York Yankees in 2003. The Phillies designated hitter left the game in the fourth inning due to left elbow discomfort after reaching on a walk in the third and appearing to get hurt diving back into first base on a pickoff try.

Schwarber’s 35th homer of the season was the 45th leadoff homer of his career, with 32 coming since joining the Phillies in 2022.

ROYALS 5, YANKEES 0

NEW YORK — Seth Lugo struck out 10 in seven masterful innings and Salvador Perez hit two run-scoring singles to reach 100 RBIs for the second time as Kansas City beat New York.

Tommy Pham homered and Bobby Witt Jr. had an RBI single for the Royals, who began the night trailing first-place Cleveland by 3 1/2 games in the AL Central. They held a 2 1/2-game edge over Minnesota for the second AL wild card.

New York came in 1 1/2 games ahead of second-place Baltimore atop the AL East.

BLUE JAYS 6, METS 2

TORONTO — Davis Schneider hit a two-run triple, Chris Bassitt struck out eight against his former team and Toronto beat the New York Mets.

The Mets lost for the second time in 12 games and fell into a tie with Atlanta for the final National League wild card. The Braves beat Washington 12-0 on Tuesday.

Ernie Clement scored three runs and Leo Jiménez reached base three times and drove in a run as the Blue Jays won for the second time in eight September games.

Bassitt (10-13) allowed one run and five hits in six innings. He’s 2-0 in two career starts against the Mets, his team in 2022.

TWINS 10, ANGELS 5

MINNEAPOLIS — Kyle Farmer hit a three-run home run in the second inning to provide a well-timed jolt for a sputtering lineup, and Matt Wallner and Carlos Santana also went deep for Minnesota in a victory over the Los Angeles.

Pablo López (15-8) won his fourth straight start on the strength of 10 strikeouts over seven innings without an earned run, withstanding a three-run homer by Zach Neto in the fifth that cut the lead to 6-4.

The Twins (77-68), who had lost 15 of their previous 21 games, preserved a three-game edge with 17 games to go in the chase for the last of three AL wild-card spots in the playoffs that has tightened with their recent slide. Boston, Detroit and Seattle, the closest competitors, all began the night at 73-71.

ORIOLES 5, RED SOX 2

Cedric Mullins hit two homers and drove in three runs, Albert Suárez gave up one run and struck out a career-best eight over six innings and Baltimore held off Boston.

Adley Rutschman added a two-run single for the Orioles, who won for the only the second time in six games as they attempt to catch the AL East-leading New York Yankees.

Triston Casas and Masataka Yoshida each had an RBI double for Boston, which has lost seven of its last 11 in its pursuit of Minnesota for the AL’s third wild-card spot.

Boston’s Tyler O’Neill went 0 fox 3 with three strikeouts after hitting two homers in a victory on Monday.

GUARDIANS 5, WHITE SOX 0

CHICAGO — Lane Thomas hit a three-run homer and Cleveland’s bullpen was terrific once again, helping the Guardians beat Chicago White Sox after Ben Lively departed with a leg injury.

At 33-113, the White Sox are closing in on the post-1900 record for losses — 120 by the 1962 New York Mets in their inaugural season.

Thomas also doubled and scored on Kyle Manzardo’s second-inning single. With two on and one out in the sixth, he drove Gus Varland’s second pitch deep to left-center for his third homer since he was acquired from Washington on July 29.