Cardinals slam Halladay, Phils

Associated Press

ST. LOUIS — Roy Halladay gave up a grand slam to Yadier Molina in an abbreviated two-inning start before leaving with shoulder soreness, and the St. Louis Cardinals avoided a four-game sweep with an 8-3 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday.

The Phillies were looking for their first four-game sweep in St. Louis in 99 years.

Halladay (4-5) departed with a 3.98 ERA after an outing that matched the second-shortest outing of his career. The team said the two-time Cy Young award winner was taken out as a precautionary measure and that he’ll be re-evaluated in the next few days.

Since winning his first three starts, Halladay is 1-5 with a 5.08 ERA in eight games, and the Phillies have lost seven of his last eight starts.

Adam Wainwright (4-5) allowed a run on seven hits in six innings, thriving in 90-degree heat for his second straight dominant outing. Molina left due to dehydration during an at-bat in the fifth.

Carlos Beltran hit his NL-leading 15th home run for St. Louis and rookie Matt Adams hit the first of his career.

PIRATES 10, CUBS 4

PITTSBURGH — The Chicago Cubs lost their 12th straight game as Pedro Alvarez, Andrew McCutchen and Garrett Jones homered for Pittsburgh.

Erik Bedard (3-5) allowed two hits in six shutout innings. Pittsburgh completed its first three-game sweep at PNC Park since Sept. 17-19, 2010.

The Cubs’ skid is their longest since they started out 0-14 in the 1997 season. Matt Garza (2-3) took the loss.

The lowest-scoring team in baseball, the Pirates set a season high for runs and matched a season best by winning their third consecutive game.

NATIONALS 7, BRAVES 2

ATLANTA — Bryce Harper hit his second homer in two days, Gio Gonzalez gave up only one hit in seven innings and the Washington Nationals beat struggling Atlanta to complete a three-game sweep.

Washington’s first sweep at Turner Field in three years left the Braves with a seven-game losing streak, their worst skid since dropping nine straight in 2010.

At 29-18, the Nationals moved 11 games over .500 for the first time since their 2005 inaugural season in Washington.

Gonzalez (7-1) struck out 10 and outpitched Brandon Beachy (5-3) in the matchup of ERA leaders.

REDS 7, ROCKIES 5

CINCINNATI — Brandon Phillips hit a three-run homer to help the Cincinnati Reds outslug Colorado in a game that set a record for Great American Ball Park with nine home runs.

Mat Latos (4-2) allowed five hits — and all of them were solo home runs. Colorado’s Carlos Gonzalez hit two of them, and Troy Tulowitzki, Michael Cuddyer and Dexter Fowler also took the Cincinnati starter deep.

Joey Votto, Jay Bruce and Todd Frazier homered for Cincinnati, which finished 6-1 on a seven-game homestand during which 29 home runs were hit — also a ballpark best.

Aroldis Chapman pitched 1 2-3 innings for his third save to help the Reds go 6-1 on the homestand.

Jamie Moyer (2-5) gave up seven hits and a season-high seven runs in five innings.

GIANTS 3, MARLINS 2

MIAMI — Melky Cabrera tied a career high with four hits, including a home run, and scored all three runs for the San Francisco Giants to help Matt Cain beat Miami.

Cabrera went 4 for 4 to raise his average to .369 and has 73 hits, most in the majors. He also stole two bases.

Cain (5-2) won his fourth start in a row. Santiago Casilla gave up one hit in 1 1-3 scoreless innings for his 12th save in 13 chances.

Ricky Nolasco (5-3) allowed three runs in seven innings.

METS 2, PADRES 0

NEW YORK — R.A. Dickey struck out 10 and reached double digits for strikeouts in consecutive games for the first time in his career and the New York Mets held San Diego scoreless for the second straight day.

Dickey (7-1) struck out 11 Pirates on Tuesday. He is the first Mets pitcher to have back-to-back games with at least 10 Ks since Pedro Martinez did it in May 2006.

A day after Johan Santana pitched a four-hitter, Dickey combined with two relievers on a shutout. Tim Byrdak got two outs to finish the eighth and Frank Francisco pitched the ninth for his 13th save in 15 chances.

Daniel Murphy had an RBI single and Mike Baxter scored on a passed ball as the Mets took advantage of a wild Edinson Volquez (2-5).

DODGERS 5, ASTROS 1

LOS ANGELES — Jerry Hairston Jr. got a career-high five hits, Chris Capuano won again and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat Houston.

Matt Treanor put the Dodgers ahead for good with a home run in the fourth inning that deflected off center fielder Justin Maxwell’s glove as he made a leaping attempt in left-center field.

Capuano (7-1) pitched two-hit ball over seven innings and struck out eight. The 33-year-old left-hander improved to 5-0 at home with a 1.36 ERA.

Tony Gwynn Jr. chipped in with a pair of RBI singles as the NL West leaders won for the sixth time in eight games despite missing injured regulars Matt Kemp, Mark Ellis, Juan Uribe and Juan Rivera.

Hairston went 5 for 5 with a double, scoring a run and driving in a run.

J.A. Happ (4-4) tied a career high by striking out 10.

DIAMONDBACKS 4

BREWERS 3

PHOENIX — Aaron Hill doubled twice and singled as the Arizona Diamondbacks rallied past Milwaukee.

Arizona won a series at home for the first time since a season-opening, three-game sweep of San Francisco.

Bryan Shaw (1-2) threw one pitch to induce an inning-ending double play in the sixth to get the win. Jose Veras (3-2) took the loss.

RAYS 4, RED SOX 3

BOSTON — Sean Rodriguez hit a two-run homer in the ninth inning off Boston closer Alfredo Aceves, and the Tampa Bay Rays rallied for a 4-3 victory over the Red Sox on Sunday, a day after losing in the final inning.

