Jays hit 3 HRs in first, beat Orioles
TORONTO >> Marco Estrada is still dealing with the sore back that forced him to skip his first All-Star Game. Even so, he was effective enough for the Toronto Blue Jays.
Jose Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion and Troy Tulowitzki hit solo home runs in the first inning, Estrada snapped a four-start winless streak and Toronto beat the Baltimore Orioles 6-5 on Friday night.
Encarnacion reached base three times and scored twice as the Blue Jays won the opener of a threegame series between the top two teams in the AL East, cutting Baltimore’s division lead to half a game. The Orioles have lost four straight.
Estrada (6-4) allowed three earned runs and five hits in six innings.
“I don’t feel 100 percent,” Estrada said, “but I still feel I can give the team quality innings.” CUBS 12, MARINERS 1 >> Jon Lester recovered from a rut of bad starts, pitching six shutout innings to help Chicago rout Seattle for the Cubs third straight victory.
Jason Heyward and David Ross homered and the NL Central leaders improved to 10-5 since a 1-9 slump.
Seattle lost in its first trip to Wrigley Field since 2007. The Mariners let infielder Luis Sardinas pitch the eighth, and he threw a perfect inning.
Lester (11-4) had lasted just 16 innings over his previous four starts, going 1-1 with a 10.13 ERA. That skid came after he had gone 9-3 with a 2.03 ERA in his first 16 starts. Lester gave up four hits, struck out seven and walked two. He was already done when there was a 74-minute rain delay in the seventh. CARDINALS 11, MARLINS 6 >> Tommy Pham homered and drove in three runs in St. Louis’ victory over Miami.
Kolten Wong had three hits and drove in two runs and Jeremy Hazelbaker hit a two-run homer for St. Louis. The Cardinals have won four of five and lead the Marlins by a game in the NL wild-card standings.
Marlins outfielder Ichiro Suzuki went 0 for 4 to remain at 2,998 career hits. ROCKIES 6, METS 1 >> Tyler Chatwood kept winning on the road, Carlos Gonzalez homered and drove in four runs and Colorado beat New York for its fourth straight victory.
Mark Reynolds also homered for the surging Rockies. They are 11-4 since the All-Star break and have moved within four games of Miami for the second NL wild-card spot. RANGERS 8, ROYALS 3 >> Rougned Odor homered twice, and A.J. Griffin pitched into the sixth inning in Texas’ victory over Kansas City.
Jurickson Profar also went deep for the Rangers, and scored three runs. BREWERS 3, PIRATES 1 >> Junior Guerra limited Pittsburgh to four hits over 8.2 innings, and Chris Carter hit a two-run home run in Milwaukee’s victory. INDIANS 5, ATHLETICS 3 >> Abraham Almonte scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch in Cleveland’s fourrun seventh inning in the Indians’ comeback victory over Oakland.
Cleveland erased a 3-1 deficit after being held to four hits through six innings. Jason Kipnis’ basesloaded single tied it, and Almonte scored from third on Ryan Dull’s wild pitch one batter later. TIGERS 14, ASTROS 6 >> Tyler Collins and Justin Upton each hit a threerun homer, helping Detroit beat Houston for its fourth straight victory. RAYS 5, YANKEES 1 >> Jake Odorizzi pitched masterfully into the seventh inning, Logan Forsythe and Corey Dickerson hit solo homers in the first, and Tampa Bay cooled off New York.
The Yankees had won eight of 11 to close within 3 ½ games of Boston for the second AL wild card.
Odorizzi (5-5) struck out five and allowed six hits over 6.2 innings.