Turner’s 5 RBIs help L.A. end skid
For one afternoon, finally, the Dodgers were better than last. Justin Turner tied a career high with five RBIs and Kenta Maeda pitched eight innings Thursday to help Los Angeles beat the host Miami Marlins 7-0 and end a six-game losing streak, all against lastplace teams.
With the win, the defending National League champions climbed out of the cellar themselves in the NL West. Rap music blared in the postgame clubhouse, a contrast to the somber atmosphere of late.
“I thought the radio in the clubhouse was out the last six days,” manager Dave Roberts joked. “But we fixed it. So we have music. The worm has turned.”
Turner, who broke his left wrist in spring training and made his season debut in the first game of the series Tuesday, hit a three-run double for the Dodgers’ first hit in the third inning. He added a two-run double and a single to finish 6-for-13 (.462) in his first three games back.
“We had felt like we were close to breaking out and having a good day,” Turner said. “Hopefully this can stick, and we can put together a run.”
Maeda (3-3) allowed two hits and no walks in his longest outing of the season. He said he took the mound mindful of the losing streak.
“But obviously we’re a really good team,” he said through an interpreter. “I’m not worried about that.”
Maeda retired the final 17 batters he faced and threw 96 pitches.
Red Sox 6, Orioles 2: David Price took a shutout into the ninth inning and held visiting Baltimore to five hits in his first complete game of the season. J.D. Martinez hit a two-run homer in the first and Xander Bogaerts homered with two on during a four-run fifth to give Price more than enough cushion before Manny Machado spoiled the shutout bid with a two-out homer.
Rays 7, Angels 1: C.J. Cron homered and scored two runs against his former teammates, Chris Archer pitched two-hit ball into the seventh inning, and visiting Tampa Bay got its season-high fourth straight win. Shohei Ohtani hit his sixth homer in the ninth inning, ending an 0-for-8 slump and Los Angeles’ 21-inning scoreless streak.
Pirates 5, Padres 4: Gregory Polanco led off the seventh inning with a double and scored the go-ahead run on an error as host Pittsburgh won for the eighth time in nine games. Polanco took third on Francisco Cervelli’s deep flyball, then came home when rookie third baseman Christian Villanueva misplayed Corey Dickerson’s two-out grounder.
Tigers 3, Mariners 2: Detroit pitchers allowed just two hits over the final six innings and Jose Iglesias’ two-out, two-run single in the top of the eighth inning gave them the lead in the opener of a four-game series.
Phillies 6, Cardinals 2: Vince Velasquez pitched shutout ball into the seventh inning, and Carlos Santana and Pedro Florimon each hit home runs to lift visiting Philadelphia to nine games over .500 for the first time since the close of the 2011 season. Velasquez gave up five hits and walked two in 61⁄3 innings in recording his third straight win.
White Sox 4, Rangers 2: Welington Castillo hit a tiebreaking two-run single in Chicago’s four-run eighth, as the host White Sox took the opener of a four-game series between two of baseball’s worst teams. Yoan Moncada had three hits for Chicago, which had lost nine of 10.
Cubs-Braves postponed: Rain began falling a few minutes before the scheduled first pitch in Atlanta, and the game was called 2½ hours later. It will be made up Aug. 30.
Briefly: The Cardinals moved right-hander Adam Wainwright to the 60-day disabled list because of persistent pain in his right elbow. The three-time All-Star has been bothered by the elbow most of the season. ... Rangers left-hander Cole Hamels missed his scheduled start Thursday because of a stiff neck . ... Marlins reliever Junichi Tazawa was designed for assignment. The righthander, who will make $7 million this year, has an ERA of 9.00 in 22 games . ... Braves rookie right-hander Mike Soroka was placed on the DL with a right shoulder strain . ... The Mariners recalled former A’s All-Star reliever Ryan Cook from the minors . ... Angels reliever Keynan Middleton, their closer in April, will undergo Tommy John surgery on his right elbow . ... Some Yankees players spent Wednesday evening sleeping on the jet and a few stretched out in the terminal, as bad weather and plane problem stranded the team at Dulles International Airport in Virginia after their game against the Nationals was rained out. After about 12 hours, they reboarded and headed to Kansas City, Mo.