Chavez delivers as Arizona beats S.F.

By JOHN MARSHALL

AP Sports Writer

PHOENIX — Eric Chavez hit the first pitch he saw in the ninth inning for a run-scoring single, sending the Arizona Diamondbacks to another walk-off victory, 4-3 over the San Francisco Giants on Saturday night.

Arizona has had a knack for walking away with wins this season and pulled off another one against the Giants.

Willie Bloomquist opened the ninth with a single off Sandy Rosario (3-2) for his third hit and moved up on Adam Eaton’s sacrifice bunt. After an intentional walk to Paul Goldschmidt, Chavez lined his single into left-center for his fifth career game-ending hit, sending the Diamondbacks rushing out of their dugout to greet him.

Brad Ziegler (8-1) worked a perfect ninth to set up Arizona’s 12th walk-off victory this season and 29th comeback win.

Gregor Blanco hit a solo homer and Hunter Pence had three hits for the Giants.

San Francisco starter Ryan Vogelsong had been sharp since coming off the disabled list for a broken right hand, going 3-1 with a 2.55 ERA.

But the right-hander has struggled his second time through the order all season and Saturday was no different.

Vogelsong escaped a bases-loaded jam in the third inning, but Arizona opened the fourth with three straight hits, the last a run-scoring single by Miguel Montero. Gerardo Parra followed with a sacrifice fly and Bloomquist made it 3-0 with a run-scoring single.

Opponents are hitting .349 against Vogelsong the second time through the order after the Diamondbacks went 5 for 6 with a walk and two sacrifices.

He allowed three runs and nine hits in six innings.

Arizona starter Trevor Cahill escaped a bases-loaded jam in the first by getting Pablo Sandoval to fly out. Cahill was helped by double plays in the fourth and fifth.

He seemed to tire by the seventh inning, when Blanco hit his third pitch out to right for a homer and Marco Scutaro chased him with a run-scoring triple. Buster Posey tied the game at 3 later in the inning with a run-scoring single off Josh Collmenter.

Cahill yielded three runs and nine hits in 6 1-3 innings.

PIRATES 7, CARDINALS 1

PITTSBURGH — A.J. Burnett scattered four hits over seven innings, Russell Martin hit a three-run homer and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the St. Louis Cardinals to regain sole possession of the NL Central lead.

Neil Walker added three hits for the Pirates, who improved to 79-56 and moved within three victories of their first winning season since 1992.

Burnett (7-9) gave up one run while striking out six and walking one. He received plenty of offensive help only hours after Pittsburgh acquired first baseman Justin Morneau from the Minnesota Twins.

Morneau arrived in the Pirates’ dugout in the sixth inning. By then Pittsburgh had things well in hand. Martin keyed a five-run second with his drive off Lance Lynn (13-9).

Former University of Hawaii standout and ex-Big Island prep star Kolten Wong played second base and went 1 for 3 at the plate as well as scored a run. His average is now .182.

DODGERS 2, PADRES 1

LOS ANGELES — Adrian Gonzalez hit a tying single in the seventh inning, pinch-hitter Mark Ellis singled home the go-ahead run in the eighth and Los Angeles rallied to beat San Diego.

Just as the game ended, the Dodgers announced they had acquired third baseman Michael Young from the Philadelphia Phillies for minor league lefty Rob Rasmussen.

The Dodgers ended August with a 23-6 record, their most wins in a month since moving to Los Angeles in 1958. The club record of 25 was set in July 1947 and equaled in August 1953, when the team played in Brooklyn.

Brian Wilson (1-0) came on in relief to earn the victory — his first since joining the Dodgers last week. Kenley Jansen pitched the ninth for his 23rd save in 25 chances.

Nick Vincent (3-2) took the loss after relieving starter Andrew Cashner. Ronny Cedeno homered for the Padres.

Dodgers starter Chris Capuano struck out seven in seven innings.

REDS 8, ROCKIES 3

DENVER — Brandon Phillips tripled, homered and doubled in his first three at-bats, Greg Reynolds beat his former team for his first major league win in two years, and Cincinnati defeated Colorado.

