MAJOR LEAGUES
Los Angeles is the hot city as the Major League Baseball season heads into the new month, with both the Angels and the Dodgers winning on Thursday to assert their credentials as pennant contenders in their respective leagues.
The Angels came out on top of a dour struggle at Baltimore, scoring the only run in the 13th inning, while the Dodgers won a similarly tight encounter with Atlanta to complete a three-game series sweep.
Photo: Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY
Elsewhere, the Chicago White Sox won at Detroit on a day the Tigers made a big signing, while Seattle’s Mike Zunino came up with a late homer that lifted the Mariners to victory at Cleveland.
The Angels’ slugger Albert Pujols broke the stalemate at Baltimore with an RBI single in the 13th inning that secured a 1-0 win.
Kole Calhoun drew a leadoff walk from Ryan Webb (3-2) and Mike Trout singled before Pujols lined a single past the drawn-in infield, giving the Angels a win that moved them within two games of American League (AL) West leader Oakland.
Photo: AFP
Los Angeles’ starter Tyler Skaggs did not give up a hit in 4-2/3 innings before leaving with tightness in his left forearm, but six relievers helped keep the Orioles scoreless.
The cross-town Dodgers moved 3-1/2 games clear atop the National League (NL) West by downing Atlanta 2-1.
Los Angeles’ starter Clayton Kershaw (13-2) threw a second-straight complete game, producing nine strikeouts as he tied his career-best winning streak at 10 games. Curiously, it was the first time in his career he had beaten the Braves in a regular-season game.
Yasiel Puig homered as the Dodgers stretched their winning streak to a season-high six and swept the Braves for the first time since 1990.
Detroit made headlines by acquiring star pitcher David Price from Tampa Bay, but the day was tarnished by a 7-4 loss to the White Sox.
Moises Sierra had four hits, while Jose Abreu and Adam Eaton added three apiece for Chicago. Abreu’s hitting streak reached 20 games.
Joakim Soria (1-4) — another recent pitching acquisition by Detroit — took the loss as he hit Paul Konerko with the bases loaded in the seventh to give the White Sox a 5-4 lead.
Seattle’s Mike Zunino hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning to lift the Mariners to a 6-5 win at Cleveland.
Bryan Shaw (4-3) walked Kyle Seager to start the inning before Zunino hit a 2-0 pitch into the left-field bleachers for his 17th home run of the season.
Joe Beimel (3-1) pitched one-third of an inning to take the win, while Fernando Rodney worked the ninth for his AL-leading 30th save.
Cincinnati benefited from a replay review and the new rule preventing catchers from blocking as they beat Miami 3-1.
With the Marlins leading 1-0 in the top of the eighth, a Reds fly-out to right field and the subsequent throw to the plate appeared to have secured the final two outs to end the inning.
However, after a replay review, the last out was overturned because Miami catcher Jeff Mathis was ruled to be blocking the plate, even though Zack Cozart was only jogging toward home plate and did not attempt a slide.
That reversal tied the game 1-1 and Ryan Ludwick followed with a two-run single to make it 3-1.
Philadelphia beat Washington 10-4 but may have lost experienced pitcher Cliff Lee to a spell on the sidelines due to injury.
Lee, making only his third start since missing two months, left the game in the third inning, and the Phillies later announced he had a recurrence of the elbow injury that sidelined him in May.
Philadelphia’s Ben Revere tied a career-high with four hits, while Grady Sizemore had three hits and three RBIs as the Phillies pounded out 17 hits among them.
St Louis pitcher Shelby Miller and three relievers limited San Diego to just three hits as the Cardinals won 6-2 to avoid a three-game sweep.
Arizona’s Andy Marte hit a two-run home run and Aaron Hill added a solo shot in the sixth inning to power the Diamondbacks to a 7-4 win over Pittsburgh.
Toronto’s Nolan Reimold hit two home runs, including a tiebreaking solo shot in the ninth, to give the Blue Jays a 6-5 win over Houston.
Kansas City’s Alcides Escobar hit a two-run triple which helped the Royals beat Minnesota 6-3.
Chicago’s Jake Arrieta struck out seven in seven innings, leading the Cubs to a 3-1 win over Colorado.
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