MLB: Kershaw extends scoreless streak in Dodgers 3-1 win over Angels
LOS ANGELES — Clayton Kershaw extended his scoreless streak to 37 innings with eight innings of two-hit ball and batterymate Yasmani Grandal hit a two-run homer, leading the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 3-1 victory over the Angels on Saturday.
Kershaw (9-6) struck out seven, walked one and retired his last 15 batters while working on eight days’ rest. His previous start was a three-hit shutout on July 23 at New York in which he took a perfect game into the seventh inning. The three-time Cy Young Award winner hasn’t given up a run since Wilmer Flores’ RBI single for the Mets on July 3 at Dodger Stadium.
Kenley Jansen, battling a virus for the past four days, pitched a shaky ninth for his 20th save in 21 attempts. He ended it by retiring Erick Aybar on a popup with runners at the corners after giving up an RBI single by Albert Pujols.
Kershaw had a 41-inning shutout streak last season, when he became the first pitcher since 1968 to be named NL MVP and won his unprecedented fourth consecutive major league ERA title.
Pujols’ leadoff single in the second and Johnny Giavotella’s leadoff single in the fourth were the only hits off Kershaw, who lowered his ERA this season to 2.37 and raised his major league-leading strikeout total to 192.
Andrew Heaney (5-1) was charged with two runs and four hits in 5 1/3 innings.
GIANTS 9, RANGERS 7, 11 INNINGS
ARLINGTON, Texas — Cole Hamels followed up his no-hitter by pitching into the eighth inning of his Texas debut without a decision as San Francisco beat the Rangers in 11 innings.
Hunter Pence led off the 11th with a homer off Sam Dyson (0-1), another pitcher in his first game for Texas.
Brandon Belt homered twice for the Giants, who have won 14 of their last 17 games. Belt led off the third with his 11th homer, and added another solo shot in the 11th off Sam Freeman.
Hamels, the first pitcher traded during a season immediately after throwing a no-hitter, left with the Rangers up 7-4 after Joe Panik’s two-out double in the eighth. Reliever Tanner Scheppers then allowed three consecutive run-scoring hits.
Hunter Strickland (2-1), the seventh Giants pitcher, threw two scoreless innings before Santiago Casilla worked the 11th for his 27th save.
METS 3, NATIONALS 2
NEW YORK — Lucas Duda homered twice and hit a tiebreaking double in the eighth inning after newcomer Yoenis Cespedes was walked intentionally, leading New York to a come-from-behind victory over Washington in front of the second largest regular-season crowd ever at Citi Field.
Playing in his first game since being acquired from Detroit Friday at the trade deadline, Cespedes was walked by reliever Matt Thornton (1-1) even though Duda had connected twice on fireworks night off Joe Ross and has been on a recent tear.
With 42,996 fans on their feet and cheering, Duda drove a 1-2 pitch the opposite way to left field that short-hopped the wall. Curtis Granderson, who doubled leading off the inning, scored to put New York ahead.
ROCKIES 6, CARDINALS 2
ST. LOUIS — Nolan Arenado and Ben Paulsen homered, sending Jorge De La Rosa and Colorado to a victory over St. Louis.
Arenado connected for a two-run shot in the fourth against Lance Lynn (8-6) and Paulsen added a leadoff drive in the sixth. Paulsen finished with two hits and three RBIs in Colorado’s first win at Busch Stadium since May 12, 2013, snapping a string of five straight losses at St. Louis.
De La Rosa (7-4) allowed two runs and seven hits in 6 2/3 innings. The left-hander is 7-2 with a 3.41 ERA in nine starts against St. Louis since joining Colorado in 2008.
ROYALS 7, BLUE JAYS 6
TORONTO — Ben Zobrist hit two homers, Eric Hosmer singled home the go-ahead run in the eighth inning and Kansas City beat Toronto to snap a three-game losing streak.
Zobrist, who went 3 for 4 and scores three runs, also homered in the first and doubled and scored in the sixth. Yordano Ventura (6-7) gave up five runs and six hits in seven innings to win back-to-back starts for the first time since April.
Wade Davis worked the eighth and Greg Holland pitched around a walk and a single for his 23rd save.
