MAJOR LEAGUES
Milwaukee pitcher Kyle Lohse built on his impressive record against Pittsburgh by pitching the majors-leading Brewers to a 5-3 win over the Pirates on Friday.
The Brewers moved two games clear atop the National League (NL) Central division, as nearest rival St Louis lost at Washington due chiefly to errors.
Among other games, NL East leader Atlanta had a shutout win against the New York Mets and San Diego edged San Francisco as Tyson Ross put in a strong pitching performance.
Milwaukee’s Lohse (3-1) improved to 11-2 in his career against the Pirates, allowing one earned run to win against them for the second time in six days.
He fell one out shy of a complete game on Sunday last week at Miller Park, and this time he went into the seventh.
Carlos Gomez homered to lead off the fifth and added an RBI single an inning later as the Brewers rallied from two runs down.
Washington capitalized on St Louis errors in the seventh inning to win 3-1 and end a run of eight straight defeats by the Cardinals.
St Louis catcher Yadier Molina made a throwing error and Michael Wacha (2-1) had a wild pitch, allowing two unearned runs after the game had been tied 1-1.
Washington starter Gio Gonzalez (3-1) allowed one run in seven innings, retiring the last 11 batters he faced.
Atlanta starter Aaron Harang kept New York hitless through the first seven innings as he guided the Braves to a 6-0 win against the Mets.
Harang (3-1) was relieved after throwing 121 pitches. He worked around six walks, including two each in the sixth and seventh.
The Mets hit few balls hard against the resurgent Harang, who lowered his ERA to an NL-best 0.70.
San Diego’s Tyson Ross pitched eight scoreless innings with nine strikeouts to lead the Padres to a 2-1 win over San Francisco.
Ross (2-2) was rarely in trouble, other than allowing a leadoff double. Ross then retired the next eight batters.
Giants ace Matt Cain (0-3) was handed a third straight defeat despite allowing only one unearned run in seven innings.
Tampa Bay overcame a four-run deficit to beat the New York Yankees 11-5, ending a four-game skid.
Desmond Jennings had an RBI single, before Loney’s two-run single off Adam Warren (0-1) in the seventh inning gave the Rays a 6-5 lead. Loney drove in four runs in all.
Sean Rodriguez hit a two-run homer during a five-run eighth that made it 11-5. Wil Myers, who finished with three RBIs, added a two-run single as the Rays emphatically ended the Yankees’ five-game winning streak.
Texas routed the Chicago White Sox 12-0, with Martin Perez pitching a three-hitter for his first career shutout.
Perez (3-0) retired his final 12 batters and struck out eight in his second complete game. He has not conceded a run in his past 17 innings.
Leonys Martin drove in four runs, including a homer, and was one of four Rangers batters with three hits apiece as Texas jumped out to a 10-0 lead after just four innings.
Colorado had a similarly lopsided win, thrashing Philadelphia 12-1, setting their season high for runs and hits at 18.
Troy Tulowitzki hit a three-run home run after Carlos Gonzalez was intentionally walked in front of him, and went three-for-three, driving in five runs and drawing a key walk in the four-run first inning.
Rockies starter Tyler Chatwood (1-0), who missed the first two weeks of the season with a hamstring strain, allowed one unearned run in seven innings.
Kansas City starter Jason Vargas pitched seven scoreless innings to steer the Royals to a 5-0 win over Minnesota.
The crafty Vargas (2-0), who signed a US$32 million, four-year deal in the offseason, lowered his ERA to 1.24, while going at least seven innings in each of his four outings this season.
Mike Moustakas cracked a two-run homer, while Alcides Escobar had three hits and Omar Infante also drove in two runs for the Royals, who have won four straight after getting swept in Minnesota last weekend.
Toronto’s Melky Cabrera had four hits and scored the go-ahead run in the seventh inning on Edwin Encarnacion’s single, lifting the Blue Jays to a 3-2 win against Cleveland.
Oakland scored seven times in the first inning to lay the foundation for an 11-3 beating of Houston, with Alberto Callaspo hitting a three-run homer.
Arizona’s Aaron Hill hit a two-run single in the 12th inning to give the Diamondbacks a 4-2 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The crosstown Los Angeles Angels were more successful, winning 11-6 against Detroit as Albert Pujols went long to move within three of the rare 500-homer mark. Howie Kendrick added two homers of his own.
Baltimore’s Jonathan Schoop went four-for-five with two doubles to lead the Orioles to an 8-4 win over Boston.
Miami’s Giancarlo Stanton hit a grand slam in the ninth, after a replay overturned an out call earlier in the inning, to give the Marlins an 8-4 win over Seattle.
Cincinnati made it 16 wins from their past 17 visits to Wrigley Field by beating the Chicago Cubs 4-1, with pitcher Alfredo Simon continuing his highly impressive start to the new season.
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