Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Edinson Volquez delivers during the second inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Pittsburgh on Monday.
Adam Duvall hit a two-run homer to spoil Cliff Lee’s return from the disabled list and Giants beat the Philadelphia Phillies 7-4 on Monday night.
Hunter Pence had three hits and two RBIs, Buster Posey drove in two runs and the Giants are two percentage points ahead of Los Angeles for first place in the NL West.
George Kontos (2-0) gave up one hit and struck out three in two innings in relief to earn the win. Santiago Casilla pitched the ninth for his sixth save in nine tries.
Duvall and Kontos both arrived from Triple-A Fresno after midnight to replace Matt Cain and Brandon Belt on the roster.
‘’Any time you get up here, it doesn’t matter how late,’’ Duvall said.
Philadelphia Kontos hopes his third trip to the big leagues this season is his last. ‘’Every time I come up I expect to be here for the rest of my career,’’ he said.
Giants starter Ryan Vogelsong gave up four runs - three earned - and 11 hits in three-plus innings. But San Francisco’s bullpen combined for six scoreless innings.
Making his first start since May 18 because of an elbow injury, Lee (4-5) had a rare rough outing against San Francisco. Lee was 5-0 with a 0.88 ERA in six career games against the Giants. He allowed five earned runs in 51 innings in those six starts before giving up six runs and 12 hits in 5 2-3 innings in this one with several scouts watching in the stands.
If Lee shows he’s healthy and pitches effectively, he is a prime candidate for a trade before the July 31 non-waiver deadline. The four-time All-Star and 2008 AL Cy Young Award winner already was traded once by the Phillies in December 2009 on the same day they acquired Roy Halladay in a separate deal.
Meanwhile, David Ortiz hit two home runs and had four runs batted in, and Stephen Drew hit one homer and also had four RBIs to help the Boston Red Sox defeat the Toronto Blue Jays 14-1 and extend their winning streak to five games on Monday. It was the third multihomer game of the season for Ortiz and the 44th of his career
Right-hander John Lackey (11-6) allowed two hits, no walks and one run in seven innings to earn the win in the opener of a four-game series between American League East rivals.
The pair of two-run homers by Ortiz, both against left-handed reliever Brad Mills, took the Red Sox (47-52) designated hitter past former Red Sox left fielder Carl Yastrzemski into 36th place on the all-time home run list with 453.
Elsewhere, Adam Jones hit a pair of two-run home runs to give the Baltimore Orioles a 4-2 victory over the Los Angeles Angels.
Right-hander Bud Norris (8-6) induced nine groundouts and eight strikeouts in six 2/3 innings while allowing two runs (one earned), eight hits and two walks.
The Orioles’ (54-44) third victory in five games enabled them to expand their lead over the New York Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays to four games in the American League’s East. The Angels (59-39) fell two games behind the idle Oakland Athletics in the American League West.
Detroit Tigers right fielder Torii Hunter and center fielder Austin Jackson homered and Justin Verlander extended his dominance in interleague play in the Tigers’ 4-3 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Verlander (9-8) gave up three runs on six hits and struck out five and is 24-2 in interleague play. Detroit’s (55-41) Verlander has won all six of his decisions against the NL West.
Gerardo Parra hit his fourth homer of the season and second baseman Aaron Hill had his third straight two-hit game for Arizona (43-57), which was seeking a season-high fourth straight victory.
