Lucky 13: Scherzer wins again

TORONTO — Max Scherzer worked into the seventh inning to become the first pitcher in 27 years to get off to a 13-0 start, leading the Detroit Tigers to a 6-2 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays on Wednesday night.

Alex Avila hit a three-run homer and Victor Martinez belted a solo shot as Detroit beat Toronto for the eighth time in 10 meetings.

Scherzer (13-0) allowed two runs and seven hits, struck out eight and walked one in 6 1/3 innings. He is the first pitcher to begin the season with 13 wins and no losses since Roger Clemens won his first 14 decisions for the Boston Red Sox in 1986.

Both benches and bullpens emptied after Tigers outfielder Torii Hunter took exception to being hit by a high pitch from Todd Redmond in the sixth.

Colby Rasmus and Maicer Izturis each hit an RBI single for the Blue Jays. Josh Johnson (1-3) allowed six runs, one earned, and seven hits in five innings.

YANKEES 3, TWINS 2

MINNEAPOLIS — CC Sabathia earned his 200th career win to stretch his winning streak over Minnesota to nearly six years, and Robinson Cano hit a tying two-run double for the Yankees.

Cano had the big swing in the three-run sixth against PJ Walters (2-5). Trevor Plouffe homered against Sabathia (9-6), but the burly left-hander finished seven innings with seven hits and three walks while striking out nine.

Mariano Rivera pitched a scoreless ninth to notch his 28th save in 29 tries in his farewell season.

Sabathia is 11-0 with a 2.01 ERA in his last 12 starts against the Twins with a 2.01 ERA.

M’S 4, RANGERS 2 (10)

ARLINGTON, Texas — Kyle Seager hit a two-run homer in the 10th inning, and Seattle won consecutive games in Texas for the first time in more than a year.

Michael Saunders walked on a full-count pitch with two out before Seager connected against Robbie Ross (4-2) for his third hit of the game. Seager’s 12th homer landed in the first row of seats in right field.

Charlie Furbush (2-4) pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings for the win, and Tom Wilhelmsen was perfect in the 10th for his 17th save.

The Mariners last won two straight in Texas on May 29-30, 2012, when they took the last two of a three-game series. They’ll go for a sweep Thursday night.

The Rangers dropped to 30-14 at home against Seattle since the start of 2009.

ORIOLES 4, WHITE SOX 2

CHICAGO — Chris Davis hit his major league-leading 32nd homer, and then added a tiebreaking two-run double in the eighth for Baltimore.

Scott Feldman pitched six solid innings in his debut for the Orioles, who held on to win for the fifth time in six games after the White Sox threatened against Jim Johnson.

Conor Gillaspie and Jeff Keppinger singled with one out in the ninth, putting men on first and second. Johnson struck out Gordon Beckham looking and retired pinch hitter Jordan Danks on a bouncer to the mound for his 29th save in 34 attempts.

Darren O’Day (4-0) pitched a scoreless seventh and Tommy Hunter worked the eighth before Johnson dodged that jam in the ninth. Matt Lindstrom (2-3) got the loss.

ASTROS 4, RAYS 1

HOUSTON — Chris Carter hit a tiebreaking three-run shot in the seventh for his second homer of the game, leading Bud Norris and Houston to the victory.

Norris allowed one run and six hits in seven innings as the Astros snapped a five-game losing streak. It was the first win for Norris (6-7) since June 1.

Carter broke a 22-inning scoring drought for Houston with a drive off Roberto Hernandez (4-10) in the second. He connected on a full-count pitch from Jake McGee to make it 4-1 in the seventh.

ROYALS 6, INDIANS 5

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Eric Hosmer hit a go-ahead homer in the seventh inning, and the Royals rallied after losing outfielder Alex Gordon to a head injury.

Hosmer connected with two outs off Cody Allen (3-1), one inning after Gordon collided with the bullpen fence while tracking a fly ball. The Gold Glove outfielder remained down on the warning track for several minutes before slowly standing up and walking off the field.

Will Smith (1-1) pitched 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief for the Royals, and Greg Holland managed the ninth to help Kansas City snap a three-game skid against the Indians.

The start of the game was delayed 2 hours, 37 minutes by a stubborn rain cloud that refused to budge from over the stadium, even though there were clear skies not more than a mile away.

CUBS 3, ATHLETICS 1

OAKLAND, Calif. — Matt Garza pitched eight sharp innings for his third consecutive win, helping the Cubs to their fifth victory in seven games.

Garza (4-1) allowed one run and four hits in his fourth consecutive quality start. The right-hander is 3-0 with a sparkling 0.90 ERA since yielding a season-high nine runs to the Cincinnati Reds on June 11.

Luis Valbuena homered for Chicago, and Kevin Gregg pitched the ninth for his 14th save in 15 chances.

CARDINALS 12, ANGELS 2

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Jon Jay had three RBIs, including a two-run homer off center fielder Mike Trout’s glove during St. Louis’ seven-run second inning, and the Cardinals ended the Angels’ seven-game winning streak.

