Blue Jays end losing streak to Astros
Sanchez pitches Canadian team to commanding 6-2 home victory, while Cardnials score another win over the Dodgers
Toronto’s Aaron Sanchez put in a commanding pitching performance to steer the Blue Jays to a 6-2 win against American Leagueleading Houston on Friday, ending a run of seven straight losses against the Astros.
That result, combined with Texas’ victory over Kansas City, trimmed Houston’s lead atop the AL West division to 4½ games, while in the AL East, the New York Yankees maintained their narrow lead by holding off the Los Angeles Angels.
In the meeting of the top two teams in the National League, St Louis wrung out another narrow victory against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Toronto’s Sanchez (5-4) allowed one run in eight-plus innings, leaving after giving up three straight hits to start the ninth. The homer he gave up in the ninth was the first off a Blue Jays pitcher in 26 innings.
Jose Reyes and Jose Bautista each hit two-run homers for Toronto.
Texas’ Chi Chi Gonzalez threw a shut-out in only his second major league start as the Rangers beat skidding Kansas City 4-0.
New York’s Alex Rodriguez moved past Barry Bonds for second place on the career RBIs list and got four hits as the Yankees clung on for an 8-7 win against the fast-finishing Angels.
St Louis’ Carlos Martinez outpitched Brett Anderson again during their second low-scoring duel in six days and led the Cardinals to a 2-1 win against the Dodgers.
Washington’s Danny Espinosa hit a three-run homer in the second inning to lay the foundation for a 7-5 win against the Chicago Cubs.
Arizona’s Jeremy Hellickson pitched six solid innings for his fourth straight win as the Diamondbacks beat the New York Mets 7-2.
Pittsburgh’s Neil Walker and Starling Marte homered as the streaking Pirates won 10-8 at Atlanta.
Walker hit a three-run drive, a towering shot deep into the right-field seats in the fifth inning, while Marte’s two-run homer gave the Pirates a 6-4 lead in the sixth.
Tampa Bay’s Logan Forsythe stroked a ninth-inning home run to end a scoreless stalemate and give the Rays a 1-0 win against Seattle.
Detroit pitcher Alex Wilson hit Avisail Garcia with a pitch when the bases were loaded in the 11th inning, handing the White Sox a 4-3 win.
San Francisco ended its own losing skid — five games — with a 5-4 victory at Philadelphia, with Buster Posey hitting the go-ahead home run in the seventh inning.
Baltimore’s Matt Wieters, playing his first game in over a year after elbow surgery, had two hits and two RBIs to help the Orioles defeat Cleveland 5-2.
Milwaukee’s Adam Lind hit a threerun homer among his three hits and drove in six runs to lift the Brewers to a 10-5 victory over Minnesota.
San Diego’s Will Venable hit the first of his team’s three solo homers, taking advantage of Jon Moscot’s shaky debut, as the Padres pulled away to a 6-2 victory at Cincinnati.
Boston beat Oakland 4-2 in a game that will be remembered for the debut of Athletics reliever Pat Venditte, who became the first pitcher in 20 years to throw with both arms in the same game.
Miami’s Giancarlo Stanton hit a mammoth home run as the Marlins beat Colorado 6-2.