Pagan wins it for Giants with inside-the-park HR

Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO — Angel Pagan was thinking triple out of the box. Once he rounded second and saw third base coach Tim Flannery waving him home, he shifted into another gear.

Pagan became the first San Francisco player to end a game with an inside-the-park homer, connecting with a runner aboard in the bottom of the 10th inning Saturday to give the Giants a thrilling 6-5 victory over the Colorado Rockies.

“I know two things: I’m going to score and Flannery is going to score with me,” Pagan said. “He’s amazing. I’ll be honest with you, I was running out of gas a little bit around third. He helped me to get there.”

Troy Tulowitzki homered leading off the 10th to put the Rockies ahead 5-4, but Colorado closer Rafael Betancourt (1-2) walked Brandon Crawford to open the bottom half.

Guillermo Quiroz sacrificed before Pagan sent a long drive that hit the base of the oddly angled wall in right-center and bounced high over the head of right fielder Michael Cuddyer. The ball caromed away from Cuddyer as the speedy Pagan raced around the bases and slid home ahead of the relay.

“I was thinking at least three. I was watching the ball and it didn’t bounce too far from him,” Pagan said. “I’m thinking three but looking at the coach. He gives me the OK and I’m going for it.”

The last major leaguer to hit an inside-the-park home run that ended a game was Rey Sanchez for Tampa Bay on June 11, 2004 — also in a 10-inning victory over Colorado, according to STATS.

The previous Giants player to do it was Hall of Famer Bill Terry on Aug. 24, 1931, when the club was in New York. His drive beat the Chicago Cubs 2-1, STATS said.

“I thought it was going over the fence,” said Pagan’s teammate, Hunter Pence. “Inside the park is the last thing you think of. All we could do is watch him run and hope he was safe.”

It was Betancourt’s first blown save in 11 chances this season.

Carlos Gonzalez homered among his three hits and drove in two runs for the Rockies. Cuddyer and Jordan Pacheco also drove in runs.

Buster Posey had three hits and scored twice for the Giants, who ended a four-game slide against the Rockies. Pence, Andres Torres and Marco Scutaro each drove in runs. Crawford and Pablo Sandoval had two hits apiece.

“That would have been a tough one to lose,” San Francisco manager Bruce Bochy said. “That was an emotional roller-coaster ride. We had a couple of critical calls go against us, but it’s all about bouncing back and these guys found a way.”

Bochy watched the game-winning hit from his office. He had been ejected in the eighth inning.

“I’ve never seen that before,” Bochy said. “I wish I could have been out there.”

Giants closer Sergio Romo (3-2) gave up Tulowitzki’s 10th homer.

“To go up and then lose the game is tough,” Tulowitzki said. “But then we know the Giants play well in front of their fans and feel like they can win these kinds of games.”

Rockies starter Juan Nicasio went five-plus innings, allowing two runs and seven hits. He walked one and struck out two.

Barry Zito lasted six innings, giving up four runs and seven hits. He walked one and struck out three.

Bochy was ejected in the bottom of the eighth by plate umpire Alfonso Marquez for arguing a call at third base after Scutaro appeared to dodge Nolan Arenado’s tag on a throw from the outfield.

Marquez called Brandon Belt out at home on a close play in the seventh.

Pence’s RBI double in the sixth ended San Francisco’s 24-inning scoreless streak against Colorado pitching. Crawford’s sacrifice fly and Scutaro’s bases-loaded walk brought the Giants within 4-3.

Torres tied the game with a double in the seventh.

Dexter Fowler opened the game with a double and, one out later, Gonzalez hit the first pitch into McCovey Cove beyond the right-field wall.

The Rockies added a pair of runs in the fourth on consecutive doubles from Tulowitzki and Cuddyer, and a one-out single by Pacheco.

“It was a well-played game,” Colorado manager Walt Weiss said. “The walks hurt us. You don’t think about it when the ball comes off the bat, but with the configurations of the park, it can bounce anywhere.”

Cuddyer has three hits — all for extra bases — and four RBIs in his two games back from the disabled list.

The Giants loaded the bases in the first inning but failed to score. Nicasio retired 13 of his next 16 hitters, twice stranding runners in scoring position.

REDS 5, CUBS 2

CINCINNATI — Todd Frazier drove in a pair of runs with a sacrifice fly and a single, and Cincinnati used another big inning to beat Chicago for its fifth straight victory.

The Reds have won 13 of 16, surging to a season-high 13 games over .500 at 31-18. It’s their best start since 1995, when they reached the NL championship series.

Cincinnati scored four times in the sixth off Travis Wood (4-3), extending its domination of the NL Central’s last-place team. Chicago has lost a season-high six consecutive games.

Homer Bailey (3-3) gave up a pair of runs in six innings. Aroldis Chapman had a perfect ninth for his 12th save in 14 chances.

Cincinnati has won 16 of the last 18 games in the series. The Reds are 19-5 against the Cubs over the last two seasons, including 7-1 this year.

PIRATES 5, BREWERS 2

MILWAUKEE — Pedro Alvarez hit two home runs, Andrew McCutchen also went deep and Jeff Locke pitched six shutout innings to lead Pittsburgh over Milwaukee.

