Davis turns 40 as Orioles trump M’s

Associated Press

BALTIMORE — Two teams that rely heavily on the home run engaged in a long-ball duel at Camden Yards that had the fans in the bleachers running for cover.

In the end, Chris Davis’ major-league leading 40th homer and a grand slam by Nate McLouth trumped four home runs by Seattle, and the Orioles held on for an 11-8 victory Friday night.

“It was the kind of a game where you felt like you had to outscore them,” McLouth said. “The ball was flying, and they’re a really good hitting team.”

Seattle and Baltimore started the game ranked 1-2 in percentage of runs scored via the home run. This game bared out that statistic.

Davis and Ryan Flaherty hit solo shots prior to McLouth’s first career slam. Seattle got a two-run homer from Michael Saunders and solo drives from Kendrys Morales, Michael Morse and Humberto Quintero.

“It was kind of one of those nights, both teams swinging the bats well,” Davis said. “It just seemed like it was going to be a battle of the offenses all night. One of those games where you feel like you can’t score enough runs, no matter how many you put up there, they come back.”

McLouth connected off Brandon Maurer to make it 11-6 in the sixth, and that was just enough offense to fend off the Mariners. McLouth’s homer followed three straight singles off Maurer, who entered after starter Aaron Harang (5-10) struggled through five shaky innings.

“If you look back, a lot of those pitches were over the heart of the plate,” Seattle acting manager Robby Thompson said. “If you do that to this club here, you’re going to run into some problems.”

Jim Johnson worked the ninth to earn his 38th save and secure the victory for Chris Tillman (14-3).

Davis drove a pitch from Harang over the right-field wall and onto Eutaw Street to give Baltimore a 5-3 lead in the third inning. The solo homer traveled an estimated 442 feet and gave Davis a major-league high 101 RBIs.

He is the fifth Oriole to hit 40 homers in a season, joining Brady Anderson (50), Frank Robinson (49), Jim Gentile (46) and Rafael Palmeiro (43).

“It’s pretty good company to be in,” Davis said. “I’m proud of the way things are going this year. Still got a lot more work to do, but it’s nice to be a big part of a winning team.”

Adam Jones had three RBIs for Baltimore, which has won 10 of its past 12 against Seattle.

Tillman gave up a season high-tying six runs, as well as eight hits and three walks. But the right-hander improved to 5-0 in five career starts against the team that traded him along with Jones to the Orioles in 2008.

“It’s an offensive night,” Tillman said. “Our guys did their job, and I give credit to their guys, too. They hit some good pitches and they battled.”

Morales went 4 for 4 and has 13 hits in his past 17 at-bats. But the Mariners have dropped four in a row and six of eight.

“We did a nice job offensively tonight,” Thompson said. “We put up some runs, but unfortunately we were playing catch-up all night long.”

Harang allowed seven runs and seven hits.

On Thursday night, the Mariners allowed six runs in the bottom of the ninth in an 8-7 loss to Boston. Thompson addressed his young team before this game to make sure there would be no carry-over.

“It’s over and done with,” Thompson said. “I want to make sure we forget about it … and move forward.”

They didn’t. After going down in order with two strikeouts in the top of the first inning, Seattle promptly fell into a 4-0 hole.

McLouth singled and Harang issued two straight walks before Jones doubled in two runs, and another scored when left fielder Raul Ibanez mishandled the hit. Matt Wieters capped the uprising with a sacrifice fly.

Seattle used three walks, a homer by Saunders and an RBI single by Morales to close to 4-3 in the third.

After Davis homered in the third and Flaherty hit one in the fourth, Quintero connected leading off the fifth.

Jones hit an RBI single in the bottom half for a 7-4 lead, but the Mariners got two runs in the sixth on a run-scoring double by Morse and a sacrifice fly by Saunders.

TIGERS 2, WHITE SOX 1

DETROIT — Doug Fister pitched eight impressive innings, Austin Jackson homered and Jose Iglesias drove in a run in his Detroit debut to lead the Tigers over Chicago.

The White Sox lost their eighth straight, while AL Central-leading Detroit has won 10 of 11.

Fister (10-5) allowed a run and seven hits, striking out two. Joaquin Benoit pitched a hitless ninth for his 11th save in 11 chances.

Iglesias, acquired from Boston this week in a three-team deal, started at third base in place of Miguel Cabrera, who experienced soreness after running and was scratched pregame.

Hector Santiago (3-7) allowed two runs and six hits in seven innings. He struck out seven.