Matt Carpenter, batting leadoff in front of Jay, also homered and drove in three runs to help keep the Cardinals two games behind Pittsburgh in the NL Central.

St. Louis right-hander Shelby Miller (9-6) pitched six innings and allowed five hits, including a two-run homer by Hank Conger in the second.

RED SOX 2, PADRES 1

BOSTON — Jonny Gomes led off the ninth inning with a pinch-hit home run, lifting the Red Sox to the victory.

Mike Carp had two hits and scored a run for Boston, which improved to 7-1 on its nine-game homestand that concludes Thursday against the Padres.

Gomes sent a 2-2 pitch from Luke Gregerson (4-4) into the first row of seats above the Green Monster for his second game-ending homer of the season.

Koji Uehara (2-0) pitched one inning for the win.

Pirates 6, Phillies 5

PITTSBURGH — Jeff Locke ran his winning streak to eight games, Pedro Alvarez hit a three-run homer, and Pittsburgh hung on to beat Philadelphia.

Locke (8-1) was scored upon for the first time in four home starts but extended his unbeaten streak to 16 outings. Locke, who hasn’t lost since his first start of the season, allowed two earned runs on seven hits and three walks over 5 2/3 innings.

The Pirates took the lead with a four-run fifth punctuated by Alvarez’s 21st home run.

Andrew McCutchen reached base five times, scoring twice for the Pirates (52-31), who have the majors’ best record and had a nine-game winning streak snapped in the series opener Tuesday.

Delmon Young and Domonic Brown each had three hits for the Phillies, who have lost four of six.

Brown’s two-run homer with two outs in the ninth pulled the Phillies within one, but Jason Grilli stuck out Young to seal his NL-best 28th save.

John Lannan (1-3) was tagged for four runs on 11 hits and three walks in five innings.

MARLINS 6, BRAVES 3

ATLANTA — Ricky Nolasco tossed seven strong innings amid persistent trade rumors, Justin Ruggiano hit a three-run homer and Miami beat Atlanta.

Marlins manager Mike Redmond said before the game that Nolasco has not been affected by trade speculation and the right-hander supported that claim by giving up only two runs on six hits.

Nolasco (5-8) had no walks with seven strikeouts, giving him 1,001 for his career.

The Braves led 2-0 before Ruggiano’s homer off Mike Minor (8-4) in the fifth. Miami added a run in the sixth when Placido Polanco singled and scored on Adeiny Hechavarria’s double. Jeff Mathis added a two-run double in the eighth.

DIAMONDBACKS 5, METS 3

NEW YORK — Randall Delgado outpitched Matt Harvey for his first major league win in more than a year and Arizona snapped a five-game skid with a victory over New York.

Cody Ross hit a three-run homer off Harvey to put Arizona ahead, and Delgado struck out a career-high nine in seven innings to give the NL West leaders their first victory by a starting pitcher since Wade Miley beat St. Louis on June 5.

Diamondbacks starters went 0-11 over the next 24 games until Delgado (1-2) held New York in check for his first win since June 6, 2012, with Atlanta at Miami.

Harvey (7-2) was charged with nine hits and a season-high five runs in six-plus innings.

REDS 3, GIANTS 2 (11)

CINCINNATI — Shin-Soo Choo’s two-out single in the 11th inning drove in Todd Frazier from second base, lifting Cincinnati over San Francisco.

Frazier walked to lead off the 11th against Javier Lopez (1-1) and went to second on Chris Heisey’s sacrifice. After Devin Mesoraco was intentionally walked, Ryan Hanigan popped out before Choo gave the Reds three straight wins for the first time since June 10-12 against the Cubs.

J.J. Hoover (2-5), Cincinnati’s seventh pitcher of the game, struck out four batters in two innings for the win.

BREWERS 4, NATIONALS 1

WASHINGTON — Kyle Lohse tossed eight sharp innings on short rest and Milwaukee shut down Bryce Harper and Co. for the second straight night in a win over Washington.

Lohse (4-6) allowed one run and four hits, and had a season-high seven strikeouts against the eager-swinging Nationals, who barely avoided back-to-back shutouts and fell back to .500.

Ross Detwiler (2-7), yet another Nationals pitcher longing for run support, was charged with four runs and eight hits in six innings, although two runs were unearned because of Harper’s error.

DODGERS 10, ROCKIES 8

DENVER — Hanley Ramirez had four hits, including a solo homer in the ninth, to help Los Angeles hold off Colorado in a game outfielder Yasiel Puig left early with a bruised left hip.

Juan Uribe, Adrian Gonzalez and Matt Kemp also homered for the Dodgers, who have won 10 of their last 11 games to climb back into the thick of the NL West race.

Zack Greinke (6-2) struggled on the mound but still earned his third straight win.

Kenley Jansen recorded the final four outs to pick up his eighth save in 11 chances.