AMERICAN LEAGUE
The Boston Red Sox returned to the top of the American League East standings in emphatic style on Wednesday by crushing the West division-leading Texas Rangers 13-2.
David Ortiz had an RBI single on the first pitch he saw in 10 days and scored twice in his return from bursitis in his right heel.
PHOTO: AFP
Carl Crawford, Jacoby Ellsbury and Adrian Gonzalez hit two-run homers in consecutive innings for the Red Sox. Crawford matched a career high with his five RBIs.
Boston starter Josh Beckett (11-5) allowed one run over six innings.
Rays 3, Tigers 2
In St Petersburg, Elliot Johnson got the game-ending hit on a fielder’s choice in the 10th inning, giving Tampa Bay victory over Detroit.
Evan Longoria opened the 10th with an infield single off Rangers reliever Duane Below (0-2), but was forced out at second on Ben Zobrist’s grounder.
After a second out, Casey Kotchman was hit by a pitch and Sean Rodriguez walked to load the bases.
Johnson then hit a grounder to third baseman Brandon Inge, who elected to throw to second rather than home, but second baseman Ramon Santiago was late getting to the bag.
Rays reliever Joel Peralta (3-4) pitched a perfect 10th to take the win.
Longoria earlier hit a solo homer for the Rays, who won for the first time against Detroit this season after five losses.
Athletics 6, Yankees 4
In New York, Coco Crisp homered twice and drove in five runs, including a three-run homer in the 10th inning that lifted Oakland over New York.
Crisp and No. 9 batter Scott Sizemore both went four-for-four. Sizemore got the tying double off C.C. Sabathia in the eighth as the Athletics claimed a series win at Yankee Stadium, ending a woeful run of 10 consecutive series defeats by the pinstripes.
Angels 8, White Sox 0
In Anaheim, Jered Weaver pitched seven scoreless innings in his first start since signing an US$85 million contract extension, directing Los Angeles’ win over Chicago.
Erick Aybar drove in three runs, Torii Hunter homered and Jeff Mathis had a two-run double for the Angels, who have won six straight to move within 2.5 games of Texas as the AL West rivals prepared for a weekend series at Rangers Ballpark.
White Sox starter Zach Stewart (1-3) allowed seven runs while pitching into the seventh inning.
Blue Jays 4, Royals 3
In Toronto, Brett Lawrie hit a tiebreaking home run in the seventh inning and Toronto held on to edge Kansas City.
Lawrie broke a 3-3 tie with a leadoff blast over left field. The rookie third baseman also hit an RBI triple in the fourth.
Toronto’s Jose Bautista added his major league-leading 37th homer of the season.
Blue Jays starter Jesse Litsch (5-3) pitched one scoreless inning of relief for the win. Frank Francisco worked the ninth for a save.
Louis Coleman (1-3) took the loss for the Royals.
Mariners 9, Indians 2
In Cleveland, Felix Hernandez struck out 10 batters to steer Seattle past Cleveland.
Hernandez (12-11) allowed two runs in six innings as the last-place Mariners took three of four from the fading-fast Indians. Cleveland dropped below .500 for the first time since April 3, and are 6.5 games behind AL Central-leading Detroit.
Wily Mo Pena hit a two-run homer in the fourth inning and his two-run double in the fifth knocked out Indians starter Josh Tomlin (12-7), who did not get through the fifth for the first time in 37 career starts.
Orioles 6, Twins 1
In Minneapolis, Mark Reynolds homered to start a five-run fifth inning that helped to power Detroit past Minnesota.
In his first start in 11 days, Jeremy Guthrie (6-16) pitched seven strong innings despite shoulder soreness, striking out five.
Baltimore won a third straight for the first time since June 6 to June 10.
Kevin Slowey (0-2) allowed five earned runs in 4-2/3 innings for the Twins, who have lost six of seven.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
AP, PHILADELPHIA
The New York Mets snapped a five-game losing skid and avoided a series sweep with a 7-4 win over the National League-leading Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday.
New York starter Mike Pelfrey (7-10) allowed three in six innings, while Nick Evans and David Wright both homered for the Mets.
Phillies starter Kyle Kendrick (7-6) gave up two earned runs in four innings filling in for Cole Hamels, but the Mets scored four unearned runs in the first with the help of a fielding error.
In Pittsburgh, Jason Grilli won his first game in nearly two years as Pittsburgh shut down Milwaukee.
Pirates starter Aaron Thompson pitched 4-1/3 innings scoreless in his major league debut, and Grilli (1-0) followed with 2-2/3 innings.
