Last Night In Baseball: D-Backs Silence Braves; Are Red Sox Fading?

Multiple four-hit games. Multiple stellar pitching performances. A recently surging team is struggling. A walk off in Texas. Friday’s MLB action provided all that and much more. Here are all the best moments from last night in Major League Baseball: They’re scrappy. They’re well-rounded. They win. And the Arizona Diamondbacks did just that against the Atlanta Braves. Led by seven shutout innings from Brandon Pfaadt that saw the right-hander record seven strikeouts and surrender just two baserunners (two hits), Arizona got a 2-0 road victory. Juan Morillo and Brandyn Garcia each followed Pfaadt with a scoreless inning of relief. As for their work with the bats, the D-backs got four hits from shortstop Geraldo Perdomo, with their two runs coming on an RBI ground out from catcher Gabriel Moreno in the top of the first inning and a solo home run from Tim Tawa in the ninth, which was his seventh long ball of the year. Through 22 starts this season, Pfaadt has posted a 3.11 ERA, a 1.13 WHIP and a 135 ERA+ over 92 ⅔ innings pitched. Moreover, he has pitched seven shutout innings in three of his last four starts (he gave up one run that was unearned on Aug. 3) and hasn’t given up more than two runs in a start since being put back in the starting rotation in late-June. While Perdomo, who led the National League with 7.1 wins above replacement in 2025, is having an underwhelming year at the plate, he has come to life over the last two weeks, boasting a .415 batting average over his last 13 games. Arizona is tied with the Philadelphia Phillies for the third NL wild-card seed at 65-58 and is one game back of the San Diego Padres for the second wild-card seed. After giving up three runs to the Milwaukee Brewers in the top of the ninth on Thursday night, Edwin Díaz shut the door for the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday night. While he did walk two batters, Díaz, who entered Friday with an 11.57 ERA and four blown saves in seven attempts this season, pitched a scoreless ninth inning, helping the Dodgers get a 3-1 victory. Earlier, Dodgers star Yoshinobu Yamamoto logged nine strikeouts over six innings, surrendering just one run. Los Angeles got its three runs on a first-inning RBI single from shortstop Mookie Betts and solo home runs from center fielder Andy Pages — who finished the night with a game-high three hits — in the fifth and second baseman Tommy Edman in the sixth. Milwaukee (75-48) is one game ahead of Los Angeles (74-49) for the best record in the NL. Simply put: Kansas City Royals right fielder Jac Caglianone is obliterating baseballs. As part of a 7-6 road win over the Los Angeles Angels, Caglianone tallied three hits: a towering, two-run home run to right field in the top of the fifth, a two-run single in the third and an RBI single in the seventh. The budding Royals star is on a 12-game hitting streak, while posting six home runs, 21 RBIs and a .410/.419/.770 slash line over his last 15 games. Through 114 games this season (443 plate appearances), Caglianone has totaled 22 home runs, 58 RBIs, a 131 OPS+ and three wins above replacement, while sporting a .273/.325/.495 slash line. As for the rest of the Royals’ run production, second baseman Michael Massey hit a solo homer in the second, had an RBI single in the seventh and finished with three hits altogether. The Chicago White Sox struck early and often against the Detroit Tigers, but Miguel Vargas was the star of the show. The All-Star third baseman blasted two home runs and had a four-hit night for the White Sox, highlighted by three extra-base hits, in a 9-5 win. Elsewhere, Chicago had a five-run third inning which saw outfielder Tristan Peters hit a two-run home run, first baseman Munetaka Murakami launch a solo homer and right fielder Braden Montgomery bring home two runs on a triple. Vargas, Montgomery and Peters each had three hits, with second baseman Chase Meidroth tallying two hits in an overall 14-hit night for Chicago. Through 119 games (523 plate appearances), Vargas has totaled an American League-high 82 runs scored, 27 home runs, 71 RBIs, a 131 OPS+ and 3.4 wins above replacement, while sporting a .486 slugging percentage. Jeff McNeil happened. As part of a convincing, 8-3 victory over the Texas Rangers, McNeil had a four-hit night for the Athletics. Those hits came in the form of a solo home run in the bottom of the sixth, two doubles and a single. It marked the first four-hit game for McNeil since Aug. 15, 2022. As for the rest of the game, the A’s drew first blood in the first inning on a three-run double from designated hitter Carlos Cortes, got a solo homer from right fielder Lawrence Butler in the seventh and an RBI force-out in the eighth. Left-hander Gage Jump pitched 5 ⅓ innings for the Athletics, who then got a combined 3 ⅔ scoreless innings of relief from Luis Medina, Drew Romo, Elvis Alvarado and Hogan Harris. The Boston Red Sox won 27 of 30 games. After Friday night, they have now lost six of their last seven. Regarding Boston’s latest loss, the Pittsburgh Pirates plated eight runs in an 8-4 win at PNC Park. Rafael Flores — who had a game-high three hits — started the party for the Pirates with a