MLB scores, highlights: Is it October yet? Madison Bumgarner is pitching (and hitting) like it

Steven J. Gaither

MLB scores, highlights: Is it October yet? Madison Bumgarner is pitching (and hitting) like it image

Each night we'll provide you with the nine top story lines from the day's action, beginning with the stars of the day, and look ahead to the next day's matchups.

Remember postseason Madison Bumgarner? It's almost that time of year again, and the Giants ace is already in mid-October form.

Bumgarner blanked the hapless Nationals with a pitching (and hitting) performance of historic proportions Sunday, evoking memories of his 2014 postseason dominance. He allowed only three hits in a 5-0 complete game win to complete a sweep of the Nats. He also struck out 14, added a home run (his fourth this season) and a double.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the only other pitcher to do that in the modern era is Hall-of-Famer Early Wynn, in 1959. The Giants still sit 2 1/2 games behind the Dodgers for first in the NL West, and they're 3 1/2 games out of a wild-card spot, but Bumgarner clearly has his sights set on breaking the Giants' every-other-year curse.

Meanwhile, the good times keep rolling for San Fran's 2014 World Series victims, the Royals. 

The Royals beat the Angels 4-3 on a walkoff single from Kendrys Morales to win in 10 innings. The former Angel came up with his 42nd two-out RBI to help his team rally from a 3-2 deficit heading into the bottom of the ninth. 

Here are more highlights from Sunday's games:

Impact players:

C — Caleb Joseph, Orioles: Joseph went 3-for-4 with five RBIs and a sixth-inning homer in Baltimore's 18-2 beatdown of Oakland.

1B — Pedro Alverez, Pirates: Alverez went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a run. He also came up with his 18th homer of the season in the second inning against the Mets.

2B — Robinson Cano, Mariners: Cano went 5-for-7 with three RBIs and two runs, including a two-run homer in the first inning of Seattle's 10-8 win.

SS — Xander Bogaerts, Red Sox: Bogaerts continued his hot streak Sunday, going 2-for-5 with three RBIs and a run coming off a third-inning homer in Boston's 10-8 loss in 12 innings.

3B — Aramis Ramirez, Pirates: Ramirez went 4-for-5 with three RBIs and a run to help the Pirates sweep the season series against the Mets.

OF — Gerardo Parra, Orioles:  Baltimore feasted on Oakland and no one had a bigger day than Parra, who went 5-for-6 with three runs, three RBIs and a solo homer.

DH — Jose Abreu, White Sox: Abreu went 2-for-3 with one run and one RBI off a third-inning home run as the White Sox beat the Cubs, 3-1.

SP — Chris Sale, White Sox: Sale had a great performance against the Cubs, striking out 15 and tossing seven scoreless innings as the White Sox beat their crosstown rivals 3-1 Sunday, ending the Cubs' nine-game winning streak. Sale took a no-hitter into the sixth inning, when it was broken up by Dexter Fowler.

Key injuries:

Red Sox third baseman Pablo Sandoval sat out Sunday's game and is day-to-day with a right elbow contusion.

New Indians infielder Chris Johnson missed his second straight game because of a suspected spider bite he suffered on his left hand in the team's hotel room. Johnson was treated by team doctors, but his hand became swollen on Sunday and he went to a Minneapolis hospital for treatment.

Rays starting pitcher Drew Smyly returned from the DL on Sunday to make his first start since May, but surrendered five runs in four innings in a 5-3 loss to the Rangers.

Web gems:

The one and only Big Papi.

 When you've got it, you've got it.

Surprise performers:

Good: Shelby Miller took a no-hitter into the eighth inning against the Diamondbacks, when Nick Ahmed led off with a bloop single to right field. The Braves won 2-1 in 10 innings, but the no-decision extended Miller's winless streak to 16 games. He finished with eight strikeouts.

Bad: A's pitchers allowed 26 hits on Sunday, and Ike Davis had the best showing out of all of them. Need we say more? 

Facts of the day:

When Joc Pederson goes long, he makes it count.

Chris Sale didn't get a no-hitter, but he accomplished a feat even more rare.

Off the field:

Bryce Harper returned to the Nationals lineup against the Giants a day after hobbling off the field with a scary-looking left knee injury . He went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts in a 5-0 loss to the Giants.

Ryan Braun tied Robin Yount for the all-time Brewers career home run mark with a fifth-inning grand slam off Aaron Harang for career home run No. 251.

Reactions:

"We faced a tough pitcher today. He might be the best pitcher in the big leagues right now." — Nationals first baseman Ryan Zimmerman on Madison Bumgarner.

Scores:

American League:

Blue Jays 3, Yankees 1
Mariners 10, Red Sox 8  (12 innings)
Orioles 18, Athletics 2
Royals 4, Angels 3  (10 innings)
Twins 4, Indians 1
Astros 6, Tigers 5
Rangers 5, Rays 3

National League:

Brewers 6, Phillies 1
Braves 2, Diamondbacks 1  (10 innings)
Pirates 8, Mets 1
Marlins 6, Cardinals 4
Rockies 5, Padres 0
Giants 12, Nationals 6
Dodgers 8, Reds 3

Interleague:

White Sox 3, Cubs 1

A look ahead to Monday's games: (All times Eastern)

Giants (64-53) at Cardinals (75-42) 8:15 p.m.: Michael Wacha (14-4, 2.93 ERA) will take the mound against the Giants for the first time since he allowed a Travis Ishikawa walkoff homer that ended the Cardinals' run in the 2014 NL Playoffs. On the other end of the spectrum, Chris Heston (11-7, 3.38 ERA) will face the Cardinals for the first time in his career. 

Athletics (51-68) at Orioles (60-56) 7:05 p.m.: Monday's matchup is the final in a four-game series that started with back-to-back walkoff home runs. Sonny Gray (12-4, 2.06 ERA) will take the mound for the Athletics, looking to shake off back spasms that caused him to miss a scheduled start against the Blue Jays. Opposing him will be Chris Tillman (8-7, 4.66 ERA), who enters the contest on a five-game winning streak. 

Twins (59-58) at Yankees (64-52), 7:05 p.m.: Both Minnesota's Kyle Gibson (8-9, 3.75 ERA) and New York's CC Sabathia (4-9, 5.23 ERA) enter Monday's series opener on five-game losing streaks. 

Omnisport's Brandon Schlager contributed to this report.

Steven J. Gaither