INTERLEAGUE PLAY
New York’s Curtis Granderson drove in three runs to lead the Yankees to their seventh straight win, beating the Washington Nationals 7-2 on Friday in a clash of the respective East Division leaders from the American and National Leagues.
Both teams entered with six-game winning streaks. For the Nationals, the attention was unusual, the stands were packed, with many supporting the Yankees.
New York starter Phil Hughes (7-5) pitched six innings, striking out nine and allowing only one run.
Gio Gonzalez (8-3) worked six-plus innings for Washington, yielding three runs. He struck out eight.
Alex Rodriguez drove in a run in the third to leave him tied with Jimmie Foxx for sixth place on the all-time list with 1,924 RBIs.
DODGERS 7, WHITE SOX 6
In Los Angeles, James Loney scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch in the eighth inning, giving Los Angeles victory over Chicago in the opener of the interleague series between division leaders.
Alex Rios hit his second homer of the game in the top half of the eighth, but the Dodgers went in front again in the bottom half.
Loney started the winning rally with a one-out single against Matt Thornton (2-4). Dee Gordon walked and Elian Herrera grounded into a fielder’s choice, putting runners at the corners. The run came in as Thornton’s first pitch to Bobby Abreu bounced past catcher A.J. Pierzynski.
Ronald Belisario (2-0) pitched 1-1/3 innings for the victory and Kenley Jansen worked a perfect ninth for the save.
BRAVES 4, ORIOLES 2
In Atlanta, shortstop Andrelton Simmons made amends for his first career error by hitting a two-run, go-ahead homer in the sixth inning as Atlanta ended Baltimore’s five-game winning streak.
Brian McCann’s first-inning homer off Brian Matusz (5-7) gave Atlanta a 1-0 lead. The Orioles scored two runs in the fourth with help from a throwing error by Simmons and another error by Michael Bourn.
Simmons had three hits for the Braves, who snapped a four-game losing streak. Chad Durbin (3-0) got the win.
Matusz fell to 0-6 in seven career interleague starts.
RAYS 11, MARLINS 0
In St Petersburg, Florida, Matt Moore and two relievers combined to restrict Miami to just one hit, helping Tampa Bay snap a three-game losing streak and take Floridian bragging rights.
Ben Zobrist homered and Desmond Jennings drove in four runs in support of Moore (4-5), who gave up nothing after a first-inning single. The rookie struck out eight.
The Marlins played without third baseman Hanley Ramirez, who was hit in the nose by a ball while taking batting practice in an indoor cage.
Miami’s Carlos Zambrano (4-5) got the loss.
RANGERS 6, ASTROS 2
In Arlington, Texas, Yu Darvish matched his major-league high with 11 strikeouts over eight innings, leading Texas to the victory over state rivals Houston.
Darvish (8-4) gave up two runs, while throwing 76 of his 110 pitches for strikes.
After an infield single to start the sixth, the Japanese struck out eight of the last 11 batters he faced — including the side in the eighth against the heart of the Astros order.
David Murphy lined a two-run single during a five-run fifth off Jordan Lyles (1-3), when the Rangers had two popups fall for hits after an error and a hit batsman started the rally.
BLUE JAYS 3, PHILLIES 0
In Toronto, the home team’s bullpen made up for the loss of rookie starter Drew Hutchison to an elbow injury in the first inning, combining to shut out Philadelphia as Toronto snapped a three-game skid.
Hutchison became the third Blue Jays starter in five days to leave with an injury, lasting just nine pitches.
Carlos Villanueva (2-0) struck out five over four innings to take the win in long relief.
Brett Lawrie had two doubles and drove in a run for Toronto.
Phillies starter Vance Worley (3-3) allowed three runs in seven innings, matching his longest start of the season.
In other interleague action, it was:
‧ Reds 7, Mets 3
‧ Diamondbacks 5, Angels 0
‧ Indians 2, Pirates 0
‧ Royals 3, Cardinals 2
‧ Giants 4, Mariners 2
‧ Rockies 12, Tigers 4 (10)
‧ Brewers 5, Twins 3
‧ Cubs 3, Red Sox 0
‧ Athletics 10, Padres 2
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