Gonzalez boosts Dodgers in 9th

Adrian Gonzalez singled home pinch runner Miguel Rojas with the tiebreaking run with two outs in the ninth inning Sunday to lift the Los Angeles Dodgers past the host St. Louis Cardinals 4-3.

Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier each had two hits and an RBI for the Dodgers, who salvaged the finale of the three-game series to move into a virtual tie for first place with the San Francisco Giants in the National League West.

The Cardinals’ Peter Bourjos hit a two-run home run against Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw, who allowed three runs and six hits and struck out eight in seven innings. Kershaw had gone seven consecutive starts without yielding more than one run.

Drew Smyly (6-8) pitched seven strong innings, Torii Hunter hit a two-run homer and the Detroit Tigers avoided a four-game sweep with a 5-1 victory against the visiting Cleveland Indians. Smyly didn’t allow a hit until Yan Gomes smacked a two-out double in the fifth. He yielded one run — on a solo homer by Gomes — and four hits, struck out six and walked two.

Odrisamer Despaigne came within four outs of pitching the first no-hitter in San Diego Padres history, and the host Padres escaped with a 2-1 victory against the New York Mets when Seth Smith drove in the winning run with an infield single with two outs in the ninth inning. Daniel Murphy broke up Despaigne’s bid for history with a two-out double in the eighth.