Facing new Blue Jays reliever Mark Lowe (0-2), Zobrist tied it at 5 with a drive to right. Lorenzo Cain doubled and scored on Hosmer’s base hit, Kendrys Morales singled Hosmer to third and Salvador Perez hit a sacrifice fly.
Jose Bautista hit two solo homers and Josh Donaldson added a two-run drive for Toronto.
WHITE SOX 8, YANKEES 2
CHICAGO — Melky Cabrera and Alexei Ramirez homered and John Danks struck out eight as Chicago beat New York.
Danks (6-8) held the Yankees to a run and three hits in 5 2/3 innings. He walked four but his eight strikeouts matched a season high.
Brian McCann hit his 17th homer for the AL East-leading Yankees, who could muster only five hits.
Tyler Saladino hit an RBI single in the bottom of the fifth to give the White Sox a two-run lead and knock Bryan Mitchell (0-1) out of the game. Diego Moreno replaced Mitchell and hit Jose Abreu with a pitch before he allowed Cabrera’s three-run homer.
Ramirez added his solo home run for the surging White Sox, who have won eight of 10.
ASTROS 9, DIAMONDBACKS 2
HOUSTON — Hank Conger hit two homers, including his first career grand slam, and rookie Carlos Correa also homered twice to help Houston to a win over Arizona.
Dallas Keuchel (13-5) allowed two hits and two runs with eight strikeouts in six innings to extend Houston’s lead in the AL West to three games.
It was the major league-leading 44th multi-homer game Houston, which leads the majors with 147 home runs.
The Astros were up one with one out and the bases loaded in the fourth inning when Conger connected off Jeremy Hellickson (7-7) to push the lead to 7-2.
Facing the Astros for the first time, Hellickson yielded seven hits and seven runs in a season-low 3 1-3 innings as the Diamondbacks saw their season-long six game winning streak snapped. It’s the first time he’s given up three homers this season.
REDS 4, PIRATES 3
CINCINNATI — Eugenio Suarez had a sacrifice fly and an RBI double off 14-game winner Gerrit Cole, and Cincinnati extended its home-field success over Pittsburgh.
The Reds have won five of six against their Ohio River rival at Great American Ball Park this season. They are 9-3 against Pittsburgh overall.
Cole (14-5) leads the majors in wins, but three of his five losses have come against the Reds, a team he has never beaten. Jay Bruce added a run-scoring double as Cole fell to 0-4 in six career starts against the Reds.
Suarez got his third RBI of the night with a sacrifice fly in the eighth inning off newcomer Joe Blanton for a 4-2 lead.
CUBS 4, BREWERS 2
MILWAUKEE — Kyle Hendricks scattered four hits and Anthony Rizzo continued his homer binge to lead Chicago to a win over Milwaukee.
Rizzo made it four straight games with a home run with a three-run shot in the third inning. Kyle Schwarber added a homer for the Cubs, who have won the first three games of the series and four straight overall.
Hendricks (5-5), who was pulled after giving up a lead-off single in the eighth inning, gave up one run on four hits, while striking out six. He won for the first time in his last five starts.
Tommy Hunter earned his first save of the season.
Matt Garza (5-12) gave up three runs on four hits in six innings for the Brewers.
ATHLETICS 5, INDIANS 1
OAKLAND, Calif. — Marcus Semien homered to back a strong outing by Oakland newcomer Aaron Brooks and the Athletics beat Cleveland to snap a three-game losing streak.
Brooks (1-0) allowed one run and five hits over 7-plus innings for his first career win. The right-hander, who joined Oakland as part of the June 28 trade that sent Ben Zobrist to Kansas City, struck out five and didn’t walk a batter in his first start in more than 14 months.
Billy Butler and Sam Fuld had two hits apiece as the A’s won for just the fifth time since the All-Star break.
Semien’s home run off Cleveland starter Cody Anderson (2-3) in the seventh was his ninth of the season.
Lonnie Chisenhall homered off Brooks in the fifth for the Indians’ lone run.
TWINS 3, MARINERS 2
MINNEAPOLIS — Kurt Suzuki hit the winning RBI single with two outs in the ninth after two wild pitches by Seattle closer Carson Smith let Minnesota tie the score.
