Cubs hand Yankees’ Tanaka first loss

CHICAGO — All Masahiro Tanaka could do was put this one behind him and look forward to his next start. He’ll be hard-pressed to match an unbeaten streak like this, though.

CHICAGO — All Masahiro Tanaka could do was put this one behind him and look forward to his next start. He’ll be hard-pressed to match an unbeaten streak like this, though.

Tanaka had his unbeaten regular-season run snapped at 42 starts, allowing a career-high four runs in six innings, and the Chicago Cubs beat the New York Yankees 6-1 on Tuesday night.

The Cubs honored the retiring Derek Jeter before the game, then handed Tanaka his first loss in nine major league starts.

It was a surprising turn, considering Chicago came in with the majors’ worst record and the right-hander from Japan had been sensational.

Tanaka (6-1) had been 34-0 in Japan and North America the last two seasons. He did drop Game 6 of the Japan Series last year before earning the save in Game 7. But postseason aside, he hadn’t lost since the Seibu Lions beat the Rakuten Golden Eagles on Aug. 19, 2012. And yes, he was definitely proud of that streak.

“I think I was able to get the streak going because I had support from my teammates,” Tanaka said through an interpreter. “I’m a little bit disappointed because I think a lot of the fans were looking for me to keep on winning. Next time out, I’ll try to get a win again and get it going again.”

Luis Valbuena had three hits with two doubles and scored two runs for Chicago. John Baker had two hits, scored a run and drove in one.

Mike Olt drove in three. Jason Hammel (5-2) pitched solid ball into the sixth and Hector Rondon retired Jeter on a grounder with the bases loaded in the ninth, preserving the win on a hot and rainy night with thunder and lightning.

Tanaka had his worst outing, allowing eight hits to match a career high. He struck out seven and walked one but didn’t really have his usual command.

Manager Joe Girardi noticed some splitters up in the zone. Tanaka said there were issues with all his pitches, and Chicago’s Starlin Castro thought there was a dip in velocity from last month’s meeting in New York, when he threw eight scoreless innings.

Some Cubs players thought familiarity this time around helped, although Girardi dismissed that idea.

“If he has his good splitter tonight I think he gives a much better performance,” he said. “Since it’s the first time that he saw a team twice and they scored four runs, people are probably going to make a big deal out of it, but I think

BLUE JAYS 7, RED SOX 4

BOSTON — Edwin Encarnacion hit a pair of two-run homers and the Toronto handed Boston its fifth straight loss.

Melky Cabrera and Erik Kratz also homered for the Blue Jays, who won their second straight and sixth in eight games.

J.A. Happ (3-1) struck out six in the first three innings and picked up his third win in four starts since joining the rotation.

Jonny Gomes hit a two-run homer for Boston. The losing streak is the longest for the Red Sox since 2012.

Casey Janssen picked up his fourth save, getting Mike Napoli to ground into a double play and end it.

Felix Doubront (2-4) left the game after Jose Reyes and Cabrera opened the fifth with back-to-back doubles.

ATHLETICS 3, RAYS 0

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Drew Pomeranz won his third consecutive start since moving from the bullpen into the rotation, Coco Crisp drove in two runs before departing with an injury, and the surging Oakland Athletics beat the Rays.

Pomeranz (4-1) allowed three hits, two walks and had three strikeouts over five innings. He has not given up a run in his three starts, all of which lasted five innings.

Crisp hit a two-run double and John Jaso had an RBI single off Jake Odorizzi (2-4) as Oakland took a 3-0 lead in the second.

The AL West-leading Athletics have won 10 of 11, outscoring their opponents 74-18 over the stretch.

INDIANS 6, TIGERS 2

CLEVELAND — Trevor Bauer outpitched former Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander and tamed Detroit’s menacing lineup, leading the Indians to a win over the Tigers.

Bauer (1-1) was recalled earlier in the day for his second start this season, and the right-hander held the AL’s top hitting team to just two runs and seven hits in six-plus innings.

MARINERS 6, RANGERS 2

ARLINGTON, Texas — Kyle Seager had three hits, including a two-run single that sparked a four-run third inning, andd the Mariners beat the Rangers.

Seager, a career .256 hitter in four seasons, is hitting .329 against the Rangers.

Robinson Cano, Dustin Ackley and recent call-up Nick Franklin added two hits each as the Mariners, last in the American League in hitting, had every member of the batting order reach base during the first four innings,

WHITE SOX 7, ROYALS 6

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Adam Dunn hit a three-run homer and the White Sox defeated the Royals.

Andre Rienzo (4-0) limited the Royals to two runs and five hits over six innings. He struck out a career-high eight.

The Royals’ record dropped to 5-15 against American League Central opponents.

Gordon Beckham and Conor Gillaspie, who each had three hits, singled before Dunn homered in the eighth off right-hander Aaron Crow, who had allowed two three-run homers in his past two appearances.

Beckham has hit safely in 13 of his past 15 games, while Gillaspie increased his average to .347.

Royals rookie right-hander Yordano Ventura (2-4) took the loss, allowing four runs and seven hits, including a Tyler Flowers home run, in six innings.

ANGELS 9, ASTROS 3

ANAHEIM, Calif. — David Freese had a season-high four RBIs after getting reinstated from the disabled list, Tyler Skaggs pitched seven solid innings and the Angels scored five unearned runs against Scott Feldman to beat the Astros.

Mike Trout had three RBIs in his second game of the season as a designated hitter, helping the Angels win for the ninth time in 12 games.

