Tanaka remains perfect

NEW YORK — The last time Masahiro Tanaka lost a regular season game, Mark Teixeira was a reliable slugger in the heart of the Yankees’ batting order.

NEW YORK — The last time Masahiro Tanaka lost a regular season game, Mark Teixeira was a reliable slugger in the heart of the Yankees’ batting order.

Since August 2012, Teixeira has hurt a wrist and hamstring, missing most of last season and half of the first month of this season. He’s back looking like his usual bashing self — just in time to help Tanaka on Saturday.

Teixeira homered for the fourth time in his last five games and drove in three runs as the Yankees rallied past the Tampa Bay Rays 9-3 and stopped a season-high, three-game losing streak.

“You want to put up numbers. You want to put up those home runs, and you want to drive in runs for your team, and when you start seeing that, then it makes you feel better about where you are physically,” Teixeira. “It’s been a struggle the last year coming back from this injury, but so far the results have been good this year.”

Teixeira reached 30 homers and 100 RBIs in each of his first three years with the Yankees before dropping to 24 homers and and 84 RBIs in 123 games in 2012.

In 14 games this season, he has five homers to tie for the team lead and has 10 RBIs.

“I never doubted him,” manager Joe Girardi said. “I said all along he was a guy who could be 30 and a hundred for us.”

Tanaka extended his regular-season unbeaten streak to 40 starts, and Kelly Johnson hit a tiebreaking solo homer in the sixth inning off Josh Lueke (0-2), who also gave up a run-scoring single to Teixeira and a sacrifice fly to Alfonso Soriano in a two-run seventh.

Tanaka (4-0) gave up solo homers to Desmond Jennings and Wil Myers around an RBI single by Ryan Hanigan, falling behind 3-0 by the fourth and looking shaky by the standard set over his first five big league starts.

“I think I was able to get my rhythm back as I got deeper into the game,” Tanaka said through an interpreter.

New York’s offense did the rest. Teixeira hit a two-run homer in the fourth, and Jacoby Ellsbury’s RBI single in the fifth tied it at 3.

Signed by the Yankees from Japan’s Rakuten Golden Eagles during the offseason, Tanaka allowed three runs and eight hits in seven innings, striking out his last two batters to give him five or the day.

“He just grinded it out,” said Tampa Bay’s Matt Joyce, who struck out attempting to bunt for a hit in the first inning. “He was a little frustrated with himself at times. You could tell. And he just kept working through it.”

Tanaka is 32-0 in regular season games since losing to Seibu on Aug. 19, 2012. He did lose Game 6 of last year’s Japan Series.

Jake Odorizzi retired the first nine Yankees in order, then allowed New York to go 4 for 8 with two walks before he was replaced by Cesar Ramos. Opponents are batting .140 (7 for 50) against Odorizzi in his first time through the batting order, .442 (19 for 43) his second time through and .500 (9 for 18) the third.

Ellsbury led off the fourth with a single to start the Yankees’ offense, and Texeira followed with his shot. Brett Gardner added a two-run single in a three-run eighth inning.

New York stranded two or more runners twice in the first five innings after doing it it four times Friday, including three times in extra innings during a 14-inning loss.

RED SOX 6, A’S 3

BOSTON — Jon Lester (3-4) struck out a career-high 15, allowing one hit over eight scoreless innings — Craig Gentry’s leadoff bloop single in the third over the head of second baseman Dustin Pedroia.

Jonny Gomes hit a grand slam in the first off Tommy Milone (0-3), and David Ortiz and David Ross added solo homers in Boston’s second straight win after losing a day-night doubleheader to Tampa Bay.

After Oakland scored three runs in the ninth against Chris Capuano, helped by two errors, Koji Uehara got out of a one-out, two-on jam for his seventh save.

TWINS 6

ORIOLES 1

MINNEAPOLIS — Joe Mauer and Brian Dozier homered, Kevin Correia earned his first win of the season and Minnesota ended its four-game losing streak.

Mauer had three hits and four RBIs, including a three-run homer off Brad Brach in the seventh that broke open the game. Dozier’s eighth homer, a solo shot off Wei-Yin Chen (3-2) in the third, gave the Twins the lead for good.

Correia (1-3) gave up one run and five hits in seven innings, retiring 13 of his final 14 batters. He had been 0-6 in nine starts since winning at Texas on Sept. 1.

MARINERS 9

ASTROS 8

HOUSTON — Justin Smoak hit a two-run homer off Raul Valdes that capped an eight-run seventh inning that built a 9-2 lead.

Dallas Keuchel (2-2) left after walking the first three batters of the seventh, and Jose Cisneros forced in the run that made it 2-2 when he walked Mike Zunino. Michael Saunders followed with a two-run double.

Hisashi Iwakuma (1-0) made his first appearance after starting the season on the disabled list because of a sprained middle finger and allowed four runs and six hits in 6 2-3 innings. Fernando Rodney pitched 1 1-3 innings for his seventh save.

CUBS 3

CARDINALS 0

CHICAGO — Jake Arrieta struck out seven and allowed four hits over 5 1-3 innings in his season debut, leading the Chicago Cubs over the St. Louis Cardinals 3-0 for their first three-game winning streak this season.

Arrieta, slowed by shoulder stiffness this spring, walked two and threw 82 pitches.

Chicago’s bullpen finished a seven-hitter. Brian Schlitter (1-0) got two outs for the win, and Hector Rondon worked around a pair of leadoff singles in the ninth for his third save.

