Saturday’s other MLB games

Saturday’s other MLB games

AMERICAN LEAGUE

Tigers 9, Royals 2

KANSAS CITY, MO.

Drew Smyly picked up where fellow Tigers starter Rick Porcello left off, tossing seven shutout innings and leading Detroit to a rout. Porcello and the Tigers bullpen retired the final 18 hitters in an 8-2 victory the previous night, and Smyly (2-1) retired the first four he faced. Nick Castellanos drove in three runs the Tigers, the first off spot starter Danny Duffy (1-2) and two more off the Royals’ bullpen. That was it until the ninth, when Detroit tacked on six more runs, the highlight a three-run shot by Torii Hunter.

Mariners 9, Astros 8

HOUSTON

Justin Smoak homered to cap an eight-run burst in the seventh inning, leading Hisashi Iwakuma and the Mariners over the Astros. Four straight walks started the Mariners’ big burst as they overcame a 2-1 deficit. Iwakuma allowed four runs and six hits in 6 2-3 innings.

Twins 6, Orioles 1

MINNEAPOLIS

Joe Mauer and Brian Dozier both homered, Kevin Correia earned his first win of the season and the Twins ended their four-game losing streak by beating the Orioles. Mauer had three hits and four RBIs. His three-run shot off reliever Brad Brach in the seventh inning broke open the game. Dozier’s eighth homer, a solo shot off Wei-Yin Chen (3-2) in the third, gave the Twins the lead for good.

Yankees 9, Rays 3

NEW YORK

Masahiro Tanaka extended his regular-season unbeaten streak to 40 starts, and Mark Teixeira homered and drove in three runs to help the Yankees rally past the Rays. Kelly Johnson hit a tiebreaking solo homer in the sixth inning off Josh Lueke (0-2), who also gave up a run-scoring single to Teixeira and a sacrifice fly to Alfonso Soriano in a two-run seventh. Tanaka (4-0) gave up solo homers to Desmond Jennings and Wil Myers, falling behind 3-0 by the fourth and looking shaky by the standard he set over his first five big league starts. But the Yankees’ offense bailed him out. Teixeira hit a two-run homer in the fourth, and Jacoby Ellsbury’s RBI single in the fifth tied it at 3.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Reds 6, Brewers 2

CINCINNATI

Johnny Cueto gave up three hits over eight innings, including two solo homers, and singled home a run on, leading the Reds to a victory over the Brewers. Cueto (3-2) gave up homers by Aramis Ramirez and Mark Reynolds and an infield single by Jean Segura. He walked one and struck out 10. The Reds piled up the singles against Yovani Gallardo (2-1), who failed to produce a quality start for the first time this season. Cincinnati had nine singles in Gallardo’s six innings, including Cueto’s RBI hit the sixth inning for a 4-2 lead.

Giants 3, Braves 1

ATLANTA

Brandon Belt, Buster Posey and Michael Morse hit home runs, each to lead off an inning, and the streaking Giants beat the slumping Braves in a matchup of first-place teams. The Giants have hit homers in 10 straight games, matching their longest run in almost four years. The Giants got only four hits. They scored all their runs on homers. Ryan Vogelsong (1-1) allowed one run on five hits and four walks in six innings. Julio Teheran (2-2) gave up just four hits with no walks in seven innings, but allowed a season-high three runs.

Cubs 3, Cardinals 0

CHICAGO

Jon Lester struck out a career-high 15, allowing one hit over eight scoreless innings and pitched the Red Sox over the Athletics. Jonny Gomes hit a grand slam and David Ortiz and David Ross added solo homers. The only hit off Lester (3-4) was Craig Gentry’s leadoff bloop single in the third over the head of second baseman Dustin Pedroia. Lester struck out nine of his first 13 batters. Oakland scored three runs in the ninth against Chris Capuano. Gomes hit his slam in the first inning off Tommy Milone (0-3).

Phillies 7, Nationals 2

PHILADELPHIA

Ryan Howard and Cody Asche homered, and A.J. Burnett threw six solid innings to lead the Phillies. Jimmy Rollins had four hits and Marlon Byrd doubled and drove in a pair of runs for Philadelphia. Adam LaRoche and Zach Walters homered for Washington. Burnett (2-1) gave up one run on three hits. Tanner Roark (2-1) had the worst start of his two-year career, allowing seven runs and seven hits in four-plus innings. The game was delayed by rain for 24 minutes after the sixth.

Associated Press