CHICAGO — Jason Hammel snapped a six-game winless streak and Anthony Rizzo doubled in two runs as the Chicago Cubs posted a 3-1 victory over the Texas Rangers on Saturday afternoon.
The win was the Cubs’ second straight in the interleague meeting and gave them the series heading into Sunday’s finale at Wrigley Field.
Hammel allowed just one run on three hits as he outdueled Rangers right-hander Yu Darvish, who was making his first start since June 8 and only his fourth big-league appearance since 2014. Closer Hector Rondon worked a perfect ninth for his 15th save.
Texas (54-38) opened a 1-0 lead in the second inning on an extended two-out play. Rizzo’s two-run double in the third put Chicago (55-35) on top and Matt Szczur’s pinch-hit RBI single in the sixth capped the scoring.
Red Sox 5, Yankees 2
NEW YORK — Sandy Leon highlighted a career-high four RBI showing with a three-run home run and Boston ran its season-high winning streak to six games with a victory over New York.
Xander Bogaerts drove in the other run for the Red Sox (51-38), who won for the eighth time in nine games.
The Yankees (44-46) were held to two run or less for the 35th time. New York is two games under .500 after the All-Star break for the first time since being 57-59 on Aug. 31, 1995.
Mariners 1, Astros 0
SEATTLE — Hisashi Iwakuma threw seven shutout innings and Robinson Cano drove in the only run of the game with a sixth-inning RBI single as the Seattle beat Houston.
Houston starter Lance McCullers was almost as dominant as Iwakuma. The Astros (49-42) had four hits, three of which went for extra bases. The Astros wasted doubles by Jose Altuve in the first inning, Carlos Correa in the seventh, and Marwin Gonzalez in the ninth.
Seattle (46-45) ended a five-game skid against the Astros. The Mariners also won for just the third time in their past nine games.
Athletics 5, Blue Jays 4
OAKLAND, Calif. — Rookie Ryon Healy belted a three-run homer for his first major league hit, Khris Davis launched two solo shots and right-hander Sonny Gray ended his seven-game losing streak as Oakland posted a win over Toronto.
Gray gave up three runs on six hits over six innings and won for the first time since April 22 at Toronto. Oakland (40-51) beat Toronto for the second straight day and can sweep the three-game series with a victory Sunday afternoon.
Josh Thole hit a two-run single in the second, Edwin Encarnacion belted a solo shot in the third for his 24th home run of the season, and Justin Smoak led off the ninth with his 10th homer for Toronto (51-42).