Nats swing big bats, rout A’s
OAKLAND — Daniel Murphy and Brian Goodwin each had four hits, including a home run, and Stephen Strasburg pitched seven strong innings as the Washington Nationals defeated the Oakland Athletics 13-3 on Friday night.
Murphy was 4 for 5 with two RBIs including his 10th home run. He’s 10 for 18 with three extra-base hits and five RBIs over his last four games since missing three games last weekend with an illness.
Goodwin played right field in place of Bryce Harper, who was serving the third of his four-game suspension for his role in Monday’s brawl with the San Francisco Giants. His home run was his career first and the four hits were a career high.
Dusty Baker’s 1,800th managerial win was Washington’s fourth straight and ninth in 11 games. The Nationals combined for 20 hits.
Oakland lost for the sixth time in seven games.
• Cubs 3, Cardinals 2 — At Chicago: Jason Heyward hit a tiebreaking sacrifice fly in the eighth inning, and the Cubs snapped a six-game losing streak with a victory over the Cardinals. Heyward also had an RBI double in the sixth and Kris Bryant homered as the Cubs washed away some of the sting from a winless road trip against the Dodgers and Padres.
• Astros 7, Rangers 1 — At Arlington, Texas: Unbeaten lefty Dallas Keuchel earned his major league-leading ninth win, pitching six scoreless innings as the Astros beat the Rangers after a long rain delay for their eighth straight victory.
Carlos Correa and George Springer each hit a three-run homer for the Astros (39-16), who have the best record and longest winning streak in the majors. Correa’s homer came in the fifth off Rangers ace Yu Darvish (5-4), winless in his last eight starts against Houston.
• Tigers 15, White Sox 5 — At Detriot: Miguel Cabrera had his 1,000th career extra-base hit, J.D. Martinez fell a single short of the cycle, and the Detroit Tigers beat the Chicago White Sox. Cabrera and Martinez combined for five hits, all for extra bases, and six RBIs in eight at-bats.
John Hicks and Mikie Mahtook also homered for Detroit.
• Dodgers 2, Brewers 1 in 12 innings — At Milwaukee: Cody Bellinger homered in the 12th inning off Milwaukee Brewers reliever Neftali Feliz, salvaging a win for the Los Angeles Dodgers on a night when ace left-hander Clayton Kershaw recorded his 2,000th strikeout.
Kenley Jansen (3-0) pitched two scoreless innings for the win, stranding the potential tying run at third with one out in the speedy Jonathan Villar by striking out Orlando Arcia looking and getting Travis Shaw to pop out to short.
• Reds 3, Braves 2 in 10 innings — At Cincinnati: Eugenio Suarez scored the tying run in the ninth on Jim Johnson’s wild pitch, and Devin Mesoraco led off the 10th with a homer, rallying the Cincinnati Reds past the Atlanta Braves.
• Marlins 7, Diamondbacks 5 — At Miami: Giancarlo Stanton matched a career high by scoring three times, and his 15th home run of the season put Miami ahead for good as the Marlins topped the Arizona Diamondbacks.
• Pirates 12, Mets 7 — At New York: Elias Diaz hit his first major league homer and drove in six runs as a late addition to the lineup, lifting Pittsburgh over New York.
• Orioles 3, Red Sox 2 — At Baltimore: Seth Smith and Manny Machado hit first-inning home runs off Rick Porcello to back a redemptive pitching performance by Alec Asher and help the Baltimore Orioles beat the Boston Red Sox.
• Blue Jays 7, Yankees 5 — At Toronto: Josh Donaldson hit two solo home runs, Francisco Liriano won in his return from the disabled list and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the New York Yankees.
• Royals 4, Indians 0 — At Kansas City, Mo.: Jason Vargas tossed his first shutout in nearly three years, outdueling Royals nemesis Josh Tomlin and sending Kansas City past the Cleveland Indians.
• Padres 8, Rockies 5 — At San Diego: Austin Hedges, Yangervis Solarte and Wil Myers homered, leading the San Diego Padres to a victory over the Colorado Rockies.