MAJOR LEAGUES
The Washington Nationals essentially put to rest any thought that there is still a serious race for the National League East title by beating nearest rivals Atlanta 6-4 on Tuesday, opening a nine-game divisional lead and also damaging the Braves’ wild-card ambitions.
By contrast, the American League Central fight is as close as can be after Detroit beat Kansas City to leave the teams effectively even for top spot, with the Royals ahead on percentage with one less win, but also one less loss than the Tigers.
Photo: USA Today
Elsewhere, the Los Angeles Dodgers were beaten at home by San Diego and saw their National League West lead trimmed, National League Central leaders St Louis also lost, against Cincinnati, and Baltimore kept up their inexorable march toward the American League East title by beating Boston.
Washington’s Adam LaRoche singled in a run in a four-run first inning and added another RBI single in the second. LaRoche is nine-for-19 with four home runs and 12 RBIs in his past six games.
Nationals starter Jordan Zimmermann (11-5) allowed two earned runs with seven strikeouts and no walks in six innings. He has not lost a decision since July 11 and is 5-0 — and the Nationals are 8-0 — in his past eight starts.
Detroit won 4-2 at home against Kansas City, with the key moment coming in the fifth inning as Tigers pitcher Max Scherzer worked his way out of a bases-loaded jam.
Scherzer (16-5) allowed one run in 6-2/3 innings. The Royals were down 3-1 in the fifth when Alex Gordon’s big hit to right went just foul with two on. A walk loaded the bases with one out, but Salvador Perez lined out and Eric Hosmer struck out.
Rajai Davis and J.D. Martinez homered for the Tigers, who were going for a three-game sweep and the divisional lead yesterday.
San Diego arrested a six-game losing skid by winning 6-3 at the Dodgers, with Andrew Cashner pitching seven strong innings to win for the first time since mid-April.
Cashner (3-7) allowed two runs after going winless in 11 outings.
Jedd Gyorko hit a two-run homer for the Padres, who had scored a sum of just 12 runs over those six losses, but bounced out to a 5-0 lead in the third inning.
The Dodgers had their four-game winning streak snapped and their National League West lead was cut to 2.5 games over San Francisco.
Cincinnati’s Devin Mesoraco homered and drove in three runs to lead the Reds to a 9-5 win against St Louis, ending a six-game run of defeats.
Mike Leake (11-11) was coming off his worst start of the season, but gave up only three runs while pitching into the seventh inning. He also hit an RBI double. It was his fifth double of the season and his 68th career hit — the most by any pitcher since he made his debut in 2010.
The National League Central-leading Cardinals lost for only the second time in 11 games and maintained their 4.5 game lead over Pittsburgh.
Baltimore’s Alejandro de Aza hit two homers and Adam Jones added another to power the Orioles past the Boston Red Sox 4-1.
The first-place Orioles maintained their 10-game lead in the American League East over Toronto, while last-placed Boston are a season-worst 22.5 games off the lead, a year after winning the World Series.
Oakland’s Josh Donaldson had a career-high five hits while driving in four runs, leading the Athletics to an 11-2 win at the Chicago White Sox.
Donaldson also scored two runs as Oakland shored up their grip on the top American League wild-card.
A’s starter Jon Lester (14-10) gave up two runs over eight innings, while the visitors also capitalized on a season-worst five errors by Chicago.
Miami’s Casey McGehee and Marcell Ozuna hit back-to-back home runs with two outs in the ninth inning, lifting the Marlins to a 6-3 victory over the fading Milwaukee Brewers.
McGehee connected for a two-run shot off Francisco Rodriguez (4-5). Ozuna, who reached base five times, followed with another drive off Rodriguez, who has given up a career-worst 14 home runs this season.
The Brewers lost for the 13th time in 14 games.
Los Angeles’ Kole Calhoun hit a leadoff homer to set the Angels on their way to a 9-3 win over the Texas Rangers and a sixth straight victory.
The Angels sealed the result with a seven-run eighth inning, with Collin Cowgill reaching base with an infield single, scoring on Mike Trout’s triple and then coming back to the plate later in the inning and hitting a bases-loaded triple.
The Angels, with the best record in the majors at 89-55, matched their longest winning streak of the season.
Tampa Bay left fielder Matt Joyce threw out Stephen Drew at home plate in the fifth inning when catcher Ryan Hanigan blocked the sliding runner as the Rays hung on to beat the fading New York Yankees 4-3.
Houston’s Jonathan Villar hit a tiebreaking single in the ninth inning to lift the Astros to a 2-1 victory over the Seattle Mariners.
Philadelphia’s Maikel Franco hit a tiebreaking single in the seventh inning to lift the Phillies over the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-3.
The Toronto Blue Jays rallied for a 9-2 victory over the Chicago Cubs, with Jose Bautista hitting a go-ahead, three-run double in the seventh inning.
San Francisco’s Yusmeiro Petit pitched his second career complete game, steering the Giants past the Arizona Diamondbacks 4-1.
Minnesota’s Oswaldo Arcia hit a two-run homer to cap a four-run fourth inning as the Twins won 4-3 to dent the Cleveland Indians’ playoff hopes.
New York’s Jacob deGrom burnished his rookie-of-the-year credentials by pitching eight scoreless innings, guiding the Mets to a 2-0 win over the Colorado Rockies.
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