PITTSBURGH — Gerrit Cole pitched into the eighth inning to become the first 14-game winner in the major leagues and Neil Walker homered as the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Washington Nationals 3-1 on Sunday.
Cole allowed one run and seven hits in 7 2/3 innings with eight strikeouts and no walks against the National League East-leading Nationals as he became the first Pirates pitcher with 14 wins by the end of July since Dock Ellis was 15-4 in 1971.
Cole kept his record perfect against the NL East this season as he is 6-0 with a 1.26 ERA in six starts. Cole also improved to 7-1 with a 1.84 ERA in eight day starts and 9-2 with a 2.15 ERA in his last 12 overall outings.
Nationals right-hander Jose Ross (2-3) had his streak of 29 2/3 innings without allowing a homer to begin his career ended when the switch-hitting Walker connected to lead off the fourth. Walker’s ninth homer of the season extended the Pirates’ lead to 3-1.
Mets 3, Dodgers 2 (10 innings)
NEW YORK — Juan Uribe singled with one out in the bottom the 10th inning to lift New York over Los Angeles in a game when the Mets ended right-hander Zack Greinke’s scoreless innings streak at 45 2/3.
The Mets scratched out two runs off Greinke, getting its first run on a fielder’s choice by right-hander Jacob deGrom in the third and its second run when rookie Michael Conforto was hit by a pitch in the sixth.
Activated from the paternity list before the game, Greinke allowed two runs and four hits in seven innings. His scoreless streak was the fourth-longest in baseball history and 13 1/3 shy of Orel Hershiser’s record of 59 scoreless innings Aug. 30-Sept, 28, 1988. It also was behind scoreless streaks of 58 by Hall of Famers Don Drysdale and 47 by Bob Gibson in 1968.
Orioles 5, Rays 2
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Baltimore jumped out to a 5-0 lead before Tampa Bay had its first hit and went on to close out a series win.
The Orioles took two of three games from the Rays, who are now 9-21 since being a season-high 10 games over .500 on June 20. Tampa Bay continues to struggle with runners in scoring position, its only runs in the last two games coming on solo home runs.
The Orioles tagged Rays starter Matt Moore for three runs in the first and had a 5-0 lead in the third after a two-run homer by Caleb Joseph.
White Sox 2, Indians 1
CLEVELAND — Carlos Rodon became the latest Chicago starter to stymie Cleveland as the White Sox completed a four-game series sweep.
The White Sox outscored Cleveland 26-5 in the series. Chicago never trailed at any point in the four games. The four starters in the series — Jeff Samardzija, Jose Quintana, Chris Sale and Rodon — were a combined 4-0 with a 0.88 ERA. In 30 2/3 innings, the starters held the Indians to three runs, with 27 strikeouts and no walks.
Rodon pitched a career-high 6 2/3 scoreless innings on five hits, with nine strikeouts and no walks. David Robertson pitched the ninth to pick up his 21st save.
Royals 5, Astros 1
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Yordano Ventura outdueled Dallas Keuchel as Kansas City beat Houston.
Ventura (5-7) threw 97 pitches in seven innings, giving up a run on six hits. He walked none, hit a batter and struck out five.
Keuchel, who threw eight scoreless innings to beat the Royals 4-0 on June 30 in Houston, surrendered five runs on 10 hits in 6 2/3 innings.
Yankees 7, Twins 2
MINNEAPOLIS — A six-run sixth inning helped lift New York over Minnesota as the Yankees took two of three in the series.
Chase Headley drove in two runs in the sixth inning and Stephen Drew added a two-run homer as the Yankees won their second straight game after losing the series opener. The Twins outscored the Yankees 15-1 through the first 12 innings of the series. New York went on to outscore Minnesota 15-2 the remainder of the three-game set.
Yankees right-hander Nathan Eovaldi notched his 10th win of the season after allowing two runs on eight hits in eight-plus innings.
Braves 3, Cardinals 2
ST. LOUIS — Adonis Garcia’s first major league home run was a game-winner for Atlanta.
Garcia led off the top of the sixth by going deep to snap a tie and lift the Braves over the Cardinals. The 30-year old Cuban had belted just three homers in 331 at-bats this year at Triple-A Gwinnett before being called up on Saturday.
Garcia belted a 1-0 offering from Michael Wacha 386 feet into the St. Louis bullpen in right-center field, making a winner of rookie right-hander Matt Wisler (5-1), who scattered seven hits and allowed two runs over seven innings.
