Phillies hold on to top Braves

Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA — Humberto Quintero and Ryan Howard hit home runs to give Cliff Lee a five-run cushion, and the Philadelphia Phillies held on for a 5-4 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Friday night.

Dan Uggla hit a three-run shot, and the Braves snapped Lee’s streak of 11 straight games pitching at least seven innings and allowing three earned runs or less.

But Lee (10-2) still won his eighth straight decision. He allowed four runs and eight hits in 6 1-3 innings. J.C. Ramirez and Antonio Bastardo combined for five outs. Jonathan Papelbon finished for his 18th save in 22 tries.

Right fielder John Mayberry Jr. helped Papelbon with a sliding catch on Brian McCann’s sinking liner for the second out.

Paul Maholm (9-7) gave up five runs — four earned — and nine hits in six innings. Tim Hudson was scheduled to start for the Braves, but he was pushed back one day because of a stiff neck.

PIRATES 6

CUBS 2

CHICAGO — Francisco Liriano pitched a four-hitter for his first complete game in more than two years, and Pittsburgh beat Chicago for its 11th win in 13 games.

Liriano (8-3) went the distance for the first time since he tossed a no-hitter for Minnesota against the White Sox on May 3, 2011. He struck out seven and walked four to improve 5-1 in his last six starts. He also had an RBI single.

The Pirates, meanwhile, continue to roll. They came in with the best record in the majors and a two-game lead over St. Louis in the NL Central, and they had little trouble with Jeff Samardzija (5-8) and the Cubs.

Starling Marte had three hits, scored two runs and stole two bases for the Pirates.

NATIONALS 8

PADRES 5

WASHINGTON — Wilson Ramos drove in three runs, Gio Gonzalez won his third straight start and Washington defeated San Diego for its second straight win.

Jayson Werth had three hits and Denard Span added a two-run double for Washington.

Ramos has driven in eight runs in two games since coming off the disabled list on Thursday.

Chase Headley homered, doubled and drove in two runs, and Carlos Quentin had a three-run homer for the Padres, who’ve lost seven straight.

Gonzalez (6-3) went 6 2-3 innings, allowing three runs and eight hits while striking out five and walking one.

Padres starter Andrew Cashner (5-4) had his worst start of this season, lasting just two innings while giving up six runs and five hits. He had three walks and no strikeouts.

CARDINALS 4

MARLINS 1

ST. LOUIS — Jake Westbrook worked seven strong innings and Allen Craig had two RBIs for a lineup that spoiled Jacob Turner’s homecoming early on in St. Louis’ victory over Miami.

Matt Holliday doubled twice with an RBI and Edward Mujica rebounded with the save for the Cardinals, who had lost eight of 11 and plummeted from the majors’ best record to second place in the NL Central entering a five-game homestand.

The Marlins totaled three hits and lost for just the third time in 11 games.

The hard-throwing Turner (2-1), a former first-round pick from suburban St. Charles, Mo., and confidant of Cardinals manager Mike Matheny, surrendered four runs on seven hits in six innings. The 22-year-old entered with a 1.76 ERA his first six starts of the year and threw his first career complete game his last time out.

METS 12

BREWERS 5

MILWAUKEE — Kirk Nieuwenhuis drove in a career-best five runs and Zack Wheeler allowed one earned run over five shaky innings to pace New York to its victory over Milwaukee.

Nieuwenhuis entered the game hitting .179 in 56 at-bats after being recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas on June 9, but raised his average to .233 with his first four-hit game, getting two singles, a triple, a double and two walks.

Wheeler (2-1) gave up three runs on seven hits and walked three.

Brewers starter Johnny Hellweg (0-2) allowed seven runs in 3 2-3 innings, but only three were earned. He also walked five.

Carlos Gomez had four hits for the Brewers, including two RBI doubles, and robbed pinch hitter Marlon Byrd of a home run in the seventh with a leaping grab above the center-field wall.

INTERLEAGUE

MARINERS 4, REDS 2

CINCINNATI — Aaron Harang pitched six innings in the ballpark where he still holds the strikeout record, and Nick Franklin and Michael Saunders homered to lead Seattle over Cincinnati in the Mariners’ first to Great American Ball Park.

Harang (4-7) limited his former team to a pair of runs and six hits, including Joey Votto’s 15th homer. Oliver Perez struck out the side in the ninth for his second save.

Franklin hit a two-run homer off Mike Leake (7-4), who had his start pushed back one day by a rainout. Saunders had a solo homer and a sacrifice fly off Leake, who lasted five innings.

YANKEES 3

ORIOLES 2

NEW YORK — Vernon Wells singled in the winning run with one out in the ninth inning, helping a marvelous Ivan Nova and the New York Yankees beat the Baltimore Orioles 3-2 for their season high-tying fifth straight win.

