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MLB roundup: Swanson, Gausman carry Braves over Pirates

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Kevin Gausman has enjoyed transitioning to his new team. Dansby Swanson helped make it all the more pleasant Tuesday night.

Gausman breezed through eight innings, Swanson had two homers and four RBIs and the Atlanta Braves beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-1.

In his fourth start for Atlanta, Gausman (8-9) gave up four hits with five strikeouts and two walks, helping the NL East-leading Braves take the first two legs of the three-game series. He has allowed six runs in 27 innings since being acquired from the Baltimore Orioles on July 31.

“This is a fun team to play for, especially right now,” Gausman said. “We’re playing well and it’s a fun place to come to work every day. A little different than where I’ve been this season. It was frustrating being over there, being a part of the season (the Orioles are) having over there was tough.”

Swanson’s first homer gave the Braves a 2-0 lead in the fifth before he sent another two-run shot into nearly the same spot in the left field bleachers, extending the lead to 5-0 in the seventh. Kurt Suzuki doubled down the left-field line, scoring Ozzie Albies from first for the third run. Tyler Flowers scored on a wild pitch in the ninth to make it 6-0.

“You’re not really looking at the results,” Swanson said. “You’re really looking at the progress and the process. … It’s definitely a good thing moving forward, but tomorrow’s a new day.”

Ivan Nova (7-8) allowed Swanson’s first home run after retiring his initial 10 batters, including the first nine on 29 pitches. Ender Inciarte singled to center for Atlanta’s first hit with one out in the fourth.

Nova got through six innings on 78 pitches (51 strikes), but was removed when Josh Harrison pinch-hit with one out and the Pirates trailing 2-0 in the sixth. He allowed two runs and four hits with four strikeouts.

The Pirates had allowed one run in each of their previous five games, but were 2-3 during that stretch.

“I knew (getting pulled) was going to happen,” Nova said. “We need to score. It’s been tough the last week. A lot of good pitching.”

Harrison singled and the Pirates eventually loaded the bases with two outs, but Gausman got out of the jam when Josh Bell grounded out to short.

“(Gausman) is pitching exactly how we had hoped when we got him,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “He was really, really good tonight. That was huge.”

Gregory Polanco led off the ninth with a home run off Chad Sobotka for Pittsburgh’s lone run.

“Can we adjust the lineup, look at some different things? We’ve talked about it,” Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. “It’s been hard. These guys are battling. Guys are doing some different things to try to change up some things. … We’re not getting the results we want.”

Tigers 2, Cubs 1

DETROIT (AP) — Jordan Zimmermann pitched six effective innings, Victor Martinez had three hits and Detroit beat slumping Chicago.

Zimmermann (6-5) allowed seven hits, struck out five and walked one, continuing Chicago’s misery. Drew VerHagen, Joe Jimenez and Shane Greene combined for three innings of one-hit relief, closing out Detroit’s second win in seven games.

Mets 6, Giants 3

NEW YORK (AP) — Rookie Jeff McNeil went 4 for 4 and hit a go-ahead double with two outs in the eighth inning that sent New York over San Francisco.

McNeil equaled his career high by getting four hits for the second time since making his major league debut last month. Michael Conforto homered and drove in four runs.

Evan Longoria hit a two-run homer for the Giants, who fell to 3-5 on an 11-game road trip — they’ve scored two runs or fewer five times. Longoria’s drive was San Francisco’s first homer since Andrew McCutchen connected last Wednesday.

Indians 6,

Red Sox 3

BOSTON (AP) — Rookie Shane Bieber took a shutout into the seventh inning, Melky Cabrera homered for the second straight game and Cleveland beat Boston.

Yan Gomes also homered for the Indians, who have won nine of 10 and the first two of the four-game series at Fenway Park.

Boston, with the best record in the majors, has lost three in a row for just the second time this season.

Bieber (7-2) went 6 1-3 innings, allowing three runs on five hits. He struck out five and didn’t walk a batter.

Down 5-0, Boston scored three times in the seventh. Brad Hand got his 25th save as the Indians improved to 15-4 in August.

Rays 4,

Royals 1

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Blake Snell helped Tampa Bay match a team record with 27 consecutive shutout innings and Tampa beat Kansas City.

The scoreless stretch ended when Snell (15-5) allowed a fifth-inning solo homer to Ryan O’Hearn. Snell struck out 11 and gave up four hits in six innings. The left-hander has 13 straight home starts of allowing one earned run or fewer, which is longest stretch in the majors since 1913, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Padres 4,

Rockies 3

DENVER (AP) — Eric Hosmer and Austin Hedges homered off Tyler Anderson and San Diego cooled off surging Colorado

The Rockies arrived home after a 5-1 trip that included a four-game sweep of Atlanta.

This had potential trap game written all over it: Colorado’s streak of 46 straight games against teams at or above .500 ended by facing a Padres squad that is hovering at the bottom of the NL. Over the stretch, the Rockies went 30-16 and pulled within a half-game of Arizona in the NL West entering the night.

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