Verlander again masters Yankees
Dodgers rally past Phillies in eighth; Brewers pound Cards
NEW YORK — Justin Verlander tamed the New York Yankees, then toyed with their fans.
Verlander slowed the highestscoring team in the majors, picking off a familiar opponent by pitching the Houston Astros past New York 5-1 Monday.
“I’ve had some success against them in the past,” he said. “Every day is a new day, especially going up against a lineup like that.”
Facing the only club in baseball that hasn’t been shut out this season, Verlander (7-2) blanked the Yankees until Greg Bird hit a leadoff home run in the seventh.
When he left later in the inning with a major league-best 1.11 ERA, Verlander got a cheer from a solid contingent of Astros fans wearing bright orange behind the dugout — but even louder jeers from the local fans.
Verlander enjoyed the moment, taking off his cap and waving it toward the Bronx boobirds. “Just having fun,” he said.
DODGERS 5, PHILLIES 4: In Los Angeles, Yasmani Grandal singled home the go-ahead run as Los Angeles scored three times in the eighth inning to rally past Philadelphia.
Phillies starter Vince Velasquez took a no-hitter into the sixth before the Dodgers scored twice to trail 4-2. BREWERS 8, CARDINALS 3: In Milwaukee, Jonathan Villar and Christian Yelich homered, and Ryan Braun had three hits as Milwaukee beat St. Louis.
Milwaukee starter Brent Suter (5-3) allowed three runs in five innings, but hit a tworun double in the fourth that gave Milwaukee a 4-0 lead.
BRAVES 4, METS 3: In Atlanta, Charlie Culberson’s pinchhit, two-run homer off Seth Lugo in the bottom of the ninth inning gave Atlanta a victory over New York in the first game of a doubleheader.
Lugo (1-1) gave up Nick Markakis’ sacrifice fly in the eighth and walked Johan Camargo to begin the ninth.
INDIANS 9, WHITE SOX 6: In Cleveland, Edwin Encarnacion homered and had four RBIs, and Cleveland took advantage of Chicago’s leaky defense to score five times in the fifth inning to beat the White Sox.
Encarnacion tied the game in the fifth with a three-run bloop double. Yonder Alonso’s double drove in the go-ahead run later in the inning and Encarnacion hit a homer in the seventh. RED SOX 8, BLUE JAYS 3: In Boston, Andrew Benintendi hit a three-run homer to cap a five-run fourth inning and J.D. Martinez added a solo homer as Boston coasted past Toronto.
Benintendi also had a triple and single, and Jackie Bradley Jr. added an RBI double, scored twice and made a spectacular catch in center field. CUBS 7, PIRATES 0: In Pittsburgh, Mike Montgomery pitched two-hit ball into the sixth inning, and Anthony Rizzo went 3-for-4 with a home run and three RBIs as the Chicago Cubs beat Pittsburgh.
Montgomery (1-1), starting for the first time this season in place of injured Yu Darvish, retired the first 13 batters. NATIONALS 6, ORIOLES 0: In Baltimore, Anthony Rendon hit a three-run homer to back a sharp pitching performance by Gio Gonzalez as Washington beat Baltimore.
Gonzalez (6-2) allowed six hits over 7⅔ innings to end a six-game losing streak against Baltimore. The left-hander won his first start against the Orioles in 2009 before coming up empty in his next nine outings.
TIGERS 9, ANGELS 3: In Detroit, James McCann hit a grand slam in the third inning as Detroit routed Los Angeles.
Mike Trout went deep in the ninth for the Angels — his 18th home run of the season. MARINERS 2, RANGERS 1: In Seattle, Marco Gonzales pitched into the seventh inning and did not allow an earned run for a third consecutive start, helping Seattle top Texas.
Seattle won for the ninth time in 10 games and reached 13 games above .500 for the first time since late in the 2014 season. ROCKIES 6, GIANTS 5 (10): In Denver, Chris Iannetta drove in the winning run with a single up the middle in the 10th inning as Colorado beat San Francisco in a game delayed 55 minutes by rain. DIAMONDBACKS 12, REDS 5: In Phoenix, Nick Ahmed, Chris Owings and John Ryan Murphy each homered as Arizona’s offense — slumbering for nearly all of May — came alive. MARLINS 7, PADRES 2: In San Diego, lefty Caleb Smith (4-5) was dominating for Miami, and Yadiel Rivera’s tworun single capped the Marlins’ four-run first in a win over San Diego.
TWINS 8, ROYALS 5: In Kansas City, Mo., Miguel Sano belted a two-run homer and Eddie Rosario hit a three-run double as Minnesota snapped a four-game skid with a victory over Kansas City. RAYS 1, ATHLETICS 0 (13): In Oakland, Calif., Mallex Smith hit an RBI single with two outs in the 13th inning and Jonny Venters got his first save in seven years.