George Springer's 8th-inning grand slam breaks game open, Blue Jays beat Guardians

CLEVELAND (AP) — George Springer broke the game open with a grand slam in the eighth inning, Eric Lauer held Cleveland scoreless until the sixth and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Guardians 10-6 on Tuesday night.

Springer’s eighth career slam and 11th home run this season gave the Blue Jays a 10-4 lead. He went 3 for 5 with three runs scored to pace Toronto’s 14-hit night.

Lauer (4-1) allowed one run — a solo shot by Carlos Santana in the sixth inning — and five hits in 5 1/3 innings. The left-hander struck out five and walked three to stretch his winning streak to three games.

It was the second time Lauer pitched in Cleveland during his seven-year career. He grew up in Grafton, Ohio, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) from Cleveland and played at Kent State.

Alejandro Kirk hit RBI singles in the first and fifth innings for the Blue Jays. Jonatan Clase extended the lead to 6-1 with a two-run single in the seventh.

Lane Thomas drew the Guardians to within 6-4 with a three-run home run in the seventh. Kyle Manzardo connected in the ninth.

Cleveland starter Logan Allen (5-5) gave up four runs (three earned) and eight hits over 5 2/3 innings.

RANGERS 6, ORIOLES 5, 10 INNINGS

BALTIMORE (AP) — Evan Carter slid safely home in the top of the 10th inning, lifting Texas to a victory over Baltimore.

Carter was the automatic runner, and he went to third when Seranthony Domínguez (2-2) threw a one-out wild pitch. Sam Haggerty then hit a grounder to second baseman Jackson Holliday. When Holliday threw home, Carter was initially called out, but he was ruled safe on a replay review.

Luke Jackson (2-4) won in relief for Texas, and Robert Garcia kept the Orioles off the scoreboard in the bottom of the 10th for his sixth save. Cedric Mullins sacrificed the automatic runner to third, but Garcia struck out Dylan Carlson and Jackson Holliday to end it.

Gary Sanchez, Ramón Urías and Ryan O’Hearn hit consecutive homers for the Orioles off reliever Chris Martin in the seventh, turning a 4-0 deficit into a 5-4 lead. Baltimore couldn’t hold on.

Texas starter Jacob Latz took a no-hitter into the seventh inning — in the process setting career highs in innings and pitches in the game — but Ramon Laureano broke that up with a leadoff single. Latz walked the next hitter before he was replaced by Martin.

BREWERS 9, PIRATES 3

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Joey Ortiz homered twice and Caleb Durbin added a three-run shot as Milwaukee defeated Pittsburgh.

Durbin and Ortiz — the last two hitters in Milwaukee’s lineup — went a combined 4 of 8 with four runs and seven RBIs. They hit back-to-back homers off Andrew Heaney with two outs in the fourth inning to extend the Brewers’ lead to 6-0.

Ortiz also broke a scoreless tie with a two-run blast in the third as the Brewers won for the fifth time in six games. Ortiz has gone 12 of 26 over his last six games, raising his batting average from .188 to .217 and improving his OPS from .506 to .572.

Pittsburgh’s Nick Gonzales hit a three-run homer one night after going 5 for 5 in a 5-4 victory over the Brewers. The homer was his third of the season.

Milwaukee’s Freddy Peralta (8-4) held Pittsburgh scoreless until he ended his night by allowing two singles and Gonzales’ homer to start the sixth inning. Peralta struck out eight and yielded seven hits and no walks.

Heaney (3-7) struck out three and allowed seven runs, three walks and seven hits in four innings.

DIAMONDBACKS 4, WHITE SOX 1

CHICAGO (AP) — Ketel Marte hit a solo homer in the first inning, Alek Thomas and Geraldo Perdomo each had a seventh-inning RBI single and Arizona beat Chicago.

The Diamondbacks beat Chicago 10-0 in the series opener on Monday and have won five of their last six.

Chicago has lost 11 of its last 13.

Diamondbacks starter Ryne Nelson gave up a run with seven strikeouts in five innings. Ryan Thompson (2-2) gave up a walk to Lenyn Sosa before he got Luis Robert Jr. to line out to end the sixth and got Edgar Quero to ground out in the seventh before he was replaced by Jalen Beeks. Shelby Miller pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his ninth save of the season.

Jordan Leasure made his first career start after 65 relief appearances and was replaced by Mike Vasil (3-3) in the second inning. Vasil gave up two runs, one earned, on three hits in 5 1/3 innings.

MARINERS 6, TWINS 5

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Julio Rodríguez drove in the go-ahead run with a sacrifice fly in the ninth inning after Jhoan Duran hit a pair of batters with pitches, lifting Seattle over Minnesota for their eighth win in 11 games.

