INTERLEAGUE PLAY
Ivan Nova pitched effectively into the eighth inning to win his fifth straight start and Curtis Granderson and Robinson Cano hit solo homers as the New York Yankees beat the Washington Nationals 4-1 on Sunday for their ninth consecutive victory.
Nova (9-2) gave up seven hits in 7-2/3 innings, keeping him unbeaten in his past 15 road starts — a streak that has been going for more than a year. He is 12-0 away from Yankee Stadium since losing to the Los Angeles Angels in Anaheim, California, on June 3 last year.
Photo: Reuters
Granderson homered off Edwin Jackson (3-4) in the fifth to break a one-all tie. Cano made it a two-run cushion in the seventh against Tom Gorzelanny as the Yankees swept a three-game series between division leaders to extend their longest winning streak since May 2009.
They have also won seven in a row on the road and have swept three consecutive series of three games or more for the first time since 1998.
Rafael Soriano pitched a perfect ninth for his 13th save.
RAYS 3, MARLINS 0
In St Petersburg, Florida, Alex Cobb pitched two-hit ball for seven innings and B.J. Upton hit a leadoff homer to lead Tampa Bay over Miami.
Cobb (3-3), who lost his previous three starts, struck out a career-high 10 and walked only one. Joel Peralta worked a perfect inning and Fernando Rodney earned his 19th save, completing the two-hitter.
Josh Johnson (4-5) allowed two runs in six innings for the Marlins, who have dropped 10 of 12. It was his first interleague defeat since June 23, 2007, against Minnesota.
TIGERS 5, ROCKIES 0
In Detroit, Michigan, Max Scherzer (6-4) struck out 12 in eight dominant innings, rookie Quintin Berry had a career-high five hits and Detroit beat the staggering Colorado Rockies.
Prince Fielder and Miguel Cabrera each had an RBI double. Gerald Laird added three hits and Berry finished five for five to help the Tigers win their third straight series, all against National League teams.
PIRATES 9, INDIANS 5
In Cleveland, Ohio, Pedro Alvarez drove in a career-high six runs with his second two-homer game in two days, powering Pittsburgh past the Cleveland Indians.
Alvarez hit three-run homers in the fourth and fifth innings for his fourth career multihomer game. He also doubled in his first game with three extra-base hits.
Tony Watson (4-0) worked 1-2/3 innings of relief and the Pirates took two of three for their sixth series win in the last seven tries.
Jeanmar Gomez (4-6) allowed eight runs — four earned — in 4-1/3 innings. Eight runs came directly after three errors by shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera.
BLUE JAYS 6, PHILLIES 2
In Toronto, Colby Rasmus hit a two-run homer, Brett Cecil won for the first time in almost a year and Toronto completed a three-game sweep of skidding Philadelphia.
Rasmus went three for four with three RBIs. He also scored twice and came within a triple of the cycle.
The Blue Jays swept the lowly Phillies for the second time in team history. Philadelphia lost for the 12th time in 15 games.
Kyle Kendrick (2-7) lost his third straight start. Jim Thome homered for the Phillies, making him the fourth player in major league history to hit at least 100 home runs with three teams. Darrell Evans, Reggie Jackson and Alex Rodriguez are the others.
ANGELS 2, DIAMONDBACKS 0
In Anaheim, California, Garrett Richards pitched four-hit ball into the ninth inning of his sixth career start, Albert Pujols homered and made two stellar defensive plays and the Angels beat Arizona for their 18th win in 24 games.
Mike Trout ended a 1-for-20 slump with an RBI double in the seventh inning for the Angels, who posted their major league-best ninth shutout victory.
Richards (2-0) repeatedly escaped trouble in his third start of the season and the longest outing of his short career, striking out five and walking four.
In other interleague play, it was:
‧ Twins 5, Brewers 4, 15 inns
‧ Mariners 2, Giants 1
‧ Dodgers 2, White Sox 1, 10 inns
‧ Royals 5, Cardinals 3, 15 inns
‧ Rangers 9, Astros 3
‧ Padres 2, Athletics 1
‧ Red Sox 7, Cubs 4
In National League play, it was:
‧ Reds 3, Mets 1
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