RANGERS 8, ATHLETICS 3

OAKLAND, Calif. — Nelson Cruz shook off talk of a suspension to hit a tying two-run homer, and Jurickson Profar added another two-run shot as Texas gamed ground on Oakland in the AL West.

Cruz, among 14 players facing suspension as part of MLB’s Biogenesis investigation, hit his 26th home run in the second inning. Profar put the Rangers ahead 6-2 with his fourth homer in the fourth.

The Rangers, who were six games behind first-place Oakland in the division earlier this week, are only 2½ games back after the win.

Tommy Milone (9-9) allowed six runs — including both homers — and nine hits in 3 2-3 innings.

Jason Frasor (2-2) tossed 1 1-3 scoreless innings of relief for the win.

ANGELS 7, BLUE JAYS 5

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Kole Calhoun punctuated his first four-hit game with his first career homer, a tiebreaking two-run shot in the eighth inning that lifted Los Angeles over Toronto.

J.B. Shuck’s triple drove in Chris Nelson with the tying run in the eighth for the Angels, who rallied against All-Star reliever Steve Delabar (5-2) for their second straight win over Toronto.

Nelson had two RBI singles before his leadoff double in the eighth, and Shuck followed with a triple to right after Jose Bautista misjudged the ball. Calhoun then homered to right.

Dane De La Rosa (5-1) pitched the eighth for Los Angeles, and Ernesto Frieri struck out the side in the ninth for his 26th save.

TWINS 4, ASTROS 3, 13 INNINGS

MINNEAPOLIS — Brian Dozier’s third hit of the game scored Clete Thomas in the 13th inning to lift Minnesota to a win over Houston.

Right-handed pitcher Kevin Correia pinch-hit in the 13th to sacrifice Thomas to second base. Dozier followed by punching a single to right field to snap Minnesota’s four-game losing streak.

The Twins trailed 3-2 entering the ninth after All-Star closer Glen Perkins gave up an RBI double to Matt Dominguez. But Dozier’s single off Chia-Jen Lo tied the game, and Dozier came through again off Dallas Kuechel (5-6) to win it with two outs in the 13th.

Dozier had two hits and Ryan Pressly (3-2) pitched two innings of relief for the win.

GIANTS 4, RAYS 1

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Madison Bumgarner struck out 11 in seven innings, Brandon Crawford hit a two-run homer and San Francisco beat Tampa Bay.

Tampa Bay has lost two in a row, including its first game in August. The Rays went 21-5 in July.

Bumgarner (11-7) gave up one run, working around seven hits and three walks. Sergio Romo got two outs for his 26th save.

Brandon Belt had three hits, including a solo homer as the Giants won their third straight.

Chris Archer (6-4) allowed four runs and seven hits in seven innings. He had permitted just two runs — one earned — over 31 innings in winning his previous four starts.

DIAMONDBACKS 7, RED SOX 6

BOSTON — Cody Ross capped his four-hit return to Fenway Park with a tie-breaking homer that gave Arizona a win over Boston.

Ross, Boston’s regular right fielder last season, drove in three runs, doubled twice and singled once. His big hit came with the score tied at 6 when he led off the seventh inning against Pedro Beato (1-1) with his seventh homer of the year.

Brad Ziegler worked the ninth for his sixth save in six chances.

The Red Sox had tied the game 6-6 in the sixth on Drew’s two-run homer.

Randall Delgado (4-3) won despite giving up six runs in six innings for Arizona.

DODGERS 6, CUBS 2

CHICAGO — Mark Ellis extended his hitting streak to 13 games before both he and manager Don Mattingly were ejected, and the Dodgers matched an 89-year-old club record with their 12th straight road victory.

Ellis doubled and scored in the third before being tossed when he and Mattingly argued a called third strike in the fourth, but the Dodgers still improved to 12-2 since the All-Star break.

The NL West leaders remained unbeaten on the road since a loss at San Francisco on July 6 and matched the 1924 Brooklyn Robins for the longest streak in franchise history.

Nick Punto added two hits and drove in two runs, and Adrian Gonzalez and Yasiel Puig each added a pair of hits and scored a run for the Dodgers.

Los Angeles took control early, scoring two in the third and two more in the fourth while building a 5-1 lead and chasing All-Star Travis Wood (7-8).

That was enough for Hyun-Jin Ryu (10-3), who became the first Dodgers rookie to win 10 games since Kazuhisa Ishii in 2002. The left-hander matched a season high by allowing 11 hits in 5 1-3 innings but held Chicago to just two runs. He also struck out six without a walk.