Minnesota, which fell behind 5-0 before tying the score in the fourth, has lost five straight and 15 of 18.

Duran (4-3) hit Jorge Polanco with one out and pinch-runner Dylan Moore moved to third on Cole Young’s single. Duran hit J.P. Crawford, loading the bases, and Rodríguez followed with a drive to deep right field that brought home Moore and moved Young to third. The Twins intentionally walked big league home run leader Cal Raleigh to reload the bases, and Duran struck out Randy Arozarena.

Andrés Muñoz (3-0) pitched a perfect eighth. Matt Brash a 1-2-3 ninth for his first save since 2023.

Donovan Solano and Young had two hits apiece for the Mariners, who were hit by pitches three times.

Kody Clemens homered for the Twins and Ryan Jeffers hit a two-out, two-run double.

REDS 5, YANKEES 4, 11 INNINGS

CINCINNATI (AP) — Spencer Steer and pinch-hitter Gavin Lux hit run-scoring singles in the 11th inning and Cincinnati rallied from a three-run deficit for a 5-4 victory over New York after Chase Burns made an impressive major league debut for the Reds.

Aaron Judge scored on Connor Phillips’ wild pitch in the 11th for a 4-3 lead.

With Matt McLain as the automatic runner, Elly De La Cruz led off against Mark Leiter Jr. (4-4) with an infield single. Spencer Steer hit a tying single as De La Cruz jogged to second, apparently thinking the game was over. Steer advanced on a wild pitch, Tyler Stephenson walked to load the bases and Lux singled to center over the five-man infield for his second career walk-off hit.

Christian Encarnacion-Strand hit a three-run double in the seventh off Jonathan Loáisiga.

New York dropped to 1-6 in extra innings this year and is 1 for 21 with runners in scoring position in losing the first two games of the series.

BRAVES 7, METS 4

NEW YORK (AP) — Matt Olson had three RBIs, including a tiebreaking single that capped a five-run sixth inning, and Atlanta rallied past New York.

Spencer Strider (3-5) overcame one rugged inning to win his third straight start, and the Braves took advantage of nine walks by six Mets pitchers. Atlanta, which has won nine of 12 overall, improved to 5-0 against its NL East rival this year — all in the past eight days.

After getting an encouraging performance from starter Frankie Montas in his Mets debut, New York blew a 3-0 lead and lost for the 10th time in 11 games.

TIGERS 11, ATHLETICS 4

DETROIT (AP) — Dillon Dingler hit a three-run home run, Kerry Carpenter added a two-run homer and Detroit beat the Athletics.

Riley Greene had four hits, including a double, two RBIs and scored twice for the Tigers and Wenceel Pérez added two hits and two RBIs.

Greene has 45 RBIs since May 1, second in the American League behind Seattle’s Cal Raleigh (50), and is batting .439 with 18 hits and 17 RBIs over the last 10 games.

Tarik Skubal (9-2) gave up four runs on six hits with eight strikeouts in six innings. The 28-year-old has won 10 consecutive home games, dating to Aug. 13, the longest active streak of its kind by a starter in MLB.

Greene and Pérez each hit a two-out single before Zach McKinstry followed with a two-run single in the seventh and Greene’s two RBI single in the eighth capped the scoring.

Brent Rooker and Denzel Clarke hit two-run home runs in the first and second innings, respectively.

RAYS 5, ROYALS 1

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Danny Jansen hit a two-run home run and finished with three RBIs, Taj Bradley pitched two-hit ball for 6 2/3 scoreless innings and Tampa Bay beat Kansas City.

Yandy Díaz and Jonathan Aranda had three hits apiece for the Rays.

José Caballero hit a two-out single in the second inning, and two pitches later Jansen followed with a homer that gave Tampa Bay a 2-0 lead.

Aranda led off the fourth with a single, advanced to third on throwing error when Jake Mangum reached on a fielder’s choice, and scored on a sacrifice fly by Jansen to make it 3-0.

Díaz and Curtis Mead hit back-to-back singles and Díaz scored when Aranda, with two out in the fifth, reached on a throwing error by starter Kris Bubic (6-5).

Junior Camerino doubled and later scored on a ground ball by Mangum in the seventh.

Kansas City’s Maikel Garcia hit a two-out double and scored on a single by Vinnie Pasquantino to cap the scoring in the ninth.

CARDINALS 8, CUBS 7

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Masyn Winn homered, drove in four runs and scored twice to lead St. Louis to a win over Chicago for their seventh win their last eight games.

Cardinals starter Michael McGreevy allowed five runs on seven hits in 4 2/3 innings, striking out one and walking one. Steven Matz (4-2) went 1 1/3 innings of relief and Ryan Helsley earned his 15th save in 20 tries.

The Cubs lost their third straight, tying a season high.

