Pagan homer fires Giants past Rockies
SAN FRANCISCO: Angel Pagan became the first San Francisco player to end a game with an inside-the-park homer, connecting with a runner aboard in the bottom of the 10th inning on Saturday to give the Giants a 6-5 victory over the Colorado Rockies in the National League.
Troy Tulowitzki homered leading off the 10th to put the Rockies ahead 5-4, but Colorado closer Rafael Betancourt (1-2) walked Brandon Crawford to open the bottom half.
Guillermo Quiroz sacrificed before Pagan sent a long drive that hit the base of the wall in right-centre and bounced over the head of right-fielder Michael Cuddyer. Pagan raced around the bases and slid home ahead of the relay.
The last major leaguer to hit an insidethe-park home run that ended a game was Rey Sanchez for Tampa Bay in 2004 — also in a 10-inning victory over Colorado. The previous Giants player to do it was Bill Terry in 1931, when the club was in New York.
In the American League, the Los Angeles Angels got their seventh straight victory, beating the slumping Kansas City Royals 7-0.
Billy Buckner (1-0), who hadn’t pitched in the majors since 2010, limited the Royals to two hits over five innings. Josh Hamilton and Hank Conger each homered for the Angels.
The resurgent Angels have outscored opponents 54-18 during their longest winning streak of the season. The Royals have lost 15 of 19, including seven straight at home.
Elsewhere, the Cincinnati Reds scored four times in the sixth inning to beat the Chicago Cubs 5-2 for their fifth straight victory.
The Reds have won 13 of 16, surging to a season-high 13 games over .500 at 31-18. It’s their best start since 1995, when they reached the National League championship series.
In New York, the Atlanta Braves beat the Mets 7-5 in the resumption of a game suspended because of rain on Friday after eight innings with the score tied at 5-5, then came back on the field half-an-hour later to beat them again, 6-0.
Dan Uggla hit the go-ahead single in the 10th inning to help Atlanta win the first game.
Light-hitting pitcher Mike Minor then homered for his first two RBIs in the majors and struck out 10 in the second game.
In other NL games, the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Milwaukee Brewers 5-2, the Philadelphia Phillies defeated the Washington Nationals 5-3, the Los Angeles Dodgers edged the St Louis Cardinals 5-3, and the San Diego Padres routed the Arizona Diamondbacks 10-4.
In other AL games, the Boston Red Sox rallied for a 7-4 win over the Cleveland Indians, scoring four times off reliever Vinnie Pestano (1-1), who took over with Cleveland leading 4-3 in the eighth.
Pinch-hitter Mike Carp drove in the tying run with an eighth-inning double and then scored on a double by Dustin Pedroia.
In Toronto, Danny Valencia hit a tworun homer and Adam Jones added a solo shot to help the Baltimore Orioles beat RA Dickey and the Blue Jays, 6-5.
Valencia connected off Dickey (4-6) with a second-deck drive in the third inning before Jones chased last year’s NL Cy Young Award winner with an even longer drive in the seventh, his ninth of the year and third in three games.
The Orioles won for the fourth time in five games following a season-long, six-game losing streak.
The New York Yankees got a homer from Lyle Overbay with two outs in the 11th inning to beat the Tampa Bay Rays 4-3. Mariano Rivera pitched a perfect 11th inning for his 18th straight save to start the season.
Elsewhere, the Minnesota Twins defeated the Detroit Tigers 3-2, the Oakland Athletics beat the Houston Astros 11-5 and the Texas Rangers handed the Seattle Mariners their eighth straight loss with a 5-2 victory.
In Saturday’s only interleague game, the Chicago White Sox edged the Miami Marlins 2-1.