KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Willson Contreras hit his team-leading 10th homer and Sonny Gray outdueled Seth Lugo as the Boston Red Sox beat the Kansas City Royals 3-1 on Monday night.
The first pitch was moved up 30 minutes because heavy thunderstorms were forecast for later Monday.
Gray (5-1) allowed one run on five hits in six-plus innings. He struck out nine and walked one. He has given up two runs over 16 innings (1.13 ERA) since returning from the injured list on May 6. Three relievers followed Gray, with Aroldis Chapman working the ninth for his 11th save in as many opportunities.
Lugo (1-4) allowed two runs on five hits in six innings for Kansas City, which has lost seven of eight.
PHILLIES 5, REDS 4
PHILADELPHIA — Bryson Stott hit a two-run homer with two outs in the eighth inning and Jhoan Duran worked a 1-2-3 ninth as Philadelphia extended their winning streak to five games with a win over Cincinnati.
The Phillies (25-23) won for the eighth time in nine games and moved two games over .500 for the first time this season. They are 16-4 under interim manager Don Mattingly, who took over last month after Rob Thomson was fired.
Philadelphia scratched MLB home run leader Kyle Schwarber due to illness, and Stott was moved up to the No. 6 spot in a shuffled lineup and hit his fifth homer of the season.
Spencer Steer’s RBI double with two outs in the eighth off reliever Jose Alvarado had given the Reds a short-lived 4-3 lead.
Orion Kerkering (2-0) finished the eighth for Alvarado and was credited with the win. Reds reliever Graham Ashcraft (1-1) took the loss.
MARLINS 12, BRAVES 0
MIAMI — Javier Sanoja hit his first career grand slam, Joe Mack drove in four runs and Miami shut out MLB-leading Atlanta.
Max Meyer (4-0) continued his strong start to the season, limiting the Braves to just three hits over six innings while striking out six and lowering his team-leading ERA to 2.85.
John King, Calvin Faucher and Lake Bachar combined for a one-hitter the final three innings as the Marlins (22-26) took the first of four games between NL East rivals. It was the largest home shutout win in Marlins history.
The Braves (32-16) were shut out for only the third time this season. Their 12 runs allowed were a season high, and 11 of those came during a disastrous two-inning stretch.
Sanoja’s 375-foot drive against reliever Aaron Bummer highlighted a six-run fifth. It was his first homer of the season, and he became the first Marlins player since Justin Bour (June 10, 2016, at Arizona) to hit a grand slam batting ninth in the lineup.
Xavier Edwards hit a 397-foot shot in the next at-bat against Bummer, who allowed six runs on three hits and walked five.
Mack hit a run-scoring groundout against starter JR Ritchie (1-1) in the second. The rookie catcher followed with a two-run single during a five-run fourth that included Edwards’ run-scoring single and Liam Hicks’ two-run double. Mack also drew a bases-loaded walk in the fifth.
Ritchie allowed six hits and struck out four in four innings. Short stop Jorge Mateo pitched the eighth.
RAYS 16, ORIOLES 6
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Yandy Díaz had four hits and four RBIs, Junior Caminero homered and drove in four runs, and Tampa Bay battered Baltimore pitching in a victory.
Ryan Vilade and Jonny DeLuca each added three RBIs for the Rays, who had 18 hits and scored their most runs since May 31 last year in a 16-3 win at Houston. Tampa Bay is 13-3 this month and owns the best record in the majors at 31-15.
Díaz got the offence started with a leadoff double and then delivered a two-out, two-run single in the second. The first five hitters in Tampa Bay’s lineup combined to go 13 for 24 with 15 RBIs.
With a thunderstorm pelting Tropicana Field’s new roof, the Rays scored six early runs against Baltimore starter Trevor Rogers (2-5), sending 10 batters to the plate during a five-run second. Tampa Bay also batted around in a four-run sixth, highlighted by Caminero’s three-run homer.
Rays starter Shane McClanahan, a Baltimore native, stretched his scoreless streak to 23 2/3 innings before Adley Rutschman’s two-out RBI single in the third. McClanahan (5-2) then fanned Tampa native Pete Alonso for the left-hander’s 500th major league strikeout.
GUARDIANS 8, TIGERS 2
DETROIT — José Ramírez homered and hit a two-run double on a 3-for-4 night, and Cleveland beat reeling Detroit.
Slade Cecconi (3-4) held the Tigers to two runs in 7 1/3 innings, his longest outing of the season.
Chase DeLauter and Rhys Hoskins drove in two runs apiece for Cleveland. Angel Martínez extended his hitting streak to seven games with two singles while scoring a run and driving one in. Brayan Rocchio scored three times for the Guardians, who’ve won six of seven.
Matt Vierling homered for the Tigers, who have lost 11 of 13. Riley Greene, whose 11-game hitting streak was snapped on Sunday, had an RBI double among two hits.
Detroit starter Framber Valdez (2-3) battled control issues while giving up four runs in five innings. Valdez, who had won all five of his previous appearances against the Guardians, walked four and threw 89 pitches.
BREWERS 9, CUBS 3
CHICAGO — Jake Bauers homered and drove in four runs, and Milwaukee beat Chicago in the first meeting this season between the longtime NL Central rivals.
Christian Yelich went deep for the second straight day as Milwaukee used a 13-hit attack to improve to 9-2 in its last 11 games. Andrew Vaughn had two hits and scored twice.
Milwaukee pulled within a half-game of Chicago for the division lead. The Brewers won the Central in 2025 for the third consecutive year and then eliminated the Cubs in a five-game NL Division Series.
Chicago lost for the seventh time in nine games. The Cubs had won 15 in a row at home for their longest win streak at Wrigley Field since an 18-game run in September 1935.
Cubs left-hander Shota Imanaga (4-4) was tagged for eight runs and nine hits in 4 1/3 innings in his worst start of the season. He allowed a total of eight earned runs over his previous five starts combined.
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