MAJOR LEAGUES
Recalled Baltimore pitcher Miguel Gonzalez held Los Angeles scoreless for the first seven innings to set up a 4-2 win for the Orioles at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California, on Tuesday and maintain their four-game lead atop the American League East division.
Gonzalez (5-5) allowed only three hits in 7-2/3 innings, justifying his call-up from the minors, while Jonathan Schoop homered and J.J. Hardy hit two RBI doubles for the Orioles, who struggled against Angels starter Hector Santiago, but got on top of replacement Mike Morin (2-3).
The Angels’ crosstown rivals, the Dodgers, also lost on Tuesday, falling 12-7 to Pittsburgh to drop a game below National League West leaders San Francisco.
The Pirates hit three early homers off Josh Beckett in his return from a hip injury to set up the win. Beckett allowed four runs in 3-2/3 innings. Three came from solo home runs by Neil Walker, who had three RBIs; Ike Davis, who had three hits; and Gregory Polanco, who broke out of a slump and later hit a tie-breaking two-run single.
Pirates reliever Justin Wilson was ejected in the seventh after hitting Justin Turner with a pitch in a reprisal for Andrew McCutchen getting hit by Jamey Wright.
Among other key National League results, Milwaukee edged Cincinnati to open up their lead in the NL Central, with Jonathan Lucroy homering leading off the bottom of the ninth to give the Brewers a 4-3 win. It was Lucroy’s second homer of the game and the second walkoff homer of his career, both against the Reds.
Francisco Rodriguez (4-3) pitched the ninth to earn the victory that moved Milwaukee 1.5 games clear atop the division.
In Atlanta, Miami’s Jacob Turner made a strong claim for a permanent return to the Marlins’ rotation by setting up a 6-5 win.
Turner (3-6), making his first start in six weeks, gave up four hits in five innings and worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the first inning.
Braves starter Mike Minor (3-6) was rocked in his shortest start of the season, giving up six runs and two walks in three-plus innings. It was the second straight start in which he has given up six runs.
Elsewhere in the National League, San Francisco’s Brandon Crawford hit a bases-clearing double to break a 14th-inning stalemate that put the Giants 9-6 over Philadelphia, while Washington rallied past Colorado 7-4 and the Chicago Cubs arrested a five-game skid by blanking San Diego 6-0, with Anthony Rizzo hitting two home runs.
In Tuesday’s American League action, Houston beat MLB-leading Oakland in a 12-inning game in which L.J. Hoes homered with one out in the top of the 12th to give the Astros a 3-2 victory.
Hoes connected off Fernando Abad (2-4) to give Houston their third straight win over the A’s for the first time in franchise history, while Oakland missed several chances to move a season-high 25 games over .500.
In Toronto, J.A. Happ pitched six scoreless innings to guide the Blue Jays to a 7-3 win over Boston.
It was Happ’s (8-5) first win in four weeks, while Brett Cecil got the final out for his fourth save in five chances.
Dioner Navarro and Jose Reyes both homered in the sixth inning for Toronto, who responded to Monday’s 14-1 defeat at the hands of the Red Sox.
In Chicago, Illinois, Kansas City snapped four-game skid by beating the White Sox 7-1, with Mike Moustakas hitting two homers.
In interleague play, Tampa Bay’s Yunel Escobar hit a two-run double as part of a five-run fifth inning that lifted the Rays 7-2 past St Louis.
Evan Longoria added a solo homer in the ninth for Tampa Bay, whho won a season-best sixth consecutive game.
Rays’ starter Jake Odorizzi allowed two runs over 5-2/3 innings.
In Seattle, New York’s Jacob deGrom allowed only one run in seven innings to steer the Mets to a 3-1 win over the Mariners.
DeGrom (4-5) walked one and struck out seven to improve to 4-1 with a 1.59 ERA over his past six starts. After giving up a single to his first batter, DeGrom retired the next 11.
Lucas Duda hit a mammoth home run in the eighth inning that hit the scoreboard in the second deck of the stands.
In other interleague play, Arizona’s Aaron Hill drove in three runs and made a game-ending diving stop to preserve the Diamondbacks’ 5-4 win over Detroit, while Cleveland’s Carlos Santana homered among his season high-tying four hits to power the Indians past Minnesota 8-2.
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GOING GLOBAL: The regular season fixture is part of the football league’s increasingly ambitious plans to spread the sport to international destinations The US National Football League (NFL) breaks new ground in its global expansion strategy tomorrow when the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers face off in the first-ever grid-iron game staged in Brazil. For one night only, the land of Pele and ‘The Beautiful Game’ will get a rare glimpse into the bone-crunching world of American football as the Packers and Eagles collide at Sao Paulo’s Neo Quimica Arena, the 46,000-seat home of soccer club Corinthians. The regular season fixture is part of the NFL’s increasingly ambitious plans to spread the US’ most popular sport to new territories following previous international fixtures
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