Junior Lake hit a two-run homer and Anthony Rizzo had a solo shot for the Cubs, who hadn’t won three straight a series sweep at San Francisco last July 26-28.

Michael Wacha (2-3) allowed two runs, five hits and three walks in six innings.

GIANTS 3, BRAVES 1

ATLANTA — Brandon Belt, Buster Posey and Michael Morse led off innings with home runs, and the streaking San Francisco Giants beat the slumping Atlanta Braves 3-1 on Saturday night in a matchup of first-place teams.

The NL West-leading Giants have won four straight and eight of nine. The Braves, who lead the NL East, have lost five straight for the first time since May 21-28, 2012.

San Francisco had only four hits but has homered in 10 straight games, a feat it previously accomplished from Sept. 23-Oct. 3, 2010.

Ryan Vogelsong (1-1) allowed one run, five hits and four walks in six innings, and Sergio Romo pitched a perfect ninth for his ninth save. Julio Teheran (2-2) gave up just four hits with no walks in seven innings, but allowed a season-high three runs.

PIRATES 8, BLUE JAYS 6

PITTSBURGH — Neil Walker hit a tiebreaking, two-run double in the eighth against Todd Redmond (0-3), capping a comeback from a 5-0 deficit.

A night after wasting a 5-3, ninth-inning lead in a 6-5 loss, Toronto led 6-2 in the seventh but the the Pirates tied the score against Aaron Loup on Josh Harrison’s RBI double, Pedro Alvarez’s run-scoring groundout and pinch-hitter Jordy Mercer’s two-run double.

Bryan Morris (3-0) pitched a perfect eighth, and Mark Melancon earned his first save of the season in place of injured closer Jason Grilli, retiring Colby Ramus on a game-ending groundout with two on. Pittsburgh, which overcame four errors, won consecutive games for the first time since beating St. Louis and the Chicago Cubs on April 6 and 8.

PHILS 7, NATIONALS 2

PHILADELPHIA — Ryan Howard and Cody Asche homered, and A.J. Burnett (2-1) allowed one run and three hits in six innings.

Jimmy Rollins had four hits and Marlon Byrd doubled and drove in a pair of runs for Philadelphia, which won for just the third time in 11 games against the Nationals.

Adam LaRoche and Zach Walters homered for Washington.

Tanner Roark (2-1) had the poorest start of his two-year big league career, allowing seven runs and seven hits in four-plus innings.

REDS 6, BREWERS 2

CINCINNATI — Johnny Cueto (3-2) gave up three hits over eight innings, including solo homers by by Aramis Ramirez and Mark Reynolds, and singled in a run. Cueto, who walked one and struck out 10, is the first Reds pitcher to throw at least seven innings in each of his first seven starts in a season since Bucky Walters in 1944

Yovani Gallardo (2-1) gave up four runs and nine hits in six innings.

Ryan Ludwick singled home a run, and Brayan Pena drove in two more with a single in a three-run fourth.

DIAMONDBACKS 4

PADRES 3

SAN DIEGO — Brandon McCarthy threw seven superb innings and Alfredo Marte drove in two runs as the Diamondbacks survived a ninth-inning rally for a win over the Padres.

The Diamondbacks handed San Diego its fourth straight loss as the major-leagues’ worst offensive team avoided its third shutout in four game with three runs in the ninth.

McCarthy (1-5), who tied his career high with his fifth straight loss in his last start, gave up three hits, including two doubles to Seth Smith, and allowed just one runner to reach third base. He struck out six and walked one.

The Diamondbacks, who came into the game with the majors’ highest ERA at 5.03, had their scoreless innings string snapped at 24 innings when J.J. Putz allowed a one-out single to Smith and an RBI double to Yasmani Grandal.

Addison Reed then surrendered Jedd Gyroko’s two-run homer.

DODGERS 9, MARLINS 7

MIAMI — Pinch-hitter Carl Crawford hit a two-run homer in the 11th inning, and the Dodgers escaped several late-inning jams to beat the Marlins.

The Marlins lost even though they tied a franchise record at Marlins Park with three home runs. They erased a 7-2 sixth-inning deficit but left the bases loaded in the eighth and ninth, and left two on in the 10th.

Yasiel Puig hit a three-run homer and Dee Gordon had a career-high five hits for the Dodgers.

Gordon drove in two runs, scored twice and stole three bases to increase his total to 19, most in the majors. He’s 8 for 11 in the series to hike his average to .357.

Juan Uribe walked to start the 11th against Carlos Marmol (0-2), and with one out Crawford hit his first homer. Manager Don Mattingly held Crawford out of the starting lineup because he was hitting .185.

ROCKIES 11

METS 10

DENVER — Pinch-hitter Charlie Culberson hit a two-run homer in the ninth inning off Kyle Farnsworth, and the Rockies, down by six runs early, rallied again to beat the Mets in a wild affair.

The Mets had weathered an eight-run fifth inning by Colorado, that included Nolan Arenado’s grand slam, and took a 10-9 lead on Juan Lagares’ RBI single in the ninth inning off LaTroy Hawkins (1-0).

But Troy Tulowitzki, who recorded his 1,000th career hit earlier, singled off Farnsworth (0-2) to start the bottom of the ninth. He advanced to second on a deep flyout by Arenado, and Culberson followed with a drive that cleared the center field wall.

The crowd erupted as he rounded the bases. As he neared the plate, he tossed his helmet and jumped onto home plate as he was mobbed by his teammates.