Baseball Capsules
September 13, 2015
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) Pinch-hitter Jed Lowrie hit a three-run homer to complete an astounding five-run rally off Huston Street with two outs in the ninth inning, and the Houston Astros stunned the Los Angeles Angels 5-3 Sunday.
The Astros have a 1 1/2-game lead over the Rangers in the AL West and open a four-game series at Texas on Monday.
Preston Tucker started the rally with a two-strike solo homer for the Astros, who got five consecutive hits off Street (3-3), the AL saves leader.
George Springer tripled and scored on Jose Altuve's single before Carlos Correa got an infield single when his hard-hit grounder got stuck in the webbing of second baseman Taylor Featherston's glove.
Lowrie then hit a high fly ball into the short right-field corner, and Kole Calhoun appeared to be inches away from making the catch. The right fielder reached into the crowd and came up empty, sending the Houston dugout into a wild celebration.
RANGERS 12, ATHLETICS 4
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) - Adrian Beltre homered twice to drive in five runs, Shin-Soo Choo also went deep and Texas kept pace in the AL West.
Choo put the Rangers (75-67) ahead with his 18th homer, a solo drive onto the hill beyond center in the first. He was on base for both of Beltre's homers, a two-run shot in the fourth and a three-run blast in the fifth.
Chi Chi Gonzalez (3-5) allowed three runs, one earned, in 5 1/3 innings. Felix Doubront (3-2) took the loss.
YANKEES 5, BLUES JAYS 0
NEW YORK (AP) - Masahiro Tanaka allowed four hits over seven innings to lead New York over Toronto and stop the Yankees' five-game losing streak.
Dustin Ackley homered and had three RBIs for the Yankees, who closed back within 3 1/2 games of the AL East-leading Blue Jays with 20 games left.
Toronto had won the first three games of the four-game series, but the Yankees sent R.A. Dickey (10-11) to his first loss since before the All-Star break. Tanaka (12-6) struck out seven, walked none and threw 76 of 108 pitches for strikes. He is 3-0 with a 2.54 ERA in his last four starts.
INDIANS 7, TIGERS 2, 1st game
TIGERS 9, INDIANS 2, 2nd game
CLEVELAND (AP) - J.D. Martinez drove in three runs, and the Detroit Tigers scored four times in the fourth inning to defeat the Cleveland Indians 9-2 and split a doubleheader Sunday.
Rookie Cody Anderson out-pitched Justin Verlander for the second time in a week as Cleveland won the first game 7-2.
The Game 1 victory moved the Indians back to .500 for the first time since the fourth game of the season, but Cleveland (70-71) fell 4 1-2 games behind Texas in the AL wild-card race after Game 2.
Drew VerHagen (1-0) worked two scoreless innings for his first major league win. Trevor Bauer (11-12) allowed six runs in three-plus innings.
NATIONALS 5, MARLINS 0
MIAMI (AP) - Max Scherzer (12-11) won for the first time since July 30 at Miami, allowing five hits in eight innings with no walks and six strikeouts. Scherzer, who lowered his ERA to 2.91, has been 0-3 in his seven previous outings.
Nationals star Bryce Harper left in the first inning after colliding with Marlins second baseman Derek Dietrich while running the bases. Harper's replacement, Matt den Dekker, hit a solo home run.
Brad Hand (4-6) allowed three runs, five hits and four walks in 3 1/3 innings. He is 0-3 with a 13.97 ERA in his last three starts.
CARDINALS 9, REDS 2
CINCINNATI (AP) - Tommy Pham hit a tiebreaking, two-run homer in the sixth inning, pinch-hitter Matt Adams added a two-run drive in a five-run eighth for his first home run since July 5 and St. Louis rallied from a 2-0 deficit to avoid getting swept in the four-game series.
The Cardinals, on their worst stretch this season, had lost eight of 10 going into the series finale and has been outscored 20-3 in the first three games of the series.
Michael Wacha (16-5) allowed two runs, three hits and four walks in six innings. Sam LeCure (0-1) was the loser.
PHILLIES 7, CUBS 4
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Ryan Howard homered and drove in three runs to lead Philadelphia.
Chris Coghlan hit a homer and two triples for the Cubs, who lost two straight to the team with the worst record in the majors. Chicago still has a comfortable lead over San Francisco for the second NL wild-card spot.
Aaron Altherr scored the go-ahead run in the seventh on a wild pitch by Clayton Richard (3-2) with two outs. Altherr hit a triple to left-center and scored one out later when Richard's fastball bounced in front of the plate and skipped to the backstop.