It was Pittsburgh’s 10th shutout of the season and the 11th time the Brewers have been blanked.
Cubs 3, Braves 2
In Chicago, the hosts ended Atlanta’s six-game winning streak, costing the Braves a chance to make up ground on Philadelphia.
Alfonso Soriano’s two-run homer fueled Chicago’s three-run rally in the second inning. He also walked and was hit by a pitch. Aramis Ramirez added a single and two walks, extending his hitting streak to 13 games.
Cubs starter Randy Wells (5-4) held the Braves to two hits over 6-2/3 innings, striking out six. Carlos Marmol got the last three outs and joined Lee Smith as the only Cubs relievers to post consecutive 30-save seasons.
Atlanta starter Derek Lowe (8-12) allowed two earned runs over seven innings, matching his longest outing of the season. He threw a season-high 119 pitches.
Diamondbacks 4, Nationals 2
In Washington, Arizona’s Daniel Hudson fell one out short of his first career shutout, steering the Diamondbacks past Washington.
Hudson (13-9) allowed struck out six, walked none, had a run of 13 consecutive batters retired and threw 102 pitches. He had the Nationals blanked through 8-2/3 innings before giving up back-to-back homers.
Washington starter Livan Hernandez (7-12) allowed four runs over 7-1/3 innings.
Giants 2, Padres 1
In San Francisco, Carlos Beltran hit his first home run since being traded to San Francisco, helping the Giants edge San Diego.
Beltran, who had been out with a wrist injury, returned to the starting lineup and homered off Tim Stauffer (8-10) in the fourth inning for his first ever long shot at AT&T Park.
Giants sarter Tim Lincecum (12-10) struck out seven in eight innings. He gave up one run, and also hit the go-ahead RBI single.
Santiago Casilla pitched a perfect ninth for his first save of the season.
Dodgers 9, Cardinals 4
In St Louis, Los Angeles completed their first road series sweep of the season, downing St Louis.
Juan Rivera homered and drove in three runs for the Dodgers, who notched their first three-game sweep in St Louis since 1993.
Los Angeles starter Hiroki Kuroda (10-14) worked seven solid innings, allowing three runs and a walk.
A.J. Ellis hit his first career homer off Jaime Garcia (10-7) to give the Dodgers a two-day total of six homers. Matt Kemp had two singles and two RBIs and James Loney had three hits with two doubles and an RBI.
Eight straight Dodgers reached safely to start a six-run third that matched their season best and put them up 6-1.
Marlins 6, Reds 5, first game
Reds 3, Marlins 2, second game
In Miami, Omar Infante hit a go-ahead single in the eighth inning to edge Florida past Cincinnati in the first game of a double header that was prompted by the imminent threat of a hurricane.
It was decided to move today’s scheduled game forward due to the expected arrival of Hurricane Irene in Florida.
Emilio Bonifacio tripled over the head of the center fielder with one out in the eighth off Jose Arrendondo (3-4). Bonifacio’s head-first slide beat the throw at third.
Infante followed with a single to left scoring Bonifacio to give the Marlins a 4-3 lead.
Greg Dobbs added a two-run double in the inning.
Logan Morrison and Jose Lopez homered for the Marlins, who snapped a six-game losing streak.
Ryan Webb (2-4) picked up the win by striking out the only batter he faced, while Steve Cishek got the final two outs for the save.
Reds slugger Joey Votto homered in both the day and night games. He went five-for-seven with four RBIs over the two games and pushed his games hitting streak into double figures.
Cincinnati starter Bronson Arroyo (8-10) pitched eight scoreless innings in the nightcap. Closer Francisco Cordero gave up two runs, but still took the save.
Florida’s Chris Volstad (5-11) lost his third consecutive decision since being recalled from the miors, allowing three runs in six innings.
Rockies 7, Astros 6, 10 inns
In Denver, Troy Tulowitzki scored from third on a wild pitch in the bottom of the 10th inning to give Colorado victory over Houston and a three-game sweep.
Tulowitzki reached on a walk and went to third on Jonathan Herrera’s single. After an intentional walk, Astros reliever Aneury Rodriguez (1-5) uncorked a wild pitch and Tulowitzki trotted home with the winning run.
Mark Ellis had four hits, and Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez homered for the Rockies, who have won five straight for the first time since April.
Matt Belisle (9-4), the Rockies’ fifth pitcher, got the win, sending Houston to their fourth straight loss.
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