MLB: Chris Sale improves to 8-0, White Sox beat Yankees

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NEW YORK — Chris Sale became the major leagues’ first eight-game winner, working quickly and efficiently in a six-hitter that led the Chicago White Sox over the New York Yankees 7-1 Friday night.

NEW YORK — Chris Sale became the major leagues’ first eight-game winner, working quickly and efficiently in a six-hitter that led the Chicago White Sox over the New York Yankees 7-1 Friday night.

Jimmy Rollins hit a two-run homer in the third inning off Luis Severino (0-6), who left one pitch later with soreness on the back of his right elbow and was sent to a hospital for an MRI.

Sale (8-0), the first White Sox pitcher to win his opening eight starts since Jon Garland in 2005, retired 15 consecutive batters from the fourth through the eighth innings. He struck out six and walked none.

ASTROS 7, RED SOX 6

BOSTON — George Springer homered off former UConn teammate Matt Barnes and drove in four runs and Houston ended Boston’s five-game winning streak.

Springer’s two-run drive over the Green Monster against Barnes (2-2) broke a 5-all tie in the sixth inning.

Jackie Bradley Jr. got three hits for the Red Sox and extended the longest hitting streak in the majors this season to 19 games.

Scott Feldman (2-2) won in relief. He gave up Travis Shaw’s homer to straightaway center to start the sixth. Luke Gregerson struck out two in the ninth while picking up his eighth save.

ROCKIES 5, METS 2

DENVER — Hard-throwing righty Jon Gray picked up his first major league victory and base hit, helping Colorado snap an 11-game skid to New York.

Gray (1-1) went seven stellar innings and struck out eight in his 14th career start. Jake McGee pitched a perfect ninth to earn his 10th save.

Rookie shortstop Trevor Story had two doubles, including one that brought in the go-ahead run in the fifth, on a day when the Rockies found out that veteran shortstop Jose Reyes will be suspended through May 31. The penalty stemmed from an alleged altercation with his wife at a Hawaii resort last October.

Matt Harvey (3-5) struggled in his first start at Coors Field, allowing five runs and a season-high 11 hits in 5 2/3 innings.

NATIONALS 5, MARLINS 3

WASHINGTON — Bryce Harper hit a tiebreaking, two-run homer in the seventh inning, sending Washington over Miami.

Harper, playing while he appeals a one-game suspension for his behavior following an ejection on Monday, walked his first two times up and singled in the fifth.

It was 2-all in the Washington seventh when Anthony Rendon drew a leadoff walk. Harper followed by working the count full against Kyle Barraclough (2-1), then hitting his 11th home run.

Stephen Drew hit a two-run homer in the Nationals sixth that made it 2-all. Pinch hitter Chris Heisey added a solo homer in the eighth.

Blake Treinen (3-1) pitched two innings and Jonathan Papelbon got the final two outs for his 10th save.

ROYALS 5, BRAVES 1

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Edinson Volquez pitched seven effective innings, Alcides Escobar had two hits, scored a run and drove in a run and Kansas City beat Atlanta to open a six-game homestand.

The World Series champion Royals had dropped 12 of their previous 16 games, while the Braves, who have the worst record in the National League, lost for the 17th time in 25 games.

Volquez (4-3) picked up his first victory since April 21, snapping a three-game winless streak. Erick Aybar’s sacrifice fly in the seventh scored Jeff Francoeur, who led off the inning with a single, for the only run Volquez allowed.

Julio Teheran (0-4) is winless in eight starts this season, the longest winless streak of his career, despite a 1.48 ERA in his past five starts. Teheran held the Royals to two runs, one unearned, and four hits over seven innings.

BLUE JAYS 5, RANGERS 0

ARLINGTON, Texas — R.A. Dickey tossed eight innings, Edwin Encarnacion and Troy Tulowitzki homered and Toronto beat Texas.

Dickey (2-4), a knuckleballer who broke into the majors with Texas in 2001, struck out six and walked one while allowing only three singles. Chad Girodo finished the three-hitter.

Rangers starter Martin Perez (1-3) gave up two runs, one earned in 6 1/3 innings in the loss.

Matt Bush made his major league debut with a perfect ninth for the Rangers, seven months after getting released from a 3 1/2-year prison sentence for a drunken-driving accident that seriously injured a man. It was 12 years after he was the No. 1 overall pick by his hometown San Diego Padres, when he was still a shortstop.

BREWERS 1, PADRES 0

MILWAUKEE — Junior Guerra pitched six innings of two-hit ball to help Milwaukee beat San Diego.

Making his third career major league start, Guerra (2-0) shut down one of the National League’s lighter-hitting teams. The right-hander struck out four and walked two before three relievers finished the three-hitter.