Dalier Hinojosa (1-0) gave up one unearned run in one inning to earn his first major league win, and Ken Giles pitched the ninth for his 13th straight save since replacing Jonathan Papelbon after the All-Star closer was traded to Washington.
RED SOX 2, RAYS 0, 13 innings
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) - Rusney Castillo had a go-ahead two-run single in the 13th inning off Andrew Bellatti after Boston loaded the bases against Enny Romero (0-1).
Heath Hembree (1-0) worked out of a two-on, one-out jam in the 12th, and Robbie Ross Jr. allowed a single in the 13th en route to his second save.
Tampa Bay had just three hits and extended its team record extra-inning losing streak to 11 games.
Rich Hill allowed an infield single in seven innings and struck out 10 for Boston in his first start since August 2009.
METS 10, BRAVES 7
ATLANTA (AP) - Daniel Murphy hit a tying three-run homer in the ninth against Ryan Kelly and Kirk Nieuwenhuis scored the tiebreaking run on third baseman Hector Olivera's throwing error.
New York swept a four-game series from the Braves for the first time since 1989, won its seventh straight game and maintained a 9 1/2-game lead over second-place Washington with 19 games left.
Atlanta dropped to 14-46 since July 8 and has lost 12 straight at Turner Field, the longest franchise home skid since the 1931 Boston Braves.
Bobby Parnell (2-3) allowed one hit in 1 1/3 innings, and Addison Reed got his fourth save. Edwin Jackson (2-3) was the loser.
TWINS 7, WHITE SOX 0
CHICAGO (AP) - Torii Hunter hit a three-run homer and an RBI single for Minnesota, which improved to 13-6 against Chicago this season with four shutouts.
Kyle Gibson (10-10) gave up five hits in 7 2-3 innings, struck out seven and walked one, and Casey Fien and Michael Tonkin followed with hitless relief.
Sale (12-9) lasted three innings and dropped to 1-4 with a 7.36 ERA in six starts against the Twins this year. He allowed six runs and nine hits and struck out three, raising his AL-leading total to 250.
PIRATES 7, BREWERS 6
PITTSBURGH (AP) - Josh Harrison hit a winning single in the 11th off Tyler Thornburg (0-1) and Pittsburgh opened a four-game margin for the NL wild-card lead over the Chicago Cubs, who start a four-game series at the Pirates on Tuesday.
Jared Hughes (3-1) induced Scooter Gennett to hit into an inning-ending double play in the 11th after the Brewers put runners at the corners.
DODGERS 4, DIAMONDBACKS 3
PHOENIX (AP) - Zack Greinke won his fourth straight game and pitched eight scoreless innings to lower his major league-leading ERA to 1.61 to help Los Angeles beat Arizona.
Greinke (17-3) won his fourth straight game and eighth in the past nine starts, striking out eight and walking two. Of his 24 outs recorded, only one was a fly ball.
Patrick Corbin (5-4) was charged with both runs and gave up eight hits in six innings, striking out four.
GIANTS 10, PADRES 3
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Mike Leake pitched six strong innings and hit a three-run homer to help San Francisco complete a three-game sweep.
Buster Posey drove in two runs for the Giants, who have won six of eight.
Leake (10-8) allowed three runs and four hits over six-plus innings. He walked two and struck out two.
Odrisamer Despaigne (5-9) lasted 3 1-3 innings and gave up four runs on five hits.
ROCKIES 3, MARINERS 2
SEATTLE (AP) - Nolan Arenado hit a sacrifice fly for his 110th RBI of the season, and Colorado scored a pair of runs on Kyle Seager's throwing error.
Arenado, the National League leader in RBIs, capped a third inning when the Rockies scored without a base hit.
Kyle Kendrick (6-12) allowed two runs over five innings to pick up his second straight victory. Odrisamer Despaigne (5-9) took the loss.
ORIOLES 8, ROYALS 2
BALTIMORE (AP) - Chris Davis hit his league-leading 42nd home run, Jonathan Schoop added two solo shots and Baltimore won for the fourth time in five games to preserve its playoff hopes.
The Royals lost seven of nine and dropped their third straight series for the first time this season.
Orioles left-hander Wei-Yin Chen (9-7) kept the Royals off-balance with his slider and changeup. He allowed two runs on six hits with two strikeouts over seven innings.
Schoop had three hits and has 14 home runs on the season. Adam Jones had two hits, including his 27th homer, with four RBIs.
Royals right-hander Johnny Cueto (2-6) lost his fifth straight start, allowing a season-high eight runs and 11 hits with three strikeouts and one walk over 6 1/3 innings. He tied a career-high by allowing four homers and has given up 28 runs over his past 26 1/3 innings.
