NEW YORK — Ryan Yarbrough ended a 24-start winless skid with Tampa Bay’s first complete game in more than five years, and the Rays beat the New York Yankees 9-2 on Thursday.
Austin Meadows homered off Gerrit Cole and drove in five runs for Tampa Bay. Yarbrough (3-3) hadn’t won a start since Aug. 11, 2019, when he threw a career-high 8 2/3 innings in a 1-0 win over Seattle.
The AL East-leading Rays salvaged a four-game split, improving to 10-3 at Yankee Stadium since the start of last season.
New York fell 4 1/2 games back of Tampa Bay. It has dropped seven of 10 entering a weekend series against the rival Red Sox.
Brett Gardner and Miguel Andújar homered for the Yankees. Cole (6-3) matched a season worst by allowing five runs in five innings.
Tampa Bay had not thrown a complete game since Matt Andriese’s two-hit shutout of Oakland on May 14, 2016, a major league-record streak of 731 games.
BRAVES 5, NATIONALS 1
ATLANTA — Dansby Swanson kept up his power surge with a two-run homer in Atlanta’s four-run sixth inning.
Braves left-hander Tucker Davidson, recalled from Triple-A Gwinnett for his second start this season, gave up one hit in 5 2/3 innings. He struck out five and walked five. with five walks and five strikeouts.
Swanson extended his hitting streak to a career-best 12 games with his 10th homer this season. He has five homers in that stretch, including in back-to-back games against Washington.
Josh Tomlin (3-0) threw 1 1/3 scoreless innings for the win.
Nationals left-hander Patrick Corbin (3-5) permitted four runs and six hits in 5 1/3 innings.
ROCKIES 11, RANGERS 6
DENVER — Austin Gomber pitched six shutout innings, Charlie Blackmon homered and Colorado beat Texas to finish a franchise-worst 0-9 trip for the Rangers and extend their longest losing streak since 2003 to nine games.
Texas fell behind 9-0 by the sixth inning and lost its 15th consecutive road game, one shy of the franchise record set by the 1961 Washington Senators, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
Gomber (4-5) allowed three hits, struck out six and walked none. Garrett Hampson tied a career high with four of Colorado’s 16 hits.
Khris Davis and Jose Trevino homered for Texas. Mike Foltynewicz (1-6) gave up five runs and eight hits in 3 2/3 innings.
RED SOX 5, ASTROS 1
HOUSTON — Martín Pérez pitched 7 2/3 scoreless innings, and Boston avoided a four-game sweep.
Christian Arroyo hit his first homer of the season for the Red Sox, a three-run drive in the second. Xander Bogaerts added a two-run double in the seventh.
Pérez (4-2) yielded six hits and struck out four in his fourth straight win.
Houston starter Jake Odorizzi (0-3) labored through three innings in his second start after missing a month with a strained muscle in his right arm. He allowed three runs, four hits and three walks.
Yuli Gurriel hit his eighth homer for the Astros in the ninth.
More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
