Red Sox take over first place in AL East
Pineda pitches Yanks over o's Donaldson, Encarnacion jolt Jays Cards sweep doubleheader from Padres
Hanley Ramirez socked three two-run homers as the Boston Red Sox won an 11-7 shootout with the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday night at Fenway Park.
It was the first career three-homer game for Ramirez, who also made a series of outstanding defensive plays at first base. He had a chance to hit a major-league-recordtying fourth homer in the eighth inning but grounded out to the pitcher.
Drew Pomeranz didn’t factor into the decision in his Red Sox debut, hanging zeros through three innings before imploding in a five-run Giants fourth. The All-Star southpaw lasted just three-plus innings, giving up five runs and eight hits.
Boston opened an 8-0 lead and held on to win for the eighth time in nine games and move a half-game ahead of losing Baltimore atop the AL East.
Yankees 5, Orioles 0
Michael Pineda pitched six effective innings, and New York matched a season high by going two games over .500 with a victory over Baltimore.
Mark Teixeira and Carlos Beltran homered and drove in two runs apiece for the Yankees. Teixeira went deep on a night when he returned after missing three games with a sore left foot. Beltran hit his 20th home run of the season, the 12th time he has reached that mark in his career.
Pineda (4-9) allowed five hits and did not give up a run for the first time since September 2015, in a game against the New York Mets. He walked two and struck out eight. Pineda held the Orioles to one hit in nine at-bats with runners in scoring position and recorded six of his strikeouts in those instances.
Blue Jays 10, Diamondbacks 4
Josh Donaldson doubled, homered and drove in three runs and Edwin Encarnacion belted a homer in Toronto’s victory over Arizona.
Donaldson gave the Blue Jays a 2-0 lead two batters into the game, when he followed Darwin Barney’s single with his 24th homer of the season.
Encarnacion capped a four-run eighth inning with his 26th homer of the season. Marcus Stroman (8-4) gave up one run and eight hits in eight innings for his first road victory since May 18.
Twins 4, Tigers 1
Max Kepler hit a tiebreaking solo homer with two outs in the ninth inning to power Minnesota over Detroit.
The rookie outfielder smashed a 3-2 pitch from Francisco Rodriguez (1-1) into the right field stands. Kepler has 10 home runs, including nine over the last 26 games.
Eddie Rosario provided some insurance later in the inning with a two-run shot off Rodriguez, who had not allowed a run in his previous 10 appearances.
Cubs 6, Mets 2
Anthony Rizzo homered twice and right-hander Kyle Hendricks struck out seven in six-plus scoreless innings as the Chicago breezed by New York.
Rizzo, who went 2-for-4, collected his 23rd and 24th home runs of the season and now ranks second in the NL behind teammate Kris Bryant.
Cardinals 4, Padres 2 (1st) Cardinals 3, Padres 2 (2nd)
Carlos Martinez survived a 10-minute delay for a nose bleed and limited San Diego to four hits over seven efficient frames in the first game of a day-night doubleheader.
In the second game, Jedd Gyorko’s answer to how it felt to blast six homers in five games against his old team was as simple and as on point as his swing.
The St. Louis third baseman homered twice in the nightcap, capping a three-homer day that highlighted his team’s sweep of the Padres.
Gyorko, who has whacked more than half his 11 homers this year against San Diego pitching, became the first St. Louis player to homer in five straight games against the Padres since Albert Pujols did it in 2001-02.
Mariners 6, White Sox 5 (11)
Leonys Martin’s second home run of the game, a walk-off shot in the bottom of the 11th inning, lifted Seattle over Chicago.
Martin’s solo shot gave the Mariners their second walk-off homer of the series after teammate Adam Lind beat the White Sox in dramatic fashion two days earlier. Martin hit an 0-2 pitch from Chicago reliever Dan Jennings (3-2) for a towering homer to right.
Chicago third baseman Todd Frazier hit his 28th home run of the season on the way to a 4-0 lead in Seattle starter Felix Hernandez’s return to the mound, but the Mariners used three home runs to get back into the game. Adam Lind’s solo shot with two outs in the eighth inning tied the score 5-5 and allowed Hernandez to get out of his first start since May 27 with a no-decision.
Nationals 8, Dodgers 1
Gio Gonzalez allowed just one run in six innings, and Washington hit four homers in a win over Los Angeles. The Nationals won for the first time in the teams’ five meetings this year.
Bryce Harper, Ben Revere and Jayson Werth homered off Los Angeles starter Bud Norris (5-8). Anthony Rendon and Wilson Ramos each had two hits and an RBI, with Rendon hitting a home run.
Gonzalez (6-8) gave up three hits and two walks while striking out six. Felipe Rivero followed Gonzalez with two scoreless innings for Washington, and Koda Glover pitched a perfect ninth in his major league debut.