Highly regarded Baltimore pitcher Kevin Gausman earned his first major league win as a starter on Saturday after being called up from the minors earlier in the day to help steer the Orioles to a 6-3 win over American League leaders Oakland.
Gausman — the fourth overall pick in the 2012 draft — gave up one run and one walk in seven innings to claim his first victory as a starter in the majors after seven attempts. He was called up from minor league side the Norfolk Tides earlier in the day.
Adam Jones hit a solo homer in the first inning for Baltimore, while David Lough — who entered the game batting just .184 — also cleared the fences.
Photo: AFP
Despite the loss, the Athletics retained their top spot in the AL after nearest rivals Toronto were beaten at home by St Louis to snap six-game winning streak.
Toronto missed a chance to grab a share of the AL lead when they were crushed 5-0 by a Cardinals side led by starter Shelby Miller, who did not allow a hit in the first five innings and finished with a three-hit shutout. He struck out five, walked one and retired his first 13 batters.
Although Blue Jays starter Mark Buehrle only allowed one run in seven innings — Randal Grichuk’s first career home run — the Cardinals padded their lead over the final two frames to seal the win.
Elsewhere in the AL, Mike Trout hit a game-tying grand slam in the bottom of the eighth to help the Los Angeles Angels erase a four-run deficit on their way to defeating the Chicago White Sox 6-5.
Erick Aybar led off the eighth with a double and scored on Chris Iannetta’s single. After an error and another single loaded the bases, Trout hit a full-count changeup over the left-center field fence to tie the game. Aybar stroked a two-out RBI single later in the inning and Ernesto Frieri closed it out for the Angels.
Josh Hamilton had three hits and the go-ahead run on Aybar’s hit.
In the National League, Milwaukee maintained their five-game lead over St Louis in the NL Central by beating Pittsburgh, with Matt Garza persevering through six shaky innings to win back-to-back starts for the first time in almost a year in the Brewers’ 9-3 win over the Pirates.
Garza (4-4) limited the Pirates to three runs a day after they scored a season-high 15, while Lyle Overbay hit a tie-breaking two-run single in the fourth to help Milwaukee turn a 2-0 deficit into a 4-2 lead.
Also on Saturday majors-leading San Francisco rallied in the ninth to edge the New York Mets 5-4, with Michael Morse’s RBI single with one out in the ninth inning after Hunter Pence’s tying double too much for the Mets and their dismal bullpen.
The Giants’ Angel Pagan had three singles, two RBIs and reached base all five times against his former team. He reached again leading off the ninth when New York catcher Anthony Recker dropped the third strike and his throw pulled the first baseman off the bag. Mets coach Terry Collins challenged the play, but lost.
Pence hit a tying double that scored Pagan and advanced to third on Buster Posey’s fly ball. After an intentional walk, Morse sent a single to deep right field to bring in Pence for the winner.
In Arlington, Texas, Cleveland’s Yan Gomes and Carlos Santana — the last two batters in the Indians’ order — both homered to help their side beat the Ranger 8-3.
It was 1-1 before Gomes hit a three-run homer in the sixth and Santana capped a four-run seventh with a two-run shot.
Cleveland starter Josh Tomlin (4-2) had his longest appearance this season, getting through the first eight innings.
In Missouri, Kansas City’s Salvador Perez hit a three-run homer and Eric Hosmer also went deep to power the Royals to an 8-4 win over the New York Yankees.
The win saw the Royals bounce back from an offensively inept performance in a 4-2 series-opening loss. Kansas City reliever Aaron Crow (3-1) retired one batter in the sixth and breezed through the seventh to earn the victory.
In Denver, Colorado, Brandon Barnes hit a triple off the center-field wall in the 10th inning to score the winning run in the Rockies’ 5-4 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers, ending an eight-game losing run.
The loss capped a tough day for the Dodgers, who saw outfielder Yasiel Puig and second baseman Dee Gordon leave due to hip injuries.
Chris Perez (0-3) gave up the hit to Barnes with one out in the 10th.
In Phoenix, Arizona, Gerardo Parra’s mishit single brought Cody Ross home from second base in the 11th inning to lift the Diamondbacks’ 4-3 win over Atlanta.
Also on Saturday, it was:
‧ Tigers 8, Red Sox 6
‧ Padres 4, Nationals 3
‧ Cubs 5, Marlins 2
‧ Mariners 7, Rays 4
‧ Twins 8, Astros 0
‧ Reds 6, Phillies 5
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