Pirates Double Up Skidding Phillies
(Pittsburgh, PA) — Ivan Nova allowed three runs in seven and one-third innings as the Pirates beat the Phillies 6-3 in Pittsburgh. David Freese homered, singled, walked and scored two runs for the Pirates. Adam Frazier had a two-run single among his three hits. Pittsburgh is 5-and-2 in its last seven games. Aaron Altherr doubled and drove in two Philly runs. Vince Velasquez gave up five runs on seven hits to get charged with the loss. The Phillies fell for the 16th time in 20 games.
Rays Rock Yankees
(St. Petersburg, FL) — Corey Dickerson belted a pair of home runs as the Rays rocked the Yankees, 9-5, at Tropicana Field. Dickerson nailed a solo shot in the first before adding a three-run dinger in the fourth. Evan Longoria added a solo shot for the Rays. Matt Andriese tossed five-plus frames of five-run ball for the win. Tampa will go for the sweep on Sunday. Chase Headley had a two-run double and finished with three RBI for New York. Aaron Judge blasted his 15th homer in defeat.
Indians Blank Astros
(Houston, TX) — Mike Clevinger tossed a gem as the Indians blanked the Astros, 3-0, in Houston. Clevinger struck out eight over seven shutout innings and allowed just two hits for the win. Cody Allen made his 12th save. Lonnie Chisenhall homered and Carlos Santana added an RBI-double. Mike Fiers allowed one earned run over six innings to take the loss for Houston. The ‘Stros finished 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position.
Braves’ Three Homers Overpower Nationals
(Cumberland, GA) — Rio Ruiz hit his first career home run as the Braves used the long ball to beat the Nationals 5-2 at Sun Trust Park. Ruiz had a two-run shot in the second, Matt Kemp and Tyler Flowers also went deep for Atlanta. Ian Krol picked up the victory in relief. Atlanta won for the fifth time in seven games. Nationals starter Max Scherzer gave up three runs on four hits over five innings to take the loss. He did not return after a nearly two-hour rain delay. Washington has dropped four in a row.
Reds Club Rockies
(Cincinnati, OH) — Scott Schebler’s three-run, go-ahead homer in the sixth inning lifted the Reds past the Rockies, 12-8, in Cincinnati. The Reds trailed by four entering the sixth inning, but scored six in the frame to get ahead for good. Eugenio Suarez and Devin Mesoraco also homered for Cincy. Asher Wojciechowski earned the relief win. Antonio Senzatela tossed five innings of four-run ball and added a two-run single for Colorado. The rubber match is Sunday.
Tigers End Rangers’ 10-Game Winning Streak
(Detroit, MI) — Alex Avila, Miguel Cabrera and J.D. Martinez hit successive homers in the first as the Tigers ripped the Rangers 9-3 in Detroit. Nick Castellanos added a three-run blast in the third. Justin Verlander pitched seven strong innings to earn the victory. Detroit snapped the Rangers’ 10-game winning streak. Losing pitcher A.J. Griffin surrendered nine runs on nine hits, four them homers, before being pulled in the fourth. Jonathan Lucroy homered for Texas and Nomar Mazara added a two-run double. The rubber match is Sunday.
Athletics Pound Four Homers To Topple Red Sox
(Oakland, CA) — Khris Davis and Chad Pinder hit two-run homers as the Athletics blasted the Red Sox 8-3 in Oakland. Mark Canha and Jed Lowrie added solo shots. Sean Manaea allowed three runs on five hits over five innings to claim the victory. Oakland looks for the sweep on Sunday. Boston reliever Ben Taylor retired none of the four A’s batters he faced to take the loss. He allowed four runs on three hits, two of them homers. Hanley Ramirez went deep in defeat.
Arroyo, Giants Down Cardinals Late
(St. Louis, MO) — Christian Arroyo nailed the go-ahead two-run double in the 13th inning as the Giants downed the Cardinals, 3-1, in St. Louis. Arroyo’s double broke a scoreless tie. Jeff Samardzija tossed eight shut out innings and Hunter Strickland earned the relief win for San Francisco. Mark Melancon gave up a run but still got the save. Carlos Martinez tossed a nine-inning, two-hit shut out for St. Louis. Reliever Kevin Siegrist was charged with the loss. Stephen Piscotty singled in a run to prevent the shutout.
Reyes, Collins Reach Milestones As Mets Clip Angels
(New York, NY) — Jose Reyes notched his 2,000th hit to help lift the Mets past the Angels, 7-5 in New York. Reyes finished with three-hits including a two-run single in the eighth to break the game open. New York manager Terry Collins set the franchise record for most games managed with his 1,013th game at the helm. Zack Wheeler picked up the win and the Mets will look for the series-sweep on Sunday. Los Angeles starter Alex Meyer pitched into the fifth inning and surrendered four-runs in the loss. Andrelton Simmons keyed the offense with two RBI in defeat.
