MAJOR LEAGUES
After Detroit pitching ace Justin Verlander gave up five runs in the first inning, but the Tigers refused to be dismayed, responding by pouring on plenty of runs to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 14-5 in Tuesday’s interleague clash of divisional leaders.
The Tigers moved 4.5 games clear atop the American League Central, while the Dodgers maintained their one-game lead in the National League West despite the loss, after nearest rivals San Francisco were beaten again in the Bay Area series by majors-leading Oakland.
Photo: AFP
Despite the poor first inning, Verlander (8-7) gave up just one hit over the next five frames, retiring 13 Dodgers in a row at one point as his batters punished the LA pitching staff.
The Tigers tied it with five runs in the second, then added two in the third and four in the fourth to pull away. Detroit set a season high for runs and hits (20) and Miguel Cabrera was one of five Detroit players with three hits.
In Oakland, pitcher Sonny Gray struck out eight to win his third straight decision, guiding the Athletics to a 6-1 victory over local rivals San Francisco.
Gray did not allow a hit over the first two innings to set the A’s on their way to a sixth straight win.
Coco Crisp hit an RBI single and stole his 16th base of the season and Nick Punto doubled in a run during a four-run third for the A’s, who completed a 6-0 homsetand. The low-budget club with baseball’s best record has won 11 of their past 12 games at the Coliseum.
Also in the American League, Toronto’s R.A. Dickey pitched seven scoreless innings to record his first victory in more than a month, steering the Blue Jays to a 4-0 win over the Angels.
Dickey (7-8) struck out five and walked one after losing his previous four starts.
Jose Reyes homered and drove in three runs for the Blue Jays, who snapped a sequence of seven straight losses on the road, while also ending the Angels’ 11-game home winning streak, which fell one shy of the franchise record set in 1967.
Toronto climbed within 2.5 games of AL East-leading Baltimore, whose scheduled game at Washington was rained out.
Elsewhere in the AL, Cleveland got the better of New York Yankees pitcher Masahiro Tanaka, winning 5-3.
Tanaka (12-4) allowed season worsts of five runs and 10 hits in 6-2/3 innings. He has lost three times in four starts.
Michael Brantley homered and had three RBIs while Nick Swisher hit a go-ahead two-run shot for the Indians.
Also in the AL on Tuesday, Minnesota’s Phil Hughes held Seattle scoreless as he pitched into the eighth inning, guiding the Twins to a 2-0 win over the Mariners, while Tampa Bay’s Evan Longoria drove in two runs to help the Rays edge Kansas City 4-3.
Chicago’s Conor Gillaspie hit a tie-breaking, two-run homer in the sixth inning for his third hit of the game, propelling the White Sox to an 8-3 win over struggling Boston, while Houston hit lead-off homers in three innings — two from Chris Carter — to beat state rivals the Texas Rangers.
In the National League, St Louis rookie Kolten Wong gave the Cardinals a second straight game-winning ninth-inning home run, connecting with two outs, and on a full count, to give the hosts a 5-4 win over Pittsburgh.
Pirates closer Ernesto Frieri (1-1) got two routine outs before Wong, batting eighth, smacked a drive over the right-field wall, which was estimated at 420 feet. It was the first game-winning homer of his career and came a night after Matt Adams also hit his first winner in a 2-0 victory.
Wong earlier gave the Cardinals the early lead with a two-run double in the second.
In Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Philadelphia rallied from a big early deficit to overrun the struggling Brewers and win 9-7.
After allowing five runs in the first inning, the Phillies scored five in the second off Brewers starter Wily Peralta (9-6). Ben Revere drove in two runs with a ground-frule double, Chase Utley had a two-run single and Koyie Hill contributed a run-scoring single.
Domonic Brown homered and had a two-run single for the Phillies to condemn the Brewers to their seventh loss in eight games.
Elsewhere in the NL, New York rookie Jacob deGrom struck out 11 in seven scoreless innings to guide the Mets to an 8-3 win over Atlanta.
The shaggy-haired DeGrom (2-5) matched his career high for strikeouts and issued no walks.
DeGrom also delivered a key hit from the No. 8 spot in the batting order as the Mets brought up their 4,000th victory.
In the day’s other NL games, Miami’s Marcell Ozuna hit a two-out, two-run home run off Addison Reed in the ninth inning to give the Marlins a 2-1 win at Arizona, Colorado’s Charlie Blackmon hit a two-run homer that proved enough for the Rockies to beat San Diego 2-1 and Cincinnati beat the Chicago Cubs in both games of a double-header, winning the opener 4-2 and then overcoming a five-run deficit to claim the second 6-5.
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