MLB roundup: Utley, Dodgers slam Mets
By The Sports Xchange
NEW YORK -- The New York Mets' Noah Syndergaard was ejected in the third inning for throwing at Chase Utley, who broke a scoreless tie with a homer leading off the sixth and busted the game open with a grand slam in the seventh of the Los Angeles Dodgers' 9-1 victory Saturday.
Los Angeles (26-24) won for the fifth time in six games. New York (28-20) lost for only the second time in their last eight games.
After stirring 40-minute ceremony honoring the 1986 World Series champion Mets, the teams played two uneventful innings. With one out and nobody on in the third, the game turned interesting when Syndergaard's first pitch sailed behind Utley. It appeared to be an attempt to exact revenge for the National League Division Series last October when former New York shortstop Ruben Tejada suffered a broken leg after a hard slide into second base by Utley.
Home plate umpire Adam Hamari immediately ejected Syndergaard and eventually tossed Mets manager Terry Collins after a long argument.
Utley capped his heel-turn evening in the seventh when he laced a 1-0 pitch by Hansel Robles over the right-center field wall for the sixth grand slam of his career.
Royals 8, White Sox 7
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Brett Eibner capped an improbable Kansas City comeback with a walk-off single with two outs in the ninth as the Royals scored seven runs in the final inning to defeat Chicago.
The Royals trailed 7-1 entering the ninth but sent 10 batters to the plate and scored four runs with two outs, sending the White Sox to their fifth straight loss.
Tyler Saladino hit a three-run homer and Avisail Garcia blasted a two-run shot as the White Sox jumped out a 7-1 lead.
Cubs 4, Phillies 1
CHICAGO -- Right-hander Kyle Hendricks snapped a two-game losing streak with an impressive nine-inning effort as Chicago beat Philadelphia.
The Cubs posted their fourth straight win and 11th series victory of the season. The Phillies dropped their second straight and fourth in five games.
Hendricks scattered five hits and allowed one run, struck out seven and walked none. It was his first complete game since a 3-0 win over San Diego on May 21, 2015.
Dexter Fowler homered and Jason Heyward and Ben Zobrist each collected RBI doubles for Chicago.
Blue Jays 10, Red Sox 9
TORONTO -- Devon Travis beat out an infield hit with two outs in the bottom of the ninth and Toronto came back twice to defeat Boston.
The Blue Jays tied the game on a single by Jose Bautista to cap a four-run eighth, then David Ortiz hit his 13th homer of the season with one out in the top of the ninth against right-handed reliever Gavin Floyd (2-3), who finished the inning to get the win.
Russell Martin, who also had a homer and a single, tied the game in the bottom of the ninth with a double, took third on a wild pitch and scored the winning run on the hit to third by Travis. Martin had three RBIs as Toronto made it two in a row over the Red Sox, who have lost three straight.
Indians 11, Orioles 4
CLEVELAND -- Yan Gomes had two hits and three RBIs and Danny Salazar pitched six strong innings as Cleveland beat Baltimore.
The Indians (26-21) moved past the Chicago White Sox (27-23) into first place in the American League Central.
Gomes, who came into the game hitting .177, had a two-run single in the first inning and an RBI single in the fifth.
Salazar (5-3) held the Orioles to two runs and six hits in six innings. He struck out five and walked two.
Reds 7, Brewers 6
MILWAUKEE -- Adam Duvall had two hits, including a game-tying, three-run home run the eighth, and drove in the go-ahead run on a groundout in the ninth as Cincinnati snapped an 11-game losing streak.
Aaron Hill and Jonathan Lucroy had two hits apiece for Milwaukee, which saw its four-game winning streak come to an end despite a 6-1 lead.
Duvall's home run was his second in as many games.
Cardinals 9, Nationals 4
WASHINGTON -- Adam Wainwright won his fifth straight decision and added a two-run double, and Greg Garcia had three hits and scored twice as St. Louis defeated Washington.
The Cardinals (26-24) defeated the Nationals (29-21) for the second day in a row after losing the previous five outings to Washington.
Ryan Zimmerman was 4-for-4 for Washington, including two homers. His solo shot in the seventh pulled the Nationals to within 6-4.
