AMERICAN LEAGUE
Texas’ Josh Hamilton hit a tiebreaking homer in the sixth inning and the Rangers went on to beat the Chicago White Sox 7-4 on Friday, maintaining a six-game lead atop the AL West division.
Mitch Moreland connected for a three-run shot in the fourth and a two-run drive in the sixth for Texas, tying a career-high with five RBIs.
Photo: AFP
Rangers reliever Yoshinori Tateyama (2-0) pitched 2-2/3 scoreless innings for the victory.
Chicago starter Jake Peavy (5-6) allowed seven runs in six innings.
YANKEES 8, TWINS 1
In Minneapolis, Phil Hughes allowed just two hits in 7-2/3 innings, masterminding New York’s win over Minnesota.
Hughes (4-4) had his longest outing of the season and was helped to victory by Russell Martin’s two homers: a solo shot in the third and a two-run shot in the sixth; his fourth career multihomer game.
Twins starter Kevin Slowey (0-1) gave up six runs.
TIGERS 4, INDIANS 1
In Detroit, the hosts eked out their lead in the AL Central division to two-and-a-half games by beating their nearest rival Cleveland.
Detroit starter Max Scherzer (13-7) pitched seven strong innings, allowing only one run and one walk, while throwing a career-high 127 pitches.
Cleveland starter Josh Tomlin (12-6) took the loss, giving up four runs in 6-2/3 innings.
The Tigers didn’t get a runner into scoring position in the first five innings, but Ryan Raburn hit a one-out single in the sixth and Austin Jackson followed with a homer.
Catcher Alex Avila hit a two-out, 400-foot homer in the seventh and Jhonny Peralta hit the next pitch over the fence too.
ATHLETICS 2, BLUE JAYS 0
In Oakland, Rich Harden matched his career high with 11 strikeouts and didn’t allow a hit until the fifth, guiding Oakland past Toronto.
Harden (4-2) quickly recovered from a shaky start and recorded his 11th game of double-figure strikeouts.
Josh Willingham hit a two-run homer in the first inning off Brett Cecil (4-6) and it went scoreless from then.
Blue Jays slugger Jose Bautista walked three times to give him a majors-leading 102. He reached 100 free passes in his 113th game, fewest ever by a Blue Jay.
In other AL action, it was:
‧ Red Sox 7, Royals 1
‧ Rays 3, Mariners 2
‧ Angels 8, Orioles 3
NATIONAL LEAGUE
AP, ATLANTA, GEORGIA
Atlanta’s Derek Lowe combined with his bullpen to stymie the Arizona Diamondbacks, pitching the Braves to a 4-2 win on Friday in a clash of NL playoff contenders.
Lowe (8-11) allowed four hits and struck out seven over the first five innings. Craig Kimbrel closed it out to get his 38th save and extend his run of appearances without conceding a run to 29 games.
Michael Bourn led off the bottom of the first with his first homer since coming to the Braves in a trade last month. Brian McCann added a two-run shot in the third and Chipper Jones extended the lead in the sixth with his second homer in two nights.
Diamondbacks starter Daniel Hudson (12-9) went six innings, giving up seven hits.
NATIONALS 8, PHILLIES 4
In Washington, Ryan Zimmerman hit a grand slam on a full count with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, capping a six-run inning that lifted Washington to an improbable victory over Philadelphia.
The Nationals were trailing 4-2 facing Phillies closer Ryan Madson (3-2), but they sent eight men to the plate against him. Jayson Werth opened the inning by singling. Danny Espinosa and Jonny Gomes singled to drive in one before Wilson Ramos bunted to put runners on second and third and Jesus Flores was walked to load the bases.
Ian Desmond singled to score Espinosa. After an out, Zimmerman finished things with the eighth game-ending homer of his career, and his third grand slam.
Todd Coffey (4-1) pitched the top of the ninth to get the win for the Nationals, who handed the Phillies only their second loss in the past 13 road games.
BREWERS 6, METS 1
In New York, Prince Fielder hit two RBI singles as streaking Milwaukee beat New York and moved a season-high seven-and-a-half games clear atop the NL Central.
Shaun Marcum (11-3) allowed one run in seven innings to pitch the Brewers to their 20th win in 23 games; this one was clinched at 12:51am after a nearly three-hour rain delay.
The Mets became the first team in major league history to lose the opening game in their first 10 homestands of a season, STATS LLC said.
DODGERS 8, ROCKIES 2
In Denver, Los Angeles’ Hiroki Kuroda pitched six strong innings for his first career win against Colorado.
Kuroda (9-14) had entered 0-5 with a 5.81 ERA in nine previous starts against the Rockies in his four-year major league career. He allowed four hits with five strikeouts.
Rod Barajas hit a three-run homer and drove in four runs before leaving in the sixth with a mild right groin strain, while Tony Gwynn also went long for the Dodgers, who broke clear with a four-run third inning.
Rockies starter Jason Hammel lacked control on his pitches and lasted only three innings — his shortest outing of the season — giving up six runs.
In other NL action, it was:
‧ Cubs 5, Cardinals 4 (10)
‧ Reds 11, Pirates 8
‧ Padres 4, Marlins 3
‧ Astros 6, Giants 0
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