Associated Press
Associated Press
CHICAGO — With some of their big hitters getting the day off, it was sharp pitching that helped the Los Angeles Dodgers break a franchise record that stood for 89 years.
Chris Capuano scattered six hits over 6 1-3 innings and the Dodgers set a team record with their 13th straight road win, 3-0 over the Chicago Cubs on Saturday.
The Dodgers, who haven’t lost on the road since July 6 in San Francisco, eclipsed the 1924 mark set by the Brooklyn Robins.
“You go out there and you’re just waiting to see who’s going to drive in the runs and get the big hits,” Capuano said. “It’s a good feeling when you come to the park.”
Los Angeles is in the middle of a stretch of 26 games in 27 days, and manager Don Mattingly gave his infield an alternative look by taking four-time All-Star first baseman Adrian Gonzales, hot-hitting second baseman Mark Ellis and third baseman Juan Uribe out of the starting lineup.
No matter. There were others who came through at the plate.
Carl Crawford broke open a 1-0 game by driving in two runs with a single in the sixth inning. Jerry Hairston Jr. singled in the first run in the third for NL West-leading Los Angeles, which is 13-2 since the All-Star break and has won 30 of its last 37 overall.
“It’s a good feeling to be a part of history, to keep winning,” Crawford said. “The team is jelling really well right now.”
Capuano (4-6) came up with his second straight strong start and third in his last four. He struck out five and walked only one before four Dodgers relievers closed it out.
“Cappy really did a good job finishing pitches, the whole thing,” Mattingly said. “Some nice plays in the infield but Cap was really efficient doing his thing.”
The Dodgers turned three of their four double-plays behind Capuano, who has been rocked at times this year. But on Saturday he was crisp and in command.
“For me, he’s attacked with his fastball more and continued to use that and not always get to his off speed,” Mattingly said. “I just think he’s used his whole repertoire for the right guys.”
Brandon League relieved Capuano with one out in the seventh and runners on first and second but got out of the inning by getting Cody Ransom to ground into a double play.
Kenley Jansen pitched a perfect ninth to earn his 16th save in 19 chances.
Jeff Samardzija (6-10) allowed three runs over six innings in Chicago’s third straight loss. He gave up seven hits, five walks and hit a batter, but was able to get out of jams with nine strikeouts.
“Fastball command is going to be the dictation of pretty much everybody’s outing and he really didn’t have it today,” Cubs manager Dale Sveum said. “He battled and got the outs and kept the game close, but obviously the pitch count after six innings was way too many.”
Dodgers rookie Yasiel Puig had a pair of singles and scored a run. He has hit safely in 12 of his last 14 games, including seven multi-hit games during that span. Puig made a diving catch on Starlin Castro’s line drive into the gap with one out in seventh and a Chicago runner on second to preserve the shutout. He left the game after the inning with bruised thumb.
“We’ll see how I feel tomorrow before the game,” Puig said through a translator. “I’ll take some swings and we’ll decide then.”
The Dodgers took a 1-0 lead in the third on Hairston’s RBI single that drove in Puig.
Samardzija escaped a one-out, bases-loaded jam in the fourth by striking out Crawford and Puig swinging. He wasn’t as lucky in the sixth after Skip Schumaker walked to open the inning then advanced to third on Tim Federowicz’s double one out later. Samardzija struck out Capuano, but Crawford lined a sharp single to right to make it 3-0.
The Cubs loaded the bases in the eighth against relievers Ronald Belisario and Paco Rodriguez, but Rodriguez struck out Wellington Castillo swinging on a full count to end the threat.
PIRATES 5, ROCKIES 2
PITTSBURGH — Francisco Liriano worked seven strong innings, and Jose Tabata homered and drove in two runs to lead Pittsburgh over Colorado.
Liriano (12-4) allowed only two hits to offset his five walks and had six strikeouts. The left-hander improved to 7-1 with a 1.65 ERA in his last eight starts for the NL Central leaders.
Tabata hit his first home run since May 11 and also tripled while going 3 for 4.
Gaby Sanchez had two hits and two RBIs for Pittsburgh, while Jordy Mercer and Andrew McCutchen added two hits each.
Jorge De La Rosa (10-6) pitched four-plus innings and gave up three runs on six hits.
REDS 8, CARDINALS 3
CINCINNATI — Devin Mesoraco drove in three runs with a pair of homers, and Cincinnati finally broke out against a St. Louis team that has held the Reds down all season.
