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Tolle has career-high 14 strikeouts, Red Sox beat A's for 9th straight win

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Tolle has career-high 14 strikeouts, Red Sox beat A's for 9th straight win
Sport

Sport

Tolle has career-high 14 strikeouts, Red Sox beat A's for 9th straight win

2026-08-08 11:11 Last Updated At:11:20

BOSTON (AP) — Payton Tolle struck out a career-high 14 in six innings, Wilyer Abreu drove in three runs, and the Boston Red Sox won their ninth game in a row with a 13-1 rout of the Athletics on Friday night.

The Red Sox are just the seventh team since 1920 to win 27 or more in a 30-game span, and the only team to begin their run under .500.

Tolle (7-6) was the first Red Sox pitcher to fan 14 since Chris Sale on May 8, 2019. He was perfect through four innings, and allowed one run on two hits.

Jarren Duran’s two-run homer over the Green Monster in left field opened the scoring and sparked Boston’s five-run second inning. Jake Rogers had an RBI double, and Abreu added a two-run double.

Jack Perkins (2-8) gave up five runs on five hits in three innings. He struck out three and walked three.

Tyler Soderstrom’s leadoff homer in the fifth ended Tolle’s no-hit bid.

GUARDIANS 8, WHITE SOX 2

CHICAGO (AP) — Angel Martínez hit a grand slam and drove in a career-high six runs and Cleveland beat Chicago to end a three-game losing streak.

Steven Kwan added a solo home run to help the Guardians trim Chicago’s division lead to two games after being swept by the New York Mets.

Martínez’s third career slam came in the fifth inning after David Sandlin (2-2) gave up Chase DeLauter’s single, walked José Ramírez and hit Jo Adell. Martínez drove the first pitch to center. Austin Hedges added an RBI single in the inning.

Munetaka Murakami and Braden Montgomery had solo homers for the White Sox, They’ve lost a season-worst four straight and five of six.

METS 6, PIRATES 4

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Marcus Semien hit a three-run homer, rookie Zac Thornton pitched five scoreless innings and New York matched a season high with their fourth straight win by beating Pittsburgh.

Semien’s second homer in two games and 14th of the season, a drive to left-center off Carmen Mlodzinski, capped a four-run third that put the Mets ahead 5-0. New York, last in the NL East, swept a three-game series in Cleveland before busing to Pittsburgh on Thursday night.

Thornton (3-2) allowed four hits while striking out three and walking two. The left-hander remained in the game following a 36-minute rain delay in the top of the third.

Pittsburgh got two runs in the seventh and then two more in the ninth off closer Devin Williams, but a pair of baserunning mistakes cost the Pirates as they tried to rally.

NATIONALS 5, REDS 3

WASHINGTON (AP) — Daylen Lile and Harry Ford homered for Washington, and the Nationals beat Cincinnati for just their second win in the last 10 games.

Eugenio Suárez, Matt McLain and Elly De La Cruz went deep for the Reds, but they were all solo shots and De La Cruz also made a crucial first-inning error at shortstop. Cincinnati lost for only the second time in eight games.

Cade Cavalli (9-5) allowed the three Cincinnati homers but managed his sixth straight quality start. He yielded seven hits and two walks in six-plus innings, striking out eight. The right-hander was pulled in the sixth after a single, a stolen base and then a slow roller that turned into another single.

ANGELS 4, MARLINS 3

MIAMI (AP) — Mike Trout and Nolan Schanuel both hit home runs for the Los Angeles in a win over Miami.

Trout homered in the first inning to open the scoring. Trout, who turned 35 on Friday, hit a home run on his birthday for the sixth time in his 16 MLB seasons.

Josh Lowe scored when Trout reached on a fielder error by Josh Ekness and Schanuel hit a two-run shot to center field, his second home run in as many games, in the seventh.

Shaun Anderson (2-0) recorded the final out of the sixth and earned the win. He walked one and gave up one hit.

Owen Caissie walked to lead off the fourth, Jakub Marsee singled and Esteury Ruiz walked before Kyle Stowers drew a bases-loaded walk to drive in Caissie.

TWINS 8, BREWERS 6

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Josh Bell went 4 for 5 with a homer and Kaelen Culpepper also went deep in his major league debut as Minnesota erased a four-run deficit and beat Milwaukee.

Minnesota trailed 4-0 after two innings before scoring two runs each in the third, fourth, fifth and sixth. It was the biggest lead Milwaukee has blown in a loss all season.

The Twins scored twice with two outs in the sixth to break a 6-all tie. After Antonio Senzatela (9-3) retired the first two batters he faced, Ryan Jeffers and Royce Lewis hit consecutive doubles. Bell singled home Lewis for his third RBI of the night.

CUBS 6, ROYALS 4

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kevin Gausman provided exactly what the Cubs hoped for when they acquired him from the Blue Jays last weekend, pitching seven sharp innings in his Chicago debut in a victory over Kansas City.

The 35-year-old right-hander gave up an RBI single to Isaac Collins in the first inning and Carter Jensen’s homer in the fifth, but he otherwise held Kansas City in check. Gausman (6-10) retired 12 of 13 at one point and ended up allowing two runs on four hits and a walk.

Caleb Thielbar allowed a pair of runs in the eighth for the Cubs before Trent Thornton escaped the jam, getting Nick Loftin to fly out with the tying run on first base. Jacob Webb breezed through the ninth for his seventh save.

CARDINALS 3, ROCKIES 2

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Iván Herrera hit a solo home run, Kyle Leahy pitched five innings and St. Louis beat the Colorado.

Herrara hit a one-out homer in the third inning, extending the Cardinals’ lead to 3-1. It was the 18th homer given up by Colorado starter Feltner (4-6) this season. Feltner gave up four hits and three runs in 5 1/3 innings.