Marlins Cruise Past Dodgers
(Los Angeles, CA) — The Marlins jumped out to a 10-run and held on to cruise past the Dodgers, 10-6, in Los Angeles. JT Riddle keyed the Miami offense with three-hits and four RBI including a homer in the fifth. Giancarlo Stanton also notched three hits and drove in three runs in the winning effort. Dan Straily picked up the victory as the Marlins snapped a five-game slide. Julio Urias was chased in the second inning after giving up seven runs to take the loss for L.A. Enrique Hernandez, Cody Bellinger, and Corey Seager went deep in defeat.
Diamondbacks Cruise Past Padres
(San Diego, CA) — The Diamondbacks posted seven-runs through the first two innings as they cruised past the Padres, 9-1, in San Diego. Chris Herrmann capped off a five-spot in the first with a two-run homer. Paul Goldschmidt and Jake Lamb each had two hits, two RBI, and two runs scored in the winning effort. Robbie Ray tossed seven-and-two-thirds innings of two-hit ball to pick up the win. Padres starter Luis Perdomo was chased in the third inning after surrendering 11 hits and eight runs. He took the loss, San Diego’s fifth-straight.
White Sox Crush Mariners
(Seattle, WA) — Avisail Garcia collected four-hits and six RBI to key the offensive explosion as the White Sox crushed the Mariners, 16-1, in Seattle. Garcia homered twice and added a two-run double to extend the Chicago lead to 10 in the fourth inning. Willy Garcia also went deep and notched three RBI for the Sox. Mike Pelfrey tossed six innings of one-run ball to pick up his first win. M’s starter Yovani Gallardo was chased in the fourth and gave up 10 runs in the loss. Jean Segura prevented the shutout with an RBI groundout in the sixth inning.
Durant, Warriors Fight Off Spurs In Game Three
(San Antonio, TX) — Kevin Durant led the charge with a double-double as the Warriors fought off the Spurs, 120-108, in Game Three of the Western Conference finals in San Antonio. Durant finsihed with 33 points and 10 rebounds as the Dubs moved one win away from advancing to their third straight NBA Finals. Steph Curry added 21 points and six steals for Golden State, which trailed by four after the first quarter before taking control down the stretch. Game Four tips off in San Antonio Monday. The Spurs played without Kawhi [[ kah-WHY ]] Leonard and lost David Lee to a knee injury in the first half. Manu Ginobili led the Spurs with 21 points in defeat.
Predators Down Ducks, Take Series Lead
(Anaheim, CA) — The Predators are now one win away from their first ever trip to the Stanley Cup final as they dropped the Ducks, 3-1, in Game Five of the Western Conference finals in Anaheim. Pontus Aberg scored the go-ahead goal in the third period, and Austin Watson padded the lead with an empty-netter. Colin Watson scored in the second and Pekka Rinne finished with 32 saves. The Preds leads the series, 3-2. Chris Wagner gave Anaheim a brief 1-0 lead in the second. Goalie John Gibson left with an injury and was replace by Jonathan Bernier. Game Six gets going on Monday in Nashville.
Cloud Computing Edges Classic Empire For Preakness Stakes Win
(Baltimore, MD) — Cloud Computing edged Classic Empire by a head to win the 142nd running of the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore. Cloud Computing trailed most of the race before overtaking Classic Empire down the stretch. Jockey Javier Castellano won his second Preakness Stakes after riding Bernardini to victory in 2006. Trainer Chad Brown also won his first Triple Crown race. Cloud Computing finished with a time of 1:55.98, and is the fourth horse in 34 years to win the Preakness after not running in the Kentucky Derby. Derby winner Always Dreaming battled Classic Empire for first to start the race before fading away after the three-quarter pole and finishing eighth. Classic Empire finished second and Senior Investment followed in third. The final leg of the Triple Crown begins with the 149th running of the Belmont Stakes on June 10th in New York.
Kyle Busch Wins NASCAR All-Star Race
(Charlotte, NC) — Kyle Busch is one-million dollars richer after winning the Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race. Busch used a three-wide pass on th final restart to surge past Jimmie Johnson and Brad Keselowski for the win. Kyle Larson battled to finish second, and Johnson placed third. Kyle’s brother Kurt finished fourth. Clint Bowyer, Ryan Blaney and Daniel Suarez advanced to the All-Star race after each won stages of the Monster Energy Open earlier Saturday. Chase Elliott made it to the All-Star race through a fan vote.
James Hahn Leads AT&T Byron Nelson
(Irving, TX) — James Hahn is in line for his first PGA Tour victory heading into the final round of the AT&T Byron Nelson in Irving. Hahn leads the field at 12-under for the tournament after a six-under par 64 in Saturday’s third round. Billy Horschel is in second at 11-under. Jason Day and Jason Kokrak are tied for third at minus-10 while Cameron Tringale rounds out the top-five at nine-under. Defending champ Sergio Garcia highlights a group of three players who are four-strokes off the lead at eight-under. Sunday’s final-round gets underway at 8:01 a.m. Eastern Time.