Neil Walker added a solo home run for the Pirates, who won for a second time in Milwaukee this season. They are 9-47 at Miller Park since 2007.

Locke (5-1) gave up three hits and struck out a season-high seven to win his fifth straight decision. He hasn’t allowed a run in his last two starts.

Mike Fiers (1-3), starting in place of an ailing Kyle Lohse, gave up four runs and five hits in four innings. Carlos Gomez homered twice for Milwaukee, which is 5-17 in May and hasn’t won back-to-back games since April 29-30 at home against Pittsburgh.

BRAVES 7, METS 5, 10 INNINGS, COMPLETION OF SUSPENDED GAME

BRAVES 6, METS 0

NEW YORK — Light-hitting pitcher Mike Minor homered for his first two RBIs in the majors and struck out 10 as Atlanta posted its second win in a matter of hours, beating New York for its eighth straight victory.

Earlier, Dan Uggla hit a go-ahead single in the 10th inning and the Braves won in the resumption of a game suspended because of rain Friday night after eight innings with the score tied at 5.

Minor (6-2) then pitched 7 1-3 innings of three-hit ball on a blustery night, sending the Mets to their fifth loss in a row overall and eighth straight at Citi Field.

Minor singled in the third and hit a two-run drive inside the left field foul pole off Dillon Gee (2-6) that broke a scoreless tie in the fifth and touched off a five-run burst.

The Braves got six straight hits in their surge, including doubles by Justin Upton and Andrelton Simmons.

The teams took 42 minutes to complete the resumption, and there was a 36-minute break between games.

The suspended game picked up right where it left off, at the start of the ninth inning. There was no national anthem, fans were scattered in the stands and it was cloudy and windy with temperatures in the low 50s.

Freddie Freeman, who homered Friday night before the rain came, drew a leadoff walk from Brandon Lyon (1-2) in the 10th and took third on a double by Brian McCann.

Uggla, who hit a late home run the previous night at Citi Field, followed with his tiebreaking single. B.J. Upton later squeezed home pinch-runner Jordan Schafer.

Anthony Varvaro (2-0) pitched a scoreless ninth. He worked the eighth a day earlier and gave up two runs that made it 5-all.

Craig Kimbrel escaped a two-on, no-out jam for his 15th save in 18 tries.

PHILLIES 5, NATIONALS 3

WASHINGTON — Michael Young scored the go-ahead run from first base on a single in the eighth inning, and Domonic Brown homered and hit an RBI double as Philadelphia beat Washington.

Young walked and came home on Delmon Young’s single to the right-field corner, stretching his hand across the plate to beat Bryce Harper’s throw and break a 3-all tie. Pinch-runner Michael Martinez then scored on Brown’s double to right-center.

The runs came off Drew Storen (0-1), the latest failure for the Nationals’ bullpen.

Chad Durbin (1-0) got two outs for the win. Jeremy Horst pitched out of an eighth-inning jam and Jonathan Papelbon earned his ninth save.

Brown and Erik Kratz homered on consecutive pitches in the second.

Pettibone, a rookie yet to lose a decision over seven starts, was also mowing them down, matching his career high with six strikeouts while scattering nine hits and three runs. He allowed single runs in the third, fourth and fifth.

Adam LaRoche homered and hit an RBI single for the Nationals.

DODGERS 5, CARDINALS 3

LOS ANGELES — Adrian Gonzalez homered and drove in three runs, Mark Ellis lined a go-ahead double in the sixth inning and Los Angeles snapped St. Louis’ three-game winning streak.

The last-place Dodgers, who had lost five of seven, blew a two-run lead before Ellis’ two-out hit off Seth Maness (3-1) scored Carl Crawford from first base to make it 4-3.

Paco Rodriguez (1-2) earned his first major league victory, getting three outs on 10 pitches. Brandon League worked the ninth to earn his 10th save in 12 chances.

Cardinals starter John Gast left in the second because of left shoulder tightness.

PADRES 10, DIAMONDBACKS 4

PHOENIX — Everth Cabrera matched his career high with four RBIs, two coming on his second home run in two nights, and the Padres beat the Diamondbacks.

Cabrera fell a triple shy of the cycle, with a single in the first and a two-run double to cap the Padres’ five-run fourth.

Andrew Cashner (4-2) got the victory, giving up four runs on nine hits in six-plus innings. He also singled in a run, his first RBI of the season.

Wade Miley (3-4), who took a shot off his backside off the bat of Jedd Gyorko just before the Padres’ fourth-inning surge, got the loss. Arizona’s Eric Chavez drove in three runs with a two-run homer and sacrifice fly.

RED SOX 7, INDIANS 4

BOSTON — Pinch-hitter Mike Carp drove in the tying run with an eighth-inning double and then scored on a double by Dustin Pedroia.

The Red Sox scored four times off reliever Vinnie Pestano (1-1), who took over with Cleveland leading 4-3 in the eighth.

Junichi Tazawa (4-2) struck out two in a hitless eighth and Andrew Bailey got three outs for his sixth save in seven chances.

