MAJOR LEAGUES
Hunter Pence hit a two-run single in San Francisco’s four-run fifth inning, leading the Giants to a 5-3 victory over the Cleveland Indians and remain atop of the National League West division.
The Giants trailed 3-0 after Jason Kipnis drove in two runs for Cleveland, with Michael Bourn, Nick Swisher and David Murphy each having two hits apiece.
Photo: AFP
Indians right-hander Zach McAllister was in complete control before he got into trouble in the fifth. He needed just seven pitches to get through the third and seven more to retire the side in the fourth.
McAllister (3-1) retired 12 in a row, before Michael Morse led off the fifth with a single to center. Morse advanced to third on Brandon Crawford’s one-out single and scored on Gregor Blanco’s base hit.
Angel Pagan had a sacrifice fly, before Pence’s two-out hit gave the Giants a 4-3 lead.
McAllister left after the inning. He allowed five hits, struck out six and walked one after winning his previous three starts.
Buster Posey added a solo homer in the sixth as San Francisco earned their third consecutive win.
In Pittsburgh, Gaby Sanchez had two RBIs in a four-run fourth inning as the Pirates bullpen worked seven strong innings after starter Francisco Liriano left with flu-like symptoms and dizziness in their victory over St Louis.
Yadier Molina had a game to forget, striking out with the bases loaded to end the third against Stolmy Pimentel (2-0) and popping out with runners on second and third to end the fifth against Jared Hughes. He entered batting .431 during a 15-game hitting streak.
Tyler Lyons (0-2) took the loss.
In the American League, Phil Hughes threw seven strong innings and Pinto’s fifth homer of the season as the Minnesota Twins beat the Detroit Tigers 5-3 to close the gap on Detroit in the Central Division.
Hughes (2-1) had six strikeouts with no walks. He retired 16 straight at one point and has won two in a row.
Detroit led 2-0 before starter Anibal Sanchez left in the third with a blister on his middle finger on his throwing hand, forcing newly recalled Jose Ortega (0-1) into action.
Ortega, who had just arrived from Triple-A Toledo, and Phil Coke then combined to walk six Twins batters — five in the fifth.
A throwing error by catcher Bryan Holaday and a bases-loaded walk by Coke allowed Minnesota to tie the game in the fifth.
Trevor Plouffe’s two-RBI single off Coke to score Eduardo Escobar and Brian Dozier put the Twins ahead for good, and Pinto’s homer off Al Albuquerque in the eighth provided an insurance run.
In New York, John Ryan Murphy hit his first big league homer and drove in three runs, Dellin Betances earned his first win in the majors as the New York Yankees bounced back to beat the Los Angeles Angels 4-3.
David Robertson posted his first save since coming off the disabled list. Mike Trout singled with one out in a nervy ninth and stole second, but Robertson retired Albert Pujols on a flyball and struck out Howie Kendrick to end it.
Earlier, Murphy lined a two-out, two-run single in the second that gave the Yankees a 3-1 lead. The backup catcher then homered on the first pitch in the fifth, tagging Hector Santiago (0-4) for a 4-3 lead.
In other games on Saturday the Boston Red Sox beat the Toronto Blue Jays 7-6, the Washington Nationals shut out the San Diego Padres 4-0, the Atlanta Braves topped the Cincinnati Reds 4-1 and the Milwaukee Brewers edged past the Chicago Cubs 5-3.
The Miami Marlins rallied from four runs down to beat the New York Mets 7-6, the Los Angeles Dodgers had a 6-3 victory over the Colorado Rockies and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 6-5.
The Tampa Bay Rays beat the Chicago White Sox 4-0, the Baltimore Orioles had a 3-2 win over the Kansas City Royals and the Houston Astros beat the Oakland Athletics 7-6.
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