MAJOR LEAGUES
Washington and Miami won on Wednesday to leapfrog sliding Atlanta and take the joint lead in the National League East division.
Washington’s Stephen Strasburg worked his way through early trouble to pitch the Nationals to a win over the Los Angeles Dodgers, and Miami scored the only run of the game in the bottom of the ninth to edge the New York Mets, while Colorado moved into a virtual tie with the Dodgers atop the NL West by beating Texas.
Photo: AFP
Washington’s 3-2 win over the Dodgers was delayed by more than 90 minutes by rain and when it eventually began, Strasburg (3-2) did what he has done all season: struggled to get the first three outs, then became dominant.
This time, he gave up four consecutive singles, leading to two runs, during a 28-pitch first inning.
Then Strasburg got into a groove, while his teammates scored three runs off former Nationals pitcher Dan Haren (4-1).
Miami completed a three-game sweep of the Mets with a 1-0 win, but had to wait until late.
Giancarlo Staton singled — only the third hit for the Marlins — to start the ninth against Carlos Torres (2-1). Casey McGehee walked, and Stanton moved to third base on a flyout.
New York changed their pitcher, bringing in Kyle Farnsworth, and Marcell Ozuna, who had struck out in his previous three at-bats, hit a fly ball to center field. Juan Lagares’ throw to home plate was slightly off-line, and the ball skipped away from catcher Anthony Recker as a sliding Stanton reached out for home plate and scored the winning run.
Colorado again dominated Texas, winning 9-2, to join the Dodgers atop the NL West.
Nolan Arenado had three hits to extend his hitting streak to 27 games, matching Colorado’s team record set by Michael Cuddyer last year.
Carlos Gonzalez homered for the Rockies, who have outscored Texas 29-5 in three games this week. The Rockies won 8-2 and 12-1 at home with a combined 34 hits before the teams shifted to Texas for two games.
St Louis’ Adam Wainwright pitched eight strong innings to lead the Cardinals to a 7-1 win at Atlanta.
Wainwright (6-2) bounced back from his worst start of the season, surrendering six runs to the Chicago Cubs, as he restricted the Braves to a single run while throwing six strikeouts. He also contributed at the plate, leading off the third with a double and coming around to score.
Matt Holliday broke the game open with a two-out, two-run single in the fourth inning, while Peter Bourjos homered for the Cardinals.
Oakland’s fill-in starting pitcher Drew Pomeranz threw five scoreless innings for only his second win in his past 20 starts, giving the Athletics a 2-0 win in the second game of a double-header after Seattle won the first.
Pomeranz (2-1) was sharp in his first major league start since July last year, allowing two hits and no walks, helping the A’s end a run of six-straight home defeats. Yoenis Cespedes homered for the hosts.
In the opener, the Mariners overcame a shaky start from ace Felix Hernandez to win 6-4 thanks to Justin Smoak’s two-out single in the 10th inning.
Pittsburgh’s Gerrit Cole won for the first time in nearly a month as the Pirates beat San Francisco 4-3.
Cole (3-2) outpitched Tim Lincecum (2-2), allowing seven hits in eight innings with seven strikeouts and only one walk.
Fill-in closer Mark Melancon worked a perfect ninth for his second save in three chances.
Arizona’s Paul Goldschmidt hit a two-run homer for the second straight game to lift the Diamondbacks to a 3-2 win over Milwaukee.
Goldschmidt connected after Martin Prado led off the third with a single. Goldschmidt went 7-for-15 in a three-game-series.
Arizona starter Bronson Arroyo (3-2) allowed one unearned run in 7-1/3 innings.
New York’s Derek Jeter ended a home-run drought of 161 at-bats by going long in the Yankees’ 9-2 win over the Los Angeles Angels.
Unless these two teams meet in the playoffs, this was Jeter’s last game against the Angels, and he went out in style, also being honored by Angels players in an on-field ceremony.
Yankees starter Vidal Nuno (1-0) allowed one run in 6-1/3 innings, struck out three and retired 14 of his final 15 batters to record only his second win in the majors.
Boston’s Will Middlebrooks hit an RBI single with the bases loaded, capping a two-run rally in the eighth inning that helped send the Red Sox to a 4-3 win over Cincinnati.
Toronto’s Mark Buehrle became the first six-game winner in the majors this season, and Edwin Encarnacion hit a three-run homer as the Blue Jays routed Philadelphia 10-0, beating the Phillies for the seventh straight time.
Baltimore’s Adam Jones hit a pair of solo homers, and Jonathan Schoop launched a tiebreaking, two-run shot, which helped the Orioles to a 4-3 win over Tampa Bay.
Kansas City’s James Shields pitched seven scoreless innings to steer the Royals to an 8-0 win over San Diego.
Detroit extended their winning streak to eight games by beating Houston 3-2, with Miguel Cabrera hitting a two-run homer.
Cleveland’s Mike Aviles hit a two-out single in the ninth inning to snatch a 4-3 win over Minnesota.
The White Sox beat the Cubs 8-3 in an all-Chicago clash, with Gordon Beckham hitting a home run for the second straight night and Paul Konerko delivering a decisive three-run double.
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