Associated Press
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES — A black cowboy hat rested in Paul Goldschmidt’s locker, although he really was the good guy for the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Goldschmidt homered twice, including a tie-breaking shot for the third straight game, in a 3-2 victory over the slumping Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday night. He is batting .458 with four homers and 11 RBI in six games against the Dodgers so far this season.
His first homer, a two-run shot in the sixth, came off Clayton Kershaw, ending a 1 for 16 showing against the Dodgers ace.
“I knew my numbers weren’t good,” Goldschmidt said. “You got to go up there and have good at-bats. He really doesn’t make many mistakes. He mixes it up. It’s not a guy you’re going to get a lot of hits off of.”
Goldschmidt homered to left field in the eighth on a fastball from Kenley Jansen with two outs to snap a 2-all tie. It was the first multi-homer game of his career.
“Obviously you’re excited,” he said. “I knew it was going to be close. I couldn’t see it so I looked at the umpire and he said it was good.”
The D-backs completed a three-game sweep of the Dodgers, who have dropped a season-high seven straight games and committed three errors on Wednesday.
“I’m frustrated and I think the rest of the team is, too. It’s no fun to come to the park and lose every single day,” Kershaw said. “There are a lot of expectations of this team, and the talent’s there. We’re just not winning games.”
Wade Miley (3-1) outlasted Kershaw in a matchup of two of the best left-handed starters in the NL over the past two seasons.
Miley allowed two runs and seven hits in 7 2/3 innings — his longest outing of the season — struck out four and walked none to win for the first time since April 10. He worked quickly, with four 11-pitch innings.
“Just quit thinking,” Miley said of the adjustment he made. “I went after guys. I was able to have it in and out more than I had in the past. Everything had been going to the middle.”
Heath Bell pitched the ninth to earn his third save in four chances.
He was called upon after closer J.J. Putz went on the 15-day DL earlier in the day with a strained right elbow that he hurt in the ninth on Tuesday.
“J.J.’s our closer,” Bell said before the game. “Even if he’s out for two weeks or three weeks, we’re just like a Band-Aid until he gets back. Even if it’s a month or so, he’s still our closer and he’s still our guy.”
Jansen (1-1) took the loss, giving up one run and one hit in one inning. He struck out two and walked none.
Kershaw allowed two runs — one earned — and five hits in seven innings. The left-hander struck out four and walked one. He has three no-decisions in his past four starts.
Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier were a combined 2 for 8 with three strikeouts for the Dodgers, who have yet to win this month.
“Everybody knows what we need to do, and that’s score runs and get those big hits,” Kemp said. “But we’re not doing it right now. We all need to get on the same page and get this thing going.”
Arizona tied the game at 2-all on Goldschmidt’s first homer in the sixth. Didi Gregorius reached on a throwing error by shortstop Dee Gordon to open the inning and Goldschmidt followed with his second two-run shot of the series. His other one snapped a tie in the ninth on Tuesday and gave the D-backs a 5-3 victory.
“He’s their guy over there right now. He’s swinging the bat really well, so that’s my fault,” Kershaw said. “I’ve had some success against him, but he’s their three-hole hitter and he’s swinging the bat really well right now.”
The Dodgers led 2-0 on RBI doubles by Nick Punto and Adrian Gonzalez that both found the right field corner in the fourth. In the fifth inning, Gonzalez left the game after aggravating a strained neck muscle when he dived for a pop foul by Will Nieves.
GIANTS 4, PHILLIES 3
SAN FRANCISCO — Andres Torres lined a game-ending single to right field with two outs in the 10th inning, helping San Francisco avoid a sweep.
Javier Lopez (1-0) pitched the 10th for the win after Sergio Romo blew his second save in 14 opportunities, failing to finish off Barry Zito’s gem.
Buster Posey hit a pinch-hit single to start the 10th against Antonio Bastardo (1-1) and was sacrificed to second by Joaquin Arias. Posey advanced to third on a wild pitch before Torres came through with his fourth career game-ending hit.
The Giants earned their fifth walkoff victory.
Hunter Pence homered against his former club for the second time during the three-game series, but Romo wasn’t his usual spot-on self in the ninth.
Pence sent a 2-2 pitch into the stands in left field leading off the second for his seventh homer. Marco Scutaro hit a go-ahead single in the fifth to score Gregor Blanco after he singled and stole second.
PADRES 1, MARLINS 0
SAN DIEGO — Jason Marquis outpitched Ricky Nolasco, Yonder Alonso had a sacrifice fly in the sixth inning and San Diego completed a three-game sweep of Miami.
Marquis (4-2) allowed five hits, walked one and struck out three in eight innings, his longest stint since last Aug. 11th when he had a 5-0 shutout at Pittsburgh.
Huston Street pitched the ninth to pick up his eighth save in eight chances.
The Padres have won four straight and 11 of their last 14.
Nolasco (2-4) gave up one run and four hits, with one walk and a season-high nine strikeouts in seven innings. He had won his four previous decisions at San Diego, where he dropped to 4-2 with a 2.11 ERA in his career.
