MLB: Cabrera’s blast lifts Indians over Red Sox

CLEVELAND — Asdrubal Cabrera hit a three-run homer with one out in the 12th inning to give Cleveland a 7-4 victory and a three-game sweep of defending World Series champions Boston Red Sox.

With two runners on and Boston playing five infielders, Cabrera drove an 0-1 pitch from Edward Mujica (2-2) into Boston’s bullpen as the Indians won their sixth straight overall and ninth in a row at home. Cleveland is an AL-best 21-11 at Progressive Field.

The start of the game was delayed by rain until 9:33 p.m., canceling a scheduled ceremonial first pitch by Browns rookie quarterback Johnny Manziel.

Carlos Carrasco (1-3), the Indians’ seventh pitcher, worked two innings.

The surging Indians have trimmed seven games off first-place Detroit’s lead in the AL Central in 17 days. Cleveland is within 3½ games and back to .500 for the first time since April 24.

David Ortiz homered for the Red Sox, who came in riding a seven-game winning streak.

BLUE JAYS 8, TIGERS 2

DETROIT — Adam Lind doubled twice to drive in three runs and Melky Cabrera added a homer and three hits, lifting the Toronto Blue Jays to an 8-2 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Wednesday night.

Lind’s two-run double off Rick Porcello (8-3) in the sixth put Toronto ahead 3-2, and Aaron Loup got out of a bases-loaded, none-out jam in the bottom of the inning in relief of R.A. Dickey (6-4).

The AL East-leading Blue Jays added three runs in the eighth and two in the ninth in winning for the 18th time in 22 games.

Miguel Cabrera and Ian Kinsler homered for Detroit, but Kinsler also left the bases loaded twice. The AL Central-leading Tigers left 11 runners on base in their fourth straight loss. Detroit has dropped 12 of 16.

Jose Bautista also had three hits for Toronto, including a two-run double in the ninth.

DIAMONDBACKS 16, ROCKIES 8

DENVER — Miguel Montero drove in a career-high six runs, Paul Goldschmidt hit a go-ahead, three-run double in the eighth inning and Arizona sent Colorado to its sixth straight loss.

The Rockies led 8-5 before the Diamondbacks scored six times in the eighth to reclaim the lead. They were hardly done, adding five more in the ninth to turn a close game into a runaway win. The Diamondbacks tied a season high with 21 hits.

The top five hitters in the lineup each had three hits and combined for 14 RBIs. Montero drove in two runs on sacrifice flies, had a run-scoring single and hit a three-run homer in the ninth.

Brad Ziegler (2-1) got two outs in the seventh to earn the win. Rex Brothers (2-4) took the loss after the big eighth.

WHITE SOX 2, DODGERS 1

LOS ANGELES — John Danks and three relievers combined on a two-hitter and Leury Garcia hit his first major league home run for Chicago.

Danks (4-5) allowed only two hits and one run and struck out five in 7 1-3 innings for his first road win in more than six weeks. He entered the game 1-3 with a 6.83 ERA in five road starts. He also had an infield single in the sixth inning, his second hit in 28 career plate appearances.

Garcia led off the third with a homer and Adam Dunn homered to lead off the fourth.

Josh Beckett (3-3) went six innings and allowed two runs and nine hits for the Dodgers, who have lost six of their last eight.

NATIONALS 8, PHILLIES 4

WASHINGTON — Stephen Strasburg struck out 11 in seven innings and Washington kept Philadelphia’s bats quiet yet again in the rain-interrupted game.

Strasburg (5-4) had the Phillies flailing as he hit double digits in Ks for the 15th time in his career — and for the fourth time without issuing a walk. All but one of the strikeouts were swinging, including Marlon Byrd (95 mph fastball), Ryan Howard (95 mph fastball) and Domonic Brown (88 mph changeup) when the rain started to fall in the sixth inning.

The only consolation for the Phillies is that they scored an earned run for the first time in four games when facing the Nationals’ ace. The streak reached 25 innings.

CARDINALS 5, ROYALS 2, 11 INNINGS

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Matt Carpenter had a career-high five hits, including the go-ahead double in the 11th inning, and St. Louis snapped a three-game losing streak.

After the Royals rallied with two runs in the ninth, Peter Bourjos worked a one-out walk off Royals reliever Kelvin Herrera (1-2) in the 11th. Carpenter then rapped his double to center field.

Allen Craig added a two-run single off Tim Collins later in the inning, and Pat Neshek breezed through the bottom half to end the Royals’ six-game winning streak against National League clubs.

Sam Freeman (1-0) earned the win with a perfect 10th inning.

ATHLETICS 7, YANKEES 4

NEW YORK — Yoenis Cespedes homered twice, Josh Donaldson hit a tiebreaking shot in the seventh inning and Oakland overcame a four-run deficit to beat skidding New York for its fifth straight victory.

Donaldson connected off Jose Ramirez, who was making his major league debut, and added a pair of infield singles. Cespedes also had three hits to help the A’s move a season-best 15 games over .500 at 37-22, the best mark in the American League.

Jacoby Ellsbury had three hits, including a three-run homer, but the Yankees matched a season worst with their fourth consecutive defeat. They’ve been outscored 21-0 from the seventh inning on during the slide.

An error by Derek Jeter hurt New York, which dropped to 1-5 on a seven-game homestand.

PADRES 3, PIRATES 2

SAN DIEGO — The Padres had only one hit — Everth Cabrera’s bunt single in the first inning — and still beat Pittsburgh thanks to Francisco Liriano’s wildness.

