NATIONAL LEAGUE
The Pittsburgh Pirates outlasted the Philadelphia Phillies in a 12--inning pitching duel for a 2-1 win at PNC Park on Friday.
Xavier Paul hit a two-out single and stole second base to move into scoring position and Jose Tabata delivered the winning run with a single to left field for his second RBI of the game.
Both starting pitchers, Cole Hamels for Philadelphia and Jeff Karstens for Pittsburgh, were in sparkling form.
“You’d be hard pressed to find a better ballgame on a better night in front of a better crowd than the one you saw tonight,” Pirates manager Clint Hurdle told reporters.
Hamels allowed one run on just one hit in eight innings while striking out four and walking three, and Karstens allowed one run on four hits while striking out two in seven innings.
“To go in and be able to pitch deep into the ballgame, that’s my intent and I was able to do it,” Hamels said. “Unfortunately, I wasn’t as happy with the way I executed pitches. I left a lot up and they were just able to hit it at guys, and we played some really good defense.”
Four Pirates relievers combined for five shutout innings in support of Karstens and Daniel Moskos collected his first win for pitching a perfect top of the 12th inning. Danys Baez took the loss.
“It’s great for the team and pretty cool to pick up the first win,” Moskos said. “Guys just kept going up there and putting up zeroes. Everybody just did their job.”
BREWERS 6, MARLINS 5
In Miami, pinch-hitter Ryan Braun hit a two-run homer in the ninth inning to lead the Milwaukee Brewers to victory over the -Florida Marlins.
Braun was held out of the starting lineup because of an ailing left shoulder, but was needed in the ninth with the Brewers down a run.
Yuniesky Betancourt led off the inning with a single to right off Leo Nunez (0-2). Braun then hit for Mike McClendon (3-0) and sent Nunez’s 1-1 offering deep to left field for his 13th homer.
It was Nunez’s second blown save of the season in 21 chances.
Prince Fielder homered and Corey Hart had three hits for the Brewers.
Gaby Sanchez and Mike Stanton homered for the Marlins, who have lost four of five.
In other NL action, it was:
‧ Diamondbacks 4, Nationals 0
‧ Cardinals 6, Cubs 1
‧ Giants 3, Rockies 1
‧ Braves 6, Mets 3
‧ Reds 2, Dodgers 1
‧ Padres 3, Astros 1
AMERICAN LEAGUE
AP, BOSTON
Carl Crawford hit a go-ahead, two-run single to center field in the seventh inning as the Boston Red Sox ended a four-game losing streak with an 8-6 victory over the Oakland Athletics.
Boston rallied from a 4-0 deficit in the first inning and were trailing 6-5 when lefty Brian Fuentes came in to face lefty Crawford, who came through with a broken-bat hit just beyond second base.
Joey Devine (0-1) loaded the bases in the seventh on a double by Adrian Gonzalez and then he hit Kevin Youkilis and walked David Ortiz.
Bobby Jenks (2-2) got the win and Jonathan Papelbon pitched a perfect ninth for his 11th save.
Jarrod Saltalamacchia added a solo homer, his fifth of the year, for the Red Sox in the eighth.
BLUE JAYS 8, ORIOLES 4
In Baltimore, Maryland, J.P. Arencibia hit his first career Grand Slam, while Rajai Davis had three hits as Toronto beat Baltimore to end a two-game losing streak.
Carlos Villanueva (3-0) allowed two runs and six hits in 5-1/3 innings, walking one.
Arencibia’s fifth-inning Grand Slam was his ninth homer of the season and gave the Blue Jays a 7-0 lead against Orioles rookie Zach Britton, who has lost three straight decisions after starting the season 5-1.
J.J. Hardy homered for Baltimore, who have dropped six of seven games to fall five games below .500, matching a season high.
In other AL action, it was:
‧ Rangers 11, Indians 2
‧ White Sox 6, Tigers 4
‧ Twins 5, Royals 2
‧ Mariners 7, Rays 0
‧ Angels 3, Yankees 2
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