CARDINALS 5, CUBS 4
CHICAGO — Carlos Beltran and Jon Jay drove in two runs apiece, and St. Louis won for the seventh time in eight games to improve to a major league-best 14-7 on the road.
Beltran also had three hits as St. Louis went 5-1 on a six-game swing to Milwaukee and Chicago, with the lone loss coming Tuesday in their first game of the season against the last-place Cubs.
The Cardinals trailed 4-3 before Beltran singled in Matt Carpenter in the seventh, and Jay drove in Yadier Molina with a tiebreaking single against Michael Bowden (1-2) in the eighth.
Four St. Louis relievers combined for 3 2-3 innings of two-hit ball after Jake Westbrook had his worst start this season. Seth Maness (2-0) got five outs to get the win and Edward Mujica worked the ninth for his ninth save in nine opportunities.
BRAVES 7, REDS 2
CINCINNATI — Dan Uggla hit a pair of solo homers and Juan Francisco added his first career grand slam as Atlanta recovered from a stunning last-swing loss the previous day.
Atlanta took two of three, the first series the Reds lost at home this season.
Devin Mesoraco and Shin-Soo Choo hit two-out homers in the ninth for Cincinnati’s 5-4 win on Tuesday. A day later, one of the NL’s top power teams got the better of it.
Uggla had solo shots in the fourth and sixth off Mike Leake (2-2). Francisco’s slam off J.J. Hoover highlighted a five-run eighth. The Braves got Francisco from the Reds last year for Hoover.
Mike Minor (4-2) allowed four hits in seven innings, including Zack Cozart’s solo homer.
DIAMONDBACKS 3, DODGERS 2
LOS ANGELES — Paul Goldschmidt homered twice, including a tie-breaking shot for the second straight game, lifting Arizona over slumping Los Angeles.
The D-backs completed a three-game sweep of the Dodgers, who have dropped a season-high seven straight games.
Goldschmidt homered to left field in the eighth with two outs. He also hit a two-run shot off Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw in the sixth.
Wade Miley (3-1) outlasted Kershaw in a matchup of two of the best left-handed starters in the NL over the past two seasons.
Miley allowed two runs and seven hits in 7 2/3 innings, struck out four and walked none.
Heath Bell pitched the ninth to earn his third save in four chances.
INTERLEAGUE
YANKEES 3, ROCKIES 2
DENVER — Pinch-hitter Brennan Boesch hit a tiebreaking infield single with the bases loaded in the ninth off closer Rafael Betancourt and New York snapped a five-game skid at Coors Field.
Vernon Wells had a two-run homer in the first and scored the decisive run when third baseman Nolan Arenado couldn’t throw out a hustling Boesch after a diving stop.
David Robertson (2-0) earned the win by working out of a jam in the eighth and Mariano Rivera pitched the ninth for his 12th save in 12 chances.
It’s the first time New York has won in the Mile High City since June, 19, 2002.
RANGERS 4, BREWERS 1
MILWAUKEE — Derek Holland allowed one run over seven shaky innings and the Texas Rangers benefited from two Milwaukee baserunning blunders to beat the Brewers 4-1 Wednesday night.
Holland (3-2), who struck out six and walked none, yielded 10 hits — including two in the second, three in the third and three in the sixth. He escaped with the help of some sloppy baserunning by the Brewers, who had a runner thrown out at the plate to end the third and another thrown out at third base in the sixth.
Tanner Scheppers pitched the eighth and Joe Nathan finished for his ninth save. The Rangers remain the only team in either league without a blown save, 10 for 10.
Ian Kinsler hit a two-run shot for Texas.
NATIONALS 3 TIGERS 1
WASHINGTON — Bryce Harper hit a solo homer and drove in another run with a sacrifice fly, Jordan Zimmermann won his NL-leading sixth game and Washington for the fifth time in six games.
Denard Span added a triple and a single for Washington, which has won five of six.
Zimmermann (6-1), whose scoreless streak was snapped at 20 innings in the third, allowing a run on seven hits over seven innings. He fanned seven and lowered his ERA to 1.59 in winning his third straight start.
Rafael Soriano pitched a scoreless ninth for his 11th save.
Jhonny Peralta had two hits for the Tigers, who had won four straight and nine of 10.
Detroit’s Anibal Sanchez (3-3) allowed three runs, two earned, on eight hits and struck out eight.
WHITE SOX 6, METS 3
NEW YORK — Jake Peavy pitched three-hit ball in his return from a balky back, Alejandro De Aza had a leadoff homer and Chicago earned a split of the two-game interleague series.
Alex Rios homered among his three hits and knocked in two runs for the White Sox. Conor Gillaspie blooped a two-run double off Jeremy Hefner (0-4) as Chicago’s struggling hitters finally found a few holes.
Rios also had an RBI double and Paul Konerko a run-scoring single to help the last-place White Sox take the finale of a 4-4 road trip.
Peavy (4-1) got some prime help on defense from shortstop Alexei Ramirez and center fielder Dewayne Wise.
