WASHINGTON -- Yu Darvish struck out 12 over eight innings, Leonys Martin broke open a scoreless duel with a home run in the seventh and the Texas Rangers beat the Washington Nationals 2-0on Sunday to avert a three-game sweep.
Pitching for the first time since May 22 after missing his last turn with a stiff neck, Darvish (5-2) gave up 5 hits and walked 2 in dropping his ERA to 2.08. The right-hander matched his season high in strikeouts and overpowered a team that amassed 19 runs in the first two games of the series.
Joakim Soria worked a perfect ninth to earn his 11th save and seal Texas' major league-leading 11th shutout.
Darvish struck out the side in the second and fanned two in each of the next three innings before encountering trouble in the sixth. One-out singles by Jayson Werth and Adam LaRoche put runners at first and third before Darvish struck out Wilson Ramos and retired Ian Desmond on a deep fly to right field.
INDIANS 6, ROCKIES 4 Michael Bourn's two-run home run in the ninth inning gave host Cleveland a victory over the Colorado Rockies and a sweep of their three-game series. Bourn hit an 0-1 pitch into the right-field seats off Adam Ottavino (0-2). Mike Aviles singled and took second on George Kottaras' sacrifice before Bourn hit his second home run of the season.
WHITE SOX 4, PADRES 1 Chris Sale pitched a two-hitter, Paul Konerko hit a home run and the host White Sox defeated the Padres. Sale (5-0) struck out nine, walked none and threw 100 pitches. He froze Everth Cabrera for a called strike three to end the game, lowering his ERA to 1.59 ERA in seven starts.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
TWINS 7, YANKEES 2 Phil Hughes pitched eight poised innings in his return to New York and wound up a winner when the visiting Twins rallied past the Yankees behind big hits from Josh Willingham and Brian Dozier in a six-run ninth. Willingham belted a tying home run on the first pitch from closer David Robertson.
BLUE JAYS 4, ROYALS 0 Mark Buehrle pitched eight sharp innings to become baseball's first 10-game winner, Edwin Encarnacion home run again and the host Blue Jays beat the Royals. Buehrle (10-1) won his sixth consecutive decision. He gave up 6 hits, walked 1 and struck out 3.
RED SOX 4, RAYS 0 Jon Lester pitched seven shutout innings and Brock Holt drove in two runs with one of his four doubles to lift the host Red Sox to their seventh consecutive victory, completing a three-game sweep over the reeling Rays. Boston's streak follows a 10-game skid, its longest in 20 years.
ORIOLES 9, ASTROS 4 Manny Machado hit his first career grand slam, David Lough hit a home run and drove in three runs, and the visiting Orioles beat the Astros. Orioles slugger Nelson Cruz, leading the majors with 20 home runs and 52 RBI, left in the third inning with a bruised left hand after being hit by a pitch from Scott Feldman.
ATHLETICS 6, ANGELS 3 Jed Lowrie hit a home run and drove in two runs against Oakland nemesis Jered Weaver and the host Athletics completed a three-game sweep of the Angels. Josh Donaldson hit a two-run single and Coco Crisp and Lowrie added RBI hits in a four-run third inning against Weaver (6-4.
MARINERS 4, TIGERS 0 Rookie Roenis Elias pitched a three-hitter for the first complete game of his career, leading the host Mariners over the Tigers. Elias (4-4) struck out eight and walked one in his 12th major league start, and the first one to last longer than seven innings.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
REDS 4, DIAMONDBACKS 3 Chris Heisey hit a go-ahead home run in the fifth inning and visiting Cincinnati connected four times in all, beating Arizona to take three of four from the Diamondbacks.
BREWERS 9, CUBS 0 Kyle Lohse allowed only three hits and Ryan Braun had a two-run home run to lead the host Brewers to a rout of the Cubs. Milwaukee pounded Cubs ace Jeff Samardzija (1-5) for 8 earned runs in 3 innings, raising his ERA from 1.68 to 2.54.
BRAVES 4, MARLINS 2 Evan Gattis broke a ninth-inning tie with a two-run home run, and the visiting Braves completed a three-game sweep by beating the Marlins. Shae Simmons, pitching in his second big league game, earned his first career save when he retired Christian Yelich with two on for the final out.
METS 4, PHILLIES 3, (11) Lucas Duda hit a two-run home run with two outs in the 11th, lifting the visiting Mets over the Phillies in the third consecutive extra-innings game between the teams. The teams split a pair of 14-inning games the previous two days.
GIANTS 8, CARDINALS 0 Tim Hudson threw seven shutout innings and Joaquin Arias keyed a four-run first inning with a two-run single to lead the Giants to a victory over the Cardinals. The Giants have won five of six and have the best record in the NL at 37-20.
Sports on 06/02/2014