NATIONAL LEAGUE
Carlos Gonzalez hit three home runs in his last three at-bats, Michael Cuddyer had a grand slam and Dexter Fowler also homered, leading the Colorado Rockies past the Houston Astros 13-5 on Wednesday night for their third win in a row.
However, the game was not without some concern for the Rockies. Star shortstop Troy Tulowitzki left the game in the top of the seventh with what the team said was a strained left groin.
Photo: Reuters
Gonzalez broke a 5-all tie with a solo shot leading off the fifth off Lucas Harrell (4-4). He added a two-run drive off reliever Xavier Cedeno as part of a six-run sixth and then had another solo shot, driving the first offering from David Carpenter into the right field seats in the bottom of the eighth inning.
Christian Friedrich (3-1) allowed five runs on 11 hits in six innings, shaking off a rough third inning, in which the Astros scored four runs.
MARLINS 5, NATIONALS 3
Photo: Reuters
In Miami, Florida, Giancarlo Stanton hit his 12th home run in May to equal the club record for a single month and the Miami Marlins earned their 20th comeback victory on Wednesday night, completing a three-game sweep of the first-place Nationals.
Stanton hit a solo homer in the seventh inning, his 13th this year, and had a two-out RBI single in the first.
Josh Johnson (3-3) gave up three runs in six innings and singled home the tying run with his first hit of the year.
Taiwan’s Wang Chien-Ming (1-1), making his first start of the season, allowed four runs in four-plus innings for Washington.
PHILLIES 10, METS 6
In New York, pinch-hitter Carlos Ruiz came through with a tying homer in the seventh inning, Jimmy Rollins added a three-run shot and Philadelphia busted loose late to beat the Mets.
Shane Victorino drove in the go-ahead run with a sacrifice fly in the eighth off Jon Rauch (3-4). Ty Wigginton also homered for the Phillies, who improved to 3-6 against the Mets this season.
Lucas Duda went deep twice, including a two-run shot off Lee in the sixth to give the Mets a 3-1 lead. Dillon Gee pitched 6-2/3 effective innings, but the New York bullpen was battered after he left.
Antonio Bastardo (2-1) and Jose Contreras each worked a scoreless inning.
BRAVES 10, CARDINALS 7
In Atlanta, Georgia, Freddie Freeman homered and drove in three runs to help the Braves recover after blowing a five-run lead and beat the Cardinals.
Freeman, who had missed four straight starts because of vision problems, was elated about receiving his new sports glasses before the game. He broke out of slump with three hits: his eighth homer in the first, a run-scoring double in the third and a run-scoring single in the eighth.
Jonny Venters (3-2) recorded the last out of the sixth. Craig Kimbrel earned his 15th save.
The Braves broke a 5-5 tie with three runs on four hits off Mark Rzepczynski (0-3) in the sixth.
CUBS 8, PADRES 6
In Chicago, Illinois, Darwin Barney hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth to give the Cubs a win over San Diego.
Barney launched an offering from Dale Thayer (0-1) into the left-center field bleachers to give the Cubs a three-game sweep.
James Russell (2-0) pitched a scoreless ninth to earn the win.
Carlos Quentin hit two homers and drove in four runs for the Padres. He had six extra-base hits and six RBIs in the three-game series.
Chris Denorfia also hit a two-run homer for San Diego.
PIRATES 2, REDS 1
In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, A.J. Burnett allowed just two hits over seven innings, Matt Hague delivered a two-run double and the Pirates edged the Reds.
Burnett (4-2) escaped early trouble then cruised, giving up one unearned run, while striking out three and walking two to win his third straight start.
Joel Hanrahan worked out of a two-on, one-out jam for his 13th save as the Pirates clinched their first winning May in four years.
Johnny Cueto (5-3) gave up two runs over seven innings, walking four and striking out five, while dropping his second straight decision.
In other NL action, it was:
‧ Brewers 6, Dodgers 3
‧ Diamondbacks 4, Giants 1
AMERICAN LEAGUE
AP, ARLINGTON, Texas
Justin Smoak hit two three-run homers against his former team and the Seattle Mariners used a pair of early eight-run innings to rout the Texas Rangers for the second straight game, winning 21-8 on Wednesday night.
Smoak had three hits to go with his career high for RBIs as Seattle reached double digits in back-to-back games against the AL West leaders. Jesus Montero homered among his three hits and drove in four runs, and Kyle Seager had four hits and two RBIs. Every Seattle starter had at least one hit in amassing 20 overall.
Dustin Ackley also had a three-run homer in support of former Rangers minor league prospect Blake Beavan (3-4). Rangers starter Derek Holland (4-4) gave up eight hits, eight runs and two walks in 1-2/3 innings.
