MLB: Kershaw strikes out 13, wins 7th straight by beating Giants
SAN FRANCISCO — Clayton Kershaw struck out 13 in eight innings, Justin Turner hit a go-ahead homer in the ninth and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the San Francisco Giants 3-2 on Friday night.
Kershaw (9-1) outdueled Johnny Cueto to improve to 7-0 over his last eight starts, and with 82 strikeouts to just three walks during that stretch since an April 26 loss to Miami. He is 3-0 in six road starts.
Turner hit a 2-1 pitch from Santiago Casilla (1-2) to left field to start the ninth and the Dodgers shaved a game off the Giants’ NL West lead to pull within three — though both clubs know this race surely will be decided down the stretch.
The Dodgers have won the last five games against the Giants when Kershaw pitches, and the lefty is 18-7 in 33 starts facing rival San Francisco.
CARDINALS 9. PIRATES 3, 12 INNINGS
PITTSBURGH — Pitcher Adam Wainwright, pinch-hitting because St. Louis was out of positon players, hit a two-run, two-out double to spark a six-run 12th inning in the Cardinals’ victory over Pittsburgh.
Wainwright batted for reliever Jonathan Broxton after Matt Carpenter drew a two-out walk from Juan Nicasio and Pirates manager Clint Hurdle decided to intentionally walk Alemdys Diaz to bring up Broxton’s spot in the order. Wainwright followed with a drive to the gap in left-center to score both runners. He is hitting .261 this season, going 6 for 23 with four doubles, one triple and one home run.
NATIONALS 9, PHILLIES 6
WASHINGTON — Stephen Strasburg struck out 10 and won his 13th straight decision despite a rocky beginning, and Washington overcame a four-run deficit to beat Philadelphia.
The Nationals scored in five straight innings after trailing 4-0 in the third. Wilson Ramos, Stephen Drew and Danny Espinosa homered off Jeremy Hellickson (4-4), and Daniel Murphy drove in three runs.
Tommy Joseph homered twice for the Phillies. They have lost 11 of 14.
YANKEES 4, TIGERS 0
NEW YORK — CC Sabathia kept up his recent resurgence with seven sharp innings, Brett Gardner sparked another scoring burst and New York beat Detroit for its fifth straight victory.
Carlos Beltran and Didi Gregorius each added two hits to help the Yankees (31-30) move over .500 for the first time since they were 4-3. The Tigers began a 10-game trip by losing for the second straight time following a five-game winning streak.
Sabathia (4-4) gave up five singles, walked two and struck out four. He hasn’t allowed more than two runs in his last six starts and left with a 2.28 ERA — his lowest after 10 starts or more in any season.
BLUE JAYS 4, ORIOLES 3, 10 INNINGS
TORONTO — Edwin Encarnacion homered in the 10th inning to lift Toronto past Baltimore, snapping the Orioles’ winning streak at five.
Encarnacion hit an opposite field shot off Brad Brach (5-1) to begin the 10th and end an 0-for-19 slump. Drew Storen (1-2) pitched one inning for the win.
Chris Davis hit a two-run homer and Jonathan Schoop added a solo blast for the Orioles.
BRAVES 5, CUBS 1
ATLANTA — Bud Norris pitched seven strong innings, Adonis Garcia and Tyler Flowers hit home runs and Atlanta beat Jason Hammel and Chicago.
Making his second start since returning to the rotation, Norris (2-7) allowed one run on four hits and no walks with six strikeouts. He gave up only one hit in his last four innings.
WHITE SOX 7, ROYALS 5
CHICAGO — Alex Avila hit two of Chicago’s season-high four home runs and the White Sox beat Kansas City to give Chris Sale his major league-leading 10th win and the Royals their eight straight loss.
The defending champions matched their longest losing streak since May 2013, while the White Sox opened the weekend series with their second straight win after dropping 20 of 26.
Sale (10-2) pitched into the seventh and got the victory despite giving up a season-high three home runs — two solo drives to Eric Hosmer and one to Salvador Perez.
METS 2, BREWERS 1, 11 INNINGS
MILWAUKEE — Matt Reynolds drove home the go-ahead run in the 11th inning with a fielder’s choice after a line hit off shortstop Jonathan Villar’s glove, leading New York past Milwaukee.
With the bases loaded, Reynolds hit a 1-0 slider from Blaine Boyer (1-1) on a line up the middle that glanced off Villar’s glove. The deflection gave Asdrubal Cabrera enough time to dash home from third.
REDS 2, ATHLETICS 1
CINCINNATI — Adam Duvall doubled home the tying run in the seventh and scored on Sonny Gray’s second wild pitch of the inning, rallying Cincinnati past Oakland for its first interleague victory of the season.
The Reds had dropped their first seven interleague games and didn’t manage a hit off Gray (3-6) through the first five innings. Gray let a 1-0 lead slip away in the seventh.
RED SOX 8, TWINS 1
MINNEAPOLIS — Xander Bogaerts hit a three-run homer and matched his career high with four hits, Steven Wright pitched into the eighth inning, and Boston beat Minnesota.
Bogaerts opened the scoring with his homer in the fifth inning off Twins starter Tyler Duffey (2-5). Bogaerts’ seventh homer of the season landed in the bullpen in left-center field for a 3-0 lead. The home run was one of 16 hits by the Red Sox.
INDIANS 6, ANGELS 2
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Corey Kluber pitched a three-hitter with eight strikeouts and Jason Kipnis had three hits in Cleveland’s victory over slumping Los Angeles.
Mike Napoli doubled home the first run in a four-run first inning for AL Central-leading Cleveland, which has won eight of 10 in June. The Indians led 6-1 in the second inning while chasing Hector Santiago (3-4), who got just four outs in his shortest start of the season.
PADRES 7, ROCKIES 5
DENVER — Wil Myers hit a two-out, three-run homer in the ninth inning off closer Jake McGee, helping San Diego rally past Colorado Rockies on Friday night.
Myers lined a 3-2 fastball from McGee (0-2) over the fence in center, capping a four-run inning.
Kevin Quackenbush (3-2) threw two innings for the win, and Fernando Rodney picked up his 12th save by retiring the Rockies in order to end the game.
MARLINS 8, DIAMONDBACKS 6
PHOENIX — Justin Bour hit a pinch-hit grand slam and Miami Marlins overcame a four-run deficit to beat Arizona.
Bour’s first career slam, and the first pinch-hit grand slam for the Marlins in 11 years, came off reliever Tyler Clippard and tied it at 5-5 during a seven-run seventh inning, erasing a solid outing by Arizona starter Patrick Corbin.
RAYS 4, ASTROS 3
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Steve Pearce had three hits and two RBIs in Tampa Bay’s victory over Houston.
Pearce had a two-run double in the first inning, and Logan Forsythe and Brad Miller drove in runs with two-out hits off Lance McCullers (3-2) in the second to give Matt Andriese (5-0) a four-run lead.
Houston rallied with three runs in the sixth, two on Jason Castro’s homer that chased Andriese.