Red Sox 4, Yankees 2: Early home runs did in Andy Pettitte. Jacoby Ellsbury sent the second pitch of the game into the right field stands and Jonny Gomes made it 3-0 with a second-inning shot over the monster. Felix Doubront kept the Yankees hitless until the fifth and managed 6⅓ innings for the win with two runs allowed (one unearned) on three hits and three walks with five strikeouts.
Around the Bases: Brandon Barnes hits for the cycle
Houston’s Brandon Barnes hit for the cycle. St. Louis pitcher Jake Westbrook did a bit of everything in his team’s win.
Scott Halleran
Reds 5, Pirates 3: Chris Heisey homered in the first and drove in another run in the fifth with an infield single. Brandon Phillips followed up with a three-run double after Jeff Wilson replaced a shaky Francisco Liriano to inch the Reds a little closer to their division rival. Mike Leake got the win with 5⅔ innings pitched and three runs allowed, but the Reds bullpen deserves credit as well. Five relievers held the Pirates scoreless on five hits and two walks, with Aroldis Chapman closing the door for his 22nd save.
Rays 8, Blue Jays 5: Each team managed four home runs in this slugfest, but starters David Price and Esmil Rogers were careful to limit the free passes, resulting in seven solo shots. Both starters allowed four runs on seven hits, but Price lasted longer, pitching seven innings to Rogers’ 5⅔. Ryan Roberts and Desmond Jennings both drove in runs in the eighth without resorting to the long ball to give the Rays the win.
Dodgers 3, Nationals 2: Andre Ethier hit a solo home run in the ninth to break the tie and give the Dodgers the win. Hanley Ramirez's two-run homer off Stephen Strasburg in the third inning was the only other offense for the Dodgers, but it was enough thanks to 5⅓ innings from starter Ricky Nolasco, who allowed two runs on eight hits and two walks.
Phillies 13, Mets 8: The Phillies pummeled Jeremy Hefner for four runs in the first and four in the third before he was mercifully pulled (though the Phillies added three more runs in the third). The Phillies' bats handed Kyle Kendrick the win here. Kendrick was less than deserving of it, allowing six runs on nine hits in 5⅔ innings.
Orioles 3, Rangers 1: Wei-Yin Chen got a big assist from Nick Markakis, who robbed Adrian Beltre of a home run, and J.J Hardy, who got Jeff Baker at third with a heads-up throw behind the runner. With that excellent defense behind him, Chen earned his third straight win with 6⅓ innings of one-run ball. Matt Wieters went deep and Markakis and Nate McLouth contributed RBI doubles.
Braves 6, White Sox 4: Brian McCann’s three-run shot in the sixth broke a 2-2 tie, and Tim Hudson pitched into the eighth to earn the win. But the story of this game was Alex Rios, who was pulled at the start of the seventh and started hugging his teammates. A flurry of trade speculation washed over the baseball world, but it turns out Rios was pulled for not hustling.
Twins 3, Indians 2: Joe Mauer’s RBI-single in the eighth proved to be the game winner in this duel between Mike Pelfrey and Scott Kazmir. Both pitchers yielded just two runs, Kazmir’s coming unearned on two hits and three walks over six innings and Pelfrey’s resulting from four hits and three walks in 5⅔.
Royals 1, Tigers 0: Ervin Santana, Kelvin Herrera and Greg Holland held what might be the best offense in baseball to just two hits and one walk. Santana went 7⅓ and struck out six. Billy Butler's first-inning RBI single was the only offense of the night.
Brewers 2, Marlins 0: Juan Francisco and Carlos Gomez both hit solo home runs to back Kyle Lohse, who was brilliant once again. Lohse went six shutout innings, allowed five hits and walked none while striking out five for his 12th quality start of the season.
Mariners 10, Astros 7: Brandon Barnes hit for the cycle, becoming the eighth Astro to do so, but the Mariners got the best of Houston in this slugfest. Brad Miller hit two home runs and drove in five and Kyle Seager and Justin Smoak also went deep for Seattle. Joe Saunders got his ninth win of the year with 5⅓ innings, allowing three runs on nine hits and three walks.
Cardinals 9, Padres 6: Jake Westbrook allowed two runs in 6⅓ innings for St. Louis. More impressive? The Cardinals starter had his first multi-hit game, driving in a run on a 3-for-3 performance at the plate.
Cubs 3, Rockies 1: Anthony Rizzo and Darwin Barney each hit run-scoring doubles to break a late tie and lift Chicago above Colorado. Trade-bait Kevin Gregg picked up his 18th save of the year. The Rockies’ only run came on Dexter Fowler’s solo home run.
Giants 2, Diamondbacks 0: Chad Gaudin and five relievers combined to shut out the NL West-leading Arizona Diamondbacks, dropping Arizona’s lead to just 1½ games in the division. Buster Posey and Hunter Pence provided all the game’s offense with a run-scoring double and single, respectively.
Angels 4, Athletics 1: Albert Pujols, Erick Aybar and Mike Trout each homered for the Angels. Jered Weaver went 6⅔ innings without allowing a run to earn the win.
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