MLB roundup: Kazmir wins debut with Astros

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[July 25, 2015]   The Sports Xchange

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Scott Kazmir won his first start for Houston and Preston Tucker went 3-for-5 with a home run as the Astros topped the Kansas City Royals 4-0 on Friday night.

Kazmir limited the Royals to three hits in seven innings. The Astros acquired him Thursday from Oakland.

Tucker put the Astros on the board in the third inning with fourth home run in his past five games. The Astros added a second run in the inning when Carlos Correa walked, advanced to third on Evan Gattis' single to center and scored on Colby Rasmus' single to right.

The Astros hiked the lead to 4-0 in the fourth with Jose Altuve and Correa stroking run-producing singles.

Rockies 6, Reds 5

DENVER -- Colorado overcame another shaky outing by closer John Axford and beat Cincinnati on a wild pitch with two outs in the ninth inning.

Ryan Mattheus' wild pitch in the bottom of the ninth allowed Charlie Blackmon to score the winning run with a headfirst slide.

Joey Votto tied the score at 5 against Axford with one out in the top of the ninth when he hit his 18th home run of the season.
 


Giants 9, A's 3

SAN FRANCISCO -- Hunter Pence collected four hits, including two run-scoring doubles, to lift San Francisco over Oakland.

Angel Pagan and Buster Posey had three hits apiece, Brandon Belt drove in three runs with two hits and Jake Peavy held the A's to three runs in six innings. Peavy posted his second straight win after opening the season 0-4.

Ben Zobrist belted a solo home run and Billy Butler had three singles for Oakland.

Rangers 4, Angels 2

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Texas starter Colby Lewis held Los Angeles to two runs and five hits in 7 2/3 innings.

Lewis had lost six consecutive starts against the Angels but had nine strikeouts and allowed only a solo homer to Mike Trout in fourth inning. He was charged with a run in the eighth after he had left the game.

The Rangers' offense was led by Josh Hamilton and Elvis Andrus, who each had two hits. It was the first game back at Angel Stadium for Hamilton, who was traded back to the Rangers after two disappointing seasons in Anaheim.

Hamilton doubled and scored in the fifth and singled and scored in the seventh.

Red Sox 2, Tigers 1

BOSTON -- Returning from an 0-7 road trip, Boston snapped an eight-game losing streak with its win over Detroit.

Xander Bogaerts singled home the winning run as the last-place Red Sox won for the first time since the All-Star break.

Mookie Betts opened the 11th with walk, took second on a sacrifice by Brock Holt and scored on Bogaerts' single -- his third night of the night -- on a close play at the plate.

Mariners 5, Blue Jays 2

SEATTLE -- Felix Hernandez matched the American League high with his 12th victory of the season and Seattle won back-to-back games for the first time this month.

Hernandez allowed two runs (one earned) and six hits in seven innings. A two-run homer from Mark Trumbo and Robinson Cano's two-run triple in the fifth inning helped stake Hernandez a 5-1 lead.



Jose Bautista moved into sole possession of second place on Toronto's career home run list with a solo shot in the sixth. It was his 21st homer of the season and 224th as a Blue Jay, moving him past Vernon Wells.

Cardinals 4, Braves 2

ST. LOUIS -- Tim Cooney picked up his first big league win as St. Louis topped Atlanta.

Cooney gave up just five hits and two runs, walking none and fanning five. Kevin Siegrist pitched the ninth for his fifth save of the year, striking out Jonny Gomes with the tying runs on base to end it.

St. Louis' Randal Grichuk belted a two-run homer in the bottom of the second for the second straight night. Jhonny Peralta made it 3-0 in the third with an RBI single that scored Matt Carpenter. The Cardinals added a run in the fourth as Mark Reynolds lined a two-strike single to right center.

Pirates 7, Nationals 5

PITTSBURGH -- Gregory Polanco had two hits, drove in three run and homered along with Pedro Alvarez and Neil Walker to lead Pittsburgh over Washington.

