MLB roundup: A’s blanked by Detroit
| Wednesday, July 2, 2014, 11:03 a.m.
DETROIT — Rick Porcello pitched a four-hitter for his second straight shutout, leading the Detroit Tigers to a 3-0 victory over the Oakland A’s on Tuesday night.
Porcello (11-4) only had one career complete game before blanking the Rangers on June 26, but is now the first Tigers pitcher since Jack Morris to throw back-to-back shutouts. Morris threw three in a row in July 1986.
Porcello is 3-0 with 24 scoreless innings over his last three outings. He also became the first pitcher since Baltimore’s Jeff Ballard on Aug. 21, 1989, to throw a shutout without a walk or strikeout. No Tigers pitcher had done it since Dizzy Trout in 1944.
Torii Hunter had an RBI grounder in the fourth inning and J.D. Martinez hit a two-run homer in the sixth.
Brad Mills (1-1) took the loss for Oakland, allowing three runs and six hits with three walks in six-plus innings.
GIANTS 5, CARDINALS 0
SAN FRANCISCO — Tim Lincecum followed his second career no-hitter with another vintage performance, pitching eight sharp innings to lead San Francisco to the shutout.
Lincecum (7-5) allowed four hits, struck out six and walked two. He worked out of a bases-loaded jam with no outs in the fourth and stayed out of trouble the rest of the way, helping San Francisco snap a four-game losing streak since his latest gem against San Diego.
Pablo Sandoval hit his 100th career homer to cap a three-run fourth, and the Giants scored twice in the fifth to chase Marco Gonzales (0-1) in the left-hander’s second career start.
RAYS 2, YANKEES 1
NEW YORK — David Price came within one pitch of extending his remarkable strikeout streak in leading resurgent Tampa Bay past New York.
James Loney hit a go-ahead home run in the sixth inning and the Rays matched their longest win string of the season. Derek Jeter tied Lou Gehrig’s team record for doubles as the Yankees equaled their worst skid this year with their fourth loss in a row.
Price (7-7) struck out nine — he fanned at least 10 in each of his previous five starts, and was trying to join Pedro Martinez, Randy Johnson and Nolan Ryan as the only pitchers to accomplish the feat six straight times.
NATIONALS 7, ROCKIES 1
WASHINGTON — Stephen Strasburg bounced back from his worst outing of the season with 7 2-3 dominant innings, and Jayson Werth had two doubles and three RBIs in Washington’s fourth straight win.
Anthony Rendon added a two-run double for the Nationals.
Strasburg (7-6) tied his career high by allowing seven earned runs in 4 2-3 innings in his last start, and was 0-2 with a 7.27 ERA over his last three.
PADRES 8, REDS 2
SAN DIEGO — Seth Smith hit a home run and scored three runs and Carlos Quentin homered and drove in three runs to lead San Diego.
Smith had three hits as the Padres finished with a season-high 16 one night after managing just one hit in a 1-0 win over the Reds.
Ian Kennedy (6-9) pitched six strong innings, giving up one run and seven hits with a walk and three strikeouts to get his first win in nearly a month.
ANGELS 8, WHITE SOX 4, 1ST GAME; ANGELS 7, WHITE SOX 5, 2ND GAME
CHICAGO — Kole Calhoun homered and scored twice in the nightcap to help Los Angeles complete a doubleheader sweep of Chicago.
Howie Kendrick added two hits and scored two runs as the Angels won their second straight and moved to within 3 1/2 games of first-place Oakland in the AL West.
The Angels beat the White Sox 8-4 in the opener of a twin-bill quickly arranged after Monday’s game was rained out and are 5-0 against Chicago this season.
Jered Weaver (9-6) worked 5 2-3 innings for the win, allowing nine hits while striking out six. Chicago starter Scott Carroll (2-5) took the loss after pitching six-plus innings and giving up seven runs on 10 hits.
In the early game, Albert Pujols hit his 509th home run, Mike Trout connected for a three-run drive and Garrett Richards (9-2) allowed two hits in eight innings.
MARLINS 5, PHILLIES 4
MIAMI — Ed Lucas’ single scored the winning run from second base with one out in the 11th inning, snapping Miami’s four-game losing streak and sending Philadelphia to its fifth straight loss.
