MLB roundup: Harvey sharp as Mets blank White Sox

[May 31, 2016]  The Sports Xchange
 
 NEW YORK -- Matt Harvey threw seven shutout innings of two-hit ball in his best start of the season and Neil Walker's leadoff home run in the bottom of the seventh snapped a scoreless tie and lifted the New York Mets to a 1-0 win over the Chicago White Sox on Memorial Day.

The Mets snapped a two-game losing streak with their seventh win in their last 10 games. The White Sox have lost seven straight and 13 of 16.

Harvey began the afternoon with the second-highest ERA in the National League at 6.08, but he looked like the Harvey of 2013 on Monday. The right-hander, who allowed one hit over nine innings in his only other start against the White Sox on May 7, 2013, retired the first 13 batters he faced before J.B. Shuck's clean single to right.

Left-hander Jose Quintana took the hard-luck loss for the White Sox after allowing the one run on six hits and two walks while striking out seven over seven innings.

Red Sox 7, Orioles 2

BALTIMORE -- Xander Bogaerts had two doubles and two RBIs, Blake Swihart had three hits and Steven Wright allowed two runs in a complete-game effort as Boston beat Baltimore before a crowd of 43,926.

Jackie Bradley broke a tie with a solo homer to center in the sixth off starter Tyler Wilson to give the Red Sox a 3-2 lead. David Ortiz hit a solo homer to lead off the eighth against rookie lefty Ashur Tolliver as Boston built the margin to 4-2. It was the 14th homer of the year for Ortiz.

Marco Hernandez hit his first career homer in the eighth, a three-run shot off Mychal Givens, as Boston upped the lead to 7-2.

Braves 5, Giants 3

ATLANTA -- Mike Foltynewicz out-pitched Jeff Samardzija and last-place Atlanta cooled San Francisco.

Foltnewicz allowed just three hits and Mallex Smith hit a bases-loaded triple off Samardzija in the second inning on a humid afternoon when the temperature hit 90 degrees.

It was just the third loss in 18 games for the Giants, who lead the National League West with a 32-21 record. The Braves are just 5-21 at home and 14-36 overall -- the worst record in the majors.

Astros 8, Diamondbacks 3

PHOENIX -- Houston catcher Jason Castro had two hits and three RBIs and right-hander Collin McHugh threw his first career complete game in the Astros' 8-3 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field on Monday afternoon.

Castro singled in a run in a four-run second inning and doubled in two runs in the third inning as the Astros scored all their runs and had 11 of their 13 hits in the first four innings to ruin Arizona left-hander Edwin Escobar's first major league start.

McHugh gave up three runs on five hits, and he retired 21 of 22 batters after a two-out walk to Jake Lamb in the first inning before Brandon Drury's two-out single in the eighth.

Cardinals 6, Brewers 0

MILWAUKEE -- Matt Holliday had three hits including his ninth home run of the season and Carlos Martinez struck out eight over eight shutout innings as St. Louis beat Milwaukee.

Holliday also scored twice and drove in three runs, part of a Cardinals' 12-hit attack that took advantage of a number of defensive miscues by the Brewers, who were charged with two wild pitches, a passed ball and an error.

The loss was Junior Guerra's first of the year. He'd gone 3-0 with a 3.30 ERA in five starts since bring brought up from Triple-A Colorado Springs on May 3.

Athletics 3, Twins 2

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Kendall Graveman pitched six solid innings and ended his five-game losing streak as the Oakland A's defeated the Minnesota Twins 3-2 at the Oakland Coliseum on Monday afternoon.

Graveman gave up two runs on six hits over six innings. He struck out five, walked three and threw 85 pitches. Coco Crisp hit a leadoff home run for the A's, who won their third straight game and ended the Twins' four-game winning streak.

Twins right-hander Ervin Santana gave up three runs on seven hits over seven innings. He struck out five and walked two.

Mariners 9, Padres 3

SEATTLE -- Kyle Seager and Dae-Ho Lee each hit home runs, accounting for five runs as the Seattle Mariners routed the San Diego Padres 9-3 on Monday at Safeco Field.

Seager gave the Mariners their first lead, at 4-2, with a two-out, two-run homer in the sixth. Seattle scored four runs in the inning to rally from a 2-0 deficit. Designated hitter Adam Lind had a two-run single with the bases loaded in the eighth, then Lee piled it on with a three-run shot for a 9-2 Mariners lead.

Seattle snapped a three-game losing streak with the win, while the Padres lost their third in a row.

Reds 11, Rockies 8

DENVER -- The Cincinnati Reds staggered into Coors Field with the worst road record in the majors and just one win in their past 13 games. And as if on cue, they trailed by four runs after three innings.

But the Reds took the lead with a five-run uprising in the fourth and went on to beat the Colorado Rockies 11-8.

The Reds hit five home runs -- solo shots by Joey Votto, his 200th career homer, Zack Cosart, Eugenio Suarez and Adam Duvall and a two-run blast by Duvall, who had his first career two-homer game.

Cubs 2, Dodgers 0

CHICAGO -- Travis Wood rode to the rescue with four innings of hitless relief while Jason Heyward delivered a go-ahead RBI single as the Chicago Cubs ran their winning streak to six games with Monday's 2-0 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Heyward was 1-for-4 with an infield hit that scored Ben Zobrist in the fifth to break a scoreless tie.

Wood got an emergency call in the third inning after starter Jason Hammel experienced cramping in his right hamstring as he warmed up.

Royals 6, Rays 2

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Lorenzo Cain singled home the go-ahead run in the eighth and Eric Hosmer capped the inning off with a three-run homer as Kansas City bested Tampa Bay.

Alcides Escobar's one-out single started the game-winning rally. Rookie Whit Merrifield, who has hit safely in his first nine career starts, moved him to third with a single. Cain fell behind in the count 0-2 to Erasmo Ramirez before singling on the seventh pitch, scoring Escobar.

Hosmer then took a 1-2 Ramirez offering out to right-center to put this one away.

Angels 5, Tigers 1

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Right-hander Jhoulys Chacin earned his first American League victory as Los Angeles used a late rally to defeat Detroit in front of 38,541 at Angel Stadium.

Chacin (1-1) retired the first 17 batters he faced, amassed 10 strikeouts and conceded just one run, one walk and four hits in his first complete-game victory in five years.

The Angels sent 10 batters to the plate in the bottom of the eighth inning and combined five hits, an error and an intentional into five runs against right-hander Justin Verlander, who conceded just one hit while retiring 21 of the first 22 batters he faced, and reliever Buck Farmer.

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