PITTSBURGH -- Pinch-hitter Pedro Alvarez lined a bases-loaded single over a five-man infield in the bottom of the 10th inning to give the Pittsburgh Pirates a 5-4 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday night.
The Pirates loaded the bases with no outs against Jim Johnson (2-4) as Jung Ho Kang walked, Francisco Cervelli singled and Sean Rodriguez had a bunt single.
Left-hander J.P. Howell relieved and Manager Don Mattingly moved an outfielder into the infield but the left-handed hitting Alvarez singled into right field for the game-winning hit.
The Pirates won for the 13th time in their past 16 home games and improved to 37-18 at PNC Park this season. They are 12-2 against NL West teams.
Dodgers starter Clayton Kershaw had his streak of 37 consecutive scoreless innings end when Pirates right fielder Gregory Polanco hit his first pitch of the game for a home run.
This marked the first time the major-league's victory leader (Pittsburgh right-hander Gerrit Cole) faced the major league's strikeout leader (Kershaw) this late in a season since the Chicago White Sox's Wilbur Wood squared off against the California Angels' Nolan Ryan on Aug. 11, 1973, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
However, the pitching duel did not materialize.
Kershaw, who had won his previous 4 starts, gave up 4 runs and 9 hits in 6 innings with 2 walks and 5 strikeouts.
Kershaw raised his season strikeout total to 197, leaving him three shy of a sixth consecutive season with at least 200.
Cole allowed three runs and four hits in six innings while striking out five and walking three. His record remained 14-5, though, and he has only one victory in four starts since the All-Star break.
Cole pitched at least six innings for the 18th time in 22 starts this season -- the other four have been against Cincinnati. He has allowed three runs or fewer in all but one start.
Pittsburgh remained three games ahead of the Chicago Cubs in the NL wild-card standings. Los Angeles stayed three games in front of the San Francisco Giants in the NL West.
Antonio Bastardo (4-1) pitched a scoreless 10th for his second victory in as many games.
ROCKIES 5, NATIONALS 4 Drew Storen allowed Carlos Gonzalez's eighth-inning grand slam, and Washington blew a four-run lead in the loss to visiting Colorado. When Storen entered with six outs to go and the score 4-0, Washington appeared well on its way recording a second consecutive victory for only the second time since the All-Star break. Everything changed during a rare ineffective performance by the Nationals' former closer, who lost his job when Jonathan Papelbon was obtained in a July 28 trade with Philadelphia.
CARDINALS 6, BREWERS 0 Randal Grichuk hit a three-run home run to cap a six-run fifth inning, and Lance Lynn pitched visiting St. Louis past Milwaukee. Lynn (9-6) stranded nine runners in six innings as the NL Central leaders became the first major league team to reach 70 victories this season. He allowed 6 hits and 4 walks while throwing 109 pitches.
CUBS 7, GIANTS 3 Rookie Kyle Schwarber had two hits and two RBI to back Jon Lester, and host Chicago beat San Francisco for its eighth victory in nine games. Schwarber, who had a home run in the previous two games, also scored two runs to help put the Cubs 1 1/2 games ahead of San Francisco for the second wild card. They also moved 12 games over .500 for the first time since the 2008 NL Central championship season.
BRAVES 6, MARLINS 3 Nick Markakis had three hits, including a tie-breaking two-run double in the seventh inning, and host Atlanta beat Miami. Markakis extended his hitting streak to 14 games, finishing 3 for 4 with 2 RBI. Ross Detwiler (1-5) earned the victory by getting one out after coming in for starter Julio Teheran with two outs in the seventh. Arodys Vizcaino picked up his second career save with a scoreless ninth.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
BLUE JAYS 2, YANKEES 1 (10) Jose Bautista hit a home run with one out in the 10th inning after two of the top slugging teams in the major leagues engaged in a pitchers' duel, lifting visiting Toronto past New York for its sixth consecutive victory. Bautista connected off Branden Pinder (0-1) to pull Toronto within 3 1/2 games of the AL East-leading Yankees. Brett Cecil (3-4) got the victory, and Roberto Osuna pitched a perfect 10th for his ninth save.
RED SOX 7, TIGERS 2 David Ortiz hit a home run and Hanley Ramirez and Xander Bogaerts added two-run doubles to lead visiting Boston past Detroit. J.D. Martinez hit his 30th home run for the Tigers. Daniel Norris (2-2) gave up three hits in a 39-pitch first inning, including Ramirez's double that staked Joe Kelly (4-6) to an early lead.
ROYALS 3, WHITE SOX 2 Edinson Volquez pitched seven strong innings and Lorenzo Cain doubled home the go-ahead run in the sixth to help host Kansas City beat Chicago. Volquez (11-6) limited the White Sox to 1 run and 4 hits and has allowed 3 or less runs in 7 consecutive starts, lowering his ERA to 3.11.
TWINS 10, INDIANS 9 Pine Bluff's Torii Hunter hit a ninth-inning home run, his 18th of the season, to lift visiting Minnesota past Cleveland, ending the Twins' five-game losing streak. Hunter connected against Bryan Shaw (1-2) to complete a comeback for the Twins, who couldn't hold an early 6-0 lead. Hunter also drove in two runs in the Twins' six-run third.
INTERLEAGUE
METS 4, RAYS 3 Michael Conforto hit a tying double and Wilmer Flores had a go-ahead single in the ninth inning to help surging New York beat the host Tampa Bay Ray for the Mets' seventh consecutive victory. Juan Uribe and Daniel Murphy hit home runs for the NL East leaders. They improved to 4-0 on a six-game road trip and moved 2 1/2 games ahead of second-place Washington.
Sports on 08/08/2015