Jason Vargas threw six shutout innings and Kendrys Morales hit a long home run against his former team to push the Kansas City Royals to a 3-1 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Monday night.
Vargas (5-2) gave up five hits and struck out two, Morales hit a two-run shot in the second inning and Eric Hosmer drove in another run in the eighth to move the AL champion Royals (32-23) ahead of the Twins (33-24) by percentage points for first place in the AL Central. Greg Holland got his 10th save in 11 chances.
Phil Hughes (4-6) had one of his strongest outings of the season for the Twins, but did not get enough from his offense. Hughes gave up three runs on seven hits and struck out three.
Photo: AFP
Eddie Rosario had two hits, including a solo homer for Minnesota.
BLUE JAYS 11, MARLINS 3
In Toronto, Chris Colabello extended his hitting streak to 18 games with an RBI single during a six-run first inning as Toronto routed Miami for their sixth win in a row.
Photo: AFP
Josh Donaldson homered and drove in three runs for Toronto, the top-scoring team in the majors.
The Blue Jays have scored at least six runs in six straight games, their best such streak since a seven-game burst in 2000. They have also scored 10 runs or more 10 times this year, matching all of last year’s total.
Miami’s Giancarlo Stanton hit his 19th home run, matching Bryce Harper for the NL lead, and also doubled twice.
Photo: AP
Marco Estrada (3-3) allowed three runs in seven innings. He won back-to-back starts for the first time since June last year with Milwaukee.
Brad Hand (1-2) gave up six runs while getting only two outs.
WHITE SOX 3, ASTROS 1
In Chicago, Chris Sale struck out 14 and Chicago beat Houston on a rainy night, with highly regarded Carlos Correa driving in the Astros’ run in his big league debut.
Sale (6-2) became the first White Sox pitcher to fan at least 10 in four straight games, the team said in citing Elias Sports Bureau.
It was Sale’s third straight game with 12 or more strikeouts. He gave up one run and five hits.
Correa, the top pick in the 2012 draft, was promoted from Triple-A and became the youngest player in the majors at 20. Batting sixth and playing shortstop, he went one for four.
In the fourth, Correa came up with runners at second and third and two outs. After a replay review, he was called safe for beating out a grounder to short.
David Robertson struck out two for his 11th save.
Lance McCullers (2-1) took the loss.
ROCKIES 11, CARDINALS 3
In Denver, Colorado, Troy Tulowitzki hit a three-run homer in the first and David Hale threw seven effective innings to lift Colorado to a win over St Louis.
Hale (2-0) was recalled from Triple-A Albuquerque to make a spot start and retired the opening nine batters before surrendering a solo homer to Kolten Wong. The right-hander allowed three runs and struck out seven.
Nolan Arenado added a two-run homer as the Rockies roughed up John Lackey (4-4), who surrendered 10 runs — eight earned — and 12 hits in four innings. His ERA rose from 2.93 to 3.74.
St Louis had a scary moment in the second when left fielder Matt Holliday fell awkwardly trying to chase down a bloop double by Carlos Gonzalez. Holliday grabbed his right leg and lay on the ground before gingerly walking off. The team said he suffered a right quadriceps strain.
DODGERS 9, DIAMONDBACKS 3
In Los Angeles, Andre Ethier and Jimmy Rollins hit three-run homers and Howie Kendrick had three hits in his return as a starter to lead Los Angeles to a victory over Arizona.
Mike Bolsinger (4-1) allowed two runs and three hits in seven innings, striking out eight and walking two after getting staked to a 9-0 lead. Ender Inciarte’s fourth-inning single was the only hit against the right-hander until the sixth, when he gave up a leadoff walk to Nick Ahmed, a one-out infield hit by Inciarte and a two-run double by A.J. Pollock.
Pollock’s double snapped Bolsinger’s season-opening streak of 24 consecutive scoreless innings at Dodger Stadium.
Rubby De La Rosa (2-3) gave up nine runs and 10 hits over five innings in a matchup of pitchers going up against the teams they originally signed big league contracts with.
In other results, it was:
‧ Reds 6, Phillies 4
‧ Padres 5, Braves 3, 11 innings
‧ Brewers 2, Pirates 0
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