Ray goes 7 innings as Arizona beat Milwaukee
>> MILWAUKEE: Robbie Ray pitched seven innings of two-hit ball to lower the NL’s second-best road ERA to 0.57, Gregor Blanco and Chris Owings homered, and the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Milwaukee Brewers 4-0 on Thursday night for their ninth win in 10 games.
Ray (4-3), coming off a dominating performance against San Diego in his last start, did not allow a run for the second straight outing. He struck out nine and walked none to send the Brewers to their season-worst fourth straight loss.
Arizona are 11 games above .500 for the first time since 2011.
Blanco, who went 3 for 4, hit the second pitch of the game off Milwaukee starter Zach Davies (5-3) for his fourth career leadoff home run. Owings tied his career high with his sixth of the season leading off the second. David Peralta had an RBI double in the third and Paul Goldschmidt scored on a wild pitch in the eighth.
In Chicago, Kris Bryant, Jason Heyward and Ben Zobrist hit solo homers, as Chicago won their third straight with a 5-1 rout of the Cubs.
Spot starter Eddie Butler (2-0) allowed one run and four hits in five innings, and Mike Montgomery pitched one-hit ball over four innings for his first professional save.
Jeff Samardzija (1-6) gave up three runs and six hits in seven innings with eight strikeouts. He also gave up three home runs against Arizona in his first start of the season on April 6.
In Washington, Nelson Cruz greeted reliever Jacob Turner (2-3) with a three-run homer in the sixth inning that overturned a 2-0 deficit, as Seattle stopped a five-game losing streak with a 4-2 win over the Nationals.
Ariel Miranda (4-2) allowed two runs, three hits and three walks in five innings. Edwin Diaz, Seattle’s sixth pitcher, threw a one-hit ninth that completed a six-hitter. Diaz got his first save since May 9 and has eight in 10 chances overall.
In Atlanta, Ivan Nova (5-3) allowed four runs and 10 hits in 8 1/3 innings, and Adam Frazier hit a three-run homer in Pittsburgh’s 9-4 victory over Atlanta.
Pittsburgh pounded Bartolo Colon (2-5), who a day after his 44th birthday allowed seven runs and 10 hits in five innings. His ERA rose to 6.96.
In Philadelphia, Tommy Joseph hit a tying home run in the seventh inning and a winning single against Scott Oberg (0-1) in the 11th after Michael Saunders’ one-out double, for a 2-1 win, stopping Colorado from a four-game sweep.
Jeanmar Gomez (3-1) pitched a hitless 11th is his return from a disabled list stint caused by an elbow injury. Philadelphia ended a five-game losing streak, winning for the fifth time in 25 games. Colorado, which has the NL’s best record, had won four in a row.