The Padres played ultimate small-ball, scoring on a sacrifice fly, an error and a bases-loaded walk to avoid a three-game sweep. Rene Rivera’s fly to Andrew McCutcheon to end the eighth was the only ball fielded by a Pirates outfielder. Carlos Quentin’s hit a sacrifice fly in the first, but it was caught in short right by second baseman Josh Harrison.

Ian Kennedy (5-6) won his third straight start, striking out seven and allowing two runs on five hits in six innings. He walked one. Huston Street pitched the ninth for his 18th save in as many chances.

Liriano (1-6) walked six and struck out seven in five innings.

ORIOLES 6, RANGERS 5

ARLINGTON, Texas — Nick Markakis hit a home run and a go-ahead single, and Chris Davis homered for Baltimore against his former team just as Nelson Cruz did a day earlier.

Markakis’ single in the sixth inning came after Adrian Beltre’s second home run of the game — a three-run shot — pulled Texas even at 5-all in the fifth.

Cruz had three singles and reached twice on errors by Luis Sardinas, a surprise fill-in at shortstop for Elvis Andrus. It was the second time in less than a week Andrus wasn’t in the starting lineup.

Bud Norris (4-5) allowing six hits and five runs in five innings for the Orioles, and the bullpen pitched four scoreless innings. Zach Britton earned his fifth save.

MARLINS 5, RAYS 4

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Donovan Solano hit a three-run homer off David Price to help Miami extend Tampa Bay’s longest losing streak in nearly five years to nine games. It is the second-longest losing streak in the major leagues this season.

Casey McGehee had an RBI single for the Marlins, who won the first two games of a four-game home-and-home series in Miami, including Tuesday’s 1-0 win on a bases-loaded walk.

The sputtering Rays, coming off an 0-8 trip that was the worst in team history, tumbled 14 games under .500 at 23-37 — the second-worst record in baseball. The last time they were this far below the break-even point was the end of 2007, the final season they were called the Devil Rays.

GIANTS 3, REDS 2

CINCINNATI — Michael Morse and Juan Perez homered with two outs in the sixth inning and San Francisco ended Cincinnati’s season-high four-game winning streak.

San Francisco won for the 10th time in 13 games, improving the best record in the majors to 38-21.

Morse hit a solo shot and Perez had a two-run homer off left-hander Tony Cingrani (2-6), who has lost all of his four starts since returning from shoulder tendinitis.

Ryan Vogelsong (4-2) extended his recent streak of solid pitching by giving up two runs and seven hits in 6 1-3 innings while fanning a career-high nine. The right-hander is 3-0 with a 2.05 ERA in last four starts.

TWINS 6, BREWERS 4

MINNEAPOLIS — Oswaldo Arcia drove in four runs, including the go-ahead run in the seventh inning to lead Minnesota to its seventh win in its last eight games against Milwaukee.

Arcia hit a three-run home run in the fourth inning, going deep for the third time in 10 games since his recall from Triple-A, and Josh Willingham forced in a run with a bases-loaded walk in the fifth inning before setting up Arcia’s go-ahead single with a two-out double.

Aramis Ramirez returned from the disabled list after missing 21 games with a strained left hamstring to wallop a three-run homer that tied the game at 4 in the seventh, following leadoff singles by Jonathan Lucroy and Carlos Gomez.

Ricky Nolasco (4-5), who retired 13 straight batters until that point, recovered to finish the inning and pick up the victory when the Twins rallied again in the bottom of the frame.

ANGELS 4, ASTROS 0

HOUSTON — Garrett Richards stuck out nine to match his career best over eight excellent innings and Los Angeles snapped a season-worst four-game skid.

Richards (5-2) bounced back from a terrible outing in his last start when he allowed five runs while getting only two outs. It was the shortest non-injury-related start of his career.

Joe Smith struck out one in a hitless ninth to complete the four-hitter for the Angels.

Erick Aybar had two doubles and an RBI, and David Freese doubled and drove in a run for the Angels.

Houston starter Jarred Cosart (4-5) allowed eight hits and three runs and tied a career-high with eight strikeouts in 6 2-3 innings.

MARINERS 2, BRAVES 0

ATLANTA — Hisashi Iwakuma combined with two relievers on a six-hit shutout and streaking Seattle completed a two-game sweep.

Cole Gillespie and Kyle Seager hit run-scoring singles. Seattle has won five straight, matching its longest winning streak of the season.

Iwakuma (4-2) gave up only six hits with seven strikeouts and no walks in seven innings. The right-hander was sharp, throwing 71 of his 96 pitches for strikes.

Mike Minor (2-4) allowed only one run in seven innings, but the Braves fell to 0-6 in interleague games.

Yoervis Medina pitched a perfect eighth before Fernando Rodney earned his 16th save with three straight outs in the ninth.

CUBS 5, METS 4

CHICAGO — Starlin Castro went 3 for 4 with three RBIs and Chicago outlasted New York in a mistake-filled game that featured a combined 13 pitchers.

Lucas Duda had a two-run double for a Mets offense that left the bases loaded in the fifth and sixth innings.

The Mets have dropped two straight after winning three in a row and are 8-18 in one-run games.

Cubs starter Edwin Jackson (4-5) lasted five innings, giving up five hits and five walks. Just one of the four runs he surrendered was earned.

Hector Rondon pitched the ninth for his seventh save in eight chances.

Reliever Dana Eveland (0-1) gave up a run in 2-3 of an inning to take the loss.