MAJOR LEAGUES
Texas’ Adrian Beltre had a three-run double among his four hits as the Rangers beat the Boston Red Sox 7-0 on Friday in a clash of American League divisional leaders in Arlington, Texas.
The Rangers had a season-high 18 hits while starting pitcher Derek Holland (2-2) threw eight scoreless innings and had a season-high nine strikeouts in taking his fifth-straight win over the Red Sox.
Elsewhere, A.J. Griffin was dominant as Oakland shut out the New York Yankees, A.J. Burnett was similarly commanding as Pittsburgh beat Washington, while Matt Holliday and Carlos Beltran both homered in St Louis’ victory over Milwaukee.
Buster Posey’s walk-off homer lifted San Francisco over the Los Angeles Dodgers, while Tampa Bay and the New York Mets both won in ten innings, over Colorado and Atlanta respectively.
Texas pitcher Holland is 5-1 with a 2.41 ERA in his six career starts against the Red Sox. The lone loss came as a rookie in 2009, his third career start.
Red Sox starter Felix Doubront (3-1) allowed a career-worst 12 hits in 3-2/3 innings.
Oakland’s A.J. Griffin held the Yankees scoreless into the eighth inning as the Athletics won 2-0.
The A’s began with a bang, as Adam Rosales — batting leadoff for the first time in his career as a fill-in for the injured Coco Crisp — hit C.C. Sabathia’s (4-3) opening pitch into the left-field stands.
Pittsburgh’s A.J. Burnett struck out nine in seven shutout innings, steering the Pirates to a 3-1 win over the Washington Nationals.
Burnett (3-2) gave up only one walk in winning his third straight after going 0-2 in his first three starts. He also raised his NL-leading strikeout total to 57.
Jordy Mercer’s two-run home run in the fifth inning completed the scoring. Mercer was recalled from the minors before the game when second baseman Neil Walker was placed on the disabled list with a right hand injury.
St Louis’ Shelby Miller pitched six strong innings to propel the Cardinals to a 6-1 win at the Milwaukee Brewers.
Miller (4-2) gave up one walk in six innings while striking out five, holding Milwaukee scoreless through the first five innings.
The Cardinals jumped in front in the third inning on a two-out, two-run home run by Matt Holliday.
San Francisco’s Buster Posey hit a game-ending home run into the left-field seats leading off the bottom of the ninth as the Giants beat the LA Dodgers 2-1.
Posey connected for his first career game-winning RBI of any kind on a 3-2 pitch from Ronald Belisario (2-3), who hadn’t allowed a run in his previous four appearances.
Dodgers starter Clayton Kershaw pitched seven impressive innings for the Dodgers only two days after his father’s funeral.
Tampa Bay’s Evan Longoria hit a tiebreaking single in the 10th inning and Kelly Johnson later added a two-run homer as the Rays beat the Colorado Rockies 7-4.
Ben Zobrist led off the 10th with a double off reliever Matt Belisle (1-2), setting the stage for Longoria. Johnson provided some insurance by lining his fourth homer of the season.
New York’s David Wright hit the tying home run in the ninth inning and the Mets scored twice in the tenth to beat the Atlanta Braves 7-5.
The Mets, who have won two in a row after dropping six straight, scored four of their first five runs on homers before taking a two-run lead in the tenth.
Los Angeles’ Jason Vargas pitched a shutout for his first victory with his new club, leading the Angels to a 4-0 win over the Baltimore Orioles.
Cincinnati’s Jay Bruce had two RBIs and scored as the Reds held off the Chicago Cubs and won 6-5.
San Diego’s Yonder Alonso hit a go-ahead, two-run homer in the fifth inning as the revitalized Padres edged the Arizona Diamondbacks 7-6.
Cleveland’s Drew Stubbs hit an RBI double in the 10th inning, lifting the Indians to a 7-6 win over the Minnesota Twins.
Detroit’s Alex Avila hit a two-run home run in the ninth inning to send Detroit to a 4-3 victory over the Houston Astros, making it seven wins in eight games.
Seattle’s Felix Hernandez pitched eight scoreless innings to win his third straight start and steer the Mariners to a 4-0 win at the Toronto Blue Jays.
Philadelphia’s Jonathan Pettibone pitched neatly into the seventh to lead the Phillies to a 4-1 win over the Miami Marlins.
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