MLB
Thursday, July 2
MLB roundup: Indians' Carrasco nearly no-hits Rays
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- For the third night in a row, the Cleveland Indians took a perfect game into the sixth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays, and Carlos Carrasco lost his no-hitter with two outs in the ninth inning, settling for an 8-1 win Wednesday at Tropicana Field.
Carrasco, a 28-year-old right-hander from Venezuela, struck out 13 Rays batters and faced the minimum entering the ninth inning. He was one strike away from history when Joey Butler lined an RBI single to right field, just over the glove of leaping second baseman Jason Kipnis.
Carrasco's bid at a perfect game ended with one out in the seventh, when he walked Butler on a full count after retiring the first 19 batters in order.
Tampa Bay began the bottom of the ninth with a walk and a hit batter. A fielder's choice for the first out put runners at the corners. Carrasco struck out Kevin Kiermaier for the second out but couldn't get Butler to finish the gem.
Blue Jays 11, Red Sox 2
TORONTO -- Justin Smoak hit home runs from each side of the plate, and Mark Buehrle pitched seven strong innings as Toronto defeated Boston.
Edwin Encarnacion, Jose Bautista and Josh Donaldson also homered for the Blue Jays on Canada Day, snapping Boston's three-game winning streak. Encarnacion, Smoak and Bautista each drove in three runs and Jose Reyes had four singles.
Buehrle (9-4) held the Red Sox to four hits and one run. The left-hander struck out seven in winning his fourth straight decision over his past seven starts.
Reds 2, Twins 1
CINCINNATI -- Johnny Cueto posted his longest outing since missing his last two starts of May with a sore right elbow as Cincinnati squeezed out a win over Minnesota in the rubber match of the three-game series.
Cueto allowed four hits and one run with one walk and eight strikeouts over eight innings. He allowed just one runner past second base while throwing 111 pitches, 74 for strikes.
Aroldis Chapman pitched the ninth for his 16th save in 17 opportunities this season. Billy Hamilton clinched the win with a diving catch to his left of pinch hitter Torii Hunter's line drive.
A's 4, Rockies 1
OAKLAND, Calif. -- Jesse Hahn pitched six strong innings and Billy Butler and Billy Burns gave him all the offensive support he needed as Oakland topped Colorado.
Butler went 2-for-3 with his fifth career triple, drove in a run, scored once and walked. Burns went 2-for-4 with a triple and a double, scored two runs and walked once.
Colorado's Nolan Arenado went 0-for-4, snapping his 17-game hitting streak, which had been the longest active streak in the major leagues.
Mariners 7, Padres 0
SAN DIEGO -- Robinson Cano drove in three runs with a homer, a bases-loaded single and a double and Taijuan Walker picked up his fifth straight win as he and four relievers combined on a three-hit shutout.
Nelson Cruz drove in the Mariners' final two runs with a two-run homer to cap a four-run ninth inning.
Seattle swept the two-game interleague series by outscoring San Diego 12-0 -- blanking the Padres on four hits. Cano drove in the Mariners' first two runs and Seattle added five runs in the last two innings.
Orioles 4, Rangers 2
BALTIMORE -- J.J. Hardy hit a go-ahead two-run home run, Jimmy Paredes homered and drove in two runs, and Baltimore defeated Texas.
Orioles left-hander Wei-Yin Chen (4-4) allowed two runs on four hits over eight efficient innings, allowing the Orioles to overcome an early two-run deficit.
Shin-Soo Chu homered for the third consecutive game, and Ryan Rua also went deep, giving Texas 10 homers in the first three games of the four-game set.
Marlins 6, Giants 5
MIAMI -- Justin Bour hit a walk-off, three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning to lead Miami past San Francisco.
The Marlins overcame five double-play ground balls, which tied a Giants record for a nine-inning game. Miami also overcame three errors that led to two unearned runs.
San Francisco, which had 14 hits, got a tiebreaking home run from shortstop Brandon Crawford in the sixth inning. It was his 11th homer of the season. However, that big hit was wiped out when Bour pulled his shot to right field off Santiago Casilla (4-2) for his first-career walk-off home run and his eighth homer of the season.
Brewers 9, Phillies 5
PHILADELPHIA -- Milwaukee battered Philadelphia starter Aaron Harang and never let up, scoring eight runs on 14 hits off the right-hander as he exited before he could record an out in the Brewers' two-run sixth.
