Aug 3 (The Sports Xchange) - Highlights of Sunday's Major
League Baseball games:
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Mets 5, Nationals 2
Curtis Granderson, Daniel Murphy and Lucas Duda all belted
homers in a five-run, five-pitch sequence in the second inning
as New York rolled past Washington 5-2 on Sunday.
By completing a three-game sweep in front of an electrified
crowd of 35,374 at Citi Field, the Mets moved into a virtual tie
for first place with the Nationals in the National League East.
Washington had been alone in first every day since June 20.
Mets rookie Noah Syndergaard (6-5) allowed two runs on seven
hits and no walks while striking out nine. Anthony Rendon
(3-for-4) and Yunel Escobar homered for the Nationals.
- - -
Blue Jays 5, Royals 2
Chris Colabello hit a two-run home run, R.A. Dickey pitched
seven shutout innings and Toronto beat Kansas City.
The benches emptied with two outs in the top of the eighth
when Blue Jays reliever Aaron Sanchez was ejected after hitting
a batter with a pitch.
Ben Zobrist followed with his ninth home run of the season,
and third of the series, against Roberto Osuna, to cut the lead
to 3-2.
The Blue Jays scored twice in the bottom of the inning to
complete the four-game series with the Royals with three wins.
- - -
Pirates 3, Reds 0
Charlie Morton pitched seven shutout innings and Neil Walker
hit a solo home run, lifting Pittsburgh over Cincinnati to earn
a split.
Both benches cleared in the top of the eighth after Brandon
Phillips was hit by Pirates left-hander Tony Watson, an inning
after Andrew McCutchen of the Reds was plunked by Pedro
Villarreal.
- - -
Tigers 6, Orioles 1
Daniel Norris allowed just one run over 7 1/3 innings in his
Detroit debut, J.D. Martinez homered and the Tigers breezed past
Baltimore, earning a split of the four-game series.
The Orioles finished their homestand at 5-2 and remain
within striking distance of one of the two American League
wild-card playoff spots.
- - -
Marlins 5, Padres 2
Closer A.J. Ramos blew Jose Fernandez's chance at a major
league record but Miami still managed to rally in dramatic
fashion over San Diego.
Adeiny Hechavarria of the Marlins had the first walk-off hit
of his career, a three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth. It
was his fifth homer of the season, and it came on a 1-0 pitch
from reliever Brandon Maurer (7-4).
In 24 career starts at Marlins Park, Fernandez has a 1.15
ERA. Had he won, he would have tied Johnny Allen (1932-33) and
LaMarr Hoyt (1980-82) as the only major league pitchers since
1900 to have won the first 16 decisions of their career at home.
- - -
Braves 6, Phillies 2
Atlanta right-hander Julio Teheran allowed two runs and
struck out seven to pick up just his second road win of the
season.
Teheran (7-6) got the run support he needed with a two-out,
four-run rally in the top of the fifth inning that put the
Braves ahead for good against the Phillies. He earned his first
road win since his season debut on April 6 at Miami.
- - -
Rays 4, Red Sox 3
James Loney drove in two runs, including the winning run on
a one-out bloop single to center in the eighth inning, as Tampa
Bay avoided a three-game sweep with a victory over Boston.
Loney's go-ahead hit scored Asdrubal Cabrera from second.
Cabrera hit a ground-rule double to right to tie the game as
Evan Longoria crossed the plate. Longoria led off the eighth
with a double off the Green Monster in left field.
- - -
Astros 4, Diamondbacks 1
Collin McHugh earned his fourth consecutive win and Houston
secured yet another home series victory by defeating Arizona.
The Astros have won or split nine consecutive home series
and are 14-2 over their last 16 games at Minute Maid Park.
Houston moved a season-high 14 games over .500 for the third
time this season, riding McHugh for seven strong innings.
- - -
Yankees 12, White Sox 3
New York made sure the trip home was a happy one by
concluding its 10-game road trip with a win over Chicago.
The Yankees won the series against the White Sox and bumped
their record to 7-0-1 in their last eight completed series. New
York has not lost a series since the Los Angeles Angels took two
of three games from them June 29 to July 1 in Anaheim.
- - -
Cubs 4, Brewers 3
Chicago kept rolling, tagging right-hander Kyle Lohse for
nine hits, to complete a four-game sweep of Milwaukee.
Cubs starter Clayton Richard (2-0) was brought back from
Triple-A Iowa earlier in the day and made his first start since
July 20. He held Milwaukee to a run on five hits while striking
out there in six innings of work.
- - -
Mariners 4, Twins 1 (11 innings)
Logan Morrison's RBI double broke the tie a as Seattle
scored three times in the 11th inning to beat Minnesota.
The Mariners got a pair of walks to lead off the 11th
against Twins right-hander Kevin Jepsen. Both eventually came
around to score as Jepsen, seeing his first action in a Twins
uniform since being acquired on Friday, took the loss.
He was charged with two runs on two walks in one-third of an
inning.
- - -
Cardinals 3, Rockies 2
Pinch hitter Brandon Moss grounded an RBI single to left in
the bottom of the ninth as St Louis squeaked past Colorado.
Jason Heyward started the winning rally with a one-out
double off Scott Oberg (2-2) and reached third when Randal
Grichuk beat out an infield single.
Acquired from Cleveland on Thursday, Moss worked the count
to 2-1 and then collected his second hit in 11 at-bats as a
Cardinal.
- - -
Rangers 2, Giants 1
Martin Perez allowed two hits in 8 1/3 innings as Texas
edged San Francisco.
Perez (1-2), who was making his fourth start since returning
from Tommy John surgery, needed just 80 pitches in his outing
and came out after allowing a one-out double to Angel Pagan in
the ninth inning.
- - -
A's 2, Indians 1
Mark Canha stroked a walk-off double to left-center field in
the 10th inning, sending Oakland past Cleveland.
Canha blasted a 3-1 pitch from Cody Allen (1-3) off the wall
in left to score Sam Fuld from first base. Fuld reached with a
single to center.
The win went to Fernando Rodriguez (2-1) as the Athletics
earned a split of the four-game set in a series that pitted two
last-place teams.
- - -
Dodgers 5, Angels 3 (10 innings)
Andre Ethier hit a solo home run in the eighth inning and a
two-run shot in the 10th as the Los Angeles Dodgers completed a
three-game sweep of the Freeway Series against the Los Angeles
Angels.
The Dodgers won their sixth in a row against their Southern
California neighbors, the longest winning streak for either team
in the interleague matchup. The Angels completed an 0-6 road
trip to Houston and Dodger Stadium.
(Editing by John O'Brien)