The Marlins won their ninth consecutive game when Henderson Alvarez starts, matching the longest such streak with a pitcher in franchise history. Alvarez allowed two runs in seven innings.
ORIOLES 8, RANGERS 3
BALTIMORE — Nelson Cruz hit his 26th home run, and Steve Pearce and Caleb Joseph also went deep against rookie Nick Martinez to help Baltimore breeze past skidding Texas.
Pearce and Cruz delivered solo shots in the first inning and Joseph connected with a man on in the second. It was the third homer in two nights for Pearce, and Cruz hit his third in seven games on his 34th birthday.
INDIANS 10, DODGERS 3
LOS ANGELES — Cleveland turned an unorthodox triple play that required two replay reviews, and David Murphy broke out of a 1-for-44 slump with three hits against Los Angeles.
Lonnie Chisenhall hit an early two-run homer off Josh Beckett (5-5). Murphy, Nick Swisher and Yan Gomes also drove in two runs apiece for the Indians, who had been held to one hit in back-to-back shutout losses to the Mariners and Dodgers.
MARINERS 13, ASTROS 2
HOUSTON — Robinson Cano and Kyle Seager had three RBIs apiece, James Jones added two and a seven-run sixth inning helped Seattle score a season high in runs.
Cano drove in two to give Seattle the lead in the first and hit the first of the five doubles in the sixth ining that tied a franchise mark and pushed the lead to 10-1.
Hisashi Iwakuma (6-4) went six innings, giving up a run on seven hits while striking out seven.
Jones’ three hits included a triple. Seager doubled and hit a solo homer in the ninth as the Mariners also set a season-high with 18 hits.
Jarred Cosart (8-6) tied a season-high by allowing six runs on nine hits in 5 2-3 innings to end a four-game winning streak.
PIRATES 3, DIAMONDBACKS 2
PITTSBURGH — Starling Marte hit a two-run double to tie the game with one out in the ninth inning and then scored on pinch-hitter Ike Davis’ single two batters later to propel Pittsburgh.
The Pirates were shut down for eight innings by Arizona starter Wade Miley before rallying in the ninth. Neil Walker and pinch-hitter Gregory Polanco started the inning with singles against Miley. One batter later, Marte hit a drive to the wall in center off closer Addison Reed (1-4).
CUBS 2, RED SOX 1
BOSTON — Luis Valbuena broke a ninth-inning tie with a sacrifice fly that carried Chicago past Boston.
Anthony Rizzo started the inning with a single off Koji Uehara (3-2) and went to third on a double by Starlin Castro. Valbuena then lined a shot to medium right field. Mookie Betts made the catch, but his throw was off line and Rizzo scored easily.
TWINS 10, ROYALS 2
MINNEAPOLIS — Joe Mauer drove in two runs before leaving with an injury, Eduardo Nunez homered and Minnesota beat Kansas City.
Mauer extended his hitting streak to 12 games with a two-run double down the left-field line in the fourth inning, but was noticeably limping as he ran to second base. The team said he has a strained muscle on his right side and will be evaluated Wednesday.
Ricky Nolasco (5-6) earned his first win in five starts, allowing one run and eight hits in six innings.
Eric Hosmer had four hits for the Royals.
BRAVES 5, METS 4
ATLANTA — Andrelton Simmons’ two-run single sparked a three-run fourth that sent streaking Atlanta past Daisuke Matsuzaka and New York.
Curtis Granderson and Daniel Murphy hit two-run homers for the Mets, who have lost three straight and six of seven.
The Braves overcame a shaky start from Mike Minor to protect their half-game lead over Washington in the NL East. Atlanta has won six straight, its longest streak of the season.
BLUE JAYS 4, BREWERS 1
TORONTO — Jose Bautista and Colby Rasmus hit solo home runs, and Drew Hutchison struck out a career-high 10 to snap a two-start losing streak for Toronto.
The Blue Jays ended a three-game losing streak, one shy of their season high, and won for the third time in 14 meetings with Milwaukee.
The Brewers had their four-game road winning streak end as they lost away from home for just the third time in 13 games.
Starting for the first time since leaving a June 22 game at Cincinnati with a strained left hamstring, Bautista gave the Blue Jays an early lead with a two-out blast off the facing of the second deck in the first inning. The homer was his first since June 6 against St. Louis.