BOSTON — Payton Tolle opened the game with an immaculate inning, Roman Anthony hit a go-ahead single and the Boston Red Sox beat the Kansas City Royals 4-1 on Sunday.
Tolle is the first Boston pitcher to throw an immaculate inning (three strikeouts on nine pitches) to start a game since Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez on May 18, 2002.
Caleb Durbin hit a solo homer and Trevor Story added a two-run single for the Red Sox, who took the final two of the three-game series.
Carter Jensen drove in the Royals’ run with a pinch-hit single. Kansas City was looking for its first series win in Boston since 2017.
In the seventh, Anthony lined an opposite-field single against reliever Connor Thomas after Craig Kimbrel (1-5) walked the first two batters.
Garrett Whitlock (7-1) was credited with the victory. Aroldis Chapman got the final three outs for his 34th save and the 401st of his career.
Tolle, a hard-throwing 23-year-old left-hander, struck out Nick Loftin looking, then got Bobby Witt Jr. and Jac Caglianone swinging in the first.
He went 6 scoreless innings, striking out 7 while allowing 4 singles.
Former University of Central Arkansas pitcher Noah Cameron gave up a run over six sharp innings.
Durbin belted Cameron’s first pitch into the first row of seats above the Green Monster. Story’s single came off Nate Pearson in the eighth.
Jensen’s RBI single inside the first-base bag tied it.
BLUE JAYS 8, ORIOLES 1 Vladimir Guerrero Jr. had a solo home run among his four hits, George Springer and Kazuma Okamoto also went deep and host Toronto beat Baltimore. Dylan Cease (11-5) struck out nine while allowing one run and four hits in five innings. Trevor Rogers (10-10) allowed four runs and seven hits in six innings. Guerrero came out for a curtain call after his ninth homer, a 350-foot drive that was his first at home this season. It came in Toronto’s 75th home game.
RAYS 14, ASTROS 4 Freddy Peralta pitched five hitless innings, and Jonathan Aranda hit two of host Tampa Bay’s four home runs to help the Rays finish off a three-game sweep of Houston. Peralta (9-11) walked three and threw 86 pitches for the Rays. Hayden Wesneski (5-2) gave up 7 runs — 3 earned — on 6 hits in 3 innings.
GUARDIANS 9, TWINS 2 Steven Kwan homered to lead off the game, Tanner Bibee had seven strikeouts in 6 2/3 strong innings, and visiting Cleveland beat Minnesota to pull within a half-game of the American League Central-leading Chicago White Sox. Bibee (6-15) gave up just two runs on four hits. Minnesota All-Star Joe Ryan (6-10) surrendered 4 runs on 7 hits in 4 innings. He is 0-5 with an 8.48 ERA in five starts since the All-Star Game.
ATHLETICS 8, MARINERS 7 Lawrence Butler hit a two-run drive off Andres Munoz in the ninth inning for his second home run of the game as the host Athletics overcame a four-run deficit and beat Seattle, leaving the Mariners five games back in the AL West with 12 to play. Butler had four RBIs and finished with 13 against Seattle this season. Trying for his first five-out save since 2024, Munoz (5-6) blew a save for the 10th time in 37 chances. Elvis Alvarado (5-3) pitched a one-hit ninth.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
PHILLIES 9, BRAVES 4 Alec Bohm hit a tie-breaking, two-run double in a seven-run eighth inning and visiting Philadelphia beat Atlanta to avoid being swept in the key NL East series. J.T. Realmuto drove in three runs on three hits, including a two-run homer. Bohm’s double to center field off Dylan Lee (6-1) drove in Trea Turner and Bryce Harper. Phillies right-hander Andrew Painter gave up 1 run, 6 hits and 4 walks, while Jose Alvarado (4-3) took the win.
