LDN - Sports

Highlights from Monday's MLB games

[September 20, 2016] (The Sports Xchange) -

Dodgers 2, Giants 1

Adrian Gonzalez hit a walk-off double in the ninth inning as the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the San Francisco Giants.

The Dodgers (85-65) padded their lead in the National League West to six games over the Giants (79-71), who dropped their third in a row.

Giants relievers Will Smith and Derek Law combined to work a scoreless eighth before the Giants self-destructed in the final inning.

Law served up a lead-off single to pinch-hitter Andrew Toles before Corey Seager followed with a single off Javier Lopez (1-3), allowing Toles to take third with no outs.

Turner's RBI single off reliever Hunter Strickland scored Toles tied the score 1-1. Gonzalez then delivered his game-winner.

Joe Blanton (6-2) pitched a scoreless ninth for the win.

Royals 8, White Sox 3

Kendrys Morales, Paulo Orlando and Alcides Escobar homered as the Kansas City Royals topped the Chicago White Sox.

Morales' three-run homer in a four-run fifth gave the Royals a six-run cushion and sent White Sox left-hander Carlos Rodon, who gave up six runs on eight hits, to the showers.

Yordano Ventura (11-11) held the White Sox to three runs and nine hits, throwing 106 pitches, 72 for strikes. He gave up solo home runs to Jose Abreu and Carlos Sanchez.

Red Sox 5, Orioles 2

Rick Porcello pitched a complete game and Mookie Betts and David Ortiz hit two-run homers as the Boston Red Sox beat the Baltimore Orioles.

Boston (86-64) leads the second-place Orioles (82-68) by four games with 12 games remaining.

Porcello (21-4), the major league leader in wins, allowed four hits and no walks while striking out seven.

Jackie Bradley Jr. and Dustin Pedroia each had two hits for the Red Sox.

Braves 7, Mets 3

Freddie Freeman continued his road mastery of the New York Mets Monday night, when the Atlanta Braves first baseman collected four hits -- including a homer -- and three RBIs to lead the Braves to a 7-3 win at Citi Field.

Rookie right-hander Aaron Blair earned his first major league victory with six solid innings for the Braves (59-91), who have won three straight to improve to 9-8 this month.

The Mets (80-70) had a three-game winning streak snapped. New York, which is 20-8 since Aug. 20, entered Monday one game ahead of the San Francisco Giants in the race for the NL's top wild card and two games ahead of the third-place St. Louis Cardinals.

Marlins 4, Nationals 3

Washington rookie center fielder Trea Turner misplayed two fly balls, leading to three runs, and the Miami Marlins used those mistakes to rally past the Nationals.

A.J. Ramos pitched the ninth, recording his 38th save of the season. He retired Daniel Murphy on a long fly ball to end the game, which ended Murphy's 14-game hit streak.

Cubs 5, Reds 2

Dexter Fowler's seventh-inning RBI single provided the go-ahead run while Jason Heyward added a two-run insurance homer in the eighth as Chicago rallied to a victory over Cincinnati.

Fowler's two-out base hit drove in Chris Coghlan from second to break at 2-2 tie as the Cubs snapped a two-game losing streak in the opener of a three-game Wrigley Field series.

Heyward's seventh home run, his first since Aug. 22, landed in the center field seats and brought home Addison Russell. The home run was the 242nd allowed this season by the Reds, breaking the major league record set in 1996 by the Detroit Tigers.

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Dodgers first baseman Adrian Gonzalez (23) follows through on a walk-off double in the ninth inning in a 2-1 victory over the San Francisco Giants during a MLB game at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Rangers 3, Angels 2

Ian Desmond drove in Elvis Andrus in the ninth as the Texas Rangers beat the Los Angeles Angels.

Solo home runs from Nomar Mazara and Andrus, plus a solid outing from Martin Perez, set the table for another late-inning reversal of fortune.

Sam Dyson (3-2) picked up the win in relief.

Cardinals 5, Rockies 3

St. Louis starter Carlos Martinez, bothered more by the altitude than the Colorado batters, fought his way through five innings and contributed a key hit in the Cardinals' 5-3 win over the Rockies.

Martinez gave up two runs and five hits and three walks with six strikeouts. However, needed 102 pitches to last long enough to qualify for the win.

In the fourth, Cardinals manager Mike Matheny and a trainer went to the mound to check on Martinez (15-8), and a batboy then came out and gave the pitcher a cup of water.

Martinez's two-run double broke a 2-2 tie in the fourth when the Cardinals took advantage of third baseman Nolan Arenado's throwing error and scored three unearned runs with two outs.

Astros 4, Athletics 2

Marwin Gonzalez hit a tiebreaking, two-run single with the bases loaded in the top of the ninth inning as the Houston Astros held on for a 4-2 victory over the Oakland A's.

Evan Gattis hit his 28th home run of the season for the Astros, a solo shot in the second inning.

Rookies Ryon Healy and Bruce Maxwell hit solo home runs for the A's. Mawell's home run was the first of his career.

Padres 3, Diamondbacks 2

Left-hander Clayton Richard and two relievers held Arizona to two runs on six hits and Wil Myers triggered a three-run fourth with his 26th homer of the season as San Diego defeated the Padres.

Brandon Maurer picked up his 11th save in 13 chances.

The victory in the opener of a three-game series allowed the Padres to move back into a tie with Arizona for fourth in the National League West. Both teams are 63-87.

Blue Jays 3, Mariners 2

Toronto starter Marco Estrada flirted with a no-hitter and Edwin Encarnacion belted his 41st home run of the year, as the Blue Jays held off the Seattle Mariners to move back into a tie atop the American League wild-card standings.

Encarnacion's two-run homer in the third inning stood up as the game-winner as the Blue Jays (82-68) pulled into a tie with the Orioles, three games ahead of the Mariners (79-71) in the wild-card race.

Estrada threw six innings of no-hit ball before Seattle's Robinson Cano led off the seventh with a single.

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