AMERICAN LEAGUE
Carl Crawford tied a modern major league record with six stolen bases to help the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Boston Red Sox 5-3 on Sunday for their first series win in the American League in nearly a month.
Crawford was four-for-four with an RBI and became the fourth player to swipe six bases in a game, joining Eddie Collins, Otis Nixon and Eric Young.
James Shields (3-2) shrugged off a shaky start to pitch into the eighth inning as Tampa Bay won three of four, outscoring the Red Sox 30-15 and improving to 5-2 against their East Division rivals. The Rays had dropped six consecutive series since taking two of three from Boston when the teams met at Fenway Park the opening week of the season.
Brad Penny (2-1) took the loss.
TIGERS 3, INDIANS 1
In Detroit, Michigan, Justin Verlander struck out 11 and Curtis Granderson delivered another go-ahead hit as Detroit beat Cleveland.
Verlander (2-2) allowed one run and two hits in seven innings.
Last week, he fanned nine in seven shutout innings against the New York Yankees.
Granderson’s RBI double in the seventh put Detroit ahead 2-1. On Saturday, Granderson hit a two-run homer in the eighth to beat the Indians.
Cliff Lee (1-4) already has lost more games this season than he did last year, when he went 22-3 and won the American League Cy Young pitching award.
Sunday’s other results:
• Blue Jays 4, Orioles 3
• Royals 7, Twins 5
• Mariners 8, Athletics 7, 15 inns
• Rangers 5, White Sox 1
NATIONAL LEAGUE
AP, PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA
Johnny Cueto limited the Pirates to four singles while striking out nine batters in eight dominating innings as the Cincinnati Reds blanked Pittsburgh 5-0 on Sunday for another road series victory.
Ramon Hernandez drove in three runs in the win as the Reds pitched shutouts in each of their two victories in the three-game series and now have won each of their four series on the road, where they are 9-4. Their five shutouts in 24 games lead the majors and are only one fewer than last season’s total.
Cueto (2-1) was in control from the start, striking out three of the first four batters he faced. He now has allowed two runs in 26-and-two-third innings over his last four starts — an 0.67 ERA that lowered his season’s ERA to 1.65.
ASTROS 7, BRAVES 5
In Atlanta, Georgia, Michael Bourn had three hits, including a seventh-inning single to drive in the go-ahead run, as Houston beat the Braves.
Bourn’s bunt single was the first of four straight hits for the Astros in a three-run sixth inning. He broke a 4-4 tie by driving in Geoff Blum with a single off Peter Moylan in the seventh.
Bourn then stole second and third and scored on Carlos Lee’s sacrifice fly.
Sunday’s other results:
• Brewers 4, Diamondbacks 3
• Cubs 6, Marlins 4
• Giants 1, Rockies 0
• Dodgers 7, Padres 3
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