MARINERS 2, PIRATES 1
PITTSBURGH — Felix Hernandez scattered six hits and Jesus Montero broke a tie with a solo home run in the seventh inning off A.J. Burnett to lead Seattle.
Hernandez (5-2) struck out five and walked one to improve to 4-0 in his last five starts while shaving his ERA to 1.53. The right-hander shook off a shaky first inning then settled down to allow four base runners in his final seven innings of work. Tom Wilhelmsen worked the ninth for his ninth save.
Burnett (3-3) was almost as sharp, giving up just two hits over seven innings while striking out nine. Yet he also walked four batters and gave up Montero’s third homer of the season with one out in the seventh.
INDIANS 4, ATHLETICS 3
CLEVELAND — An apparent game-tying homer by Oakland’s Adam Rosales was ruled a double by umpires in the ninth inning, and the Indians held on to beat the Athletics.
Rosales sent a drive off Indians closer Chris Perez that looked as if it cleared the left-field wall. However, second base umpire Angel Hernandez called it a double, and the crew concurred with the original ruling after leaving the field to review the videotape.
When the umpires returned and told Rosales to stay at second, A’s manager Bob Melvin sprinted onto the field and was immediately ejected.
TV replays appeared to show the ball cleared the yellow stripe and hit a metal railing above the 19-foot high wall.
Perez wound up loading the bases before getting the final out as the Indians won for the ninth time in 10 games.
Nick Swisher and Carlos Santana homered for Cleveland.
TWINS 15, RED SOX 8
BOSTON — Pedro Florimon had a solo homer and a two-run double in Minnesota’s season-high, seven-run second inning that carried the Twins to a rout over Boston.
David Ortiz went 0 for 5 with two strikeouts and three groundouts to snap his 27-game hitting streak, dating back to last season. Ortiz had hit safely in his first 15 games this season, giving him Boston’s longest since Manny Ramirez also hit in 27 straight in 2006.
Ryan Doumit had a two-run homer, Oswald Arcia went 4 for 5 with three singles and a double, and Trevor Flouffe drove in three of the Twins’ season-high runs. Minnesota also had a season-high 19 hits.
Jonny Gomes hit his fourth career grand slam — first with the Red Sox — and drove in five runs. Shane Victorino added a solo homer for Boston, which lost for the fifth time in six games.
Ryan Pressly (1-0) pitched four shutout innings of relief for the win.
Boston’s Allen Webster (0-1), making his second career start, gave up eight runs, six hits and walked three while getting only five outs.
RAYS 10, BLUE JAYS 4
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Matt Moore won his sixth straight decision to start the season, Evan Longoria drove in three runs, and Tampa Bay beat Toronto.
Moore (6-0) overcame control issues, allowing two runs, six hits and four walks in five innings. The left-hander threw 104 pitches, including 56 strikes, during his seventh start of the year.
Longoria had a two-run homer and RBI single, and Kelly Johnson had three hits, including a two-run shot.
The Rays lost the first two games of the series, blowing a seven-run lead Monday and a three-run advantage Tuesday.
Struggling Blue Jays starter Ricky Romero (0-2) gave up three run-scoring singles and got just one out during his second outing this year.
ASTROS 3, ANGELS 1
HOUSTON — Bud Norris pitched into the ninth inning and Chris Carter homered for the second straight game to help Houston over Los Angeles.
The victory gives Houston its third series win of the season. The Angels dropped to 4-13 away from Anaheim.
Marwin Gonzalez and Jimmy Paredes hit RBI doubles in the third before Carter connected on his team-leading eighth homer in the fifth inning to make it 3-0.
Norris (4-3) allowed nine hits and one run in eight-plus innings.
He was chased by consecutive singles by Mike Trout and Albert Pujols to start the ninth.
Closer Jose Veras retired Mark Trumbo before plunking Josh Hamilton to load the bases. But Houston turned its fourth double play of the game to end it and give Veras his fourth save.
Angels starter Joe Blanton (0-6) allowed eight hits and three runs in 6 2-3 innings to remain winless this season.
ORIOLES 5, ROYALS 3
BALTIMORE — J.J. Hardy homered, Chris Tillman won his third straight start and Baltimore took advantage of three errors by Kansas City in a victory.
Manny Machado scored a run and hit an RBI single for the Orioles, whose season-high fourth consecutive win moved them eight games over .500 (21-13) for the first time this year.
Baltimore has been outhit in each of its past three games, including 7-5 in this one. The Orioles are 3-6 when outhit by their opponent.
Tillman (3-1) allowed three runs and five hits in six innings. The right-hander came in 0-2 with a 10.93 ERA in three career starts against the Royals.
Troy Patton pitched the seventh, Darren O’Day and Brian Matusz worked the eighth and Jim Johnson got three outs for his 13th save.
Alex Gordon hit his second home run in two games and Mike Moustakas went 3 for 4 with a homer for Kansas City.
Luis Mendoza (0-2) gave up five runs, three earned, and five hits in six innings for the Royals.