National League
Phillies 3, Nationals 2
PHILADELPHIA -- A mechanical adjustment in between starts helped A.J. Burnett out of a funk.
Burnett (North Little Rock, Central Arkansas Christian) struck out 12 in seven innings, while Cody Asche and Carlos Ruiz homered to lead the Philadelphia Phillies to a 3-2 victory over the Washington Nationals on Monday night.
"I just noticed something with my delivery, or the leg kick," Burnett said. "I just noticed something wasn't right. I was like, 'That's not me out there. Who is that?' It's the first time I felt like me in a long time."
Domonic Brown had two hits and an RBI for Philadelphia, which won for the fourth time in five games.
Wilson Ramos and Anthony Rendon homered for National League East-leading Washington, which lost for just the second time in 14 games.
Burnett (7-14) won for the first time since the All-Star break, allowing 1 run on 3 hits with just 1 walk. The right-hander entered leading the majors with 76 walks.
"I wish I could have found that little glitch about a month, two months ago," Burnett said. "Unfortunately it took a long time, but better late than never."
Tanner Roark (12-8) gave up 2 runs on 5 hits in 6 innings and lost for just the second time in his past nine starts. Roark has a 2.25 ERA over that stretch.
"I felt good. I felt confident," Roark said. "I had command on both sides of the plate. My offspeed was good."
Burnett retired the first eight batters before Roark's two-out single in the third. It was just the pitcher's sixth hit in 60 at-bats this season.
The Nationals didn't get another hit until Rendon's one-out home run to left in the sixth that pulled them within 2-1. It was the third home run in 15 at-bats for Rendon off Burnett.
"If he hits it good, the ball's going to carry," Nationals Manager Matt Williams said. "He's been a very pleasant surprise."
Burnett had been 0-6 with a 7.41 ERA in seven starts since the All-Star break prior to Monday. But he was stellar against Washington, setting a season-high in strikeouts while finishing with at least 10 for the 35th time in his career.
"The difference was more strikes on the board early on in the at-bats," Phillies Manager Ryne Sandberg said.
The Phillies took a 1-0 lead in the fourth on Brown's RBI single and went up 2-0 on Asche's leadoff home run to deep right in the fifth.
"It was a change-up but it didn't change," Roark said. "It was right down the middle, thigh high, and he got me."
After Washington closed within a run, Ruiz cleared the wall in left off left-hander Jerry Blevins to push Philadelphia's advantage to 3-1.
Ramos homered to right with two outs in the ninth off Jonathan Papelbon, who earned his 32nd save in 34 opportunities.
Ben Revere, who began the day tied for the NL batting lead at .314 with Colorado's Justin Morneau, went 0 for 4 to drop his average to .311.
Chase Utley went 0 for 4, extending his slump to 3 for 29.
CARDINALS 3, PIRATES 2 Matt Holliday's two-run single in the seventh inning off Jared Hughes capped a late rally, and visiting St. Louis beat Pittsburgh. Jon Jay's pinch-hit single tied the game with two outs in the seventh and Holliday followed with a sharp single to left off Hughes (6-4) to score Jay and Matt Carpenter. John Lackey (13-8) worked out of trouble early and pitched seven innings to pick up his second victory with the Cardinals after arriving in a trade from Boston on July 31. Trevor Rosenthal gave up a leadoff home run in the ninth to Andrew McCutchen but held on to earn his 39th save. Pedro Alvarez hit his 18th home run in the second off Lackey.
American League
YANKEES 8, ROYALS 1 Derek Jeter drove in two runs in his final scheduled trip to Kansas City, backing a sharp outing from Michael Pineda and helping New York beat the Royals for their fifth consecutive victory. Jacoby Ellsbury drove in a run in the seventh inning with the 1,000th hit of his career, then added a two-run home run in the ninth. Stephen Drew and Martin Prado also homered for New York. Pineda (3-2) gave up a home run to Mike Moustakas leading off the third inning. Pineda struck out five without a walk in 6 1/3 innings to win for the first time since beating the Chicago Cubs on April 16. James Shields (12-7) allowed six runs over 6 2/3 innings for Kansas City.
ORIOLES 9, RAYS 1 Delmon Young, J.J. Hardy and Chris Davis each hit home runs during a six-run fifth inning, and host Baltimore cruised past Tampa Bay to end a three-game losing streak. Baltimore hit five home runs in all, four off rookie Jake Odorizzi (9-11). Nick Markakis and Steve Pearce delivered back-to-back shots in the third to spark the Orioles to their ninth victory in 13 games against Tampa Bay this season.
RED SOX 4, BLUE JAYS 3 (10) Yoenis Cespedes singled home the go-ahead run in the 10th inning and visiting Boston survived a ninth-inning collapse to beat Toronto and snap its losing streak at eight games. Cespedes has 19 RBI in 22 games since being traded to Boston on July 31. Seven of those 19 RBI have given the Red Sox a lead. Brock Holt hit a one-out single off Aaron Sanchez (2-1) in the 10th and stole second as Dustin Pedroia struck out, with the steal confirmed by video review. Holt stole third before Cespedes drove him in with a single up the middle.
ATHLETICS 8, ASTROS 2 Jeff Samardzija pitched eight solid innings and Josh Donaldson drove in three runs to lead visiting Oakland over Houston. Samardzija (4-3) allowed 6 hits, 2 runs and tied a season high with 10 strikeouts to bounce back from a two-game skid in which he yielded 11 runs combined. Josh Reddick hit a two-run home run and Donaldson had three hits after sitting out Sunday with a knee injury.
Sports on 08/26/2014