ROCKIES 4, PIRATES 2

PITTSBURGH — Jhoulys Chacin allowed one run on six hits over eight innings and Colorado snapped a four-game losing streak with a win over Pittsburgh.

Chacin (10-5), who has won seven of his past nine decisions, stayed in the game after taking a sharp line drive off the bat of Starling Marte in the fifth inning.

Colorado’s Troy Tulowitzki had a solo homer and an RBI single, and Todd Helton had a two-run single 16 years to the day after making his major-league debut in the same city.

Pirates rookie Gerrit Cole (5-5) needed 102 pitches to make it through 5 1-3 innings, allowing three runs on three hits and two walks with six strikeouts.

CARDINALS 13, REDS 3

CINCINNATI — David Freese set the tone with a bases-loaded double in the first inning, and Daniel Descalso hit two of St. Louis’ three homers in a win over Cincinnati.

The Cardinals have emerged from a deep hitting slump by scoring 13 runs in each of their last two games. It’s the first time this season they’ve had double-digit run totals in consecutive games.

Shelby Miller (11-7) limited the Reds’ slumping offense to two singles over the first five innings before Joey Votto hit a three-run homer in the sixth.

Bronson Arroyo (9-9) matched his season high by giving up seven runs in only 3 2-3 innings, his shortest outing of the season.

BRAVES 6, PHILLIES 4

PHILADELPHIA — Brian McCann and Chris Johnson hit consecutive homers in a five-run fifth inning to lead Atlanta over Philadelphia for its eighth straight win.

McCann’s 16th homer, a two-run shot, gave the Braves a 4-2 lead just two batters after Justin Upton tied it on an RBI single. Johnson’s homer gave the Braves a 5-2 lead.

Kris Medlen (8-10) earned the victory, going six innings while giving up six hits and four runs, including three solo homers. He struck out eight and walked one.

Darin Ruf, Delmon Young and Chase Utley homered for Philadelphia. Ethan Martin (0-1) was charged with six runs on eight hits overall and his first career loss.

NATIONALS 4, BREWERS 1

MILWAUKEE — Jordan Zimmermann earned his career-high 13th win and Bryce Harper homered to lead Washington to a win over Milwaukee.

Zimmermann (13-6) went six innings and struck out four, but walked a season-high four. He worked out of jams in the first and third innings, each time stranding Rickie Weeks at third. The Brewers finished 0 for 9 with runners in scoring position.

Washington scored a run in the fifth off Alfredo Figaro (1-3). Harper made it 2-0 in the sixth with his 16th homer of the season.

Rafael Soriano pitched the ninth for his 27th save.

MARLINS 10, INDIANS 0

MIAMI — Jose Fernandez pitched eight innings and struck out 14, the most by an NL pitcher this season, to help Miami snap Cleveland’s eight-game win streak.

Miami’s All-Star became the first major league pitcher to strike out at least 13 in consecutive games since Randy Johnson in 2004. He’s the first rookie to do so since Kerry Wood in 1998.

Fernandez (8-5) set a Marlins record for the most strikeouts in consecutive starts. He had 13 Sunday in a win over Pittsburgh.

Logan Morrison provided all the support Fernandez needed with four hits and four RBIs.

Ubaldo Jimenez (8-6) worked four innings for Cleveland, allowing five runs — two earned.

PADRES 7, YANKEES 2

SAN DIEGO — Everth Cabrera, facing a 50-game suspension, tied his career high with four hits and Logan Forsythe hit one of San Diego’s three solo homers in a win over CC Sabathia and New York.

Cabrera is among 14 players facing discipline. Monday appears to be the deadline for the players to accept suspensions for their ties to the Biogenesis of America anti-aging clinic.

Cabrera had an RBI triple among his hits and scored a run.

Andrew Cashner (8-5) held the Yankees to two runs and seven hits in seven innings. He struck out two and walked none.

Sabathia (9-10) allowed five runs in 5 2-3 innings and is 0-4 in his last five starts.

METS 4, ROYALS 2, 11 INNINGS

NEW YORK — Eric Young Jr. homered with two outs in the 11th inning and New York overcame a blown lead to end Kansas City’s winning streak at nine.

Young slammed a 3-1 pitch from Luis Mendoza (2-6) over the right-field fence for his first career game-ending hit and just his second home run of the season.

The Mets led 2-0 on a first-inning homer by David Wright, but New York’s beat-up bullpen couldn’t protect it as Kansas City scored single runs in the eighth and ninth innings to tie it.

Carlos Torres (2-2), New York’s scheduled starter for Saturday, worked two innings for the win in the 4 hour, 7 minute marathon.