New York/Reuters
Nick Swisher, a thorn in the side of the Boston Red Sox and their fans when he was with the New York Yankees, did it again on Sunday at the Major League Baseball.
Swisher, who just came off the disabled list on Thursday and was struggling at the plate, lined a solo home run - his 16th career homer against the Red Sox - leading off the 11th inning to give the Cleveland Indians a 3-2 win over Boston.
Toronto designated hitter Dioner Navarro had three hits and two RBIs and J A Happ held Baltimore to one run over six innings as the Blue Jays defeated the Baltimore Orioles 5-2.
First baseman Edwin Encarnacion added three hits and scored twice as American League East Division-leading Toronto (41-30) scored five runs for the first time since Monday.
The St Louis first baseman Matt Adams homered for the third straight game since coming off the disabled list Friday and Jaime Garcia pitched seven solid innings as the Cardinals completed a weekend sweep of the Washington Nationals with a 5-2 verdict at sold-out Busch Stadium.
Adams lined a two-run homer off Doug Fister (5-2) in the bottom of the second inning, giving Garcia all the support he needed. It was the sixth homer for Adams, who was sidelined by a left calf injury from May 29-June 12.
Third baseman Casey McGehee hit a walk-off sacrifice fly in the 10th inning as the Miami Marlins beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 3-2 at Marlins Park.
Second baseman Rafael Furcal started the rally with a single. Pinch-runner Ed Lucas advanced on Reed Johnson’s sacrifice bunt and a wild pitch from reliever Jared Hughes. McGehee then won it with his fly ball to right.
J D Martinez’s sacrifice fly to shallow centre with one out in the ninth inning scored Torii Hunter from third base to give the Detroit Tigers a 4-3 victory over the Minnesota Twins.
Hunter opened the ninth with a single off right-hander Casey Fien (3-3) and raced to third when Minnesota right fielder Oswaldo Arcia dropped designated hitter Victor Martinez’s towering fly against the fence in right for an error.
James Shields did not have his best stuff, but the hot bats of the Kansas City Royals helped him earn a win anyway.
The Royals continued to torment the Chicago White Sox at US Cellular Field by sweeping a three-game series with a 6-3 win to stay within 1 ½ games of the first-place Detroit Tigers in the American League Central.
Right-hander Carlos Torres, pressed into duty when right-hander Daisuke Matsuzaka left after one inning due to illness, threw four innings of one-run relief as the New York Mets pieced together a 3-1 win over the San Diego Padres at Citi Field.
The Mets (31-38) won the series, their first series victory since they took four of five from the Philadelphia Phillies May 29 through June 2. The Padres (29-40) have lost six of their last seven and 11 of 13.
A strong performance by Chicago starter Travis Wood helpd the Cubs to a 3-0 victory over the Phillies in Philadelphia.
Chicago got on board in the first inning when first baseman Anthony Rizzo took the first pitch he saw from Phillies starter A.J. Burnett (4-6, 4.17 ERA) and drove it over the wall in right field. The long ball was his 14th of the season, moving him closer to Miami’s Giancarlo Stanton (18 homers entering play on Sunday) for the NL lead. The Cincinnati Reds belted three home runs off right-hander Marco Estrada and broke the game open against the Brewers’ bullpen in a 13-4 rout.