AMERICAN LEAGUE
Blue Jays third baseman Brett Lawrie slammed his batting helmet to the ground and it ricocheted into plate umpire Bill Miller as the ninth inning turned nasty on Tuesday in Toronto’s 4-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays.
Lawrie was ejected for arguing after he struck out looking. Lawrie took several steps toward Miller, wound up with his right arm and threw down his helmet. It bounced up and struck Miller around the right hip — a suspension from Major League Baseball is all but certain.
Photo: Reuters
Toronto manager John Farrell came out to restrain the 22-year-old Lawrie, who is in his first full season in the majors. After Lawrie returned to the dugout, Farrell was ejected for arguing the call.
Miller was then hit by a drink thrown by a fan as he headed off the field after the game. Police and stadium security were seen pointing into the crowd after an exchange between fans and umpires as the crew headed off the field through the visitors’ dugout.
David Price (6-2) won for the fifth time in six starts, Sean Rodriguez homered and the Rays rallied from a 3-0 deficit.
Photo: AFP
Edwin Encarnacion homered for the Blue Jays.
RED SOX 5, MARINERS 0
In Boston, Josh Beckett redeemed himself less than a week after being booed off the mound, striking out a season-high nine batters as Boston shut out Seattle to extend their winning streak to five.
Beckett (3-4) scattered four hits over seven innings before being pulled as a steady rain started to fall late in the afternoon.
Beckett was celebrating his 32nd birthday and could not have atoned better for his previous start, when he was pulled after allowing seven runs in 2-1/3 innings. Boston fans already were seething that day over news Beckett had played golf the week before after being scratched from a start because of back stiffness.
David Ortiz hit his eighth homer and scored a run after putting down a surprise bunt to lead off the fifth inning. Mike Aviles hit a pair of doubles and drove in two runs as Boston completed a 5-1 homestand.
ORIOLES 5, YANKEES 2
In Baltimore, Chen Wei-yin pitched seven innings of four-hit ball and Adam Jones homered as Baltimore beat CC Sabathia and New York.
J.J. Hardy drove in two runs for Baltimore, who earned a split of the two-game series and improved to 1-4 at home against New York.
Chen (4-0) allowed two runs, struck out four and walked two in a masterful performance. Making his seventh major league start, the 26-year-old Taiwanese took a shutout into the seventh inning.
Pedro Strop worked the eighth and Jim Johnson got three outs for his 12th save in 12 tries.
ROYALS 7, RANGERS 4
In Arlington, Texas, Mike Moustakas homered, and Billy Butler and Brayan Pena each drove in a pair of runs as Kansas City kept Texas’ potent offense in check for a second straight game.
The Royals took advantage of two throwing errors by Rangers starter Colby Lewis (3-3) to score five unearned runs in the first two innings.
Moustakas reached base for a 22nd consecutive game to help make a winner of Vin Mazzaro, who made his first start this season. Mazzaro (1-0) allowed three runs and seven hits in five innings.
Rangers star Josh Hamilton extended his hitting streak to 15 games with a single and added a sacrifice fly.
In other AL action, it was:
‧ Angels 4, Athletics 0
‧ Indians 5, Twins 0
‧ Tigers 10, White Sox 8
NATIONAL LEAGUE
AP, ATLANTA, GEORGIA
The Atlanta Braves moved to the top of the NL East division standings with a 6-2 win over the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday, setting up the victory with a four-run third inning.
Brian McCann homered, Michael Bourn had three hits and scored two runs and Martin Prado also had three hits for the Braves.
Reds starter Johnny Cueto (4-1) suffered his first loss of the season. He had led the major leagues with his 1.12 ERA before giving up six runs in four innings. He had allowed only one earned run over 23 innings in his previous three starts.
Atlanta starter Tim Hudson (2-1) gave up two runs in seven innings.
DIAMONDBACKS 5, DODGERS 1
In Los Angeles, Wade Miley wiggled out of a couple jams while pitching into the seventh inning, steering Arizona to a victory that ended Los Angeles’ five-game winning streak.
Miley (4-1) gave up only one run and one walk. He is 3-1 with a 2.35 ERA in five starts since being inserted into the rotation to replace the injured Daniel Hudson.
It was the Dodgers’ first game since star center fielder Matt Kemp suffered a hamstring strain and was placed on the 15-day disabled list.
Los Angeles starter Chad Billingsley (2-3) gave up four runs in four innings.
CARDINALS 7, CUBS 6
In St Louis, Yadier Molina hit an RBI single off the second baseman’s glove with two outs in the ninth inning, lifting St Louis over Chicago and avoiding a series sweep.
The Cubs had tied it 6-6 in the top half of the ninth through Alfonso Soriano’s overdue first homer of the season.
In the bottom of the inning, Matt Holliday singled off Rafael Dolis (2-3) and advanced on a groundout. Molina’s grounder deflected off Darwin Barney’s glove and rolled into shallow right field and Holliday scored without a play at the plate.
Holliday and Matt Carpenter homered for St Louis. Allen Craig had three hits and two RBIs and Tyler Greene snapped an 0-for-17 skid with three hits.
Jason Motte (2-1) got the win.
In other NL action, it was:
‧ Brewers 8, Mets 0
‧ Marlins 6, Pirates 2
‧ Padres 6, Nationals 1
‧ Phillies 4, Astros 3 (10)
‧ Rockies 5, Giants 4
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