Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Gavin Williams turns the ball over to manager Stephen Vogt (12) as he leaves the mound in the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Texas Rangers Sunday, Aug. 24, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Rowdy Tellez and Joc Pederson homered, and Merrill Kelly earned his first win with Texas by pitching seven terrific innings as the Rangers beat the Cleveland Guardians 5-0 on Sunday to sweep their three-game series.

Kelly (10-7) faced two batters in the eighth and struck out eight, the most in his five starts with Texas since being acquired from Arizona on July 31.

The Rangers (66-66) have won three straight for the first time since sweeping Atlanta from July 25-27. They’re back at .500 for the first time since Aug. 14.

Tellez hit a two-run homer in the fourth, and Wyatt Langford blooped a two-run single into shallow right field. Pederson added a solo shot in the seventh.

The Guardians (64-65) were shut out on eight singles over the final 19 innings of the series and have lost four in a row overall, dropping below .500 for the first time since July 29.

Gavin Williams (8-5) allowed three runs on three hits and four walks in 3 1/3 innings. Williams leads the majors this season with 72 walks.

Key moment

Tellez, a left-handed hitter, homered off Williams, who leads the majors with a .146 opponents’ batting average against lefty hitters.

Up next

Guardians RHP Tanner Bibee (9-9, 4.62 ERA) faces Tampa Bay LHP Ian Seymour (1-0, 3.86) on Monday to begin a six-game homestand.

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MARINERS 11, ATHLETICS 4

SEATTLE (AP) — Cal Raleigh hit his major league-leading 48th and 49th home runs, setting a single-season record for catchers, as the Seattle Mariners beat the Athletics 11-4 on Sunday.

The switch-hitting Raleigh hit his home runs in the first and second innings off Athletics left-handed starter Jacob Lopez (7-7), with the second homer giving the Mariners a 5-1 lead. Raleigh passed Salvador Perez’s total with the Kansas City Royals in 2021 to set the record.

BRAVES 4, METS 3

ATLANTA (AP) — Jurickson Profar drove in two runs with a bases-loaded single with two outs in the eighth inning, sending Atlanta to a win over New York.

The Mets, who led 2-0, were denied their first sweep at Truist Park, which opened in 2017. New York’s last series sweep in Atlanta came at Turner Field in 2016.

PHILLIES 3, NATIONALS 2

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Ranger Suarez struck out a career-high 11 in seven shutout innings and backup catcher Rafael Marchan provided all the offense for Philadelphia with three RBIs and the Phillies held on for a win over Washington.

The Phillies have won six of seven and have a seven-game lead over the New York Mets in the NL East heading into their three-game series at Citi Field beginning Monday.

ROYALS 10, TIGERS 8

DETROIT (AP) — Vinnie Pasquantino and Maikel Garcia homered to help Kansas City beat Detroit.

The Royals improved to 28-14 in series finales this season. They are 9-4 when they are in danger of being swept.

ORIOLES 3, ASTROS 2

BALTIMORE (AP) — Gunnar Henderson and Luis Vazquez homered and Trevor Rogers worked seven strong innings as Baltimore beat Houston to avoid a series sweep.

Rogers (7-2) allowed five hits and three walks and struck out nine. The 27-year-old left-hander moved past two Hall of Famers with his 1.40 ERA through the first 13 starts of a season. Hoyt Wilhelm set the club record with a 1.50 ERA in 1959, and was followed by Jim Palmer’s 1.55 ERA in 1975.

MARLINS 5, BLUE JAYS 3

MIAMI (AP) — Jakob Marsee hit a bases-loaded triple and Eury Perez pitched three-hit ball into the seventh inning to lead Miami past Toronto.

WHITE SOX 8, TWINS 0

CHICAGO (AP) — Colson Montgomery homered for the third straight game, and Chicago beat Minnesota.

Edgar Quero drove in three runs for Chicago, and Kyle Teel had three hits and two RBIs. Mike Tauchman had two hits and scored twice from the leadoff spot.

GIANTS 4, BREWERS 3

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Heliot Ramos hit a two-run single off Trevor Megill with two outs in the ninth inning and San Francisco rallied to beat Milwaukee.

The Giants trailed 3-2 when Matt Chapman hit a leadoff double and Luis Matos delivered a one-out single in the ninth. Megill struck out pinch-hitter Rafael Devers before walking Jung Hoo Lee to load the bases.

DODGERS 8, PADRES 2

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Freddie Freeman homered in back-to-back innings, rookie Dalton Rushing hit a tiebreaking three-run shot in the seventh, and the Los Angeles Dodgers evened the NL West race once again with a victory over San Diego.

Shohei Ohtani hit his 45th homer in the ninth inning and Yoshinobu Yamamoto (11-8) yielded four hits over six strong innings for the Dodgers, who salvaged the last game of their final regular-season series with the Padres after managing just two runs while losing the first two and falling out of first.

CUBS 4, ANGELS 3

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Nico Hoerner had an RBI double against former teammate Kyle Hendricks and Chicago beat the Los Angeles Angels to complete a three-game series sweep.

REDS 6, DIAMONDBACKS 1

PHOENIX (AP) — Spencer Steer hit a three-run homer in Cincinnati’s five-run eighth inning, and the Reds avoided a sweep by topping Arizona.

Austin Hays had three hits for Cincinnati, and Noelvi Marte had two hits and scored two runs. Brady Singer struck out nine while pitching six innings of one-hit ball.

RAYS 7, CARDINALS 2

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Junior Caminero hit his second career grand slam to power Tampa Bay to a victory over St. Louis after a 4-hour, 25-minute rain delay that emptied most of the announced crowd of 8,809 at George M. Steinbrenner Field.

The Rays (63-67) took two of three games in the series and are 5-5 over their last 10. The Cardinals (64-67) finished a 3-3 trip to Miami and Tampa.

YANKEES 7, RED SOX 2

NEW YORK (AP) — Jazz Chisholm Jr. hit a pair of two-run homers, Trent Grisham also went deep twice and New York beat Boston to prevent a four-game sweep.

Carlos Rodon allowed one hit in 5 2/3 innings as the Yankees moved within a half-game of rival Boston for the top American League wild card. They are 5 1/2 games behind first-place Toronto in the AL East.