MARLINS 6, DODGERS 4 Pinch-hitter Agustin Ramirez hit a game-ending, two-run homer, and host Miami rallied with four runs in the ninth inning to beat Los Angeles. Xavier Edwards and Jakob Marsee led off the ninth with consecutive infield singles against Tanner Scott (1-6), and Javier Sanoja followed with a tying two-run double. Dax Fulton (2-0) got the last two outs in the top of the ninth after Mookie Betts’ RBI double put Los Angeles ahead 4-2.
REDS 4, BREWERS 3 Eugenio Suarez hit a three-run homer in the sixth inning and Tyler Stephenson had a sacrifice fly in the eighth as visiting Cincinnati slipped past Milwaukee. Brandon Williamson (4-4) gave up 1 run and 2 hits in 4 innings of relief. Emilio Pagan pitched a scoreless ninth to notch his 23rd save in 26 tries.
PIRATES 4, CUBS 3 Brandon Lowe hit a tiebreaking two-run single in visiting Pittsburgh’s three-run sixth inning, and the Pirates beat Chicago to avoid a sweep of their weekend series. Bryan Reynolds had two hits for Pittsburgh, including an RBI single in the first. Carmen Mlodzinski, Luke Weaver and Mason Montgomery combined for 3 2/3 hitless innings in relief of Bubba Chandler (8-9). Matthew Boyd (8-5) allowed 4 runs and 7 hits in 5 1/3 innings in his second straight loss.
PADRES 6, GIANTS 4 Manny Machado hit a two-run homer and visiting San Diego ran its winning streak to seven games with a victory over San Francisco. Jackson Merrill’s two-run, opposite-field double off Logan Webb (8-9) put San Diego ahead to stay in the first inning. Wandy Peralta (3-2) worked 1 1/3 scoreless innings of relief to pick up the win.
INTERLEAGUE
TIGERS 8, ROCKIES 1 Jackson Jobe (2-2) struck out a career-high eight over 6 1/3 innings while pitching into the seventh inning for the first time, and host Detroit beat Colorado to complete a three-game sweep that extended its winning streak to four. Riley Greene and Spencer Torkelson homered for Detroit. Greene reached 20 homers for the third straight season when he hit a two-run drive in the first off Gabriel Hughes (0-8), who allowed 5 runs and 5 hits in 2 innings.
NATIONALS 6, ANGELS 5 Daylen Lile tripled to key a four-run rally in the eighth inning, Jacob Young and Dylan Crews added RBI and host Washington beat Los Angeles to complete a three-game sweep. Erik Tolman (1-1) threw a run-scoring wild pitch and Moises Ballesteros hit a sacrifice fly that put Los Angeles ahead 4-2 in the eighth. Yohandy Morales singled off Luke Murphy (0-3) starting the eighth and Lile triple and pinch-hitter Jorbit Vivas hit an RBI single that tied the score 4-4. Young hit a go-ahead double that chased Murphy and Crews hit a two-out RBI single.
YANKEES 2, METS 0 Cam Schlittler took over the major league ERA lead, combining on a three-hitter that helped the host New York Yankees close in on a record 61st postseason berth with a win over the Mets. Schlittler (14-6) allowed one hit over six innings. Ben Rice led off his his 38th home run for the Yankees and Austin Wells ended an 0-for-20 slide with a third-inning homer into the right field second deck off Christian Scott (4-5).
CARDINALS 3, WHITE SOX 1 Alec Burleson hit a bases-clearing double, sparking host St. Louis to a victory over Chicago to wrap up a three-game series. Michael McGreevey (7-9) allowed 3 hits and 1 run, walked 3 and had 6 strikeouts in 6 innings for St. Louis. Rookie David Sandlin (2-2) had a perfect game through 5 1/3 innings before he faltered.
RANGERS 7, DIAMONDBACKS 6 Corey Seager homered for the fourth time in seven games, Jacob Latz stranded the potential tying run at second base in a shaky ninth inning and Texas won its first road series in two months with a victory over the Arizona. Seager, who had three RBI, hit his 18th homer, a two-run drive off Eduardo Rodriguez (15-6). Cal Quantrill (9-5) allowed 2 runs and 4 hits in 6-plus innings.
