Houston Astros third baseman Luis Valbuena (18) pleads with home plate umpire Joe West after a play during the eighth inning against the New York Yankees at Minute Maid Park in Houston on Thursday. Picture: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Agencies/New YorkLeft-hander Dallas Keuchel pitched his second shutout of the season and third of his career, tossing a six-hitter in the Houston Astros’ 4-0 win over the New York Yankees. Keuchel (9-3) struck out a career-high 12 and walked one. He retired 15 consecutive batters before Yankees (39-34) designated hitter Alex Rodriguez singled with two outs in the ninth. Cardinals 5, Marlins 1 The St. Louis Cardinals completed their first road sweep of the season, defeating the Miami Marlins 5-1. Right-hander Lance Lynn (5-4) came off the disabled list and got the win after six shutout innings for the Cardinals (48-24), who have the best record in MLB. Miami (30-44) fell a season-low 14 games below .500. Giants 13, Padres 8 First baseman Brandon Belt lashed two of the San Francisco Giants’ four triples, highlighting a 19-hit attack that produced a 13-8 victory over the San Diego Padres. Right-hander Chris Heston pitched seven innings for his eighth win, the most among National League rookies, helping the Giants (40-34) stay a game behind the Dodgers in the NL West. Nationals 7, Braves 0 Ian Desmond hit a two-run homer and starter Doug Fister threw seven shutout innings as the Washington Nationals rolled to their sixth straight victory, a 7-0 rout of Atlanta. The Nationals (40-33) completed a three-game sweep of the Braves (35-38) and have won eight straight against them. Dodgers 4, Cubs 0 The Los Angeles Dodgers struck early with four runs in the first two innings and five pitchers combined for a shutout in a victory 4-0 over the Chicago Cubs. The Dodgers (41-33) won their second straight and salvaged a split in the four-game series. White Sox 8, Tigers 7 (10 innings) Carlos Sanchez rifled Joba Chamberlain’s hanging slider into the right-field corner for a three-run triple with two outs in the 10th inning to give the Chicago White Sox an 8-7 victory over the Detroit Tigers. The winning hit broke a 5-5 tie. Detroit scored two runs behind a two-run single from Bryan Holaday but it was not enough. A’s 6, Rangers 3 The Oakland Athletics scored three runs with two outs in the seventh inning to snap a tie and went on to complete a three-game series sweep with a 6-3 victory over the Texas Rangers. The A’s (34-41) have won nine of their last 11 while the Rangers (37-36) have dropped a season-high five straight games. Mets 2, Brewers 0 Jacob deGrom pitched a four-hit shutout through eight innings and Wilmer Flores had an RBI double as the New York Mets snapped a seven-game losing streak by beating Milwaukee 2-0. DeGrom (8-5) breezed through the Milwaukee (27-47) lineup, allowing only one hit in his first 6 2/3 innings. The Mets moved to 37-37. Orioles 8, Red Sox 6 Matt Wieters’ two-run homer highlighted a six-run fourth inning that knocked southpaw Eduardo Rodriguez out of the game as the Baltimore Orioles earned an 8-6 victory over the Boston Red Sox. Baltimore (38-34) took two of three in the series and improved to 9-4 against Boston this year. Boston (32-42) fell 10 games under .500. Rockies 6, Diamondbacks 4 The Colorado Rockies scored five runs in the eighth inning and beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 6-4. Troy Tulowitzki homered in the big inning while Wilin Rosario added an RBI and went 3-for-4 for the Rockies (32-40). Arizona fell to 35-37. Reds 5, Pirates 4 (13 innings) Brandon Phillips hit a solo home run in the 13th inning, pushing the Cincinnati Reds past the Pittsburgh Pirates. Cincinnati recorded a season-high 17 hits, including a game-tying, two-run homer by third baseman Todd Frazier in the seventh inning. Pittsburgh right-hander Rob Scahill (2-4) allowed the game-winning home run.