The Reds won for only the fourth time in 11 games between the NL Central rivals. Cincinnati had scored fewer than four runs in each of their last nine games head-to-head.
Left-hander Tony Cingrani (5-1) and four relievers contained an offense that had scored 26 runs in the last two games, allowing only four hits.
Jake Westbrook (7-6) gave up five runs — all with two outs — in five innings. Jack Hannahan singled with the bases loaded in the first inning. Mesoraco’s homer in the fourth made it 4-1.
BRAVES 5, PHILLIES 4, 12 INNINGS
PHILADELPHIA — Dan Uggla had a tiebreaking RBI grounder in the 12th, the Atlanta bullpen pitched 5 2-3 scoreless innings and the Braves beat Philadelphia for their ninth straight win.
Luis Avilan (4-0) pitched a scoreless 11th for the victory and Craig Kimbrel got the last three outs for his 33rd save to help the Braves win for the 11th time in 13 games.
Jake Diekman (0-2) ran into trouble in the 12th. Justin Upton walked leading off and went to second on Freddie Freeman’s groundout. Walks to Evan Gattis and Paul Janish loaded the bases.
After Justin De Fratus came on, Uggla hit a potential double-play ball to short, but Uggla was safe when Chase Utley’s relay pulled an extended Kevin Frandsen off the bag at first.
NATIONALS 3, BREWERS 0
MILWAUKEE — Dan Haren pitched seven strong innings, and Adam LaRoche and Wilson Ramos hit home runs to lead Washington to a win over Milwaukee.
Heron gave up just four hits, with six strikeouts and two walks. It was the second straight strong outing for Haren (6-11) as he allowed one run and three hits in seven innings of a 4-1 win over the New York Mets on July 27.
Tyler Clippard pitched a scoreless eighth inning and Rafael Soriano pitched the ninth to earn his 28th save in 32 chances.
Donovan Hand (0-3) gave up three runs on five hits for the Brewers.
YANKEES 3, PADRES 0
SAN DIEGO — Curtis Granderson hit a two-run home run, his first since coming off the disabled list, and Ivan Nova dominated through seven impressive innings as New York beat San Diego.
Tyson Ross was pitching well for the Padres when it quickly fell apart. Alfonso Soriano singled to center leading off the seventh and Granderson followed with a homer over the wall in right.
Nova (5-4) held San Diego to just four hits in seven innings while striking out eight and walking one. He retired 15 straight batters from the second through sixth innings.
Ross (2-5) allowed two runs and three hits in six-plus innings, struck out a career-high nine and walked three.
ROYALS 4, METS 3, 12 INNINGS
NEW YORK — Pinch-hitter Justin Maxwell homered deep into the left-field seats leading off the 12th inning, and Kansas City overcame a late blown lead to beat New York.
Kansas City had a nine-game winning streak snapped Friday night with a loss in the 11th.
Maxwell, acquired Wednesday in a trade with Houston, hit a 3-2 pitch from David Aardsma for his fifth career pinch-homer and first overall with the Royals. The Mets’ bullpen had been perfect after starter Jeremy Hefner’s six innings, but Aardsma (2-1) couldn’t retire the first batter he faced.
Kelvin Herrera (4-5) earned the win with three innings of relief and Greg Holland got his 29th save in 31 chances — and 22nd straight.
INDIANS 4, MARLINS 3
MIAMI — Michael Bourn had three of Cleveland’s six stolen bases and scored three times to help the Indians earn their ninth victory in the past 10 games with a win over Miami.
Jason Kipnis’ two-run single broke a 2-all tie in a wild seventh inning, when the Marlins narrowly missed three chances to throw out Indians on the bases. Steals led to all four runs for the Indians, whose stolen-base total was their highest since 2000.
Cleveland’s Zach McAllister took a no-hitter into the sixth but failed to make it through that inning. Cody Allen (5-1) threw 1 2-3 scoreless innings and Chris Perez got his 16th save.
Dan Jennings (1-2) took the loss for the Marlins.
TIGERS 3, WHITE SOX 0
DETROIT — Max Scherzer took a shutout into the eighth inning before being pulled, and the Detroit right-hander became baseball’s first 16-game winner when the Tigers held on for a 3-0 victory.
The White Sox have lost nine straight.
The Tigers have won 11 of 12, despite playing most of that stretch without slugger Miguel Cabrera. Cabrera has been bothered by hip and abdominal problems and sat out Saturday.
Scherzer (16-1) allowed three hits in 7 2-3 innings. Jose Veras got the third out of the eighth, and Joaquin Benoit finished for his 12th save in 12 chances.
