Darvish throws gem in Dodgers debut, beats Mets
NEW YORK » Yu Darvish fit right in with the steamrolling Dodgers, striking out 10 over seven innings of three-hit ball during his Los Angeles debut to pitch the top team in the majors past the New York Mets 6-0 on Friday night.
Chris Taylor hit a leadoff homer against Jacob deGrom, and Mets nemesis Chase Utley added a two-run shot as Los Angeles improved baseball’s best record to 77-32 with its 11th victory in 12 games. Yasiel Puig also went deep for the Dodgers, who have outscored New York 42-11 in winning all five meetings this season.
On the best extended roll by a National League team since World War II, the Dodgers are 42-7 since June 7 — a stretch unequaled in franchise history. They have won 22 of 25 since July 4, with all three losses coming against Atlanta.
In his first start since being acquired from Texas for three prospects just before Monday’s trade deadline, Darvish (1-0) only made the Dodgers look even better. With his confident teammates behind him, the four-time All-Star snapped a five-game losing streak and won for the first time in nine outings since June 12 at Houston.
Darvish went 6-9 with a 4.01
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ERA in 22 starts for the Rangers — and his last one was a dud. The right-hander gave up a career-high 10 runs over 3 2/3 innings July 26 in a 22-10 loss to Miami, but his first game with Los Angeles could not have gone smoother.
Mixing his 95-96 mph fastball with a 71-75 mph curve and other assorted pitches, Darvish easily silenced a Mets team that has lost five of six. NATIONALS 4, CUBS 2 » Daniel Murphy homered twice and Tanner Roark pitched into the seventh inning, leading Washington to the victory.
With the game-time temperature at 63, Murphy hit a two-run homer in the first and connected off Kyle Hendricks leading off the sixth for a 3-0 lead. INDIANS 7, YANKEES 2» Trevor Bauer won his third straight start, and Cleveland extended New York’s losing streak to four.
Bauer (10-8) allowed one run in seven innings, on Todd Frazier’s fifth-inning homer. Third baseman Giovanny Urshela made an outstanding defensive play on Clint Frazier’s grounder to throw out Ronald Torreyes at home plate, and Gary Sanchez stranded the bases loaded with a strikeout. TWINS 8, RANGERS 4 » Bartolo Colon threw his first complete game in two years to earn his first win with Minnesota.
Brian Dozier homered twice and Robbie Grossman also connected as the Twins won for just the third time in 11 games.
In his fourth start for Minnesota, the 44-year-old Colon (3-9) scattered nine hits in his 37th career complete game and first since Sept. 5, 2015 with the New York Mets. RED SOX 3, WHITE SOX 2 » Mitch Moreland homered with two outs in the 11th inning, lifting the Red Sox to their fourth consecutive victory.
Moreland, a defensive replacement in the 10th, drove a pitch from Aaron Bummer (0-2) over the Green Monster for his 14th of the season. It was Boston’s second game-ending homer this week.
The AL East-leading Red Sox moved three games ahead of the second-place Yankees, who lost 7-2 at Cleveland. ASTROS 16, BLUE JAYS 7 » Alex Bregman hit a two-run homer and Marwin Gonzalez added a threerun shot as part of a nine-run fourth inning, helping Houston stop a three-game slide.
Tyler White homered twice for the Astros, and Yuli Gurriel also went deep. White finished with four hits and five RBIs. BRAVES 5, MARLINS 3 » R.A. Dickey won for the first time in seven starts, Nick Markakis hit a threerun homer and the Braves overcame Giancarlo Stanton’s two home runs to beat the Marlins.
Stanton hit his 34th and 35th homers, tying Yankees slugger Aaron Judge for most in the majors, to give the Marlins a 3-1 lead in the sixth. BREWERS 2, RAYS 0 » Brandon Woodruff allowed seven hits in 6.1 innings in his major league debut and Orlando Arcia homered and scored both runs for Milwaukee.
The Brewers won for the third time in four games and moved within a half-game of the Cubs for the top spot in the NL Central. MARINERS 5, ROYALS 2 » James Paxton tied a Mariners’ record by winning his seventh straight start, and Seattle moved back over .500.
Paxton (12-3) did not allow a hit until Mike Moustakas’ single with one out in the fifth, and Brandon Moss’ two-out single ended Paxton’s scoreless streak at 21 innings. TIGERS 5, ORIOLES 2» Justin Upton hit a grand slam in the eighth inning to back a strong pitching performance by Justin Verlander, and the surprising Tigers earned their fourth straight victory.