Walker, Jung Ho Kang and Francisco Cervelli also each had two of the Pirates' 12 hits. Kang extended his hitting streak to a career-high 11 games. Walker hit the second of back-to-back home runs with Polanco in the fifth inning off Max Scherzer, who pitched a no-hitter the last time he faced the Pirates on June 20.

This time, Scherzer was tagged for three home runs while giving up five runs and seven hits in five innings with one walk and eight strikeouts.

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The Pirates scored twice in the sixth against Sammy Solis to break a 5-5 tie. Brent Morel hit an RBI double with two outs and scored on Polanco's single.

Phillies 5, Cubs 3 (10 innings)

CHICAGO -- Jeff Francoeur snapped a 3-3 tie with a two-run homer in the 10th inning as Philadelphia beat Chicago.

Francoeur's ninth homer of the year came off Rafael Soriano and scored Cesar Hernandez.

The victory was the second straight for Philadelphia and sixth in seven games. The Cubs have lost two of their last three.

Earlier, Chris Coghlan clubbed a career-high 10th homer and Jon Lester delivered another quality start for the Cubs. But Lester, who flirted with a no-hitter in his last start in Atlanta, had no decision in seven innings as the Phillies forced a 3-3 tie in the ninth against Jason Motte.

Brewers 2, Diamondbacks 1

PHOENIX -- Ryan Braun homered and Jimmy Nelson pitched seven scoreless innings for Milwaukee against Arizona.

Braun homered to lead off the sixth inning. Nelson won the fifth time in his last six starts.

Dodgers 7, Mets 2

NEW YORK -- Ian Thomas and four relievers combined on a six-hitter and Los Angeles scored most of its runs in the first three innings.

Thomas became the 13th different starting pitcher used by the Dodgers this season and allowed one run and three hits in five innings of his first career start. He replaced scheduled starter Zack Greinke, who was placed on the paternity list Friday to be with his wife and first child in Los Angeles.

Justin Turner supported Thomas with a three-hit night, including an RBI double and solo home run in his first two at-bats.
 


White Sox 6, Indians 0

CLEVELAND -- Melky Cabrera and Alexei Ramirez combined for five hits, including three doubles and two RBIs, and Jose Quintana pitched his first career complete game and first shutout for Chicago.

All of the White Sox's runs were charged to Corey Kluber, who pitched seven innings but again got no run support. The Indians have scored three runs or fewer in 18 of his 21 starts.

Jose Abreu belted his 15th home run of the season for the White Sox in the sixth.

Rays 3, Orioles 1

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Tampa Bay, held to two hits for seven innings, rallied for three runs in the eighth inning, with rookie Tim Beckham getting a two-out, two-run single.

Rays starter Chris Archer struck out nine batters and gave up one run in six innings. Baltimore dropped its fourth straight and spoiling a strong start by Chris Tillman, who took a shutout into the eighth.

Jake McGee pitched a scoreless ninth for his fifth save of the season, extending his scoreless streaks to 21 appearances and 20 1/3 innings.

Twins 10, Yankees 1

MINNEAPOLIS -- Minnesota opened a nine-game homestand with plenty of early offense and a sterling performance on the mound from Phil Hughes against New York.

Hughes, a former Yankee, pitched seven shutout innings, scattering seven hits (all singles) and walking none while striking out three. The Twins provided Hughes with all the support he needed, scoring two runs apiece in the first and fourth innings and a run in the second.

Torii Hunter had two hits, including a solo homer in the seventh. It was his 207th home run for theTwins, tying him with Hall-of-Famer Kirby Puckett for sixth on the club's career list.

Padres 3, Marlins 1

SAN DIEGO -- San Diego socked three home runs and Andrew Cashner pitched seven strong innings against Miami.

San Diego snapped a three-game losing streak as Brett Wallace, Yonder Alonso and Matt Kemp homered. Alonso and Kemp went deep back-to-back in the fifth inning.

Cashner allowed one run, five hits and one walk and hit a batter while striking out five. Craig Kimbrel collected his 27th save in 28 chances after Joaquin Benoit worked the eighth.

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