Boston starter Jon Lester struck out a season-high eight in seven innings.

RANGERS 5, MARINERS 2

SEATTLE — Nelson Cruz hit his 12th homer of the season, David Murphy drove in three runs and the Texas Rangers roughed up Seattle ace Felix Hernandez and handed the Mariners their eighth straight loss.

Derek Holland continued to pitch well in Seattle, easily getting the better of the matchup against Hernandez. Holland (4-2) went 6 2-3 innings, striking out a season-high 10, allowing no earned runs and winning for the first time since May 8 after a pair of no decisions.

Hernandez (5-4) was trying to rebound from a poor outing in his last start at Cleveland, but continued to leave pitches up in the strike zone and Texas took advantage. Murphy’s two-out double in the second gave Texas a 3-0 lead and Cruz added his solo homer — also with two outs — in the fifth inning.

ORIOLES 6, BLUE JAYS 5

TORONTO — Danny Valencia hit a two-run homer and Adam Jones added a solo shot to help the Orioles beat R.A. Dickey and the Blue Jays.

The Orioles won for the fourth time in five games following a season-long, six-game losing streak.

Valencia connected off Dickey (4-6) with a second-deck drive in the third inning. Jones chased last year’s NL Cy Young Award winner with an even longer drive in the seventh, his ninth of the year and third in three games.

The Orioles lead the majors with 68 home runs this season, including nine in the past three games.

Freddy Garcia (1-2) allowed three runs and nine hits in five innings to win for the first time since Aug. 15, 2012, when he beat Texas while pitching for the New York Yankees.

ANGELS 7, ROYALS 0

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Josh Hamilton and Hank Conger homered to back Billy Buckner’s first major league win since 2009, and the Angels beat the Royals for their seventh straight victory.

The resurgent Angels have outscored opponents 54-18 during their longest winning streak of the season.

The slumping Royals have lost 15 of 19, including seven straight at home. They have scored three runs or fewer in 12 of those defeats to drop a season-low four games below .500 at 21-25.

Conger’s opposite-field shot leading off the sixth inning was the first hit off Jeremy Guthrie (5-3), who dropped his third consecutive outing after going a Royals-record 18 starts in a row without a loss.

Buckner (1-0), who hadn’t pitched in the majors since 2010, limited the Royals to two hits over five innings.

YANKEES 4, RAYS 3, 11 INNINGS

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Lyle Overbay homered with two outs in the 11th inning, and the Yankees rallied late to beat the Rays.

Overbay drilled a 1-0 pitch from Josh Lueke (0-2) into the right field seats to give New York the lead.

Ivan Nova (2-1), who made his first relief appearance after returning from a right triceps injury and being moved from the Yankees’ rotation to the bullpen, struck out James Loney and got an inning-ending grounder from Matt Joyce with the bases loaded in the 10th.

Mariano Rivera pitched a perfect 11th inning for his 18th straight save to start the season.

The Yankees scored twice in the ninth against struggling Tampa Bay closer Fernando Rodney to pull even at 3.

TWINS 3, TIGERS 2

DETROIT — Joe Mauer homered and had three hits, helping the Twins snap a 10-game losing streak with a victory over the Tigers.

The Twins scored three runs in the first, and that was enough. P.J. Walters (1-0) went six innings, allowing two runs and eight hits.

Four relievers finished, with Glen Perkins pitching the ninth for his ninth save in 10 chances.

Detroit’s Doug Fister (5-2) allowed three runs and eight hits in seven innings.

Jhonny Peralta homered for the Tigers.

ATHLETICS 11, ASTROS 5

HOUSTON — Josh Donaldson homered and had four hits to power Oakland past Houston.

Chris Young added three hits and drove in two runs as the Athletics pounded out a season-high 18 hits. Every Oakland batter drove in at least one run. Donaldson and Brandon Moss hit back-to-back homers for the A’s, who improved to 8-0 this season against the Astros.

A.J. Griffin (5-3) allowed four runs and five hits with seven strikeouts in 5 2-3 innings. He gave up three homers.

Jason Castro and Matt Dominguez each had two home runs for the Astros. It was the first time Houston teammates had multihomer games since July 25, 2005, when Craig Biggio and Lance Berkman each hit two.

Astros starter Lucas Harrell (3-6), who has lost four straight, allowed six runs and six hits with three walks in a season-low 1 2-3 innings.

INTERLEAGUE

WHITE SOX 2, MARLINS 1

CHICAGO — Conor Gillaspie hit a run-scoring single in the ninth inning to lift Chicago over Miami.

Derek Dietrich homered in the top of the ninth to spoil Jake Peavy’s shutout bid. But in the bottom half, Gillaspie drove in Dewayne Wise to give the White Sox their eighth win in 11 games.

Peavy (6-2) struck out five and allowed six hits in a complete game. Alexei Ramirez gave Chicago a 1-0 lead with an RBI double in the third.

Ryan Webb (1-3) took the loss. Miami dropped its fourth straight and 11th in 13 games.

Ricky Nolasco allowed one run in 7 2-3 innings for the Marlins.