PHOENIX (AP) — Charlie Blackmon hit a grand slam to help Colorado build a big lead and the Rockies held on during a tense ninth inning to beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 8-7. Blackmon’s second career slam made it 8-1 in the top of the eighth. After the Diamondbacks scored twice in the bottom half of the inning, they rallied for four runs in the ninth. Christian Walker’s two-run single — which was inches shy of being a game-winning homer — pulled the D-backs within an 8-7 margin. Jeff Hoffman earned his first big league save when Nick Ahmed struck out looking with the bases loaded to end the game. Colorado has won three straight. Arizona has lost eight in a row.
Thursday's MLB Schedule (MT)
Seattle at San Diego, 1:10 p.m.
Pittsburgh at St. Louis, 1:15 p.m.
L.A. Dodgers at San Francisco, 2:05 p.m.
Cincinnati at Milwaukee, 3:10 p.m.
Colorado at Arizona, 4:10 p.m.
Boston at Toronto (Buffalo, N.Y.), 4:37 p.m.
Oakland at Texas, 4:37 p.m.
Philadelphia at Washington, 4:37 p.m.
Baltimore at Tampa Bay, 4:40 p.m.
Minnesota at Detroit, 5:10 p.m.
Miami at N.Y. Mets, 5:10 p.m.
Cincinnati at Milwaukee, Game 2
Pittsburgh at St. Louis, Game 2
Seattle at San Diego, Game 2
L.A. Dodgers at San Francisco, Game 2
Major League Action Wednesday
Ian Anderson had quite a major league debut on Wednesday, helping the Atlanta Braves put an end to Gerrit Cole’s lengthy winning streak. Anderson allowed just one hit over six innings of the Braves’ 5-1 win over the New York Yankees in Game 1 of a twinbill. Anderson had a no-hitter going until Luke Voit homered with one out in the sixth. The third overall pick in the 2016 draft struck out six and walked two.
Cole had won 20 straight regular-season decisions dating to May 2019, one off the American League record set by Roger Clemens. Ronald Acuña Jr. celebrated his return to the lineup by leading off with a 473-foot drive against Cole.
-- The Braves completed a sweep of the doubleheader as Freddie Freeman unloaded a two-run homer off Chad Green in the sixth inning of a 2-1 victory. Max Fried allowed four hits and one run in six strong innings to move to 5-0. Yanks starter Masahiro Tanaka was dominant, allowing only three hits in five scoreless innings as he left the second game with a 1-0 lead.
— Michael Perez hit a tiebreaking, solo homer in the eighth inning to give the Rays a 5-4 decision over the Orioles. Brandon Lowe (low) belted a two-run shot to help Tampa Bay win despite just five hits. The AL East leaders have won nine of 11.
— The Athletics beat Texas, 3-1 as Mike Fiers allowed only an unearned run and three hits over six innings. Fiers is 6-0 with a 3.18 ERA in his last nine starts against the Rangers, with his team winning each of those games. The A’s didn’t have a hit until Stephen Piscotty’s one-out RBI single tied the game in the sixth.
— The Indians put together a three-run eighth to knock off the Twins, 6-3. Tyler Naquin doubled home the tiebreaking run and scored on a single by Cesar Hernandez. Pitcher Mike Clevinger was good in his return to the Cleveland roster, limiting the AL Central leaders to two runs and eight hits while fanning six over six innings.
— Jose Abreu homered for the seventh time in five games to support Dallas Keuchelin the White Sox’s 10th win in 11 games, 10-3 over Pittsburgh. Keuchel allowed two runs on four hits and struck out seven over six innings for his third straight victory. Eloy Jiménez slugged a three-run homer, Danny Mendick lined a two-run drive and Edwin Encarnacion added a solo shot for Chicago.
— The Blue Jays blew out the Red Sox, 9-1 as Rowdy Tellez drove in four runs with two homers and a double. Vladimir Guererro Jr. hit a pair of doubles, including a three-run bouncer down the left field line which keyed a four-run seventh. Five Toronto pitchers combined to allow three hits, strike out seven and walk three.
— The Mets’ bullpen coughed up a 4-1 lead in the eighth before Wilson Ramos slapped an RBI single with two out in the bottom half to give New York a 5-4 victory against the Marlins. Jacob deGrom settled for another no-decision despite strikeout out 14 and holding Miami to a run and two hits over seven innings. Michael Conforto and Brandon Nimmo homered for the Mets.
— Aaron Nola bounced back from the shortest outing of his career and the Phillies took advantage of the Nationals’ sloppy outfield defense to rally for a 3-2 victory. Bryce Harper delivered the go-ahead RBI single in the seventh to help Philadelphia win its third in a row. Nola gave up two runs on five hits while striking out eight over seven innings.
— Austin Romine’s RBI double sparked a five-run sixth before the Tigers completed a 7-5 win over the Cubs. Romine drove in a pair of runs while he and Jonathan Schoop, Miguel Cabrera and Cameron Maybin each collected three of Detroit’s 18 hits. Cubs starter Jon Lester allowed one run over five innings before the bullpen faltered.
— Kolten Wong drew a bases-loaded walk to cap a four-run ninth as the Cardinals stunned the Royals, 6-5. Tyler O’Neill tied the game with a two-out, two-run single. St. Louis outfielder Dexter Fowler and pitcher Jack Flaherty opted to sit out the contest in solidarity with players around the league in protest of the shooting of Jacob Blake.