Newcomb falls one out short of no-hitter as Braves top Dodgers
Indians rout Tigers 8-1, lead AL Central by 9
ATLANTA, July 30, (AP): Sean Newcomb came within one strike of pitching the first no-hitter by the Atlanta Braves since 1994, denied when Chris Taylor sharply singled in a 4-1 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday.
Newcomb had a 2-2 count with two outs in the ninth inning when Taylor hit a hard grounder beyond the reach of diving third baseman Johan Camargo. That came on the career-high 134th and final pitch by the 25-year-old lefty.
Newcomb (10-5) left to a thunderous standing ovation from the sellout crowd at SunTrust Park as manager Brian Snitker removed him. Snitker took the ball and gave it back to Newcomb as a keepsake — instead, Newcomb simply tossed it toward the Atlanta dugout as he walked off, wanting no souvenir of the near-miss.
Red Sox 3, Twins 0 In Boston, Nathan Eovaldi pitched seven impressive innings in his first start with Boston, J.D. Martinez drove in all three runs to increase his major league-leading RBI total to 89 and the Red Sox beat Minnesota for their 18th victory in 22 games.
Martinez had a double, single and walk, and Andrew Benintendi added two hits and a walk for the Red Sox. The AL East-leaders improved to a majors’ best 74-33 by winning three of four in the weekend series.
Acquired in trade from Tampa Bay for a minor league pitcher on Wednesday, Eovaldi (4-4) gave up four hits, striking out five without issuing a walk. Matt Barnes pitched the eighth and Craig Kimbrel got the final three outs for his 33rd save.
Yankees 6, Royals 3 In New York, J.A. Happ made the midseason impact the Yankees hoped for, pitching one-run ball over six innings to win his New York debut.
Three days after New York acquired the 35-year-old left-hander from Toronto for infielder Brandon Drury and outfield prospect Billy McKinney, Happ took a shutout into the fifth before Salvador Perez’s opposite-field home run into the Yankees bullpen in right-center. Happ (11-6) struck out two and walked one, and the first-time All-Star ended a four-start winless streak.
Aaron Hicks hit a two-run homer in the first off the screen attached to the right-field foul pole, a drive off Burch Smith (1-2).
Cubs 5, Cardinals 2 In St Louis, Kyle Hendricks pitched seven sharp innings, Ben Zobrist had four hits and the Cubs salvaged the finale of their weekend series.
Hendricks (7-9) retired his last 17 batters, settling into a nice little groove after Marcell Ozuna’s two-run homer in the first inning. The right-hander allowed four hits in just his second win in his last eight starts.
Zobrist and Anthony Rizzo homered as NL leading-Chicago moved 1-1/2 games ahead of second-place Milwaukee in the NL Central. Pedro Strop pitched a perfect ninth for his fifth save.
Rangers 4, Astros 3 In Houston, Jurickson Profar hit a go-ahead double deflected by the pitcher and stayed in despite getting kicked in the face as Texas became the first team to sweep Houston this year.
Texas took three in a row from the AL West leaders and extended the Astros’ skid to a season-high four games.
The last-place Rangers won even though they struck out 19 times — the most Houston pitchers have recorded in a nine-inning game in franchise history.
It was 1-all in the sixth when Rougned Odor doubled and Profar hit a grounder nicked by Lance McCullers (10-6) that rolled into the outfield.
Rockies 3, Athletics 2 In Denver, German Marquez continued Colorado’s strong starting pitching, Tom Murphy homered and the Rockies beat Oakland to sweep the interleague series.
Marquez (9-8) returned from paternity leave to deliver 7-2/3 solid innings and help the Rockies win for the 11th time in 13 games. He allowed two runs on five hits and struck out eight. He left to a standing ovation after fanning Nick Martini.
Khris Davis and Matt Chapman homered for the A’s, who lost just their first series in their last 12. Oakland had won six straight games before being swept in Colorado.
Mets 1, Pirates 0 In Pittsburgh, Zack Wheeler pitched six strong innings and drove in the lone run, leading New York over Pittsburgh.
Wheeler (5-6) allowed five hits with seven strikeouts and one walk, and got his fourth RBI of the season on a double in the fifth. He won a third straight start after giving up a combined six runs in 14-2/3 innings over his past two.
The Mets split the four-game series with the Pirates, who lost for just the fourth time in their past 19 games.
Indians 8, Tigers 1 In Detroit, Yonder Alonso, Melky Cabrera and Edwin Encarnacion all homered for Cleveland, and Corey Kluber pitched into the eighth inning in a victory over Detroit.
Rajai Davis added a triple and two doubles for the Indians, who took two of three in Detroit and extended their AL Central lead to nine games over Minnesota. It’s the largest division lead in the major leagues at the moment.
Kluber (13-6) allowed a run and five hits in 7-1/3 innings. He walked one and struck out five.
Orioles 11, Rays 5 In Baltimore, Adam Jones had three hits and an RBI in what could be his final game with the Orioles, and Baltimore beat Tampa Bay for a rare series win.
The rebuilding Orioles are looking to deal Jones before Tuesday’s nonwaiver trade deadline. Now in his 11th year with Baltimore, the 31-year-old center fielder becomes a free agent after the season.
Giants 8, Brewers 5 In San Francisco, Buster Posey had four hits, including a three-run double to help San Francisco break out of a collective funk, and the Giants beat Milwaukee to avoid a four-game