Kevin Pillar hit two home runs off Max Scherzer, including a go-ahead three-run drive, as the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Washington Nationals 7-3 on Tuesday night to earn a split of a day-night doubleheader.
Jordan Zimmermann pitched six-hit ball for eight innings in the opener, a 2-0 victory that ended a three-game losing streak.
Bryce Harper had a go-ahead single off R.A. Dickey, then he thrilled a fan before the nightcap by taking a selfie in right field with her cellphone.
Scherzer (6-4) had won each of his previous five starts and appeared poised for another with a 3-1 lead.
Pillar had other ideas, though. He drove a pitch over the wall in left in the sixth for his second homer and fourth on the season for a 4-3 lead.
Marco Estrada (2-3) pitched six innings in the second game for Toronto, allowing three runs — two earned — and six hits.
Zimmermann (5-2) struck out four and walked one to win for the third time in four starts.
Dickey (2-6) gave up eight hits, struck out six and walked one.
RED SOX 1, TWINS 0
In Boston, Clay Buchholz pitched eight innings and got all the run support he needed on Rusney Castillo’s RBI single in the seventh as Boston ended a three-game skid.
Buchholz (3-6) struck out eight and scattered three hits before Koji Uehara took over in the ninth and picked up his 11th save to preserve the shutout.
Mike Pelfrey (4-2) had a solid start as he and Buchholz both carried a shutout into the seventh inning, when the Red Sox broke the tie. Xander Bogaerts hit a two-out double off the wall in center and scored easily on Castillo’s single up the middle.
Buchholz got his first win since Boston beat Toronto 6-3 on May 10.
In other MLB action, it was:
‧ Rockies 6, Dodgers 3
‧ Dodgers 9, Rockies 8
‧ Marlins 5, Cubs 2
‧ Athletics 5, Tigers 3
‧ Phillies 5, Reds 4
‧ Rangers 15, White Sox 2
‧ Cardinals 1, Brewers 0
‧ Astros 6, Orioles 4
‧ Indians 2, Royals 1
‧ Rays 6, Angels 1
‧ Diamondbacks 7, Braves 6
‧ Padres 7, Mets 2
‧ Pirates 7, Giants 4
‧ Yankees 5, Mariners 3
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Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
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