Rookie tops the King as Padres defeat M’s
Travis Jankowski homered on “King” Felix Hernandez’s first pitch and rookie Jacob Nix came two outs shy of a complete game in his fourth big-league start for the Padres, who beat Seattle 2-1 in San Diego on Tuesday night.
Nix (2-2) retired Jean Segura to open the ninth before Nelson Cruz homered to center on Nix’s 79th pitch. It was Cruz’s 32nd. That was it for Nix, who allowed eight hits and no walks. Kirby Yates got the final two outs for his sixth save.
“I thought for sure I was going to be able to finish” because of the pitch count, Nix said, but manager Andy Green wasn’t buying it.
“I didn’t want to put him in a situation where he was walking off that mound in a tie situation or a losing situation,” Green said.
Hernandez (8-12) pitched well but lost his sixth straight decision. The 2010 AL Cy Young Award winner, demoted to the bullpen earlier this season, struck out a season-high nine and walked two in seven innings. Yankees 5, White Sox 4: Pinch-hitter Neil Walker connected for a solo home run in the bottom of the ninth inning, and New York rallied from four runs down to win. Aaron Hicks hit a tying homer in the eighth and Miguel Andujar also had a two-run shot. Dodgers 8, Rangers 4: Manny Machado drove in four runs, Brian Dozier hit his 20th homer of the season and visiting Los Angeles won its fourth straight game. Nationals 5, Phillies 4: Pinch-running pitcher Vince Velasquez was called out for leaving second base early while tagging up, resulting in a game-ending double play for visiting Washington. Braves 9, Rays 5: Pinchrunner Adam Duvall scored the tie-breaking run on a delayed dash from third base in host Atlanta’s four-run eighth inning, stopping Tampa Bay’s win streak at eight games. Rockies 3, Angels 2: Carlos Gonzalez hit a two-run homer for Colorado in the first inning, and Kyle Freeland (12-7) held host Los Angeles to five hits and one run in six innings. Red Sox 8, Marlins 7: J.D. Martinez scored for host Boston when Miami shortstop JT Riddle threw away a potential double-play ball in the ninth inning. Orioles 12, Blue Jays 5: Josh Rogers, acquired from the Yankees with two others for closer Zach Britton in July, won his major league debut for host Baltimore as Tim Beckham hit a three-run homer. Cardinals 5, Pirates 2: Jack Flaherty didn’t allow Pittsburgh a hit for the first four innings, and Jose Martinez and rookie Tyler O’Neill homered for host St. Louis. The Cardinals have won six of seven and are 20-5 in August. Reds 9, Brewers 7: Jose Peraza started Junior Guerra’s rough outing with a two-run homer, and host Cincinnati withstood Christian Yelich’s first multihomer game. Since trailing the Cubs by a game on Aug. 4, Milwaukee has gone 8-11 and has slid to third place in the NL Central. Indians 8, Twins 1: Carlos Carrasco struck out 11 for host Cleveland as Francisco Lindor matched a career high with four hits and Jose Ramirez drove in three runs. Royals 6, Tigers 2: Jakob Junis held Detroit to six hits in his first career complete game, and Adalberto Mondesi homered to spur a five-run frame for host Kansas City. Mets-Cubs suspended: The game at Wrigley Field was called with the score 1-1 in the top of the 10th after a rain delay of 53 minutes. It will resume at noon CDT Wednesday, with the series finale 45 minutes after completion.