September 13, 2015
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) Pinch-hitter Jed Lowrie hit a three-run homer to complete an astounding five-run rally off Huston Street with two outs in the ninth inning, and the Houston Astros stunned the Los Angeles Angels 5-3 Sunday.
The Astros have a 1 1/2-game lead over the Rangers in the AL West and open a four-game series at Texas on Monday.
Preston Tucker started the rally with a two-strike solo homer for the Astros, who got five consecutive hits off Street (3-3), the AL saves leader.
George Springer tripled and scored on Jose Altuve's single before Carlos Correa got an infield single when his hard-hit grounder got stuck in the webbing of second baseman Taylor Featherston's glove.
Lowrie then hit a high fly ball into the short right-field corner, and Kole Calhoun appeared to be inches away from making the catch. The right fielder reached into the crowd and came up empty, sending the Houston dugout into a wild celebration.
RANGERS 12, ATHLETICS 4
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) - Adrian Beltre homered twice to drive in five runs, Shin-Soo Choo also went deep and Texas kept pace in the AL West.
Choo put the Rangers (75-67) ahead with his 18th homer, a solo drive onto the hill beyond center in the first. He was on base for both of Beltre's homers, a two-run shot in the fourth and a three-run blast in the fifth.
Chi Chi Gonzalez (3-5) allowed three runs, one earned, in 5 1/3 innings. Felix Doubront (3-2) took the loss.
YANKEES 5, BLUES JAYS 0
NEW YORK (AP) - Masahiro Tanaka allowed four hits over seven innings to lead New York over Toronto and stop the Yankees' five-game losing streak.
Dustin Ackley homered and had three RBIs for the Yankees, who closed back within 3 1/2 games of the AL East-leading Blue Jays with 20 games left.
Toronto had won the first three games of the four-game series, but the Yankees sent R.A. Dickey (10-11) to his first loss since before the All-Star break. Tanaka (12-6) struck out seven, walked none and threw 76 of 108 pitches for strikes. He is 3-0 with a 2.54 ERA in his last four starts.
INDIANS 7, TIGERS 2, 1st game
TIGERS 9, INDIANS 2, 2nd game
CLEVELAND (AP) - J.D. Martinez drove in three runs, and the Detroit Tigers scored four times in the fourth inning to defeat the Cleveland Indians 9-2 and split a doubleheader Sunday.
Rookie Cody Anderson out-pitched Justin Verlander for the second time in a week as Cleveland won the first game 7-2.
The Game 1 victory moved the Indians back to .500 for the first time since the fourth game of the season, but Cleveland (70-71) fell 4 1-2 games behind Texas in the AL wild-card race after Game 2.
Drew VerHagen (1-0) worked two scoreless innings for his first major league win. Trevor Bauer (11-12) allowed six runs in three-plus innings.
NATIONALS 5, MARLINS 0
MIAMI (AP) - Max Scherzer (12-11) won for the first time since July 30 at Miami, allowing five hits in eight innings with no walks and six strikeouts. Scherzer, who lowered his ERA to 2.91, has been 0-3 in his seven previous outings.
Nationals star Bryce Harper left in the first inning after colliding with Marlins second baseman Derek Dietrich while running the bases. Harper's replacement, Matt den Dekker, hit a solo home run.
Brad Hand (4-6) allowed three runs, five hits and four walks in 3 1/3 innings. He is 0-3 with a 13.97 ERA in his last three starts.
CARDINALS 9, REDS 2
CINCINNATI (AP) - Tommy Pham hit a tiebreaking, two-run homer in the sixth inning, pinch-hitter Matt Adams added a two-run drive in a five-run eighth for his first home run since July 5 and St. Louis rallied from a 2-0 deficit to avoid getting swept in the four-game series.
The Cardinals, on their worst stretch this season, had lost eight of 10 going into the series finale and has been outscored 20-3 in the first three games of the series.
Michael Wacha (16-5) allowed two runs, three hits and four walks in six innings. Sam LeCure (0-1) was the loser.
PHILLIES 7, CUBS 4
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Ryan Howard homered and drove in three runs to lead Philadelphia.
Chris Coghlan hit a homer and two triples for the Cubs, who lost two straight to the team with the worst record in the majors. Chicago still has a comfortable lead over San Francisco for the second NL wild-card spot.
Aaron Altherr scored the go-ahead run in the seventh on a wild pitch by Clayton Richard (3-2) with two outs. Altherr hit a triple to left-center and scored one out later when Richard's fastball bounced in front of the plate and skipped to the backstop.