John Danks (2-9) allowed six hits in seven innings, including solo homers by Torii Hunter, Jhonny Peralta and Jose Iglesias.
Scherzer is the first pitcher to win at least 16 of his first 17 decisions since Roger Clemens started 16-1 in 2001, according to STATS.
MARINERS 8, ORIOLES 4
BALTIMORE — Michael Saunders homered twice and drove in five runs, Erasmo Ramirez retired 18 of the first 20 batters he faced and Seattle beat Baltimore to end a four-game losing streak.
Saunders hit a three-run drive in the fifth and added a clinching two-run shot in the ninth. It was his fifth career two-homer game, the second this season.
Justin Smoak homered and went 3 for 3 with two walks for the Mariners.
Ramirez (3-0) gave up four runs and four hits in six-plus innings. He struck out six.
Making his sixth start with Baltimore since being traded from the Cubs, Scott Feldman (2-3) allowed five runs, seven hits and four walks in 4 2-3 innings.
ATHLETICS 4, RANGERS 2
OAKLAND, Calif. — Yoenis Cespedes hit a two-run home run to help first-place Oakland end Texas’ winning streak at five games and regain some ground in the AL West.
Matt Garza (7-2) lost for the first time since June 11 and the Rangers lost ground on the division leader for the first time in nearly a week, falling 3 1/2 games back.
Jed Lowrie and Eric Sogard also drove in runs for the A’s, who ended a three-game losing streak. Jarrod Parker (7-6) gave up two runs on six hits over six innings. He walked two and struck out six. He ended a streak of six straight no decisions and is 5-0 over his last 12 starts.
Garza gave up four runs on eight hits over eight innings. He walked one and struck out five.
ANGELS 7, BLUE JAYS 3
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Jered Weaver pitched into the eighth to win his third straight decision and Kole Calhoun hit his second big league homer as Los Angeles Angels beat Toronto.
Weaver (6-5) allowed three runs, seven hits and two walks through 7 1-3 and struck out five, including the side in the fifth. His streak of consecutive scoreless innings at home was snapped at 26 1-3 when Brett Lawrie led off the third with his ninth home run, but the right-hander still improved to 8-2 lifetime against the Blue Jays.
Esmil Rogers (3-6) gave up seven runs — five earned — and 10 hits over five innings. The right-hander is 0-4 with a 6.60 ERA in his last eight starts.
TWINS 6, ASTROS 4
MINNEAPOLIS — Ryan Doumit hit the go-ahead single in the seventh inning and Minnesota’s bullpen pitched six scoreless innings as the Twins beat Houston.
After starter Kyle Gibson allowed four runs and nine hits in three innings, Anthony Swarzak struck out five in the next three and the AL’s second-best bullpen came through.
Brian Duensing (4-1) followed with a scoreless seventh and Casey Fien a scoreless eighth to set up Glen Perkins for his 26th save. Minnesota relievers allowed only one hit and struck out 10.
Brett Wallace homered for Houston and Erik Bedard allowed three runs in six innings before leaving with a 4-3 lead. Lucas Harrell (5-12) took the loss.
RED SOX 5, DIAMONDBACKS 2
BOSTON — Jake Peavy allowed four hits in seven-plus innings to beat Arizona and win his first start since coming to Boston at the trade deadline.
Peavy (8-5) struck out seven and walked two, giving up Paul Goldschmidt’s homer in the fourth and leaving with a 3-1 lead after a leadoff single in the eighth. He walked slowly from the mound as the crowd rose to a standing ovation, tipping his cap to the fans on his way to the dugout.
Shane Victorino and Jarrod Saltalamacchia homered and Koji Uehara got his 10th save for Boston.
Patrick Corbin (12-3) allowed three runs on eight hits in six-plus innings in his second consecutive loss for the Diamondbacks.
RAYS 2, GIANTS 1, 10 INNINGS
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Wil Myers had an RBI single in the bottom of the 10th inning, lifting Tampa Bay to a victory over San Francisco.
Desmond Jennings drew a leadoff walk in the 10th off Jean Machi (2-1) and stole second. Ben Zobrist was intentionally walked and Evan Longoria walked to load the bases on four pitches before Myers won it on his liner that went over the left fielder’s head.
Closer Fernando Rodney (4-2) allowed two hits during a scoreless 10th for the win.
The game featured a matchup of Cy Young winners David Price and Tim Lincecum, and both were outstanding. Price allowed one run over nine innings, while Lincecum gave up one run in seven frames.