Nova (3-2) gave up a two-run homer to Matt Wieters in the second inning then stifled the Orioles the rest of the way in a spot start for Hiroki Kuroda. He allowed three hits in his first career complete game and struck out 11 and walked one.

Baltimore closer Jim Johnson (2-7) took over the ninth with a 2-1 lead and gave up a leadoff single to David Adams. Brett Gardner reached when Johnson failed to field his bunt for an error in front of the mound. Robinson Cano was walked intentionally to load the bases for the second time Friday — to vociferous boos. Manager Buck Showalter made a mound visit and Johnson promptly walked Travis Hafner to tie it.

The struggling Wells then grounded a single past a diving third baseman Manny Machado and ran toward first with his arm raised in the air. He was mobbed by his teammates and then doused with a sports drink during an interview on the field.

TIGERS 7

INDIANS 0

CLEVELAND — Rick Porcello pitched seven sharp innings, Jhonny Peralta drove in two runs and Detroit beat Cleveland for the sixth consecutive time, extending their lead in the AL Central over the second-place Indians.

Porcello (5-6) allowed five hits and was never really threatened until Carlos Santana flied out to the warning track in center field to end the sixth. The right-hander set the tone for the Tigers, who dominated the opener of the four-game wraparound series.

With their fourth straight win, Detroit moved 2½ games ahead of Cleveland, which returned from an 11-game road trip to just its second sellout crowd at Progressive Field this season.

Ramon Santiago had a two-run single in the second inning off Justin Masterson (10-7), and Victor Martinez went 3 for 3 with two RBIs.

BLUE JAYS 4

TWINS 0

TORONTO — Jose Bautista hit his 20th home run, Mark Buehrle pitched seven shutout innings to win for the first time in three starts and Toronto snapped a three-game skid with the victory over Minnesota.

Jose Reyes had three hits, two RBIs and a stolen base as the Blue Jays won for just the fourth time in 12 games since matching a franchise record with an 11-game winning streak.

Buehrle (5-5) allowed six hits, walked none and struck out five. The left-hander is 3-0 with a 1.69 ERA in his past five home starts.

Brett Cecil worked the eighth and Dustin McGowan finished as Minnesota was shut out for the seventh time.

RAYS 8

WHITE SOX 3

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Jeremy Hellickson won his fourth consecutive start, Jose Molina had a two-run homer during a five-run second inning, and Tampa Bay beat Chicago to win for the sixth time in seven games.

Hellickson (8-3) gave up one run, six hits and struck out nine in seven innings. The right-hander was coming off a strong June when he went 5-1.

Molina hit his two-run drive and the following batter, Kelly Johnson, connected for a solo shot three pitches later off Dylan Axelrod (3-5) to start the second-inning surge that saw the Rays go up 5-0.

Later in the inning, Evan Longoria had an RBI single before Wil Myers ended Axelrod’s night with a run-scoring double.

Axelrod, who has given up 10 homers in 22 1-3 innings over his past five starts, allowed five runs and nine hits in 1 2-3 innings.

RANGERS 10

ASTROS 5

ARLINGTON, Texas — Nelson Cruz hit a grand slam, Nick Tepesch took a shutout into the sixth inning and Texas won the first American League game in Arlington between the in-state rivals.

David Murphy and Adrian Beltre also homered for the Rangers, who beat Houston for the 10th time in 11 games overall.

Tepesch (4-6) had five strikeouts the first time through the Astros’ lineup and had a career high of nine by the fourth inning. The rookie right-hander’s previous best of eight strikeouts came in his last win — nine starts ago against the Astros on May 12.

Lucas Harrell (5-9) walked four in the first two innings and three of them scored. Cruz’s 21st homer — a drive into the Houston bullpen in left-center field — came after consecutive walks to Ian Kinsler and Murphy and put Texas up 6-0.

ATHLETICS 6

ROYALS 3

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Tommy Milone carried a shutout into the ninth inning and Grant Balfour held on for the save, securing Oakland’s victory over Kansas City.

Milone (8-7) was in complete control before Alcides Escobar and Eric Hosmer drove in runs with one out in the ninth. Balfour came on and gave up a run-scoring single to Billy Butler, but he managed to retire Lorenzo Cain and Mike Moustakas to end the game.

It was the 22nd save of the season and the 40th straight for Balfour, who matched the Oakland record for consecutive saves set by Dennis Eckersley from Sept. 15, 1991-Aug. 7, 1992.

Milone, who had been battered in his last three starts, outpitched Wade Davis (4-7), who gave up three runs in seven innings in a respectable outing of his own.