solo home run in the bottom of the second, with the first baseman then hitting an RBI single in the fourth in an inning where right fielder Esmerlyn Valdez ripped a two-run double. After Boston struck for two runs in the top of the fifth, Pittsburgh second baseman Brandon Lowe hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the inning, giving the Pirates a 7-2 lead. As for the offensive standouts, Garcia has logged four home runs and 10 RBIs across just 14 games; Valdez has totaled 14 home runs and 41 RBIs, while boasting a .250/.366/.557 slash line over 54 games; Lowe leads the Pirates in home runs (26) and RBIs (77). Right-hander Bubba Chandler surrendered three runs over five innings, with the Pirates then using five relievers to get through the game. Over their last seven games, the Red Sox have averaged just 3.6 runs per contest. Boston (65-57) now trails the New York Yankees by three games for the No. 1 wild-card seed. Clay Holmes was one of three pitchers the Chicago Cubs acquired to beef up their starting rotation — David Peterson and Braxton Garrett being the other two — and the 33-year-old showed exactly why on Friday afternoon. In what was his first start for the Cubs at Wrigley Field, Holmes mowed down the St. Louis Cardinals, surrendering no runs and just two baserunners (one hit and one walk) over 6 ⅔ innings pitched. Ryan Rolison, Ryan Zeferjahn and Jacob Webb then combined for 2 ⅓ scoreless innings of relief in a 3-0 Cubs win. In all, the Cardinals were held to three hits and two walks. And those three runs came on a three-run blast from designated hitter Seiya Suzuki in the bottom of the sixth. Back to Holmes, the right-hander recently returned from a fractured fibula, which kept him off the mound for roughly 10 weeks. Across 11 combined starts with the Cubs (two) and New York Mets (nine) this season, Holmes has recorded a 2.56 ERA, a 1.07 WHIP, a 160 ERA+ and two wins above replacement over 63 ⅓ innings pitched. As for the one who hit the long ball, the three-run shot was Suzuki’s 21st home run of the season, with him having also totaled 73 RBIs and boasting a career-high four wins above replacement and .486 slugging percentage. The Cubs (72-51) have won nine of their last 11 and are now just three games behind the Brewers for first place in the NL Central. The San Francisco Giants began the day by learning they’ll host the 2028 MLB All-Star Game. They ended the day getting muzzled by Kyle Freeland. The Colorado Rockies southpaw put together another potent start, surrendering just one run and five baserunners (four hits and one walk) over eight innings in a 5-2 win over their NL West rival. This comes just two weeks after Freeland, who has struggled to the tune of a 6.27 ERA this season, pitched a complete game against the Royals, giving up just one run. Colorado’s five runs came on a fourth-inning RBI triple from Troy Johnston, a fifth-inning force-out, a two-run home run from Zac Veen — who has hit two home runs in his first two MLB games this season — in the sixth and a ninth-inning sacrifice fly. The Rockies have won three consecutive games, while the Giants have lost seven of their last nine. The Baltimore Orioles were the end of the line for the Tampa Bay Rays’ nine-game winning streak. Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson was electric from start to finish, hitting a two-run home run in the top of the eighth, legging out a double and tallying two singles. They also got a run on a second-inning sacrifice fly, a third-inning solo home run from center fielder Colton Cowser and a two-run single from Dylan Beavers in the seventh. Now, the Rays made it interesting in the bottom of the ninth, with first baseman Jonathan Aranda hitting a two-run single and third baseman Junior Caminero bringing home a run on a ground out. Tampa Bay had the winning run on first base, but Cam Sanders was able to get the final out, securing a 6-5 Baltimore win. Despite being 59-63, the Orioles are just one game behind the Tigers for the third AL wild-card seed. Meanwhile, the Rays still have the best record in the sport at 74-47. We wrap up the best of Friday’s action with the only walk-off hit of the night. After the Seattle Mariners got two runners to touch home plate in the top of the 10th, the Houston Astros got even at 7-all with RBI singles from third baseman Isaac Paredes and center fielder Daulton Varsho. And the very next batter, first baseman Christian Walker, sent everybody home with a walk-off, three-run home run for a 10-7 Astros victory. Mariners closer Andrés Muñoz gave up all five runs in the inning. As for how the Astros got their first five runs, designated hitter Yordan Álvarez — who leads MLB with a .626 slugging percentage and a 1.063 OPS and leads the AL with 36 home runs and 88 RBIs — hit a solo homer in the first, with Houston later putting together a four-run fifth inning. In the latter inning, right fielder Cam Smith hit an RBI triple, shortstop Jeremy Peña had an RBI single and Paredes had a two-run single. Houston (63-60) has a three-game lead on the Texas Rangers for first place in the AL West and a six-game lead on the third-place Mariners (57-66), who are 3.5 games behind the Tigers for the third AL wild-card seed.