J.J. Hardy hit a tiebreaking two-run homer in the seventh inning to back an effective pitching performance by Taiwan’s Chen Wei-yin and carry Baltimore past Texas 4-2.
Jimmy Paredes hit a home run and had two RBIs for the Orioles, who yielded eight home runs in losing the first two games of the series.
The Rangers went deep twice more — solo shots by Choo Shin-soo and Ryan Rua — but that was the extent of their offensive output.
Photo: AP
Chen (4-4) allowed two runs, four hits and a walk over eight innings to win his third straight decision. The Taiwanese left-hander is 5-0 with a 1.80 ERA lifetime against the Rangers.
Zach Britton struck out the side in the ninth for his 23rd save.
Nick Martinez (5-5) gave up four runs, three earned, and seven hits in 6-2/3 innings. He has lost three straight starts.
INDIANS 8, RAYS 1
In St Petersburg, Florida, Carlos Carrasco came within one strike of throwing the Cleveland Indians’ first no-hitter since 1981, giving up an RBI single to Joey Butler over leaping second baseman Jason Kipnis’ glove in an 8-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays.
For the third straight night, the Indians took a perfect game into the sixth inning against the Rays. This time, Carrasco retired the first 19 batters before walking Butler with one out in the seventh.
Washington’s Max Scherzer lost his perfect game with one strike to go on June 20, but finished with a no-hitter, the second in the major leagues this season.
Carrasco walked Astrubal Cabrera leading off the ninth, then hit pinch-hitter Brandon Guyer with a pitch. Grady Sizemore, also pinch hitting, grounded into a force play and Kevin Kiermaier struck out to bring Butler to the plate with a crowd of 11,394 at Tropicana Field on its feet.
Butler lined an 0-2 pitch over Kipnis, who jumped high in the air to make an attempt at the ball and fell flat to the ground as the line drive landed cleanly in the outfield. Carrasco smiled, clapped into his glove several times and pointed at the second baseman in appreciation of his effort.
ASTROS 6, ROYALS 5
In Houston, Texas, Jose Altuve had three hits and scored the tiebreaking run in the seventh inning to help Houston complete a three-game sweep of Kansas City.
The game was tied at 5 in the seventh when Kelvin Herrera (1-2) plunked Altuve on the forearm. Altuve stole second and reached third on a lineout. He put Houston on top when he beat the tag at the plate on a fielder’s choice by Chris Carter.
The play was reviewed and upheld to give the Astros the win.
In other MLB action, it was:
‧ Dodgers 4, Diamondbacks 3
‧ White Sox 7, Cardinals 1
‧ Cubs 2, Mets 0, 11 inns
‧ Braves 4, Nationals 1
‧ Blue Jays 11, Red Sox 2
‧ Marlins 6, Giants 5
‧ Yankees 3, Angels 1
‧ Pirates 9, Tigers 3
‧ Brewers 9, Phillies 5
‧ Reds 4, Twins 1
‧ Mariners 7, Padres 0
‧ Athletics 4, Rockies 1
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