Will Rhymes went 3 for 3 with three singles and an RBI for the Rays, who lost Saturday night on a pinch-hit, two-run homer by Jarrod Saltalamacchia in the ninth off closer Fernando Rodney.

Adrian Gonzalez hit a three-run homer for Boston, which was about to move above .500 for the first time this season until Rodriguez hit a drive off Aceves (0-2) over the Green Monster with one out after Ben Zobrist walked.

Boston lost for just the fifth time in 16 games, but dropped two of three in the weekend series that was highlighted by a benches-clearing incident on Friday. It’s the latest the Red Sox (23-24) haven’t been over .500 since late August of 1996.

Jake McGee (2-1) retired Gonzalez, the only batter he faced, on a grounder to end the eighth with the bases loaded to earn the win. Rodney pitched the ninth for his 16th save.

RANGERS 12

BLUE JAYS 6

ARLINGTON, Texas — Adrian Beltre homered during a seven-run second inning, Yu Darvish posted his seventh victory and the Texas Rangers defeated the Toronto Blue Jays for a three-game sweep.

The AL West leaders outscored the Blue Jays 34-16 in the series, extending Toronto’s losing streak to five games. Ian Kinsler homered, doubled and drove in four runs and Michael Young had three hits for Texas. Mike Napoli added a two-run shot, ending his 24-game homerless drought.

Darvish (7-2) gave up three runs and seven hits in five innings. In his previous outing, he allowed five runs and walked a career-high six in four innings against Seattle.

J.P. Arencibia hit two solo home runs, and Colby Rasmus hit a two-run homer for the Blue Jays. Kyle Drabek (4-5) allowed a career-high nine runs in three innings and lost for the second time this season to Darvish.

YANKEES 2

ATHLETICS 0

OAKLAND, Calif. — Hiroki Kuroda (4-6) pitched eight scoreless innings and Andruw Jones hit a solo homer that helped the New York Yankees win their season-high fifth straight game.

The Yankees got off to a strong start to their nine-game road trip by sweeping the three-game series in Oakland, extending their winning streak at the Coliseum to nine games. That is tied for the second-longest winning streak ever by a road team in Oakland, trailing only Baltimore’s 13-game run from 1976-79.

Derek Jeter singled to lead off the game for his 3,155th career hit, breaking a tie with Hall of Famer George Brett to move into sole possession of 14th place all-time.

Oakland’s lack of hitting wasted another strong home start from rookie Tommy Milone (6-4), who allowed two runs and eight hits in 6 2-3 innings.

TIGERS 4, TWINS 3

MINNEAPOLIS — Miguel Cabrera’s two-run, one-out homer in the ninth inning lifted Detroit to a 4-3 victory over Minnesota, as the Tigers finished a three-game sweep of the Twins in style after leaving 10 men on base earlier in the game.

Cabrera crushed a 0-2 pitch to center field from Matt Capps (0-3), who took his first blown save in 10 tries. Rookie Quintin Berry started the inning with a single.

Jose Valverde followed for his ninth save in 11 attempts. Brayan Villarreal (1-1) recorded two outs in the eighth for the victory.

Prince Fielder had two more hits and went 9 for 12 in the series plus two walks for the Tigers, who have won 21 of their last 27 games against the Twins. After a ray-of-hope four-game winning streak on the road that included a two-game sweep of the Tigers in Detroit, the Twins have lost five in a row.

WHITE SOX 12

NDIANS 6

CHICAGO — Paul Konerko hit a tiebreaking three-run homer — his 400th with the White Sox — and Chicago routed the Cleveland Indians to complete a three-game sweep.

Gavin Floyd (4-5) got the win for the White Sox, who have won five straight for the first time this season and nine of 10 overall.

Chicago has homered in 13 consecutive games for the first time since 2006, and scored nine or more runs in four consecutive games. The White Sox haven’t accomplished that feat since June 27-30, 1938, according to the team, which cited the Elias Sports Bureau.

Konerko, who has a 13-game hitting streak, finished with two hits and four RBIs, and raised his average to a majors-best .399.

Johnny Damon hit a three-run homer for the Indians, his first of the season, and Ubaldo Jimenez (5-4) struggled over four-plus innings. He gave up seven runs and seven hits, walked four and struck out three.

ANGELS 4, MARINERS 2

SEATTLE — Kendrys Morales had three hits, including a home run, scored twice and drove in two runs to help the Los Angeles Angels complete their first four-game road sweep of the Seattle Mariners in 27 years.

C.J. Wilson (6-4) earned the win, allowing two hits and one run before leaving after six innings with a blister on his left hand. Scott Downs picked up his fifth save for the Angels, who have won a season-high six straight games, the longest current streak in the majors. They last swept the Mariners in four games here from April 25-28, 1985.

Morales and Mark Trumbo each hit solo home runs off Mariners starter Hector Noesi (2-6). Seattle has lost four in a row.

ROYALS 4, ORIOLES 2

BALTIMORE — Jeff Francoeur and Billy Butler hit home runs, and Alcides Escobar had two hits to lead the Kansas City Royals over the Baltimore Orioles.

Francoeur had a terrific series, hitting 7 for 12 against the Orioles, including two homers. Butler had home runs in successive games for the Royals, who won two consecutive games for the first time since a four-game winning streak from May 12-15.

Baltimore’s Adam Jones, whose six-year, $85.5 million contract extension was officially announced before the game, extended his career-long hitting streak to 18 — longest in the majors this season, with a fifth-inning double.

Tim Collins (2-0) was the winner with 1 1/3 perfect innings in relief of Kansas City starter Luke Hochevar. Brian Matusz (4-5) had a three-game winning streak broken.