Lars Nootbaar gave the Cardinals a 2-0 lead with a two-run homer in the second and Winn hit a two-run homer in the third.

Nolan Gorman sparked a four-run rally in the fourth with a 432-foot leadoff home run to tie it at 5-all. Winn gave the Cardinals the lead with a two run double and scored from second on Alec Burleson’s sacrifice fly to deep center to make it 8-5.

Cubs starter Jameson Taillon (7-5) allowed eight runs on eight hits.

ASTROS 1, PHILLIES 1

HOUSTON (AP) — Cooper Hummel hit a solo home run in the eighth inning and Framber Valdez and two relievers combined for a four-hitter in Houston's win over Philadelphia..

There was one out in the eighth when Hummel connected off Ranger Suárez (6-2) on his opposite field shot to the bullpen in right-center field.

Valdez scattered four hits across seven scoreless innings. Bryan Abreu (2-3) struck out one in the eighth and Josh Hader struck out two in the ninth for his 20th save.

The Phillies had a chance to get on the board in the sixth. J.T. Realmuto reached on a throwing error by third baseman Isaac Paredes with one out in the inning and stole second base. Valdez walked Otto Kemp but Edmundo Sosa grounded into a double play to end the inning.

DODGERS 9, ROCKIES 7

DENVER (AP) — Michael Conforto hit a three-run homer, Shohei Ohtani added a two-run shot and the NL West-leading Los Angeles held off the last-place Colorado.

Trailing 2-0, the Dodgers got their bats cranked up in a six-run fourth inning. Conforto sent a knuckle-curve from Germán Márquez (3-9) over the fence in right.

Ohtani lined his 27th homer of the season into the left-field seats in the sixth to make it 8-3. Ohtani finished 1 for 5 with a strikeout.

Jordan Beck had a two-run double for Colorado in eighth to make it an 8-7 game. Teoscar Hernández added an insurance run with an RBI double in the ninth. Tanner Scott closed it out with a game-ending double play to record his 16th save.

Justin Wrobleski (3-2) pitched five innings and allowed two runs while striking out seven. He took over after Jack Dreyer handled the first.

PADRES 4, NATIONALS 3

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Martín Maldonado hit a tying home run in the fifth off San Diego native Trevor Williams and Jose Iglesias brought in the go-ahead run with a bases-loaded groundout in the sixth as San Diego beat Washington.

The bottom four batters in the Padres’ order each drove in a run.

Padres rookie right-hander Ryan Bergert was forced out in the fourth after being hit on his pitching elbow by a 103-mph line drive by Jacob Young. Bergert bent over for a minute with his arm pulled in tight and then popped up and grabbed the ball, which landed near the rubber. He threw to first but Young beat it out for an infield single.

After being checked by a trainer, Bergert came out. He was replaced by Adrian Morejon. Young eventually scored on James Wood’s grounder to give the Nationals a 3-0 lead.

Wood, a former Padres’ prospect, also drew a bases-loaded walk in the second.

The Padres began their comeback when they scored twice off Williams in the fourth, on Xander Bogaerts’ groundout and Jake Cronenworth’s RBI double.

Maldonado, the No. 9 hitter, tied it with a homer to left-center, his fourth.

ANGELS 3, RED SOX 2, 10 INNINGS

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Christian Moore hit a tying homer in the eighth inning and a two-run walk-off shot in the 10th, sending Los Angeles to a victory over Boston.

Moore, the Angels’ top prospect and the eighth overall pick in the 2024 draft, hit a solo shot off Greg Weissert in the eighth.

After Marcelo Mayer’s leadoff RBI single off Reid Detmers (3-2) put Boston ahead in the 10th, Moore capped his 11th major league game by driving a slider from Justin Wilson (2-1) to right field.

Garrett Crochet struck out 10 over seven scoreless innings of three-hit ball for the Red Sox, who have lost four straight. Mayer had three of Boston’s five hits.

MARLINS 4, GIANTS 2

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Otto Lopez had two hits and an RBI, and Miami kept Justin Verlander winless this season with a 4-2 win over San Francisco.

Xavier Edwards, Connor Norby and Jesús Sánchez each had two hits as Miami won for the third tims in four games. Eric Wagaman added an RBI double.

Christian Koss homered for the Giants.

Verlander, the three-time Cy Young Award winner who came off the paternity list Monday, fell to 0-5 after making his 538th career start (tied for 34th most in history). The 42-year-old allowed three runs and five hits in five innings. He had five strikeouts and one walk.

Wagaman doubled in Kyle Stowers in the second and scored on Norby’s two-out single.