Phillips scored three runs, drove in two and just missed becoming the first Reds player to hit for the cycle since Eric Davis against San Diego on June 2, 1989.

Phillips connected in the third off Juan Nicasio (8-7) for his 17th home run.

Colorado’s Todd Helton remained one hit shy of 2,500, going 0 for 4 with three strikeouts a night after homering twice and matching a career high with six RBIs.

Making his second start since being recalled from Triple-A Louisville to fill in for injured Tony Cingrani, Reynolds (1-2) allowed three runs on seven hits over eight innings in his first career start against the Rockies, who drafted him in the first round in 2006.

He fanned five, striking out the side in the seventh, and walked none in his first big league win since July 2, 2011, against Kansas City while with the Rockies.

BRAVES 5, MARLINS 4 (11)

ATLANTA — B.J. Upton had four hits, including the game-winning single in the 11th inning, and Atlanta beat Miami for its sixth straight win.

Upton, who entered the game hitting only .186, had a two-run homer and three singles after striking out in his first two at-bats. The single in the 11th off Ryan Webb (1-5) drove in pinch-runner Paul Janish from second base.

With one out in the 11th, Chris Johnson singled up the middle for his fourth hit.

Luis Ayala (1-1) pitched a scoreless inning for the win. Upton hit his first homer since June 15.

Justin Ruggiano and Giancarlo Stanton homered for the Marlins, who have lost six straight.

Jacob Turner, who tied a Marlins record with three errors, couldn’t hold a 3-1 lead.

CUBS 4, PHILLIES 3

CHICAGO — Starlin Castro hit a tiebreaking homer in the sixth inning to lead Chicago over Philadelphia.

Cole Gillespie drove in two runs for the Cubs, who earned their fourth win in 20 home games since the All-Star break. Castro connected off Zach Miner (0-1) for his eighth homer and first since July 31 against Milwaukee.

Michael Young had three more hits for Philadelphia, hours before he was traded to the Dodgers. Kevin Frandsen homered for the second straight day, but Philadelphia dropped to 9-7 under interim manager and former Cubs second baseman Ryne Sandberg.

Carlos Villanueva (3-8) pitched 1 1-3 innings for the win and Kevin Gregg got his 28th save in 33 chances. Five Cubs relievers combined for four innings of two-hit ball.

METS 11, NATIONALS 3

WASHINGTON — Zack Wheeler pitched effectively into the seventh inning and New York piled up a season-high 17 hits in routing Washington.

Eric Young Jr., Daniel Murphy, Josh Satin and Juan Lagares had three hits apiece for the Mets, who scored 11 runs for the second time in three days and won their third straight.

The news wasn’t all good for the injury-riddled Mets, though. First baseman Ike Davis left with a strained muscle on his right side after hitting a sacrifice fly in the third.

Wheeler (7-3) allowed two runs and five hits in 6 2-3 innings. Since the start of July, the touted rookie is 6-2 with a 2.96 ERA.

The Nationals dropped 7½ games behind Cincinnati for the second NL wild card. Denard Span had three hits for Washington, extending his hitting streak to 14 games.

INTERLEAGUE

ANGELS 6, BREWERS 5

MILWAUKEE — Pinch-hitter Hank Conger came through with a two-run homer in the ninth inning off closer Jim Henderson that sent Los Angeles past Milwaukee.

The Brewers had been 50-0 this season when leading after eight innings, the only team in the majors without a loss.

Henderson (3-4) retired his first two batters in the ninth before pinch-hitter Josh Hamilton doubled off the glove of sliding right fielder Caleb Gindle. Conger followed with his seventh home run.

Dane Da La Rosa (6-1) pitched a perfect eighth and Ernesto Frieri earned his 29th save in 33 chances.

Jonathan Lucroy drove in four runs and scored another for the Brewers.

YANKEES 2, ORIOLES 0

NEW YORK — Ivan Nova threw a three-hitter for his first career shutout and Robinson Cano supplied the offense as the New York Yankees edged Baltimore for their second straight win over the Orioles.

