ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Former Arkansas Travelers pitcher Garrett Richards took a no-hitter into the seventh inning and the Los Angeles Angels scored all their runs in the fifth en route to a 3-1 victory Sunday that secured a four-game split with the AL West-leading Houston Astros.
Richards (3-1), who pitched for the Travelers in 2011, walked his first batter of the day, then retired 15 in a row before walking rookie Preston Tucker to open the sixth. The right-hander walked his first two in the seventh before striking out Colby Rasmus, but Jason Castro lined a clean single to left field on a 2-2 pitch to break up the no-hit bid.
Richards fanned Marwin Gonzalez with the bases loaded before hitting Tucker with his 110th and final pitch, forcing in a run and reducing the Angels' lead to 3-1.
Fernando Salas retired pinch-hitter Evan Gattis on a popup in short right field, with second baseman Johnny Giavotella fighting the bright sun all the way.
Richards struck out 10 and walked four to win his third consecutive decision. Joe Smith pitched a perfect eighth inning and Huston Street did likewise in the ninth for his 10th save in 12 attempts.
Richards was 13-4 with a 2.61 ERA in 26 starts last season before missing the final six weeks because of a torn patellar tendon in his left knee. He was injured while covering first base on Aug. 20 at Fenway Park.
He has a 2.25 ERA in five starts this season.
YANKEES 6, ORIOLES 2 Michael Pineda struck out a career-high 16 in seven dominant innings and host New York downed Baltimore. Pineda (5-0) matched David Cone and David Wells for the second-most strikeouts in a game by a Yankees pitcher. Ron Guidry fanned 18 in 1978.
RED SOX 6, BLUE JAYS 3 Mike Napoli hit a three-run home run, Pablo Sandoval added a two-run shot and visiting Boston beat Toronto to avoid a three-game sweep. Clay Buchholz (2-4) allowed 3 runs in 6 1/3 innings for his first victory in six starts. The last-place Red Sox won for just the second time in nine games.
MARINERS 4, ATHLETICS 3 Felix Hernandez became the fourth-youngest player to reach 2,000 career strikeouts while giving up two runs over seven innings to lead host Seattle to a victory against Oakland. Hernandez, at 29 years, 32 days old, is behind only Bert Blyleven, Sam McDowell and Walter Johnson, who were all 28 when they reached 2,000 strikeouts.
INDIANS 8, TWINS 2 Danny Salazar retired 21 consecutive batters after giving up a home run to start the game, and host Cleveland defeated Minnesota. Salazar matched his career high with 11 strikeouts, including six in a row. He was removed after throwing 102 pitches in seven innings.
RANGERS 2, RAYS 1 Adrian Beltre hit a home run and drove in both runs, and Wandy Rodriguez gave visiting Texas a record-setting pitching performance against Tampa Bay. Rodriguez, 36, set down the first 15 Rays before Tim Beckham led off the Tampa Bay sixth with a line-drive single. Following the 19 consecutive hitters Rodriguez retired in his previous start at Houston, he broke the team record of 31 in a row set by Ken Hill in 1996.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
NATIONALS 5, BRAVES 4 Streaking slugger Bryce Harper doubled, singled and drove in another run -- but didn't hit a home run -- as host Washington beat Atlanta for a three-game sweep. Harper had hit six home runs in his previous three games.
DODGERS 9, ROCKIES 5 After 4 inches of snow were cleared from Coors Field, the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers used Justin Turner's tiebreaking homer in the eighth inning to send the Colorado Rockies to their ninth consecutive loss. The series finale began on time after the first two games were affected by the wet weather that has socked Colorado for a week.
BREWERS 3, CUBS 2, 11 INNINGS Martin Maldonado singled over the Cubs' drawn-in outfield with one out in the 11th inning, lifting hosting Milwaukee. After a 7-18 start, the Brewers went 4-3 in Craig Counsell's first week as manager since taking over for the fired Ron Roenicke.
GIANTS 3, MARLINS 2 Matt Duffy singled in Gregor Blanco with two outs in the ninth inning to cap a two-run rally off closer Steve Cishek and lift host San Francisco over Miami.
PIRATES 4, CARDINALS 3 Jung Ho Kang went 2 for 4 with a home run and two RBI and host Pittsburgh beat St. Louis. The Cardinals dropped two of three in Pittsburgh, their first series loss of the season. With the game tied 3-3, Kang hit a go-ahead RBI single in the seventh inning.
METS 7, PHILLIES 4 Bartolo Colon became the first pitcher in the majors with six victories, and Curtis Granderson hit a two-run home run to lead visiting New York over Philadelphia. Colon (6-1) won again despite giving up a homer to opposing pitcher Chad Billingsley (0-2).
DIAMONDBACKS 2, PADRES 1 Aaron Hill and A.J. Pollock hit home runs to back five pitchers who carried host Arizona to a tight victory over San Diego. Arizona's Daniel Hudson, making his first major league start since June 2012, was limited to 56 pitches in 3 1/3 scoreless innings.
INTERLEAGUE
WHITE SOX 4, REDS 3 Gordon Beckham hit a game-winning single against Aroldis Chapman in the ninth as host Chicago beat Cincinnati.
Sports on 05/11/2015