CARDINALS 4, ROCKIES 2
DENVER -- Only took until June, but the Colorado Rockies captured their first series at Coors Field.
Nearly had a sweep, too. Against the team with the top record in the majors, no less.
Didn't quite work out as Chad Bettis, the closest thing Colorado has to an ace, felt "out of whack" in a 4-2 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday.
Still, it was a productive homestand with the Rockies finishing 5-5 by taking two of three from the Cardinals.
"Bottom line, we ended up this homestand with a series win against arguably the best club in baseball," Rockies Manager Walt Weiss said. "It's a good way to end it."
Bettis (2-1) never really settled into a comfortable rhythm. He allowed three runs in five innings as the Rockies lost for the first time in a game he's started.
"Just felt a little rushed through my delivery throughout the whole game," Bettis explained. "Other than that, just got to keep the ball down."
Carlos Martinez (7-2) had a shutout until Ben Paulsen's two-run home run in the seventh. That's about the only mistake Martinez made. But even that 88-mph changeup wasn't really a mistake. He thought he made a good pitch -- just not at this ball park.
"I didn't expect the ball to fly that far," Martinez said.
The right-handed Martinez gave up eight hits in 6 1/3 innings and tied a career-high with two singles at the plate, including one in which he beat out a throw and signaled safe to let everyone know. Martinez also scored a run.
"Carlos was terrific," Cardinals Manager Mike Matheny said. "You can tell he's pitching with a lot of confidence."
His performance helped the Cardinals salvage the final game of what's been a rough series. St. Louis was outscored 15-6 in the opening two games and had slugger Matt Holliday go on the disabled list with a strained right quadriceps.
Paulsen entered as a defensive replacement in the seventh for left fielder Brandon Barnes, who appeared to hurt a leg on a slide into second. Paulsen knew a changeup was coming -- he had seen a steady diet of them -- and hit it into the left-center seats to make it a 3-2 game.
Randal Grichuk gave the Cardinals a little more cushion with a home run in the eighth.
Kevin Siegrist pitched 1 2/3 innings and struck out four, including the side in the eighth. Trevor Rosenthal threw a perfect ninth for his NL-leading 20th save in 21 chances.
REDS 5, PHILLIES 2 Ivan De Jesus Jr. homered for the second time in three games, and host Cincinnati swept Philadelphia after losing shortstop Zack Cozart to a knee injury. Cozart twisted his right ankle and knee as he tried to beat out a grounder in the first inning. He crumpled to the ground, rolled on his back and grabbed the knee, wincing in pain. He didn't put any weight on the right leg as he was helped off the field and taken for an exam. The Phillies fell to 7-23 away from Citizens Bank Park, their worst road record after 30 games since 1941. They have lost seven in a row on the road -- their worst such slump in two years -- and have been swept three times in their last five series.
BRAVES 4, PADRES 1 Rookie Williams Perez allowed only four hits in seven innings, Kelly Johnson returned from the disabled list with three hits and host Atlanta beat San Diego.
GIANTS 8, METS 5 Brandon Belt hit one of San Francisco’s three home runs off struggling Matt Harvey, and the Giants scored five times in the sixth inning of a victory over host New York.
PIRATES 2, BREWERS 0 Charlie Morton scattered three hits in 7 1/3 innings to remain unbeaten in his return from hip surgery as host Pittsburgh beat Milwaukee.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
MARINERS 9, INDIANS 3 Kyle Seager hit a grand slam and drove in five runs to lead visiting Seattle past Cleveland.
ORIOLES 5, RED SOX 2 Adam Jones drove in a run and played exceptional defense behind left-hander Wei-Yin Chen (2-4) as Baltimore beat visiting Boston.
RAYS 4, ANGELS 2 Evan Longoria homered and Erasmo Ramirez (5-2) got help from four relievers in pitching host Tampa Bay past Los Angeles.
ROYALS 7, TWINS 2 Alex Gordon hit a three-run home run, Edinson Volquez struck out six batters over seven innings and visiting Kansas City beat Minnesota. Torii Hunter (Pine Bluff) was ejected by home plate umpire Mark Ripperger for arguing a called third strike. Hunter had to be restrained briefly before yanking off his elbow pad, shin guard and batting gloves and throwing them toward the batter’s box.
WHITE SOX 4, ASTROS 1 Geovany Soto hit a tiebreaking home run in the seventh inning, leading Jose Quintana and host Chicago over Houston and handing the Astros their seventh consecutive loss.
INTERLEAGUE
BLUE JAYS 7, MARLINS 2 Justin Smoak hit one of four Blue Jays homers, Scott Copeland won in his first major league start and host Toronto beat Miami to extend its winning streak to eight. Josh Donaldson, Russell Martin and Jose Reyes also connected for the Blue Jays (31-30), who moved above .500 for the first time since May 19 (16-15). Toronto is on its longest winning run since a nine-game streak from May 20-28 last year. Copeland (1-0), a 27-year-old right-hander who made his big league debut in relief on May 2, started in place of Aaron Sanchez, who was skipped because of general soreness. Copeland allowed 1 run and 6 hits in 7 innings, struck out 4 and walked none. Smoak and Martin hit consecutive home runs in the fourth off Tom Koehler (4-4), who allowed 6 runs and 8 hits in 6 2/3 innings and lost for the first time since May 6 at Washington.
NATIONALS 5, YANKEES 4 Denard Span had a run-scoring infield hit with two outs in the 11th inning, and visiting Washington snapped New York's seven-game winning streak. After the game, Yankees Manager Joe Girardi said closer Andrew Miller will go on the disabled list because of a strained forearm muscle, an injury that pushes setup man Dellin Betances into a ninth-inning role. Michael Taylor hit a tying, two-run home run in the eighth against 22-year-old rookie Jacob Lindgren, helping Washington win for just the third time in 12 games. Tyler Moore led off the 11th with a single off Chris Capuano (0-4) and advanced on Jose Lobaton's sacrifice and Danny Espinosa's tapper back to the mound. Span then hit a high chopper up the middle. Second baseman Stephen Drew fielded the ball as he crossed past second base but Span beat the one-hop throw for his third hit. Blake Treinen (2-2) pitched two scoreless innings for the victory, and Drew Storen was perfect in the 11th for his 19th save.
CUBS 12, TIGERS 3 Chris Coghlan and Miguel Montero each hit a three-run home run, and visiting Chicago pounded Detroit.
Sports on 06/11/2015