NATIONAL LEAGUE
Florida beat San Francisco 1-0 on Thursday to complete a rare three-game sweep over the Giants and add insult to injury for the reigning World Series champions.
On the same day that Giants catcher Buster Posey was ruled out for the rest of the season with a broken leg, Marlins pitcher Anibal Sanchez edged Ryan Vogelsong to give Florida their first sweep over the Giants since 1995.
Photo: AFP
Sanchez worked his way out of trouble early when he induced a double-play to end the first inning and allowed just five hits while striking out eight and walking one thereafter.
“Anibal Sanchez is becoming one of the best pitchers in the Major Leagues,” Marlins manager Edwin Rodriguez said. “He’s been showing that over and over. He’s in control of the game. He needs to keep going.”
Florida broke the deadlock in the sixth inning, capitalizing on a lead-off double by Chris Coghlan. Coghlan advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt and scored on an RBI single by Logan Morrison.
Photo: Reuters
Vogelsong pitched well, allowing eight hits in eight innings and striking out three, but lost for the first time this season.
“It’s frustrating. We got a well-pitched game — I mean, what a job Vogelsong did. You’d like to think you’re going to find a way to score a run and we didn’t do it,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. “We were hoping to come out with a little fire here and get some runs. We’re going to have to pick that up, especially with Buster gone, and hopefully somebody’s going to fill that void.”
PHILLIES 10, REDS 4
In Philadelphia, Cliff Lee drove in three runs from the plate and pitched eight effective innings from the mound, leading the Philadelphia Phillies to victory over the Cincinnati Reds.
Raul Ibanez hit a three-run homer and Chase Utley also connected as the teams resumed hostilities with little sleep, with their previous game ending at 1:19am on Thursday.
Lee (4-4) threw 114 pitches in eight innings, but his biggest contributions came with the bat.
The Phillies loaded the bases with no outs in the sixth inning against Daryl Thompson (0-1), who was making his major league debut. Lee (4-4) followed a walk with a first-pitch double over the center fielder’s head. It bounced over the fence for a ground-rule double.
An inning later, Lee’s single up the middle scored John Mayberry Jr Lee became the first Phillies pitcher in seven years to drive in three runs.
In other NL action, it was:
‧ Diamondbacks 6, Rockies 3
‧ Cubs 9, Mets 3
AMERICAN LEAGUE
AP, DETROIT, MICHIGAN
Jacoby Ellsbury hit a three-run homer in a five-run second inning as the hot-hitting Boston Red Sox went on to rout the Detroit Tigers 14-1 in an eight-inning, rain-shortened game on Thursday.
The Red Sox scored at least 14 runs in back-to-back games for the first time since 1998. Boston has won 11 of 13.
Carl Crawford’s two-run triple gave the Red Sox a seven-run lead and chased Detroit starter Max Scherzer (6-2).
Alfredo Aceves (2-0) took the win in his second Boston start, allowing one run striking out six over six innings. He has won his past 12 decisions, dating to 2009 when he was a Yankees reliever, for baseball’s longest winning streak since Cliff Lee with Cleveland three years ago.
WHITE SOX 3, BLUE JAYS 1
In Toronto, Juan Pierre’s ninth-inning infield single drove in the tiebreaking run as Chicago downed Toronto.
Pierre went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and extended his hitting streak to 11 games.
Jesse Crain (2-1) pitched a third of an inning for the win and White Sox closer Sergio Santos finished the ninth for his eighth save in nine opportunities.
Marc Rzepczynski (2-1) allowed two runs in one inning to take the loss for the Blue Jays, who have lost three straight.
In other AL action, it was:
‧ Athletics 4, Angels 3
‧ Orioles 6, Royals 5, (12)
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