MAJOR LEAGUES
San Francisco Giants pitcher Tim Lincecum threw the first no-hitter of his career against the San Diego Padres on Saturday.
The 29-year-old right hander struck out 13 batters and walked four to record the no-hitter in his team’s 9-0 win. He also hit San Diego’s Jedd Gyorko with a pitch.
A two-time Cy Young winner, Lincecum tossed a career high 149 pitches, as he registered the 15th no-hitter in Giants history and the seventh since the team was moved from New York to San Francisco in 1958.
The last Giants player to record a no-hitter was Matt Cain, who registered a perfect game at home to the Houston Astros last season.
Lincecum is just the second MLB pitcher to throw a no-hitter this year. The only other was Cincinnati Reds’ Homer Bailey, who threw his against the Giants less than two weeks ago.
Meanwhile, Max Scherzer’s unbeaten run ended on Saturday night when the Texas Rangers tagged the Detroit All-Star with his first loss of the season, defeating the Tigers 7-1.
Scherzer (13-1) was trying to become the first pitcher in the majors to start 14-0 since Roger Clemens in 1986. He allowed four runs and eight hits in six innings, walking two and striking out six.
It was Scherzer’s first regular-season loss since Sept. 23, a span of 21 starts. The defeat came in his final start before the All-Star game — he could start the event tomorrow night in New York.
Mitch Moreland’s two-run homer in the fourth gave Texas a 3-0 lead, and for once, the AL Central-leading Tigers did not back Scherzer with much offensive support. Derek Holland allowed a run and five hits in seven innings.
Adrian Beltre added a two-run homer in a three-run ninth for Texas.
In New York, Samuel Deduno pitched seven impressive innings and the slumping Minnesota Twins finally figured out a way to beat the New York Yankees, hitting three home runs off Phil Hughes in a 4-1 win.
Trevor Plouffe, Ryan Doumit and Pedro Florimon connected against Hughes — all on 2-2 pitches. Minnesota ended a six-game losing streak with their second victory in 14 games, winning for the first time in six meetings with the Yankees this year.
At Cleveland, Ohio, Lonnie Chisenhall hit his first career grand slam as the Cleveland Indians beat the Kansas City Royals 5-3.
Chisenhall’s homer in the sixth broke open a 1-0 game and hit off the facing of the second deck in right field, landing in Kansas City’s bullpen.
Also on Saturday, the Toronto Blue Jays beat Baltimore 7-3, the Tampa Bay Rays edged the Houston Astros 4-3 and the Oakland Athletics shut out the Boston Red Sox 3-0.
In the National League, Mike Minor struggled early before recovering to throw seven strong innings, and also hit a go-ahead double that led the Braves over the Cincinnati Reds 5-2 on Saturday in Atlanta, Georgia.
The Braves, who lost starting outfielders Jason Heyward, B.J. Upton and Justin Upton to injuries, found success with their fill-ins. Jose Constanza, recalled from Triple-A, started in left field and hit leadoff with Reed Johnson in center and rookie Joey Terdoslavich in right.
The patchwork outfield combined for seven hits, including three by Constanza. Brian McCann and Dan Uggla hit home runs as the Braves maintained their lead in the NL Central.
In other NL games on Saturday, the LA Dodgers beat the Colorado Rockies 1-0, the Miami Marlins topped the Washington Nationals 2-1 and the Arizona Diamondbacks closed out a 5-4 win over the Milwaukee Brewers.
In Interleague games, the Chicago White Sox needed 11 innings to edge out the Philadelphia Phillies 5-4 in the first game of their double header.
The Phillies responded in the second game beating the White Sox 2-1 in a 13 innings marathon.
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