Tempers flare in Denver; Detroit blanks White Sox
DENVER—Corey Dickerson hit Atlanta catcher Gerald Laird with his backswing and tempers quickly flared, setting off a tense sequence and leading to several ejections Thursday as the Colorado Rockies beat the Braves 10-3.
The Rockies led 8-3 in the eighth inning when Dickerson knocked off Laird’s facemask with his swing— Dickerson said it was an accident.
Laird was down for several minutes before walking off and being replaced by Evan Gattis. With his next pitch, Atlanta reliever David Carpenter hit Dickerson in the thigh and was ejected.
Rockies manager Walt Weiss bolted from the dugout and began yelling at Carpenter, as well as in the general direction of Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez. Weiss was held back by plate umpire Jordan Baker before being ejected. When he returned to the dugout, Weiss smashed a bat against the wall.
In the ninth, Rockies reliever Nick Masset hit Gattis in the hip with a pitch. Both Masset and Rockies bench coach Tom Runnells were immediately tossed.
Jhoulys Chacin (1-4) pitched seven scoreless innings. Ervin Santana (5-3) took the loss.
Tigers 4, White Sox 0
CHICAGO—Max Scherzer tossed a three-hitter in his first career complete game, and Victor Martinez hit his 16th homer to lead Detroit a win over Chicago.
Scherzer (8-2) was back in his 2013 Cy Young form, striking out eight and walking three while outdueling Chicago starter Chris Sale (5-1). Only three times did the White Sox have men in scoring position.
Sale was nearly as sharp as Scherzer. He struck out 10—all swinging—to match a season high and allowed five hits in seven innings.
Martinez hit a solo shot into the left field bullpen to lead off the fifth and Miguel Cabrera drove in two runs for Detroit. Bryan Holiday drove in an insurance run in the ninth.
Red Sox 5, Indians 2
BOSTON—Jon Lester worked into the eighth inning and David Ortiz hit a tworun homer to lead struggling Boston to a win over Cleveland.
Brock Holt hit a two-run double and Daniel Nava had three hits as the Red Sox won for just the third time in their last 10 games, a dismal stretch that began with a three-game sweep by the Indians last week.
Coming off his shortest start of the season, Lester (7-7) allowed two runs— one earned—on eight hits and a walk with four strikeouts in 7 2-3 innings.
Koji Uehara pitched a perfect ninth for his 14th save.
Ortiz hit his 15th homer in the fifth against Josh Tomlin (4-3) to make it 3-0.
Orioles 4, Blue Jays 2
BALTIMORE—Kevin Gausman gave up one run over six innings and Delmon Young homered as Baltimore beat Mark Buehrle and Toronto.
Nick Markakis had two hits and an RBI for the Orioles, who moved within 3 1-2 games of first-place Toronto in the AL East.
Gausman (2-1) allowed five hits, walked three and struck out three in his second consecutive solid outing. The 2012 first-round draft pick stymied Oakland on June 7 after being recalled from Triple-A Norfolk and now appears to be a fixture in the starting rotation.
Zach Britton worked the ninth for his sixth save. The victory wasn’t secured, however, until a replay review confirmed the final out on a double-play grounder.
Buehrle (10-3) yielded four runs and eight hits in 6 1-3 innings to lose his second straight start following a six-game winning streak.
Giants 7, Nationals 1
SAN FRANCISCO—Tim Hudson threw seven strong innings and left with a major league-best 1.81 ERA as the San Francisco Giants avoided a four-game sweep and beat Washington.
Michael Morse got three hits and scored twice for the Giants, who had a five-game winning streak before Washington came to town. The Nationals have lost just twice in 10 games.
Hudson (7-2) allowed one unearned run and six hits. The Giants are 7-0 in games he has started at home.
Blake Treinen (0-3) remained winless at the major league level despite a 2.08 ERA.
Reds 4, Dodgers 1
CINCINNATI—Todd Frazier hit a two-run homer off Zack Greinke, who lost his perfect record at Great American Ball Park, and the Cincinnati Reds beat the Los Angeles Dodgers for a split of their four-game series.
The Reds won the last two games to finish a 5-5 homestand that left them stuck closer to the bottom of the NL Central than the top.
Alfredo Simon (9-3) gave up seven singles in eight innings, joining the Cardinals’ Adam Wainwright as the NL’s nine-game winners.
Greinke (8-3) had been 4-0 in five games at Great American.
Phillies 7, Padres 3
PHILADELPHIA— Pinch- hitter Reid Brignac lined a tiebreaking, tworun double in the sixth inning, John Mayberry Jr. hit a three-run homer and the Philadelphia Phillies beat San Diego in a steady rain to complete a threegame sweep.
Brignac, whose three-run homer in the ninth gave the Phillies a 3-0 victory a night earlier, hit a drive off Dale Thayer for a 4-2 lead.
Mayberry connected an inning later off Alex Torres. Making a spot start for Ryan Howard, Mayberry also doubled twice.
Kyle Kendrick (2-6) allowed one earned run in six innings.
Eric Stults (2-8) allowed four runs and eight hits in five-plus innings.