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Highlights of Thursday's MLB games

[July 29, 2016] July 28 (The Sports Xchange) - Highlights of Thursday's Major League Baseball games:

Cubs 3, White Sox 1

John Lackey snapped a five-game losing streak with a sharp six-inning effort while reliever Aroldis Chapman picked up his first Chicago Cubs save in a 3-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Thursday.

Lackey out-dueled White Sox ace Chris Sale and picked up his first win since June 8 to end an eight-game run that included three no-decisions. Sale was pitching for the first time since he was suspended for an outburst which included destroying team uniforms Saturday.

Ben Zobrist went 2-for-4 and singled home Dexter Fowler with the go-ahead run in the third inning. Zobrist doubled in the eighth, reached third on an error and scored on Addison Russell's fielder's choice grounder to shortstop off reliever Nate Jones.

The Cubs won their second straight while the White Sox dropped their second in a row.

Rangers 3, Royals 2

Mitch Moreland hit a pair of solo homers, lifting Texasover Kansas City in support of Cole Hamels.

Moreland's second homer -- a solo shot off Yordano Ventura -- snapped a 2-2 tie with one out in the eighth inning and was just the fourth hit allowed by the Kansas City right-hander.

That proved to be enough for Hamels, who set a season high with 12 strikeouts in his eight-inning outing. Hamels allowed two runs on six hits and walked just one while throwing 123 pitches. Sam Dyson closed out the Royals for his 21st save.

Rockies 2, Mets 1

David Dahl scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch in the ninth inning afternoon as Colorado came back to beat New York at Citi Field.

The Rockies scored twice off Mets closer Jeurys Familia in the ninth to snap a 10-game losing streak at Citi Field dating back to Aug. 6, 2013. Colorado has won 10 of 14 since the All-Star break.

The Mets lost a game in which Familia blew a save opportunity for the second time in 18 hours. Familia converted 52 straight regular-season save chances before giving up two runs in the ninth inning of a 2-1 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday.

Brewers 6, Diamondbacks 4

Hernan Perez and Kirk Nieuwenhuis homered while Zach Davies stuck out five to lead Milwaukee to a victory over Arizona at Miller Park.

Davies got off to a rocky start, allowing a pair of first-inning runs on ground-rule doubles by Phil Gosselin and Yasmany Tomas.

He settled in after that, retiring six in a row and facing just one over the minimum through the sixth inning.

Cardinals 5, Marlins 4

Aledmys Diaz homered, doubled and drove in three runs as St. Louis defeated Jose Fernandez and Miami at Marlins Park.

Fernandez, a two-time All-Star at age 23, lost his second career game at home. He is 26-2 with a 1.62 ERA at Marlins Park. Miami's loss spoiled the return of two-time All-Star second baseman Dee Gordon, who missed the previous 80 games after a suspension for performance-enhancing drugs.

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Diaz's two-run homer and Matt Holliday's solo blast one out later gave St. Louis a 3-0 lead in the third. It was the first time in Fernandez's career that he has allowed two homers in an inning. Michael Wacha earned the win, allowing three runs and four hits while not walking a batter in six innings.

Twins 6, Orioles 2

A four-run seventh inning broke open a tie ballgame and lifted Minnesota to a win over Baltimore at Target Field.

With the game tied at 2, five straight Twins reached base in the seventh, capped by a two-run triple by Eddie Rosario.

Max Kepler homered, Robbie Grossman reached base four times and Kyle Gibson pitched six solid innings as Minnesota snapped a three-game losing streak.

Phillies 7, Braves 5

Maikel Franco set the pace by blasting a three-run homer in the first inning, one of three smashed by Philadelphia in a win over Atlanta at Turner Field.

Franco hit his team-leading 19th homer deep into the seats in left, giving him five homers and 15 RBIs in his last 20 road games. Tommy Joseph Aaron Altherr also homered, leaving the Phillies one homer shy of matching their season high.

The win broke the Braves' two-game winning streak. Philadelphia improved to 3-4 on its current 10-game road trip.

Nationals 4, Giants 2

Tanner Roark combined with four relievers on a five-hitter, leading Washington to a victory over San Francisco.

Roark (10-6) allowed just four hits and the single run in seven innings. He walked three and struck out three. He also contributed an RBI single to a three-run second inning against Giants starter Johnny Cueto (13-3).

Trea Turner, Anthony Rendon and Ryan Zimmerman each had two hits for the Nationals. Conor Gillaspie, who might lose his role as the Giants' third baseman with the team trading for Minnesota All-Star Eduardo Nunez, went 2-for-3 with an RBI.

Angels 2, Red Sox 1

Boston first baseman Hanley Ramirez's two-run throwing error in the bottom of the ninth inning handed Los Angeles a victory.

David Price threw eight scoreless innings to give the Red Sox a 1-0 lead heading to the ninth. However, Price made 109 pitches to that point, so Red Sox manager John Farrell went to Brad Ziegler to close it out.

The Angels loaded the bases on three singles. Pinch hitter Daniel Nava struck a sharp grounder right to Ramirez, whose his throw home was high and wide of catcher Sandy Leon, allowing both Mike Trout and pinch runner Ji-Man Choi to score and give Los Angeles an improbable victory. (Compiled by Shravanth Vijayakumar)

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