MLB roundup: Cubs' Arrieta posts 16th victory
By The Sports Xchange
SAN DIEGO -- Jake Arrieta shut out the Padres on two hits over eight innings Tuesday and Kris Bryant and Addison Russell each hit their second homers in as many nights at Petco Park as the Cubs held on to defeat the Padres 5-3 before a crowd of 33,614 that was packed with Cubs partisans.
Arrieta took over the National League lead with his 16th win.
The Padres' first hit was a clean single to right by left fielder Alex Dickerson leading off the second. Catcher Christian Bethancourt doubled with two out in the eighth after Arrieta had retired 10 straight Padres.
Arrieta (16-5, 2.62 earned run average) had six strikeouts and issued three walks, although he faced only one batter over the minimum. The Cubs defense turned three inning-ending double plays and catcher Willson Contreras picked a runner of third.
Pirates 7, Astros 1
PITTSBURGH -- Ivan Nova pitched a six-hit complete game, and Gregory Polanco homered twice and drove in three runs to help Pittsburgh defeat Houston.
After belting a home run to left field in the third inning, Polanco smashed his team-leading 19th off left-handed reliever Tony Sipp two innings later to give the Pirates a 6-0 lead through five. It marked the second time this season and in his career Polanco hit two home runs in a game. He also hit two and finished with three RBI against the St. Louis Cardinals on July 4.
Nova (3-0) used 98 pitches to cruise through his fourth career complete game. He was only challenged by Marwin Gonzalez, who recorded three hits.
Blue Jays 7, Angels 2
TORONTO -- Russell Martin had three hits and two RBIs, Michael Saunders homered, R.A. Dickey pitched into the seventh inning as Toronto defeated Los Angeles.
Saunders hit his 21st homer of the season in the eighth against A.J. Achter. Dickey (9-13) allowed six hits, two walks and two runs in 6 2/3 innings. The knuckleballer struck out two and allowed a home run in winning for the second time in his past seven starts.
Nick Buss hit his first major league home run for the Angels. The left fielder also had an infield single and a stolen base.
Reds 3, Rangers 0
CINCINNATI -- Joey Votto continued his torrid pace, going 2-for-3 with two RBIs, and Dan Straily tossed six shutout innings to reach 10 wins on the season, lifting Cincinnati past Texas.
Since the All-Star break, Votto is batting .455 with six homers and 32 RBIs.
Straily (10-6) yielded three hits and two walks while striking out five. He outdueled Derek Holland (5-6), who gave up one run on four hits in six innings.
Royals 1, Marlins 0
MIAMI -- Lorenzo Cain's sixth-inning RBI single broke up a scoreless duel as Kansas City topped Miami to win its ninth game in a row.
Paulo Orlando led off the sixth with a four-pitch walk. He stole second and scored when Cain drilled a 3-0 pitch to center.
Yordano Ventura (9-9) tossed six shutout innings, and Kelvin Herrera earned his eighth save. Miami starter Andrew Cashner (4-10) limited the Royals to one run on four hits in six innings.
Red Sox 2, Rays 1
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Mookie Betts' eighth-inning throw helped Boston beat Tampa Bay.
The Rays had a shot at the setting up the tying run with one out when Kevin Kiermaier ripped a shot down the right field line. As he tried to turn a double into a triple, Betts threw a strike to third base, where Travis Shaw applied the tag on a head-first slide. Instead of the tying run at third base, the Rays had two outs and no rally.
David Ortiz collected his 98th RBI with a third-inning single, and he scored in the inning on an error. Boston starter Clay Buchholz (5-9) threw 6 1/3 innings of one-run ball.
Orioles 8, Nationals 1
BALTIMORE -- Kevin Gausman threw six scoreless innings, Adam Jones tied a career high with four hits, and Baltimore topped Washington.
Gausman (5-10) scattered six hits with two strikeouts and two walks to pick up his second consecutive win. Chris Davis hit his 30th home run for Baltimore, a solo shot in the ninth, and Matt Wieters contributed an RBI double and an RBI single.
Washington shortstop Trea Turner had a career-high four hits, but he was called out twice attempting to steal second. Bryce Harper also had a pair of singles for the Nationals, who have lost three in a row.
White Sox 9, Phillies 1
CHICAGO -- Left-hander Carlos Rodon allowed just three hits over 6 2/3 shutout innings, and Jose Abreu and Justin Morneau each homered as Chicago beat Philadelphia to open a two-game interleague series.
