ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Brandon Lowe hit his career-high 29th homer, Shane McClanahan won his fourth straight start, and the AL East-leading Tampa Bay Rays handed the Baltimore Orioles their 15th consecutive loss, 7-2 on Thursday.
The Orioles also dropped 14 in a row from May 18-31. The team record losing streak is 21 games, set at the beginning of the 1988 season.
Baltimore has been outscored 138-42 during the current skid. Its starting pitchers are 0-12, allowing 63 earned runs in 61 2/3 innings.
“It’s not easy right now,” Orioles Manager Brandon Hyde said. “We’re not in many games, and that’s hard.”
Tampa Bay has won 11 of 14, and is 15-1 in the season series with the Orioles. The Rays began the day with a five-game lead over the Yankees in the AL East.
YANKEES 7, TWINS 5: Leadoff hitter Luke Voit had a two-run double in New York’s four-run third inning and the surging Yankees beat visiting Minnesota for their season-high seventh straight victory.
Voit made his third start out of the leadoff spot this year and was New York’s designated hitter now that the team is comfortable playing Giancarlo Stanton in the outfield. He gave the Yankees a 3-0 lead with a double down the left-field line off John Gant (0-1) and then scored on a sacrifice fly by Anthony Rizzo – his replacement at first base.
Kyle Higashioka homered and started the four-run inning with an RBI double. Both hits scored Bronx native Andrew Velazquez, who had two hits and also stole a base – New York’s 30th since the All-Star break.
Stanton added a homer in the eighth.
ANGELS 13, TIGERS 10: Max Stassi hit a go-ahead, two-run homer in the eighth inning and Los Angeles overcome an eight-run deficit at Detroit.
Miguel Cabrera drove in four runs to help Detroit open a 10-2 lead after five innings. He had multiple hits for the first time since Aug. 11, when he hit homer No. 499.
While Cabrera could not clear the fence for the 500th time in his career, teammates Zack Short, Jeimer Candelario and Willi Castro hit solo homers.
Los Angeles scored six runs – two on one of Brandon Marsh’s two triples – in the sixth inning and added one in the seventh to cut it to 10-9.
ATHLETICS 5, WHITE SOX 4: Matt Olson slugged a go-ahead two-run homer, Matt Chapman added a solo shot and Oakland rallied for a win at Chicago.
Sean Murphy also homered as the A’s avoided a sweep in their four-game series with AL Central-leading Chicago. Oakland ended a four-game skid and moved a half-game ahead of the Red Sox for the second AL wild-card spot.
Olson’s blast in the seventh off reliever Michael Kopech (3-2), his 31st this season, gave Oakland a 5-3 lead.
ASTROS 6, ROYALS 3: Aledmys Díaz singled in the go-ahead run in the 10th inning and Houston avoided a four-game sweep at Kansas City
Díaz finished 3 for 4 with a double and two RBIs for the AL West leaders. With the bases loaded in the 10th, he fouled off a 3-2 pitch from Wade Davis and drove the next one up the middle.
MARINERS 9, RANGERS 8: Ty France hit a two-run homer in the 11th inning and Seattle completed a three-game series sweep at Texas after the Rangers forced extra innings with five runs in the ninth.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
DIAMONDBACKS 6, PHILLIES 2: Madison Bumgarner held Philadelphia to one hit in the first seven innings and Arizona completed a three-game sweep in Phoenix.
Bumgarner (7-7) went eight innings, giving up three hits and one run to help NL-worst Arizona finish 6-1 on its homestand. He walked one, struck out five and hit two batters, throwing 105 pitches.
Bumgarner also had a broken-bat RBI single in the Diamondbacks’ five-run seventh against Zack Wheeler (10-8). Nick Ahmed and Josh VanMeter had two-run doubles in the inning.
REDS 6, MARLINS 1: Joey Votto slammed a three-run homer, Luis Castillo pitched seven innings of one-run ball and Cincinnati won at home.
Votto’s 428-foot shot into the seats in right-center – his team-leading 27th homer – highlighted the Reds’ four-run fourth after Miami right-hander Nick Neidert had faced the minimum in the first three innings.
Castillo (7-12), averaging 97 mph on his four-seam fastball and sinker, allowed eight hits and struck out seven. Michael Lorenzen retired the Marlins in order in the eighth, and Tony Santillan did the same in ninth.