MLB roundup: Vargas' 9th-inning homer lifts Twins
By THE SPORTS XCHANGE
MINNEAPOLIS -- Kennys Vargas' home run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning lifted the Minnesota Twins to a 2-1 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday at Target Field.
The blast came on a 1-1 count against Cardinals right-hander Carlos Villanueva and was Vargas' fourth homer of the season and first since May 6.
Twins reliever Blaine Boyer picked up the win after working around a leadoff double in the top of the ninth to keep the score tied at 1.
The Cardinals broke the scoreless tie on a homer by Jason Heyward in the seventh. The Twins tied the score at 1 with a homer in the eighth by Joe Mauer.
Phillies 2, Orioles 1
PHILADELPHIA -- Ryan Howard hit a two-run homer in the sixth inning and Philadelphia ended a nine-game losing streak.
Howard's 12th homer of the season came off Bud Norris and made a winner of reliever Jake Diekman, who had been recalled from Triple-A earlier in the day.
The Phillies' losing streak was their longest since they dropped 11 in a row in 1999. The win was just their fourth in the last 23 games, but their record remains the worst in baseball at 23-45.
Manny Machado led off the game with his 14th homer of the season, accounting for Baltimore's run.
Angels 7, Diamondbacks 1
PHOENIX -- Mike Trout had two hits and an RBI triple and C.J. Wilson struck out a season-high nine in eight innings to lead Los Angeles over Arizona.
Johnny Giavotello and Taylor Featherston homered in the second inning and Giavotello opened a five-run sixth with a single. Trout drove in the first run of the inning with his triple. After two walks loaded the bases, Efren Navarro hit a two-run single off reliever Josh Collmenter to make it 5-1. Carlos Perez followed with a two-run double.
Wilson gave up eight hits but pitched to more than four batters in an inning only once in his second straight quality start after giving up 11 earned runs in 13 innings in his previous two outings.
Padres 3, Athletics 1
OAKLAND, Calif. -- Matt Kemp and Derek Norris homered, Ian Kennedy threw six strong innings and interim manager Pat Murphy got his first victory as San Diego ended a four-game skid and halted Oakland's four-game winning streak.
San Diego won for the first time since manager Bud Black was fired. Murphy had lost his first two games.
Kemp's homer came in the fourth inning and Norris led off the sixth with a home run that made it 2-0. Josh Phegley hit a solo shot in the bottom of sixth for the A's.
Astros 8, Rockies 4
DENVER -- Houston hit two more home runs, including a three-run shot by pinch-hitter Domingo Santana, and completed a four-game sweep.
Santana hit his first career home run with one out in the eighth inning to give the Astros a five-run lead. Houston leads the majors with 97 homers and has won all 27 games this season when it hits multiple home runs. They hit 12 homers in their four victories over the Rockies, including wins on Monday and Tuesday in Houston.
The Astros, who are 8-1 in interleague play this season, have won five straight games and six of their past seven. The loss was the fourth straight and eighth in nine games for the Rockies.
Yankees 9, Marlins 4
NEW YORK -- Alex Rodriguez collected his 2,998th and 2,999th career hits, and Carlos Beltran belted a go-ahead, two-run home run as New York defeated Miami.
Rodriguez singled in the first and fifth innings against Mat Latos before flying out on his first attempt at the 3,000-hit milestone with two outs in the sixth against Mike Dunn (1-4).
The New York designated hitter came up with no outs in the eighth but did not swing as Sam Dyson threw four consecutive fastballs out of the strike zone. That prompted profane chants from most of a disappointed crowd that did not witness history.
Blue Jays 7, Mets 1
TORONTO -- R.A. Dickey allowed one run in 7 1/3 innings, and Chris Colabello homered as Toronto beat New York.
Jose Bautista singled home two runs in Toronto's five-run fifth inning as the teams split a four-game, home-and-home interleague series. Each team won its home games.
Dickey (3-6) allowed three hits and five walks and struck out seven to earn his first win since May 21.
Rays 5, Nationals 3
WASHINGTON -- The first seven batters in the order had at least one hit as Tampa Bay topped struggling Washington.
Not only did the nationals lose the game, but they lost star right fielder Bryce Harper to an injury in the sixth inning with an unspecified leg injury.
Three infielders for the Rays had at least two hits -- Evan Longoria, Logan Forsythe and Asdrubal Cabrera. Steven Souza Jr. scored two runs against his former team for the Rays, who are 19-11 on the road.
Royals 3, Brewers 2
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Wade Davis pitched out of a one-out, bases-loaded mess in the eighth, and Greg Holland logged another save as Kansas City held on to beat Milwaukee.
Jeremy Guthrie (5-4) collected the victory, holding the Brewers to two runs on seven hits over six innings.
The Royals swept the four-game series from the Brewers, who lost six straight.
Red Sox 5, Braves 2
ATLANTA -- Clay Buchholz allowed only two unearned runs in seven innings, and Boston beat Atlanta to earn a split of the teams' home-and-home, four-game interleague series.
The win snapped Boston's seven-game road losing streak.
Buchholz (4-6) gave up six hits and one walk while striking out three to earn his first win since June 2. Tommy Layne pitched a scoreless eighth, and Koji Uehara worked a perfect ninth to earn his 14th save.
Pirates 3, White Sox 2
CHICAGO -- Gerrit Cole became the first pitcher in the majors to win 11 games this season, and Pittsburgh held on to beat Chicago.
Pittsburgh extended its season-high winning streak to eight games while completing its eighth series sweep of the season -- the most in the majors. The White Sox lost their seventh consecutive game.
Cole (11-2) silenced Chicago hitters for most of the game. In seven innings, gave up two runs on three hits. He walked three and struck out four.
Indians 4, Cubs 3
CLEVELAND -- Giovanny Urshela's RBI single in the seventh inning drove in the eventual winning run as Cleveland beat Chicago.
Zach McAllister (2-2) struck out four in 1 1/3 innings of scoreless relief to get the win. Bryan Shaw got the last four outs for his first save.
Cleveland closer Cody Allen entered at the end of a long fifth-inning rain delay with the bases loaded, two outs and the score tied 3-3. Allen retired catcher Miguel Montero on a fly ball to escape the threat.
Giants 7, Mariners 0
SEATTLE -- Ryan Vogelsong pitched 6 2/3 innings, and San Francisco took advantage of a Seattle defensive miscue to score three early runs.
Vogelsong (5-5) allowed only three hits in his best outing of June, and then the Giants' bullpen held on against a depleted Seattle lineup. Javier Lopez, Hunter Strickland and Jeremy Affeldt completed the shutout.
San Francisco jumped out to a 3-0 lead with a three-run second inning, scoring all of the runs after Seattle shortstop Brad Miller dropped the ball trying to complete a double-play throw to first.
Dodgers 1, Rangers 0
LOS ANGELES -- Pinch runner Enrique Hernandez scored the winning run on a balk in the bottom of the ninth inning as Los Angeles edged Texas.
Hernandez replaced Yasmani Grandal, who walked against Keone Kela (4-4) to start the bottom of the ninth. Andre Ethier followed with another walk before Alberto Callaspo hit into a double play that sent Hernandez to third base.
With Jimmy Rollins at the plate, Hernandez ran down the line quickly, then stopped. Kela moved his glove as if he were going to throw to the plate but then stopped, and plate umpire Marvin Hudson called the balk.
Tigers-Reds, ppd., rain
CINCINNATI -- The scheduled game at Great American Ball Park was rained out. No makeup date was immediately announced.
