MLB: Ortiz ejected in Red Sox loss to Yankees

NEW YORK — David Ortiz went wild and got ejected after being called out on strikes with the bases loaded in the ninth inning, then Yankees closer Andrew Miller fanned Hanley Ramirez to preserve New York’s 3-2 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Friday night.

Aaron Hicks hit a tiebreaking home run off Rick Porcello (5-1) leading off the seventh inning.

The game turned tense and testy in the ninth. The Red Sox loaded the bases with three singles off Miller, bringing up Ortiz, who had homered earlier.

Ortiz took a 3-1 breaking ball that catcher Brian McCann awkwardly gloved, and plate umpire Ron Kulpa called it a strike. Big Papi argued and manager John Farrell quickly came from the dugout to protect his slugger and got tossed.

Ortiz then took a called third strike, went to the dugout and slammed down his equipment. He got ejected, too, and stormed back to the plate as teammates rushed to restrain him.

Miller fanned Ramirez to finish off a four-out save, his sixth save this season.

Kirby Yates (1-0) wound up with the win.

CUBS 8, NATIONALS 6

CHICAGO (AP) — Ben Zobrist homered twice, Anthony Rizzo added a towering solo shot and Chicago beat Washington for its fifth straight victory.

Zobrist has homered in three straight games. He drove in four runs for the second consecutive day against the Nationals.

Tommy La Stella also homered to help the Cubs win for the ninth time in 10 games and improve to 22-6, the best record in the majors.

John Lackey (4-1) struck out 11, one shy of his career high, in seven innings. Hector Rondon pitched a scoreless ninth for his fifth save in as many chances.

Max Scherzer (3-2) was tagged for seven runs and seven hits in five innings. Anthony Rendon and Wilson Ramos homered for Washington.

WHITE SOX 10, TWINS 4

CHICAGO (AP) — Melky Cabrera had four hits and three RBIs, Jose Abreu hit a solo homer, and Chicago beat Minnesota to become the second major league team to reach 20 wins.

Adam Eaton drove in two runs and made one of three fine defensive plays for the White Sox (20-10), who trail only the crosstown Cubs (22-6) for most victories. Mat Latos (5-0) labored through five innings before four relievers combined for four scoreless innings as the White Sox snapped a two-game skid.

Benches cleared in the eighth when Trevor May hit Abreu with a 97 mph fastball. That came after Minnesota’s Byung Ho Park was hit by a pitch in the top of the inning. White Sox manager Robin Ventura was ejected, but no players were tossed.

Ricky Nolasco (1-1) gave up seven runs, five earned, and nine hits in five innings, and Oswaldo Garcia hit a two-run homer for the Twins, They fell to an AL-worst 8-21.

REDS 5, BREWERS 1

CINCINNATI (AP) — Brandon Phillips homered for the third straight game and Cincinnati’s bullpen finally ended its historic streak of giving up runs, closing out a victory over Milwaukee.

Cincinnati’s relievers had allowed at least one run in a major league-record 23 consecutive games. They put together four scoreless innings to end a streak that started on April 11.

The Reds have won three in a row for the first time since sweeping the season-opening series against Philadelphia.

Tim Adleman (1-0) got his first major league victory in his second career start, holding the Brewers to Alex Presley’s solo homer in five innings.

Phillips’ three-run shot in the third off Tyler Cravy (0-1) made it 5-0. It’s the second time that Phillips has homered in three straight games — he also did it in 2012. Joey Votto also had a solo shot off Cravy, who was called up from Triple-A when Wily Peralta went on the paternity list earlier in the day.

INDIANS 7, ROYALS 1

CLEVELAND (AP) — Jose Ramirez got three hits and drove in a career-high five runs to help Cleveland beat reeling Kansas City for its their fourth straight victory.

The World Series champion Royals have lost eight of 10.

Ramirez delivered a bases-loaded double in the third and a two-run double in the fifth. He singled in the second, walked in the eighth and raised his batting average to .324.

Danny Salazar (3-2) held the Royals to four hits and struck out nine in 7 2/3 innings.

Yordano Ventura (2-2) allowed five runs and threw 97 pitches in four innings. The right-hander walked five, increasing his AL-leading total to 25.

BLUE JAYS 5, DODGERS 2

TORONTO (AP) — Kevin Pillar hit a tiebreaking three-run homer in the eighth inning, Jose Bautista also connected and Toronto beat Los Angeles.

Gavin Floyd (1-2) worked one inning for the win and Drew Storen survived a shaky ninth to earn his second save as the Blue Jays recorded their season-best fourth straight win.

Edwin Encarnacion doubled off Joe Blanton (2-2) with one out in the eighth and was replaced by pinch-runner Ezequiel Carrera. The Dodgers intentionally walked Justin Smoak to face Pillar, who lined a 1-2 pitch into the bullpen in left.

RANGERS 5, TIGERS 1

DETROIT (AP) — Cole Hamels held Detroit to one hit in seven scoreless innings, and Texas became the first team this season to beat Jordan Zimmermann.

Hamels (4-0) allowed a bloop single to right by Ian Kinsler — the first batter he faced — and that was Detroit’s only hit until Kinsler doubled to lead off the bottom of the ninth. The Tigers managed a couple walks off Hamels, but he struck out nine and won his 11th straight decision. He hasn’t lost since Aug. 7.

Zimmermann (5-1) allowed two runs in the second — after giving up only two earned runs all season prior to that. He also allowed a solo homer to Rougned Odor in the fifth, and by the end of the night, his ERA had doubled from 0.55 to 1.10.