Phillies 11, Cubs 5
CHICAGO — Domonic Brown went 3-for-5 with a double, triple and three RBIs to lead a 17-hit attack as Philadelphia completed a three-game sweep.
The victory was the fourth straight for the Phillies, eighth in nine games since the All-Star Break and their first sweep away from home. The Cubs dropped their third straight and four of their last five.
Phillies right-handed starter Aaron Nola (1-1) worked 7 2/3 innings in his second major league start. Cubs starter Jason Hammel (5-5) lasted 3 2/3 innings, his shortest outing of the season.
Padres 3, Marlins 2
SAN DIEGO — Odrisamer Despaigne allowed one run on two hits over six straight innings and for the third straight game right-handed relievers Joaquin Benoit and Craig Kimbrel blanked Miami over the final two innings as San Diego defeated the Marlins at Petco Park.
Justin Upton hit his 16th homer for the Padres while Matt Kemp drove in the decisive run with a grounder.
The Padres won three of four games against the Marlins to complete a 6-3 homestand. Their Friday and Saturday wins were by identical 3-1 scores.
Giants 4, Athletics 3
SAN FRANCISCO — Right-hander Tim Hudson became the 15th active pitcher to record a win over all 30 major league teams, beating Oakland for the first time in his career.
San Francisco’s ninth win in 12 interleague games completed a three-game sweep of the rival A’s, who have not won since Thursday’s trade of left-hander Scott Kazmir.
Matt Duffy smacked a two-run home run and Buster Posey went 4-for-4, leading the Giants to the 11th win in their last 12 games. San Francisco has won six in a row at home to improve to 54-44, a season-high-tying 10 games over .500.
Angels 13, Rangers 7
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Mike Trout hit two home runs and drove in five runs to lead Los Angeles to a win over Texas in front of 38,539 at Angel Stadium.
The Angels used their eighth win in 11 games to regain a one-game lead over the second-place Houston Astros in the American League West. Los Angeles also halted its three-game losing streak and ended the Rangers’ stretch of four successive wins.
Trout also scored three runs and walked before finishing 4-for-4 to raise his average to .315. Kole Calhoun, C.J. Cron and Daniel Robertson contributed two hits apiece to the Angels’ 15-hit attack.
Mariners 6, Blue Jays 5 (10 innings)
SEATTLE — Franklin Gutierrez finished off the game with a one-out, solo home run in the bottom of the 10th inning as Seattle beat Toronto.
Seattle (46-53) won a three-game series for the first time since June 19-21 when Gutierrez took Toronto reliever Aaron Loup (2-5) deep for his third home run of the season.
The game included five home runs, with sluggers Nelson Cruz of the Mariners and Josh Donaldson of the Blue Jays adding mammoth shots to their impressive season totals. Donaldson drove in the first run of the game with a solo shot to left in the top of the first, his 24th homer of the season, then Cruz hit his 25th with a two-run bomb that tied the score 5-5 in the seventh.
Diamondbacks 3, Brewers 0
PHOENIX — Arizona right-hander Jeremy Hellickson pitched six scoreless innings and pinch hitter Chris Owings hit a two-run double in the Diamondbacks’ shutout victory over Milwaukee at Chase Field.
Hellickson (7-6) gave up four hits and struck out six while dropping his ERA to 4.60, the lowest it has been since April 19. He walked three.
Owings hit for Hellickson in the bottom of the sixth inning and doubled inside the bag at third off right-hander Matt Garza (5-11) for a 3-0 lead.
Rockies 17, Reds 7
DENVER — Colorado hit five home runs, three of them during a 10-run third inning, and walloped Cincinnati. Ben
Paulsen and Carlos Gonzalez each homered twice. Paulsen recorded his first multi-homer game, and he has seven home runs on the season. He set single-game career highs with four hits and four RBIs as the Rockies reached a season high in runs and matched their most lopsided victory margin of the season. Paulsen finished a double shy of the cycle when he struck out on his final at-bat in the seventh.
Gonzalez tied career highs with six RBIs and four runs. Gonzalez has eight home runs this month, giving him 18 this season.
Red Sox 11, Tigers 1
BOSTON — David Ortiz drove in a career-high seven runs with two three-run homers and an RBI single in a four-hit night as Boston routed struggling Detroit.
Red Sox rookie left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez pitched seven innings of three-hit ball, allowing a long home run to third baseman Nick Castellanos and two singles. Relievers Robbie Ross Jr. and Alexi Ogando completed the three-hitter.
The last-place Red Sox stroked a season-high 20 hits to take the deciding game of the three-game series.