Gerrit Cole picked up another win for the red-hot Pirates. (Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports)
PITTSBURGH — Settling down after a shaky beginning, Gerrit Cole notched his major-league-high 12th win as the Pittsburgh Pirates rallied for a 5-3 victory over the Cleveland Indians on Sunday.
Cole (12-3) set down 16 consecutive batters after the Indians scored twice in the second inning and once in the third to take a 3-0 lead. The right-hander allowed three runs and five hits in eight innings with five strikeouts and one walk. He was winless in his previous two starts while pitching a combined 11 1/3 innings.
Andrew McCutchen’s two-run double off the top of the top of the center field fence capped a five-run fifth inning against Danny Salazar (7-3) and gave the Pirates a 5-3 lead. Jung Ho Kang led off the fifth with a single and Pedro Alvarez followed with a two-run home run, his 12th.
Closer Mark Melancon converted his 25th consecutive save opportunity. He leads the National League with 27 saves.
Rays 8, Yankees 1
NEW YORK — Erasmo Ramirez and two relievers combined on a three-hitter as Tampa Bay ended a season-high seven-game losing streak.
Ramirez (7-3) went the first six innings, allowing Alex Rodriguez’s solo home run in the sixth among three hits. He improved to 7-2 in 10 starts since May 14 and that stretch began when he allowed a first-inning single to Jacoby Ellsbury and no other hits in five innings over the Yankees.
Ramirez kept the Yankees off-balance by effectively throwing his off-speed pitches. The most notable example of that was when he used his curveball to get Brett Gardner and Chase Headley for strikeouts to end the sixth. The right-hander finished his second career start against the Yankees with three strikeouts and three walks.
Blue Jays 10, Tigers 5
DETROIT — Jose Bautista and Justin Smoak homered during a six-run fifth and Toronto snapped a three-game losing streak with a win over Detroit.
It was the 17th home run for Bautista and the eighth for Smoak. Devon Travis drove in three runs and Josh Donaldson knocked in two more for the Blue Jays, who have scored a major-league-leading 460 runs.
Marco Estrada (6-4) lasted the minimum five innings to get the victory. He allowed two runs on five hits while throwing 101 pitches. Roberto Osuna got the last four outs to record his third save.
Brewers 6, Reds 1
CINCINNATI — Gerardo Parra and Adam Lind homered and rookie Taylor Jungmann retired the first 12 batters he faced en route to seven shutout innings as Milwaukee completed the three-game sweep over Cincinnati.
The Brewers extended their winning streak to eight games, their longest since winning nine straight in April of last season. The slumping Reds have lost seven of nine.
Jungmann (3-1) lowered his ERA to 2.43 in six career starts after allowing one run and four hits in eight innings.
Royals 3, Twins 2
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Eric Hosmer’s walk off run-scoring double in the ninth scored Lorenzo Cain as Kansas City beat Minnesota.
Blaine Boyer (2-4) walked Cain on five pitches to start the Royals ninth. Left-hander Aaron Thompson was summoned to face the left-handed Hosmer, who promptly laced a double to right on a 1-1 pitch.
Twins right-hander Ervin Santana was impressive in in his first start of the season, but had to settle for a no-decision. Santana, who was suspended the first 80 games after testing positive for a performance enhancing drug, held the Royals to three hits and two runs over eight innings. He struck out eight and walked three, one intentionally.
Cardinals 3, Padres 1
ST. LOUIS — A day after recording his first major league hit, run and steal, Tommy Pham was at it again — belting his first home run, driving in all three runs and leading St. Louis over San Diego.
Called up from Triple-A Memphis on Friday, Pham erased the Cardinals’ 1-0 deficit in the bottom of the third Sunday, lining an 0-1 pitch from Ian Kennedy 370 feet over the left field wall with pitcher Lance Lynn aboard after a leadoff single.
Pham stopped at second, thinking the ball was in play, before third base umpire Hunter Wendelstedt twirled the index finger in the air — the signal for a homer. Following his trip around the bases, Pham took a curtain call from the crowd of 42,764. He added an insurance run in the fifth, following Lynn’s ground-rule double with his own double off the left-center-field wall to cap the scoring.
Cubs 2, Marlins 0
CHICAGO — Kyle Hendricks made the most of one run while scattering five hits through 7 1/3 shutout innings in Chicago’s victory over Miami.
The right-handed Hendricks (4-4) won his second straight and third outing since June 7. He struck out six and walked just one. Reliever Jason Motte worked a one-two-three ninth for his fourth save.
The Cubs scored what to be the winning run in the bottom of the first on a Mat Latos wild pitch. But other than the botched throw, Latos (3-6) was as effective as Hendricks in Sunday’s pitcher’s duel, giving up a season-low one hit in seven innings.
Phillies 4, Braves 0 (10 innings)
ATLANTA — Ryan Howard’s sacrifice fly in the 10th inning broke a scoreless tie to send Philadelphia over Atlanta, snapping its six-game losing streak.
With the bases loaded and no one out, Howard hit the first pitch from reliever Dana Eveland far enough into right field to score Odubel Herrera with the go-ahead run.
The Phillies had loaded the bases against reliever Nick Masset, who gave up singles to Herrera and Cesar Hernandez and a walk to Maikel Franco. The Braves brought in the left-handed Eveland to face Howard, but he responded with a sacrifice fly for his 38th RBI of the season and the 141st of his career against the Braves. Carlos Ruiz drove home two more runs with a double off reliever Jake Brigham, who also surrendered a run-scoring single to Freddy Galvis.