Nova (8-4) outworked Scott Feldman in an efficient 104-pitch outing for his second complete game, helping the Yankees move past their division rival by a half-game in the AL wild-card chase. New York entered the final day of August trailing Tampa Bay by 4½ games. Baltimore trailed by four.

The Yankees were looking for another big offensive day after beating Baltimore 8-5 on Friday night. But Alex Rodriguez was scratched due to flu-like symptoms and Feldman (4-4) shut New York down allowing a leadoff double to Brett Gardner and Cano’s RBI double in the first.

Cano later drilled a line drive to right field off Troy Patton leading off the eighth for his 25th home run.

Feldman yielded six hits in seven innings.

TIGERS 10, INDIANS 5

DETROIT — Omar Infante homered twice and drove in five runs to power Detroit to its third consecutive win.

The Tigers stretched their lead in the AL Central to 8½ games over the second-place Indians despite playing without slugger Miguel Cabrera, who was sidelined by irritation of the abdominal area. The team says the reigning AL MVP is day to day.

Infante hit a three-run homer in the second and a two-run shot in the sixth for Detroit, which has won seven in a row against Cleveland to improve to 15-3 against the Indians this year.

Yan Gomes homered in the seventh and Carlos Santana added a two-run inside-the park home run for the Indians, who have lost five in a row.

Tigers starter Anibal Sanchez (12-7) allowed three runs and six hits in 6 2-3 innings.

Cleveland starter Scott Kazmir (7-7) gave up four runs and seven hits in five innings.

RED SOX 7

WHITE SOX 2

BOSTON — Jake Peavy pitched seven strong innings against his former team, Jacoby Ellsbury had three hits and the Red Sox won for the sixth time in seven games.

Ellsbury also scored twice and drove in a run for the AL East leaders. David Ortiz, who snapped an 0-for-23 stretch with a two-run single in Friday’s win, went 2 for 4 with a walk and an RBI in Boston’s 15-hit attack.

Peavy (11-5) allowed two runs and five singles in his sixth start for the Red Sox, who acquired the right-hander in a three-team deal on July 30.

Chicago, last in the AL Central, had won 10 of 12 before dropping the first two of a three-game series against Boston. John Danks (4-11) gave up six runs, five earned, and 11 hits over five innings.

BLUE JAYS 4, ROYALS 2

TORONTO — Brett Lawrie drove in the tiebreaking run with a bases-loaded walk in the eighth inning, helping Toronto rally for the win.

Toronto batted around while scoring three unearned runs in the eighth against four relievers.

Kansas City shortstop Alcides Escobar helped the Blue Jays with a key error.

The late rally made a winner of knuckleballer R.A. Dickey (11-12), who allowed two runs and seven hits in eight innings. Casey Janssen finished for his 26th save in 28 chances, with pinch runner Chris Getz thrown out trying to steal second for the final out.

Kansas City reliever Kelvin Herrera (5-7) recorded one out and was charged with two runs and two hits. Aaron Crow issued consecutive bases-loaded walks to Lawrie and Rajai Davis, giving the Blue Jays a 4-2 lead.

MARINERS 3, ASTROS 1

HOUSTON — Joe Saunders pitched neatly into the sixth inning for his first win in a month, and Seattle earned its third consecutive victory.

Kendrys Morales, Nick Franklin and Dustin Ackley each drove in a run for the Mariners, who had lost six in a row before the series against the major league-worst Astros. They will have Hisashi Iwakuma on the mound when they go for a series sweep.

Saunders (11-13) yielded an unearned run and six hits over 5 1-3 innings in his first win since Aug. 4 at Baltimore. The left-hander was 0-3 with an 8.31 ERA in his previous four starts.

Matt Dominguez and Brandon Barnes had two hits apiece for Houston (44-91), which appears to be headed for its third straight 100-loss season. Dallas Keuchel (5-8) gave up three runs — all in the first — and four hits in seven innings.