Toronto Blue Jays' George Springer hits a home run in the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians in Cleveland, Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

NEW YORK (AP) — Reviving a campaign pledge, President Donald Trump wants a one-year, 10% cap on credit card interest rates, a move that could save Americans tens of billions of dollars but drew immediate opposition from an industry that has been in his corner.

Trump was not clear in his social media post Friday night whether a cap might take effect through executive action or legislation, though one Republican senator said he had spoken with the president and would work on a bill with his “full support.” Trump said he hoped it would be in place Jan. 20, one year after he took office.

Strong opposition is certain from Wall Street in addition to the credit card companies, which donated heavily to his 2024 campaign and have supported Trump's second-term agenda. Banks are making the argument that such a plan would most hurt poor people, at a time of economic concern, by curtailing or eliminating credit lines, driving them to high-cost alternatives like payday loans or pawnshops.

“We will no longer let the American Public be ripped off by Credit Card Companies that are charging Interest Rates of 20 to 30%,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

Researchers who studied Trump’s campaign pledge after it was first announced found that Americans would save roughly $100 billion in interest a year if credit card rates were capped at 10%. The same researchers found that while the credit card industry would take a major hit, it would still be profitable, although credit card rewards and other perks might be scaled back.

About 195 million people in the United States had credit cards in 2024 and were assessed $160 billion in interest charges, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says. Americans are now carrying more credit card debt than ever, to the tune of about $1.23 trillion, according to figures from the New York Federal Reserve for the third quarter last year.

Further, Americans are paying, on average, between 19.65% and 21.5% in interest on credit cards according to the Federal Reserve and other industry tracking sources. That has come down in the past year as the central bank lowered benchmark rates, but is near the highs since federal regulators started tracking credit card rates in the mid-1990s. That’s significantly higher than a decade ago, when the average credit card interest rate was roughly 12%.

The Republican administration has proved particularly friendly until now to the credit card industry.

Capital One got little resistance from the White House when it finalized its purchase and merger with Discover Financial in early 2025, a deal that created the nation’s largest credit card company. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which is largely tasked with going after credit card companies for alleged wrongdoing, has been largely nonfunctional since Trump took office.

In a joint statement, the banking industry was opposed to Trump's proposal.

“If enacted, this cap would only drive consumers toward less regulated, more costly alternatives," the American Bankers Association and allied groups said.

Bank lobbyists have long argued that lowering interest rates on their credit card products would require the banks to lend less to high-risk borrowers. When Congress enacted a cap on the fee that stores pay large banks when customers use a debit card, banks responded by removing all rewards and perks from those cards. Debit card rewards only recently have trickled back into consumers' hands. For example, United Airlines now has a debit card that gives miles with purchases.

The U.S. already places interest rate caps on some financial products and for some demographics. The Military Lending Act makes it illegal to charge active-duty service members more than 36% for any financial product. The national regulator for credit unions has capped interest rates on credit union credit cards at 18%.

Credit card companies earn three streams of revenue from their products: fees charged to merchants, fees charged to customers and the interest charged on balances. The argument from some researchers and left-leaning policymakers is that the banks earn enough revenue from merchants to keep them profitable if interest rates were capped.

"A 10% credit card interest cap would save Americans $100 billion a year without causing massive account closures, as banks claim. That’s because the few large banks that dominate the credit card market are making absolutely massive profits on customers at all income levels," said Brian Shearer, director of competition and regulatory policy at the Vanderbilt Policy Accelerator, who wrote the research on the industry's impact of Trump's proposal last year.

There are some historic examples that interest rate caps do cut off the less creditworthy to financial products because banks are not able to price risk correctly. Arkansas has a strictly enforced interest rate cap of 17% and evidence points to the poor and less creditworthy being cut out of consumer credit markets in the state. Shearer's research showed that an interest rate cap of 10% would likely result in banks lending less to those with credit scores below 600.

The White House did not respond to questions about how the president seeks to cap the rate or whether he has spoken with credit card companies about the idea.

Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., who said he talked with Trump on Friday night, said the effort is meant to “lower costs for American families and to reign in greedy credit card companies who have been ripping off hardworking Americans for too long."

Legislation in both the House and the Senate would do what Trump is seeking.

Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Josh Hawley, R-Mo., released a plan in February that would immediately cap interest rates at 10% for five years, hoping to use Trump’s campaign promise to build momentum for their measure.

Hours before Trump's post, Sanders said that the president, rather than working to cap interest rates, had taken steps to deregulate big banks that allowed them to charge much higher credit card fees.

Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., have proposed similar legislation. Ocasio-Cortez is a frequent political target of Trump, while Luna is a close ally of the president.

Seung Min Kim reported from West Palm Beach, Fla.

President Donald Trump arrives on Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport, Friday, Jan. 9, 2025, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

FILE - Visa and Mastercard credit cards are shown in Buffalo Grove, Ill., Feb. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)