AMERICAN LEAGUE
Jason Heyward hit a tying RBI double and Andrelton Simmons scored the go-ahead run on the same play in a seven-run eighth inning that gave the Atlanta Braves an 11-5 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Saturday.
The Braves rallied for their 23rd comeback victory, which tops the National League, and have won two straight and four of five to lead Washington by six-and-a-half games in the NL East.
Braves starter Tim Hudson extended his winless streak to 10 straight starts, allowing five hits, four runs and four walks with two strikeouts in five-and-two-third innings.
David Hernandez (4-5) retired the first batter he faced in the eighth, but pinch-hitter Reed Johnson and Simmons were both hit by a pitch before Heyward doubled to left field.
Johnson scored from second on the double, but third base coach Brian Snitker signaled for Simmons to stop on the bag as Jason Kubel was throwing to cutoff man Eric Chavez at third.
When Kubel’s throw bounced wide left of Chavez, Simmons was able to score easily to give the Braves a 6-5 lead.
After a single by Justin Upton chased Hernandez, Tony Sipp allowed Brian McCann’s two-run single and Dan Uggla’s RBI double, before B.J. Upton’s sacrifice fly RBI made it 10-5.
Chris Johnson added an RBI single off J.J. Putz for an 11-5 lead.
Hernandez allowed two hits and four runs with no walks or strikeouts in one-third of an inning as the Diamondbacks lost their fourth of five.
In Denver, Colorado, Nolan Arenado hit a game-ending single with two outs in the ninth inning Saturday to lift the Colorado Rockies to a 2-1 victory over the San Francisco Giants, losers of six straight for the first time in three years.
In other NL games on Saturday, the New York Mets beat the Washington Nationals 5-1 and the Miami Marlins thrashed the San Diego Padres 7-1.
In the American League, Joe Blanton pitched seven sharp innings, while Howie Kendrick and Chris Iannetta both homered to give the Los Angeles Angels a 7-2 win over the Houston Astros.
Alberto Callaspo and Erick Aybar drove in two runs apiece in a big fourth inning to help Los Angeles to their fifth straight win.
In Boston, Massachusetts, Jose Bautista hit a pair of long homers over the Green Monster, starting with the 200th of his career and following with a tie-breaking, two-run drive off Junichi Tazawa in the eighth inning that led the Toronto Blue Jays over the Boston Red Sox 6-2.
Bautista put Toronto ahead 2-0 with a solo homer in the sixth, a drive that cleared a billboard at the back of the Monster seats in straightaway left and had the crowd buzzing for several batters. He stood at the plate briefly, admiring the ball’s flight.
After Shane Victorino’s two-run single against Steve Delabar (5-1) tied the score in the seventh, Bautista followed Jose Reyes’ leadoff single in the eighth with a drive off Tazawa (4-3) that went off the base of a light-tower in left-center. Bautista has 18 home runs this season and 21st career multi-homer games.
In other AL games, the Minnesota Twins beat the Kansas City Royals 6-2, the Cleveland Indians edged the Chicago White Sox for the third time in less than 24 hours to win 4-3 and the Baltimore Orioles hammered the New York Yankees 11-3.
In the three interleague games, the St Louis Cardinals thrashed the Oakland Athletics 7-1, the Chicago Cubs needed 11 innings to beat the Seattle Mariners 5-3 and the Cincinnati Reds also needed extra innings to topple the Texas Rangers 6-4.
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