Seattle had lost five in a row before beating Texas 10-3 on Tuesday night. They scored eight runs in the second and third innings en route to scoring the second-most runs in club history, equaling a 21-9 victory against the Los Angeles Angels on Sept. 30, 2000.
Coincidentally, that was the same day the Rangers gave up the most runs in club history, a 23-2 loss against Oakland.
WHITE SOX 4, RAYS 3
In St Petersburg, Florida, Alexei Ramirez drove in two runs as Chicago extended their best win streak of the season to eight games with a victory over Tampa Bay.
Dayan Viciedo had a run-scoring single and Ramirez hit a sacrifice fly to help Chicago take a 3-1 lead in the third. Ramirez made it 4-1 with an RBI double in the fifth.
Luke Scott and Carlos Pena homered for the Rays, who have dropped nine of 13 at home.
Tampa Bay right-hander Alex Cobb (2-1) took the loss, allowing four runs on nine hits with four strikeouts and a walk.
Nate Jones (3-0) got the win and Addison Reed worked the ninth for his sixth save.
BLUE JAYS 4, ORIOLES 1
In Toronto, Ontario, Edwin Encarnacion hit one of Toronto’s four solo home runs, leading the Blue Jays to a three-game sweep of Baltimore. Rajai Davis, Brett Lawrie and Colby Rasmus also homered for the Blue Jays.
Brandon Morrow suffered a bruised right shin when he was struck by Wilson Betemit’s liner in the seventh, hopping around the mound in pain. X-rays were negative and he is day-to-day. Morrow (6-3) gave up one run and four hits over 6-1/3 innings. He walked two and struck out eight.
Casey Janssen finished in the ninth for his fifth save in six opportunities.
Jason Hammel (6-2) allowed four runs and nine hits in 6-2/3 innings for the Orioles.
YANKEES 6, ANGELS 5
In Anaheim, California, Curtis Granderson and Robinson Cano homered during New York’s five-run third inning, helping the Yankees end Los Angeles’ eight-game win streak.
Raul Ibanez tripled off the center field wall and scored the tiebreaking run on Nick Swisher’s sixth-inning flyout as the Yankees avoided a sweep after wasting a four-run lead.
Mark Trumbo homered in a fourth straight game and drove in three runs for the Angels.
Hisanori Takahashi (0-2) gave up Ibanez’s triple after Ervin Santana yielded six hits and five runs over five innings for the Angels, who had not lost since May 21.
Ivan Nova (6-2) worked six-plus innings for New York, allowing eight hits and three walks.
ROYALS 6, INDIANS 3
In Cleveland, Ohio, Kansas City scored their first five runs with two outs in a win over Cleveland.
Bruce Chen (4-5) held the Indians scoreless after giving up three runs in the second. Alex Gordon, Johnny Giavotella, Mike Moustakas, Jeff Francoeur and Brayan Pena had run-scoring hits for Kansas City, who have won four of their last six, to finish a nine-game road trip at 5-4.
Chen worked the first five innings before Tim Collins, Aaron Crow, Jose Mijares and Jonathan Broxton pitched scoreless ball over the final four. Broxton earned his 11th save.
Jeanmar Gomez (3-4) gave up five runs in five innings for Cleveland.
TWINS 4, ATHLETICS 0
In Minneapolis, Minnesota, Francisco Liriano tossed six shutout innings in his return to Minnesota’s rotation, sending Oakland to their eighth straight loss.
Liriano (1-5) retired the last 11 batters he faced and struck out nine, the most this season by any Twins pitcher. He allowed only two walks, with a double and two singles against the worst-hitting team in the majors, who brought a brutal .212 batting average into the game.
Josh Willingham had an RBI single and a two-run homer, roughly 15 hours after his three-run shot in the ninth gave the Twins a dramatic win the night before.
Tyson Ross (2-6) lasted only five innings for the A’s, who have lost 12 of their last 15.
RED SOX 6, TIGERS 4
In Boston, Massachusetts, David Ortiz and Will Middlebrooks each hit two-run homers, Kevin Youkilis had a solo shot and surging Boston beat Detroit for their 14th win in 19 games.
Miguel Cabrera went four-for-five with three doubles and drove in a run for Detroit, who have dropped the first three of a four-game series at Fenway Park.
Adrian Gonzalez had two doubles for Boston, his second breaking a 4-4 tie in the seventh.
Matt Albers (1-0) gave up a game-tying hit, but retired one batter to get the win. Alfredo Aceves collected his 13th save in 16 chances.
Octavio Dotel (1-2) took the loss.
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