MARLINS 6, PHILLIES 4

MIAMI (AP) — Giancarlo Stanton hit a tie-breaking two-run homer in the eighth inning and Miami beat Philadelphia for its 11th victory in 12 games.

Stanton’s 10th home run of the season was a deep shot to left-center field off Hector Neris (0-1).

Kyle Barraclough (2-0) earned the win by pitching a scoreless inning in relief and David Phelps came on for the ninth for his second save.

The Marlins won seven in a row before losing 14-5 at Milwaukee on May 1 and have won the first four games of their nine-game homestand to improve to 16-12.

Maikel Franco homered and drove in two runs, and Peter Bourjos drove in a pair for Philadelphia.

Miami’s Christian Yelich opened the scoring with a two-run upper-deck homer to right-center field in the first inning.

PIRATES 4, CARDINALS 2

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Jung Ho Kang homered twice and Francisco Liriano continued his dominance at Busch Stadium to help Pittsburgh beat St. Louis.

Kang, who was activated from the disabled list before the game, ripped the first pitch he saw from Tyler Lyons into the right field bullpen for a two-run homer to give the Pirates a 3-0 lead in the sixth. Kang followed with a 427-foot homer into the upper deck in left in the eighth.

Liriano (3-1) improved to 4-0 with a 2.07 ERA in six career starts at Busch Stadium. Liriano fanned 10 through seven innings for his 24th career double-digit strikeout performance of his career.

Mark Melancon got his eighth save for Pittsburgh. The Pirates won their fifth straight road game and improved to 4-0 against the Cardinals this season.

Cardinals starter Carlos Martinez (4-2) left with one out in the fourth due to fatigue.

DIAMONDBACKS 7, BRAVES 2

ATLANTA (AP) — Zack Greinke allowed two runs in six innings, Brandon Drury hit a homer and Arizona beat Atlanta to snap a six-game losing streak.

David Peralta had three hits and drove in a run, and Wellington Castillo had a two-run single for Arizona in its highest-scoring game in almost two weeks. The Diamondbacks had been held to no more than four runs in each of their last nine games.

The Braves (7-21) have the worst record through 28 games in their Atlanta history. They are 1-13 at home.

Greinke (3-2) had eight strikeouts, matching his season high, while giving up seven hits and one walk. He is 5-0 in his last seven road starts. He earned his first win in three career starts at Turner Field.

Atlanta rookie Aaron Blair (0-2) allowed three runs, two earned, in five innings.

ASTROS 6, MARINERS 3

HOUSTON (AP) — Carlos Correa homered and finished with three hits and two RBIs to lead Houston past Seattle.

Marwin Gonzalez had a two-run homer and also doubled to help the Astros win for the third time in four games. Correa’s homer came off Taijuan Walker (2-2) with two outs in the first inning. It was his second home run in three games after not homering in the previous 24 games.

Evan Gattis reached on an error by shortstop Ketel Marte with no outs in the second. The Astros made it 3-0 when Gonzalez sent one into the seats in right field for the first multi-run homer of his career. The first 25 homers in his five-year career were solo shots.

Houston starter Doug Fister (3-3) allowed three hits and three runs with two walks in 6 1/3 innings for his second straight win. Luke Gregerson pitched a scoreless ninth for his seventh save.

RAYS 5, ANGELS 2

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Chris Archer pitched six scoreless innings and Corey Dickerson snapped out of a career-worst, 0-for-23 drought with a three-run homer to lead Tampa Bay over Los Angeles.

Brad Miller added four hits, including a home run.

Archer (2-4) scattered five hits, struck out six and stranded four runners in scoring position during his 100th major league start.

The right-hander, who fanned a franchise-record 252 batters last season and pitched in his first All-Star Game, is 5-1 with a 2.48 ERA in six career starts against the Angels.

Cory Rasmus (1-1) gave up five runs and five hits in 2 1/3 innings in place of right-hander Garrett Richards, who was placed on the 15-day disabled list earlier in the day because of a torn ligament in his elbow and is done for the season.

PADRES 2, METS 0

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Drew Pomeranz and four relievers combined on a three-hitter, Jon Jay had three hits and an RBI, and San Diego beat New York for the second straight game.

The Padres, who have been blanked eight times this year, pitched their first shutout of 2016. They’ve held the defending NL champion Mets to three runs and seven hits in the first two games of a four-game series.

Pomeranz (3-3) allowed only a single to Asdrubal Cabrera with two outs in the fourth while striking out five and walking three in five innings. His effort came a night after Colin Rea took a no-hitter into the seventh in San Diego’s 5-3 victory.

Noah Syndergaard (2-2) took the loss after allowing two runs and six hits in six innings. He struck out five and walked two.

GIANTS 6, ROCKIES 4

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Brandon Crawford hit a three-run homer, Madison Bumgarner survived a shaky second inning and San Francisco ended a three-game losing streak to Colorado.

Hunter Pence, who had three hits, Matt Duffy and Brandon Belt also drove in runs for the Giants, who ended a two-game slide.

Bumgarner (4-2) won his third straight start, retiring 15 of 17 after giving up all four runs in the second. He allowed seven hits, walked one and struck out 10 in 7 1/3 innings.

Mark Reynolds collected three hits and an RBI for the Rockies, who had won five of their previous seven. Dustin Garneau also drove in a run.

Chad Bettis (3-2) lasted six innings, giving up five runs on eight hits. He walked two and struck out four. He also drove in a run with a squeeze bunt.