The Brewers scored on Chris Carter’s sacrifice fly in the first, snapping a 23-inning scoreless streak by Padres pitching.

Christian Friedrich allowed four hits and walked six in six innings in his Padres debut after being called up from Triple-A El Paso.

Friedrich (0-1) lost his 11th straight decision, a streak that dates to 2012. It was his first start in the majors since July 2014.

CUBS 9, PIRATES 4

CHICAGO — Addison Russell, David Ross and Kris Bryant homered, leading Jason Hammel and Chicago over Pittsburgh.

The Cubs stopped their first losing streak of the season —a two-game skid, both in a doubleheader sweep by San Diego on Wednesday. Chicago leads the majors with a 26-8 record.

Russell and Ross connected for three-run shots and Bryant hit a two-run drive. That was plenty for Hammel (5-0), who struck out a season-best eight over 6 2/3 innings, giving up one earned run and eight hits.

Francisco Liriano (3-2) surrendered all three Cubs homers in 4 2/3 innings. Andrew McCutchen had three hits, including a two-run homer in the ninth as the Pirates fell eight games behind the Cubs in the NL Central.

ORIOLES 1, TIGERS 0

BALTIMORE — Chris Tillman pitched seven innings of five-hit ball, Adam Jones broke up a scoreless duel with a sixth-inning homer off Justin Verlander and Baltimore beat skidding Detroit.

Tillman (5-1) struck out seven and walked two to win his fourth straight start and provide Baltimore with its second six-game winning streak of the season. Darren O’Day worked the eighth and Zach Britton got three straight outs for his 10th save.

Verlander (2-4) went the distance, allowing four hits, striking out eight and walking two in eight innings.

INDIANS 7, TWINS 6

CLEVELAND — Marlon Byrd’s two-run double in the eighth inning helped send Minnesota to its eighth straight loss.

Eduardo Nunez hit a leadoff home run in the eighth to break a 4-all tie, but Cleveland rallied for three runs in the eighth off Trevor May (0-2).

Cody Allen allowed a run in the ninth, but stranded two runners to record his ninth save.

Byrd also had a sacrifice fly in the sixth, while Yan Gomes and Jason Kipnis homered for Cleveland.

Zach McAllister (2-1) struck out two with the bases loaded in the eighth for the win.

ATHLETICS 6, RAYS 3

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Danny Valencia hit his first two home runs of the season in his first game back from a hamstring injury and Oakland ended a five-game skid.

Valencia sat for two games this week after reinjuring the left hamstring that had landed him on the disabled list. He had two of Oakland’s four homers in this one.

Rich Hill (5-3) pitched six innings to win for the fourth time in his last five starts.

PHILLIES 3, REDS 2

PHILADELPHIA — Jeremy Hellickson struck out nine in seven innings and drove in the go-ahead run on a suicide squeeze, helping Philadelphia beat Cincinnati.

Hellickson (3-2) allowed two unearned runs and four hits. David Hernandez worked the eighth and Jeanmar Gomez finished for his 14th save in 15 chances.

DODGERS 8, CARDINALS 4

LOS ANGELES – Ross Stripling earned his first victory in his seventh major league start by beating his former college roommate, Yasiel Puig homered and the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the St. Louis Cardinals Friday night in the series opener.

Stripling (1-2) allowed four runs and eight hits in five-plus innings, struck out two and walked three. He had two wild pitches, including one that led to a run in the sixth. Stripling avoided being the first Dodgers pitcher to go winless in his first seven-plus starts since Clayton Kershaw in 2008.

ANGELS 7, MARINERS 6

SEATTLE – C.J. Cron homered in the eighth inning and hit a two-run bloop single with the bases loaded in the ninth to lead the Los Angeles Angels to a comeback win against the Seattle Mariners on Friday night.

The Angels snapped a six-game losing streak despite being down four runs after six innings and trailing 6-3 going into the eighth.

Ketel Marte hit a three-run triple and Nelson Cruz and Chris Iannetta each hit solo home runs for the Mariners, who ended a three-game winning streak.

GIANTS 3, DIAMONDBACKS 1

PHOENIX – Joe Panik homered for the second straight night, Jeff Samardzija had another strong outing and the San Francisco Giants made it two in a row in Arizona with a 3 victory over the Diamondbacks on Friday night.

Samardzija (5-2) pitched out of trouble early and went eight innings for the third time this season, giving up a run and scattering eight hits to improve to 4-1 in his last five starts.

Shelby Miller (1-4) blanked the Giants on four hits through five innings but faltered in the sixth, allowing two singles and Panik’s three-run homer.

Miller’s first career triple, and Jean Segura’s RBI single, had given Arizona a 1-0 lead in the fifth.

Miller went 5 2/3 innings, giving up three runs on seven hits.