Dalier Hinojosa (1-0) gave up one unearned run in one inning to earn his first major league win, and Ken Giles pitched the ninth for his 13th straight save since replacing Jonathan Papelbon after the All-Star closer was traded to Washington.
RED SOX 2, RAYS 0, 13 innings
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) - Rusney Castillo had a go-ahead two-run single in the 13th inning off Andrew Bellatti after Boston loaded the bases against Enny Romero (0-1).
Heath Hembree (1-0) worked out of a two-on, one-out jam in the 12th, and Robbie Ross Jr. allowed a single in the 13th en route to his second save.
Tampa Bay had just three hits and extended its team record extra-inning losing streak to 11 games.
Rich Hill allowed an infield single in seven innings and struck out 10 for Boston in his first start since August 2009.
METS 10, BRAVES 7
ATLANTA (AP) - Daniel Murphy hit a tying three-run homer in the ninth against Ryan Kelly and Kirk Nieuwenhuis scored the tiebreaking run on third baseman Hector Olivera's throwing error.
New York swept a four-game series from the Braves for the first time since 1989, won its seventh straight game and maintained a 9 1/2-game lead over second-place Washington with 19 games left.
Atlanta dropped to 14-46 since July 8 and has lost 12 straight at Turner Field, the longest franchise home skid since the 1931 Boston Braves.
Bobby Parnell (2-3) allowed one hit in 1 1/3 innings, and Addison Reed got his fourth save. Edwin Jackson (2-3) was the loser.
TWINS 7, WHITE SOX 0
CHICAGO (AP) - Torii Hunter hit a three-run homer and an RBI single for Minnesota, which improved to 13-6 against Chicago this season with four shutouts.
Kyle Gibson (10-10) gave up five hits in 7 2-3 innings, struck out seven and walked one, and Casey Fien and Michael Tonkin followed with hitless relief.
Sale (12-9) lasted three innings and dropped to 1-4 with a 7.36 ERA in six starts against the Twins this year. He allowed six runs and nine hits and struck out three, raising his AL-leading total to 250.
PIRATES 7, BREWERS 6
PITTSBURGH (AP) - Josh Harrison hit a winning single in the 11th off Tyler Thornburg (0-1) and Pittsburgh opened a four-game margin for the NL wild-card lead over the Chicago Cubs, who start a four-game series at the Pirates on Tuesday.
Jared Hughes (3-1) induced Scooter Gennett to hit into an inning-ending double play in the 11th after the Brewers put runners at the corners.
DODGERS 4, DIAMONDBACKS 3
PHOENIX (AP) - Zack Greinke won his fourth straight game and pitched eight scoreless innings to lower his major league-leading ERA to 1.61 to help Los Angeles beat Arizona.
Greinke (17-3) won his fourth straight game and eighth in the past nine starts, striking out eight and walking two. Of his 24 outs recorded, only one was a fly ball.
Patrick Corbin (5-4) was charged with both runs and gave up eight hits in six innings, striking out four.
GIANTS 10, PADRES 3
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Mike Leake pitched six strong innings and hit a three-run homer to help San Francisco complete a three-game sweep.
Buster Posey drove in two runs for the Giants, who have won six of eight.
Leake (10-8) allowed three runs and four hits over six-plus innings. He walked two and struck out two.
Odrisamer Despaigne (5-9) lasted 3 1-3 innings and gave up four runs on five hits.
ROCKIES 3, MARINERS 2
SEATTLE (AP) - Nolan Arenado hit a sacrifice fly for his 110th RBI of the season, and Colorado scored a pair of runs on Kyle Seager's throwing error.
Arenado, the National League leader in RBIs, capped a third inning when the Rockies scored without a base hit.
Kyle Kendrick (6-12) allowed two runs over five innings to pick up his second straight victory. Odrisamer Despaigne (5-9) took the loss.
ORIOLES 8, ROYALS 2
BALTIMORE (AP) - Chris Davis hit his league-leading 42nd home run, Jonathan Schoop added two solo shots and Baltimore won for the fourth time in five games to preserve its playoff hopes.
The Royals lost seven of nine and dropped their third straight series for the first time this season.
Orioles left-hander Wei-Yin Chen (9-7) kept the Royals off-balance with his slider and changeup. He allowed two runs on six hits with two strikeouts over seven innings.
Schoop had three hits and has 14 home runs on the season. Adam Jones had two hits, including his 27th homer, with four RBIs.
Royals right-hander Johnny Cueto (2-6) lost his fifth straight start, allowing a season-high eight runs and 11 hits with three strikeouts and one walk over 6 1/3 innings. He tied a career-high by allowing four homers and has given up 28 runs over his past 26 1/3 innings.