Rodon (4-8) picked up his second win in three starts while throwing 109 pitches, including 71 strikes. He walked one and struck out four.
Rodon received ample offensive support as Chicago scored once in the first inning and added three runs apiece in the third and fifth, then two more in the sixth.
Tigers 8, Twins 3
MINNEAPOLIS -- Victor Martinez and Erick Aybar homered, and Anibal Sanchez pitched seven solid innings to lead Detroit to a win over Minnesota at Target Field.
Both Martinez and Aybar went deep as part of a three-run seventh inning that helped put the game away for Detroit, which improved to 8-2 against Minnesota this season.
The Twins got a home run from Brian Dozier, giving them a brief 3-2 lead in the fifth inning. However, in the next half-inning, the Tigers put together the first of two three-run rallies, scoring one on a wild pitch and two more on a single by Cameron Maybin.
Mets 7, Cardinals 4
ST. LOUIS -- Making an unexpected major league debut, Robert Gsellman picked up a win the New York Mets needed badly.
Gsellman, relieving injured starter Jonathon Niese with one out in the first inning, worked 3 2/3 scoreless innings as New York stopped St. Louis at Busch Stadium in a matchup of National League wild-card hopefuls.
Gsellman allowed two hits and three walks while striking out two. Five more relievers followed after that, with Jeurys Familia pitching the ninth for his 42nd save as the Mets (63-62) drew within 3 1/2 games of St. Louis for the NL's second wild-card spot.
Brewers 6, Rockies 4
MILWAUKEE -- Jon Gray struck out 10 batters and Nolan Arenado hit a three-run home run but the Colorado bullpen allowed three runs in the seventh as Milwaukee rallied for a victory at Miller Park.
Trailing, 4-2, heading into the seventh, pinch-hitter Orlando Arcia and Jonathan Villar notched back-to-back one-out doubles off Jake McGee and Boone Logan to make it a one-run game.
Logan (2-3) struck out Scooter Gennett and intentionally walked Braun before giving way to Carlos Estevez. Estevez got ahead, 0-2 to Hernan Perez, who ripped the next offering down the line in right to put the Brewers in front and make a winner out of Brent Suter (1-1) for the first time in his career.
Yankees 5, Mariners 1
SEATTLE -- CC Sabathia continued his mastery at Safeco Field, pitching seven strong innings to improve to 9-1 there as New York beat Seattle.
Sabathia (8-10) allowed one run on three hits, with seven strikeouts, and now has a career ERA of 2.09 in 13 starts at Seattle. He retired the last nine batters he faced and didn't give up a hit after the fourth inning.
New York center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury hit a two-run home run in the fifth inning, while rookie third baseman Ronald Torreyes had three hits, an RBI and a run scored for the Yankees.
Braves 7, Diamondbacks 4
PHOENIX -- Matt Kemp hit an eighth-inning, bases-loaded double to drive in two runs, and a third run scored on an outfield error on the play, lifting Atlanta to a victory over Arizona at Chase Field.
With Arizona in front 4-2, Dansby Swanson singled to open the eighth inning off Jake Barrett (1-2), and Ender Inciarte singled with one out. Freddie Freeman walked with two outs.
Kemp followed with an opposite-field liner into the right field corner that Mitch Haniger bobbled at the fence as the bases cleared.
Athletics 9, Indians 1
OAKLAND, Calif. -- Danny Valencia returned to the starting lineup and collected two hits, and Khris Davis belted his 33rd home run, propelling Oakland to a victory over Cleveland.
Left-hander Sean Manaea limited the American League Central leaders to one run and three hits over seven innings, helping the A's beat the Indians for the first time in five meetings this season.
The loss was just Cleveland's seventh in its past 29 games against left-handed starters.
Dodgers 9, Giants 5
LOS ANGELES -- Andrew Toles and Rob Segedin homered for the second straight game, and Los Angeles defeated San Francisco before 46,899 at Dodger Stadium.
Toles hit a two-run shot in the eighth off reliever Javier Lopez.
Adrian Gonzalez had three RBIs and has hits in 16 consecutive games. Justin Turner and Corey Seager added three hits apiece. Seager scored three times for the Dodgers, who increased their lead in the National League West to two games over the Giants.