Leahy (8-4) allowed two runs and eight hits for his first decision in five starts and only his fourth in his past 13. He has held opponents to two runs or fewer in eight straight starts. Riley O’Brien picked up his 28th save by pitching the ninth.

Rookie TJ Rumfield and Jake McCarthy each had three hits for the Rockies, who left seven runners on base. Colorado was 0 for 10 with runners in scoring position.

The Cardinals improved to 49-19 against the Rockies at Busch Stadium III, their best home record against any opponent since the ballpark opened in 2006.

RANGERS 2, ORIOLES 1

ARLINGTON, Texas, (AP) — Joc Pederson hit a two-run homer in the sixth inning and Nathan Eovaldi and three relievers combined to limit Baltimore to one run as Texas beat the Orioles.

Pederson swung at the first pitch he saw from Shane Baz (4-11) and drove it 414 feet around the pole in right field, scoring Elias Diaz and giving the Rangers a lead they never relinquished. It was Pederson’s 21st homer of the season and his eighth go-ahead homer of the year.

The Rangers were limited to three hits, one each from Pederson, Brandon Nimmo, and Díaz.

Eovaldi worked 5 1/3 innings and allowed one run on four hits while striking out two. Tyler Alexander (3-2) earned the win after allowing one hit in two-thirds of an inning. Jacob Latz worked two scoreless innings for his 22nd save.

The Orioles got a double from Leody Taveras and singles from Dylan Beavers, Coby Mayo, Colton Cowser, and Carlos Narváez.

Boston Red Sox's Jake Rogers, right, beats a tag by Athletics' Jonah Heim, center, to score on a single hit by Ceddanne Rafaela during the seventh inning of a baseball game, Friday, Aug. 7, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Boston Red Sox's Jake Rogers, right, beats a tag by Athletics' Jonah Heim, center, to score on a single hit by Ceddanne Rafaela during the seventh inning of a baseball game, Friday, Aug. 7, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Anyone doubting that an NFL offensive guard is worth $100 million needs only to look at who Peter Skoronski lines up against every day in practice during training camp.

That would be All-Pro defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons.

“You can’t tell me the guys that have to block that guy aren't important too,” Skoronski said Friday night after a scrimmage at Nissan Stadium.

Now Skoronski has done his part to reset the pay scale for interior linemen with the Tennessee Titans announcing Friday signing him to a multi-year extension making him the NFL's highest-paid guard.

“That's always a good thing to help the market along and help other guys along too,” Skoronski said. “I think that's a positive thing. But yeah, there's a reason because we have a tough job, and I think defenses now key on that too that the interior line is where the pocket starts.”

The Titans did not publicly announce details of the extension for the 11th overall pick of the 2023 draft. A person familiar with the terms told The Associated Press the four-year deal is worth $100 million with $88 million of that guaranteed and spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity.

ESPN and the NFL Network first reported the terms of the contract making Skoronski the league's highest-paid guard.

Skoronski called the extension a tremendous blessing. He thanked controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk, general manager Mike Borgonzi and new coach Robert Saleh for believing in him.

The Titans were the NFL's biggest spenders in free agency in March and continued the spending with the two stars they wanted to keep on this roster.

All-Pro defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons signed his own extension making him the league's highest-paid at his position in late June. This contract wraps up a lineman who finished fourth in the All Pro voting at left guard for the 2025 season.

Simmons said his teammate deserved this payday seeing how hard Skoronski works.

“To be able to battle against Pete these last couple years at practice have helped me,” said Simmons, who had a career-high 11 sacks last season.

The contract for Skoronski is a nice change for Tennessee, which didn't draft a player deemed not deserving of a second contract here from its draft classes of 2020, 2021 or 2022. This franchise had only one player from any of those draft classes still on the roster last season, and tight end Chig Okonkwo left in free agency.

Borgonzi said they couldn't be happier to keep Skoronski in Nashville with the goal of keeping players and people who are “cornerstones” for this team.

"Peter is certainly that for us,” Borgonzi said. “He has the work ethic to match his talent and a perpetual desire to win that we want permeating throughout our building. We’re excited to enter the season knowing he and his family will remain Titans for years to come.”

Skoronski missed three of his first four games as a rookie after being drafted out of Northwestern. He has started 47 straight games, not missing an offensive snap in either of the past two seasons.

His 48 starts are a franchise best for a player under the age of 25 since the beginning of the 1999 season. Skoronski just turned 25, and nobody on the roster has started more consecutive games than his 47 straight.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/NFL

Fireworks light up the sky after a Tennessee Titans practice during the NFL football team's training camp Friday, Aug. 7, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Fireworks light up the sky after a Tennessee Titans practice during the NFL football team's training camp Friday, Aug. 7, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Tennessee Titans quarterback Cam Ward (1) signs autographs for fans after practice during the NFL football team's training camp Friday, Aug. 7, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Tennessee Titans quarterback Cam Ward (1) signs autographs for fans after practice during the NFL football team's training camp Friday, Aug. 7, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Tennessee Titans quarterback Cam Ward (1) signs autographs for fans after practice during the NFL football team's training camp Friday, Aug. 7, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Tennessee Titans quarterback Cam Ward (1) signs autographs for fans after practice during the NFL football team's training camp Friday, Aug. 7, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Tennessee Titans defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons, left, and quarterback Cam Ward (1) sign autographs for fans after practice during the NFL football team's training camp Friday, Aug. 7, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Tennessee Titans defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons, left, and quarterback Cam Ward (1) sign autographs for fans after practice during the NFL football team's training camp Friday, Aug. 7, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Tennessee Titans guard Peter Skoronski (77) warms up during the NFL football team's training camp Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Tennessee Titans guard Peter Skoronski (77) warms up during the NFL football team's training camp Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

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