Miguel Sano led off the ninth with a double, moved up on an errant fastball by Smith (1-5) that nearly hit Torii Hunter in the head. Then with two outs, pinch-runner Shane Robinson sprinted home with the tying run on another wild pitch that let Eddie Rosario take second.
Rosario, who was intentionally walked, stole third base and then scored on Suzuki’s sharp single to left field.
Trevor May (7-7) pitched a perfect ninth inning for the victory.
Nelson Cruz led off the sixth with his 28th home run, a full-count pitch from Kyle Gibson off the back wall of the bullpen behind left-center field and gave the Mariners a 2-1 lead.
ORIOLES 6, TIGERS 2
BALTIMORE — Caleb Joseph homered and drove in three runs, Kevin Gausman allowed four hits over seven innings and surging Baltimore beat Detroit.
Gerardo Parra went 1 for 3 and scored a run in his Baltimore debut. Obtained Friday in a trade with Milwaukee, the outfielder became the 1,000th player to appear in a game for the Orioles.
Manny Machado hit his 23rd home run for the Orioles, who have won seven of eight. Baltimore is three games over .500 for the first time since July 6 and in the thick of the AL wild-card hunt.
Gausman (2-2) gave up two runs, struck out six and walked none in earning his first win in 13 appearances since April 7.
Anibal Sanchez (10-9) allowed six runs in 6 2/3 innings for Detroit.
RED SOX 11, RAYS 7
BOSTON — Travis Shaw hit his first two major league homers and went 4 for 4 with five runs and four RBIs as Boston beat Tampa Bay.
Xander Bogaerts had four hits and three RBIs, and Rusney Castillo three hits and three RBIs to help the Red Sox win their third straight after losing 12 of 14.
Logan Forsythe hit a solo homer and two-run single for the Rays. They have lost five of seven.
Joe Kelly (3-6), demoted to the minors in late June for nearly a month, gave up five runs on nine hits in five-plus innings for his first victory since June 6. Jean Machi earned a save in his Red Sox debut, getting the final four outs.
The Red Sox built a 6-0 edge after three innings against starter Matt Moore (1-3).
Luccino stepping down – Larry Lucchino is stepping down this year at the Boston Red Sox’s president and CEO.
Team spokesman Kevin Gregg says in an email that Lucchino hopes to remain with the club in some capacity. Gregg also says Sam Kennedy, the executive vice president and COO of the Red Sox, is Lucchino’s choice to take over as president.
The Boston Herald first reported the move.
Lucchino, who turns 70 next year, was part of the ownership group that purchased the Red Sox in 2002. He has helped Boston to three World Series titles in his time with the team.
But the Red Sox finished last in the AL East last year, and began play Saturday in the same spot.
PHILLIES 12, BRAVES 2
PHILADELPHIA — Odubel Herrera, Freddy Galvis and Cameron Rupp all homered as surging Philadelphia set a season high for scoring over slumping Atlanta.
Ryan Howard had three hits with a double and an RBI for the Phillies, who are a major league-best 12-2 since the All-Star break.
Maikel Franco had two doubles and two RBIs, Herrera had three hits and Cesar Hernandez and Galvis each had two as the Phillies pounded out 15 hits.
Nick Markakis homered for Atlanta, which has lost a season-high six straight — all on the road. The Braves have dropped 13 of their last 14 away from Turner Field, and nine of their last 10 overall.
Aaron Nola (2-1) allowed two runs and five hits with three strikeouts and no walks.
Matt Wisler (5-2) gave up seven runs and eight hits in 4 2/3 innings.
PADRES 5, MARLINS 3
MIAMI — Odrisamer Despaigne pitched six solid innings, and San Diego beat Miami.
Yangervis Solarte and Matt Kemp each had two hits and drove in a run for San Diego, which has won seven of eight and 12 of 16. Craig Kimbrel, who allowed a tying solo homer in Friday’s 8-3 win that sent the game to extra innings, pitched a perfect ninth for his 31st save in 33 chances.
Despaigne (5-7) allowed two runs and five hits in his second straight win against Miami. He also pitched six solid innings in a 3-2 victory over the Marlins last Sunday.