Harang (4-11) became the first Phillies pitcher to lose eight consecutive starts since Jim Nash in 1972. After posting a 1.93 ERA in his first 10 starts, the 37-year-old is 0-7 with a 7.53 ERA in the last seven.
Scooter Gennett went 3-for-5 with three RBIs and two runs, and Gerardo Parra added three hits for Milwaukee. The Brewers' Adam Lind, Ryan Braun and Aramis Ramirez drove in two runs apiece.
Pirates 9, Tigers 3
DETROIT -- A.J. Burnett pitched seven-hit ball for seven innings and Neil Walker hit two home runs to lead Pittsburgh over Detroit.
Detroit's Joba Chamberlain gave up three solo home runs in the eighth. Walker, who hit a two-run homer in the third, bounced his sixth home run of the season off the top of the left-field wall, left fielder Starling Marte hit his 11th and designated hitter Pedro Alvarez smashed his 11th.
Yankees 3, Angels 1
ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Nathan Eovaldi threw 5 1/3 scoreless innings and Chasen Shreve got two big outs to help New York avoid a three-game sweep.
Chase Headley (3-for-5) and Didi Gregorius (2-for-4) each had an RBI single and Garrett Jones hit a solo homer to account for the Yankees' scoring.
The Angels scored their run on a two-out homer by Mike Trout in the eighth, his 21st home run of the year, against Justin Wilson. Dellin Betances pitched the ninth for his seventh save.
Cubs 2, Mets 0 (11)
NEW YORK -- Starlin Castro's two-out infield single in the 11th inning snapped a scoreless tie and lifted Chicago over New York.
Castro beat out a roller to third. Miguel Montero added an RBI single two batters later.
The Cubs, who won Tuesday's series opener 1-0, have scored two runs or fewer in seven straight games. The Mets have scored two or fewer in 11 of their last 13 games.
Braves 4, Nationals 1
ATLANTA -- Matt Wisler allowed one hit through 5 1/3 scoreless innings, and A.J. Pierzynski and Juan Uribe hit consecutive home runs as Atlanta snapped a nine-game losing streak to Washington.
Wisler (2-1) walked five and struck out six and gave up just an infield single by Danny Espinosa before leaving after 84 pitches. He also drove in a run with his first major league hit to cap the Braves' four-run, fourth-inning rally.
Washington starter Doug Fister (3-4) surrendered four of the seven hits against him in the fourth. He struck out four and walked two, one intentionally, while throwing 98 pitches over six innings.
Astros 6, Royals 5
HOUSTON -- Jose Altuve scored the go-ahead run to cap a seventh-inning rally, and Houston beat Kansas City to complete a three-game sweep.
Without the benefit of a hit, the Astros pushed in front in the seventh, manufacturing a run after Altuve reached base to open the frame when he was hit on the right forearm by a pitch from Royals right-hander Kelvin Herrera (1-2). The second baseman stole second base, his 23rd steal on the season, and advanced to third on a ricochet groundout.
Chris Carter followed with a ground ball to third baseman Mike Moustakas that scored Altuve ahead of the tag from catcher Salvador Perez, but not without a four-plus-minute replay review after the Royals challenged the close, decisive play at the plate.
Dodgers 4, Diamondbacks 3
PHOENIX -- Enrique Hernandez had three hits, scored twice and drove in a run, and Brett Anderson won his third consecutive start as Los Angeles edged Arizona.
Hernandez tripled and scored in the first inning, then doubled home a run and scored in a three-run third inning to give Anderson (5-4) a 4-0 lead.
Anderson gave up seven hits and one run while striking out seven in seven innings. The left-hander has allowed five earned runs with 22 strikeouts in his past 28 innings over four starts.
White Sox 7, Cardinals 1
ST. LOUIS -- Melky Cabrera's solo homer in the top of the sixth inning snapped a tie as Chicago became the first visiting team to sweep a series in Busch Stadium this year, beating St. Louis in a thrice-delayed game.
Cabrera's third homer of the year helped make a winner of starter Jose Quintana (4-7), who gave up six hits and a run over six innings with no walks and eight strikeouts.
Tyler Flowers belted a two-run homer to key a five-run ninth, his second in as many nights. Jose Abreu added an RBI single, and Cabrera drove in another run with a groundout.