BRAVES 5, BREWERS 0

ATLANTA — Julio Teheran pitched a six-hitter for his second shutout of the season, Justin Upton had three RBIs and the Atlanta Braves won their third in a row.

It was another laugher in the matchup between first-place teams, the Braves jumping ahead with three runs in the third and cruising to victory after opening the series with a 9-3 rout.

The Brewers have lost four in a row overall, their longest skid of 2014.

Teheran (3-3) bounced back from the shortest start of his career at San Francisco, where he lasted just 3 1-3 innings in a 10-4 loss.

Upton had a two-run single in the third and his 12th homer in the fifth, a solo shot.

Yovani Gallardo (2-2) took the loss.

ROCKIES 5, GIANTS 4

DENVER — Nolan Arenado hit a two-out, two-run double off the wall in the ninth inning for Colorado.

It was the second straight game the Rockies have won in walkoff fashion, with Justin Morneau hitting a two-run homer in the 10th against San Diego on Sunday.

The NL West-leading Giants took a 4-3 lead in the top of the ninth on an RBI double by Tyler Colvin against closer LaTroy Hawkins (2-0).

Arenado hit a 2-2 pitch off closer Sergio Romo (3-1) that glanced off the top of the fence in left and bounced back into the outfield, easily scoring Troy Tulowitzki and then a hustling Carlos Gonzalez with the winning run.

CARDINALS 5, DIAMONDBACKS 0

ST. LOUIS — Adam Wainwright threw a one-hitter, facing one hitter over the minimum, and the St. Louis Cardinals ended an eight-game home run drought with long balls from Matt Adams and Jhonny Peralta.

Working on six days rest because of a rainout and day off, Wainwright (7-2) retired the first 11 batters before Paul Goldschmidt doubled off the wall in center with two outs in the fourth.

Peralta hit his team-leading ninth of the season in the sixth and added one of the Cardinals’ five doubles for a second RBI against Bronson Arroyo (4-3). Arroyo had been 3-0 with an 0.39 ERA in May and hadn’t allowed a homer his last four starts. Arroyo gave up five runs in seven innings.

NATIONALS 9, REDS 4

WASHINGTON — Denard Span was at his disruptive best, getting three hits off the major’s top pitcher and forcing a pair of throwing errors Tuesday night to lead the Washington Nationals to a 9-4 win over the Cincinnati Reds.

Span finished 5 for 5 with two runs, two doubles, two RBIs and a stolen base as the Nationals accomplished a first for 2014: They made Johnny Cueto (4-3) look mortal.

The Reds’ ace allowed more than two runs, more than five hits and failed to pitch at least seven innings — all for the first time this season.

The final line for Cueto: 5 1-3 innings, six hits, eight runs (six earned), six strikeouts. He also hit two batters in the same inning.

Doug Fister (1-1) worked seven innings and earned his first win for the Nationals.

PHILLIES 6, MARLINS 5

MIAMI — Jimmy Rollins homered for the second game in a row to put the Philadelphia ahead to stay.

The Phillies began the night ranked 26th in the majors in homers, but they’ve hit seven in the past three games — all wins — while scoring 26 runs.

A.J. Burnett (3-3), who pitched for the Marlins from 1999-2005, won his first start at Marlins Park despite struggling with his command. He walked four and needed 96 pitches to get through five innings.

The Phillies’ Jonathan Papelbon gave up an RBI single by Garrett Jones in the ninth before notching his 12th save.

Anthony DeSclafani (1-1) allowed five runs in 5 1-3 innings for Miami.

DODGERS 9, METS 4

NEW YORK — Adrian Gonzalez homered again in his second consecutive three-hit game and Yasiel Puig reached base five times to lead Los Angeles.

Josh Beckett (2-1) helped himself with an RBI single in his second straight victory after 14 winless starts.

But the fiery right-hander left frustrated after failing to get an out in the sixth inning.

Carl Crawford scored three times and stole two bases. Gonzalez connected for a two-run shot in a four-run fifth, when Los Angeles chased Rafael Montero (0-2) from his second major league start.

Dodgers third baseman Juan Uribe limped off with an injury after his ninth-inning double. Puig, who had three hits and scored twice to extend his recent tear at the plate, delivered an RBI single during a three-run ninth.

INTERLEAGUE

ORIOLES 9, PIRATES 2

PITTSBURGH — Chris Davis hit three home runs, doubling his season total, and drove in five runs to lead Baltimore.

Davis hit a two-run blast during a four-run fifth inning that put the Orioles ahead 6-1 then hit a solo shot in the seventh and two-run homer in the ninth. It was Davis’ second career three-homer game – the other came on Aug. 24, 2012 against Toronto – and seventh multi-homer game.

After leading the major leagues and setting a franchise record with 53 homers last season, Davis hit three in his first 30 games.

Miguel Gonzalez (2-3) pitched sixth innings for Baltimore.

Francisco Liriano (0-4) allowed six runs and nine hits in five innings for Pittsburgh.

TWINS 5, PADRES 3

SAN DIEGO — Kevin Correia scattered three runs and four hits over six innings and Kurt Suzuki hit an inside-the-park homer for Minnesota.

Correia (2-5), a San Diego native, struck out six and walked a batter in winning for only the second time in his last six starts. Glen Perkins pitched the ninth for his 13th save in 15 chances.

Ian Kennedy (2-6) worked into the seventh for San Diego, giving up four runs as he lost for the seventh time in eight starts against American League teams.

It was the second of Kennedy’s two wild pitches which helped the Twins score the go-ahead run in the seventh. His first wild pitch in the sixth let the Twins tie the game.