Giants 10, Rockies 5
DENVER -- Buster Posey put San Francisco ahead early and gave them the lead again in the late innings with a pair of three-run homers in a victory over Colorado.
The win was the 14th in 16 games for the Giants, who trailed 5-4 before erupting for six runs in the eighth inning.
After Posey's second three-run shot and seventh homer of the season, the Giants pounded Gonzalez Germen for four hits and three runs. Jarrett Parker singled home the first run, and pitcher Cory Gearrin (1-0), who worked 1 1/3 scoreless innings, singled in his first plate appearance to load the bases before Gregor Blanco singled home two runs against Justin Miller.
Rangers 5, Pirates 2
ARLINGTON, Texas -- Yu Darvish allowed one run over five innings in his first big-league start since 2014 as Texas topped Pittsburgh.
Darvish (1-0) missed the 2015 season after having Tommy John surgery last March. Darvish, who was on a 90-pitch limit, struck out seven and threw 81 pitches. He walked one and his fastball topped out at 98 mph on the Globe Life Ballpark radar.
The Rangers made Darvish's first start a triumphant one by touching Pirates starter Juan Nicasio (3-3) for five runs in 4 2/3 innings.
Braves 7, Marlins 2
ATLANTA -- Gordon Beckham hit a three-run homer and Jeff Francoeur also had two hits as Atlanta roughed up Miami's bullpen.
The Braves are 9-34 against everyone else, but 5-0 versus the Marlins after sweeping an April series in Miami and taking the first two games of this set at Turner Field, where Atlanta is 4-20.
The Marlins (25-24) wasted a 2-0 lead as the Braves scored three times in the sixth against reliever Jose Urena and added three more on Beckham's homer in the seventh off Edwin Jackson.
Rays 9, Yankees 5
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Tampa Bay broke out of a weeklong slump, jumping out to a big lead en route victory over New York.
The Rays (22-25) had dropped six of their seven previous games but got a quality start from starter Matt Moore (2-3), who held the Yankees to three runs in six-plus innings. Tampa Bay continued to swing the bat with power as Evan Longoria hit a two-run homer and Hank Conger doubled his season RBI total with a three-run blast.
The Yankees (23-25) lost for the third time in four games.
Athletics 12, Tigers 3
OAKLAND, Calif. -- Oakland bombed the Detroit bullpen for nine runs and 11 hits in the sixth and seventh innings, breaking away from a tie en route to an easy victory.
Billy Butler, Danny Valencia and Khris Davis homered for the Athletics, who averaged 2.9 runs in their previous eight games, seven of which they had lost.
After Victor Martinez's two-run homer off Oakland starter Jesse Hahn (2-2) rallied the Tigers into a 3-3 tie in the top of the sixth, the Oakland offense teed off on Detroit reliever Warwick Saupold (1-1), who hadn't allowed a run in any of his three previous appearances this season.
Twins 6, Mariners 5
SEATTLE -- Minnesota used three home runs and an incredible game-ending double play in the ninth inning to hold on in Seattle.
Seattle had runners at the corners and one out in the ninth when Minnesota catcher Juan Centeno started an unexpected two-out caught stealing on the bases.
Centeno threw to second baseman Brian Dozier, who ran down base-runner Kyle Seager between first and second base and then turned and threw to third, catching pinch-runner Shawn O'Malley with a throw to Eduardo Nunez at the bag. Nunez then threw back to shortstop Eduardo Escobar at second, resulting in the game-ending tag of Seager.
The Mariners challenged the tag at second base, but it was upheld after just over a minute replay review to give Minnesota a delayed victory. Nunez, Miguel Sano and Joe Mauer all homered as Minnesota won its third straight game for the first time since winning four in a row between April 15 and April 18.
Astros 4, Angels 2
ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Jason Castro hit a two-run homer in the top of the sixth inning to lift Houston over Los Angeles in front of 38,176 at Angel Stadium.
Dallas Keuchel posted his first win since April 15. Keuchel (3-6) retired the final 18 Angels he faced, permitted two runs and just three hits in seven innings, issued no walks and collected five strikeouts.
Mike Trout and Albert Pujols each homered, with Pujols getting the 571st of his career. But after Johnny Giavotella singled in the bottom of the second, Keuchel and two relievers retired the final 24 batters. Luke Gregerson pitched a perfect ninth for his 11th save.
