MAJOR LEAGUES
The Arizona Diamondbacks won both games of a double-header, beating the Texas Rangers 5-3 then 5-4, to get the better of Monday’s clash of the respective National League and American League West division leaders.
Among other key games in a round of interleague play, Detroit made it six wins from seven by downing Pittsburgh, Joey Votto’s late homer lifted Cincinnati over Cleveland in the all-Ohio clash and Oakland beat San Francisco in the opener of the Bay Area series.
Boston coasted to victory over Philadelphia, Jason Hammel pitched Baltimore past neighbors Washington, Yadier Molina powered St Louis over Kansas City and Toronto got seven runs from homers to defeat Atlanta.
In the opening game of the Arizona-Texas double-header, Tyler Skaggs (1-0) struck out nine batters over six scoreless innings to steer the Diamondbacks to victory, despite Texas rallying with three runs in the ninth inning.
In the night game, Didi Gregorius hit a tying homer off Yu Darvish in the eighth inning and Cliff Pennington singled home the winning run in the ninth.
Darvish matched his career best with 14 strikeouts, but allowed a run after the sixth inning for the first time this season. Gregorius also had an RBI triple in the first.
Detroit’s Justin Verlander struck out 13 in seven innings to guide the Tigers to a 6-5 win over Pittsburgh.
Verlander (6-4) had not pitched more than five innings in any of his previous three starts, struggling at times with his location. However, he was sharp for the most part against Pittsburgh, allowing three runs.
Jhonny Peralta had his first four-hit game since 2010, when he was playing for Cleveland.
Cincinnati’s Joey Votto hit a tiebreaking two-run homer in the eighth inning to lift the Reds to a 4-2 win over Cleveland.
Votto drove a pitch from Nick Hagadone (0-1) over the wall in left for his ninth homer of the season. Hagadone was called up from the minors earlier in the day when closer Chris Perez was put on the disabled list with a sore right shoulder.
Oakland’s Josh Donaldson hit a two-run homer to help the Athletics win 4-1 over San Francisco.
Donaldson’s homer in the fourth backed a strong start by Dan Straily (3-2), who allowed one run in six innings with only one walk.
The A’s have won nine of their past 10 games.
Boston’s Dustin Pedroia and Mike Napoli homered in the first inning to set up a 9-3 win by the Red Sox over Philadelphia.
Substitute starter Alfredo Aceves (2-1) had his best outing of the year, holding the Phillies to one run over six innings.
Baltimore’s Jason Hammel pitched eight sharp innings in his longest start of the season, leading the Orioles to a 6-2 win over Washington.
Hammel (7-2) improved to 4-0 at Nationals Park. He allowed two runs, struck out eight and walked none.
Washington played without Bryce Harper, who has swelling in his left knee.
St Louis’ Yadier Molina homered and drove in four runs to help the Cardinals defeat Kansas City 6-3.
Molina hit a two-run homer in the first. He then doubled home a run in the third and had a sacrifice fly in the fourth.
Toronto’s Edwin Encarnacion hit a three-run homer, while Colby Rasmus and J.P. Arencibia each had a two-run shot to power the Blue Jays to a 9-3 victory over Atlanta.
Rasmus also doubled off his younger brother, Braves reliever Cory Rasmus.
Encarnacion went two for five with five RBIs as the Blue Jays improved to 3-0 in interleague play this season.
In New York’s Subway Series, Daniel Murphy hit a go-ahead single in the eighth to lift the Mets to a 2-1 win over the Yankees.
Across the nation in Los Angeles’ Freeway Series, Jerry Hairston Jr singled in the go-ahead run in the seventh inning, while Adrian Gonzalez went four for four and scored four runs as the Dodgers edged the Angels 8-7.
The Chicago showdown saw Jeff Samardzija pitch a shutout and Julio Borbon hit a two-run homer to give the Cubs a 7-0 win over the White Sox.
Seattle’s Aaron Harang also pitched a shutout — his first in four years — as the Mariners cruised to a 9-0 win over San Diego.
Houston’s Brandon Barnes hit a game-ending RBI double in the 12th inning to give the Astros a 3-2 victory over Colorado.
The all-Florida game saw Tampa Bay’s Kelly Johnson hit a pair of three-run homers to power the Rays to a 10-6 win over a Miami team that slumped to their sixth straight loss.
Milwaukee’s Joe Mauer wound up with a home run instead of a double after umpires went to video replay, helping the Twins to a sorely needed 6-3 win over Milwaukee.
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