Tampa Bay Rays’ Yunel Escobar hits a triple off of Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher R.A. Dickey during the third inning of an American League MLB baseball game in St. Petersburg, Florida, on Thursday. (Reuters)
Zack Greinke outdueled Cliff Lee, and Hanley Ramirez hit a two-run homer as the Los Angeles Dodgers ran their latest winning streak to nine with a 4-0 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies.
The Dodgers, a major-league-best 41-8 since June 22, also spoiled the debut of Phillies interim manager Ryne Sandberg. Sandberg, a Hall of Fame second baseman for the Chicago Cubs and most recently Philadelphia’s third base coach, was promoted when Charlie Manuel was fired earlier in the day.
Greinke (11-3) worked 7 1/3 shutout innings to win his third straight start. He allowed three hits while striking out three and walking four.
‘’It was a roller coaster of a day emotionally,’’ Sandberg said. ‘’It affected me and I think it affects the players.’’
Elsewhere, Alfonso Soriano continued his recent hot stretch with a three-run homer and four RBIs, newly signed Mark Reynolds hit a two-run homer and the New York Yankees beat the Boston Red Sox 10-3.
It was the fifth win in six games for the Yankees, who are starting to creep back into the American League East chase. They trail division-leading Boston by 7 ½ games after the win. The Red Sox lost for the sixth time in eight games and saw their lead atop the East cut to one game with Tampa Bay beating Toronto.
Danny Duffy pitched no-hit ball for five 2/3 innings and Eric Hosmer hit a solo home run to help the Kansas City Royals overpower the Tigers, 2-1, in the first game of a split double-header.
Doubles by Justin Maxwell and Emilio Bonifacio leading off the seventh inning provided the Royals with their second run, and the game-winner, as Kansas City snapped a three-game losing streak.
Eric Hosmer hit a home run in each game of Friday’s doubleheader and James Shields checked Detroit on three hits in seven innings to help the Kansas City Royals sweep the Detroit Tigers with a 3-0 victory in the nightcap.
Shields (8-8) is 4-1 in his last five starts to fuel a surge that has the Royals within six and a half games of the first-place Tigers in the American League Central.
Detroit managed just six hits in the double-header.
Jake Arrieta tossed seven shutout innings while Nate Schierholtz drove in three runs as the Chicago Cubs snapped a four-game losing streak with a 7-0 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals.
Arrieta (1-0) allowed just two hits while striking out six and walking two in his second outing since being acquired from the Orioles on July 2.
Wilin Rosario gave the Colorado Rockies the lead for good with his two-run homer in the seventh inning, and the Rockies banged out four homers in the final four innings en route to a 6-3 victory over the Baltimore Orioles.
The Rockies trailed most of the game before getting their power bats out. After Nolan Arenado’s RBI single in the fifth, they tied it at 2-2 when Charlie Culberson hit his first major league homer, a solo shot to start the sixth that he lined into the left-field seats.
Pittsburgh Pirates rookie right-hander Gerrit Cole pitched six solid innings in a 6-2 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The National League Central-leading Pirates returned home from a 1-5 road trip to Colorado and St. Louis and improved their home record to 42-20. They have won six straight games at PNC Park and 13 of their past 16.
Tampa Bay continued its climb back toward the top of the American League East as Jose Lobaton’s walk-off triple sent the Rays to a 5-4 win over the Toronto Blue Jays.
With the victory, the Rays are now one game behind the Red Sox for the division lead. Tampa Bay has won three straight on the heels of a six-game losing skid, the club’s longest since the start of the 2011 season. The Rays also have won 17 of their last 21 home games.