Dickey throws 4-hitter as Blue Jays beat Indians, 5-1
TORONTO—R.A. Dickey pitched a four-hitter to win his seventh straight decision, Josh Donaldson had three hits and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Cleveland Indians 5-1 on Wednesday night.
Toronto won for the fifth time in six games and maintained a 1 1/2-game lead over the New York Yankees in the AL East.
Dickey (10-10) threw 92 pitches, including 68 strikes, in his second complete game of the season and 15th of his career. He’s unbeaten in 10 starts, dating to a July 9 road loss against the White Sox.
Dickey set down 14 straight before Jason Kipnis hit a one-out single in the ninth. Francisco Lindor ended it by grounding into a double play.
Donaldson went 3 for 4 with three RBIs, raising his ML-leading total to 111.
Cleveland right- hander Trevor Bauer (10-11) gave up five runs and six hits in 1 1-3 innings. Donaldson and Troy Tulowitzki each had RBI singles in the first and Donaldson chased Bauer with a two-run double in the second.
YANKEES 13, RED SOX 8
BOSTON—Greg Bird, John Ryan Murphy and Carlos Beltran homered during an eight-run second inning and New York beat Boston.
Stephen Drew doubled during New York’s big inning and added a three-run homer in the third. Didi Gregorius later homered for the Yankees.
Masahiro Tanaka (11-6) pitched into the seventh inning to help the Yankees won for the fifth time in six games. New York improved to 7-2 against the Red Sox at Fenway Park this season and 10-5 overall this season against their longtime rivals.
The win was the 800th of Yankees manager Joe Girardi’s career. He guided the Marlins for one year and is in eighth season with New York.
Red Sox rookie Henry Owens (2-2) retired the first four batters in order but the next eight Yankees reached base safely, with one out coming on the basepaths.
REDS 7, CUBS 4
CHICAGO—Joey Votto hit a three-run homer in the ninth inning that was set up by third baseman Kris Bryant’s twoout error, and Cincinnati beat Chicago.
Bryant hit a two-run homer in the eighth that made it 4-all. The rookie has 22 home runs and 84 RBIs.
Cubs closer Hector Rondon (5-3) retired the first two batters in the ninth. Jason Bourgeois, who homered earlier, followed with a single. Jay Bruce then hit a hard grounder that went through Bryant’s legs for an error, and Votto connected for his 27th home run.
J.J. Hoover (7-0) got the win despite allowing Bryant’s homer. Aroldis Chapman closed for his 27th save.
Tommy La Stella and Anthony Rizzo hit solo home runs for the Cubs.
ANGELS 9, ATHLETICS 4
OAKLAND, Calif.—Albert Pujols hit a two-run drive to make him one of four players with 10 career 35-home run seasons, and Los Angeles jumped on Oakland ace Sonny Gray.
Pujols had an RBI single in the first inning, then hit his 555th career homer in the second. He joined Hall of Famers Willie Mays (10) and Mike Schmidt (11) and Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez (12) to have reached 35 home runs in 10 or more years.
Andrew Heaney (6-2) struck out six and didn’t walk a batter in seven innings to end a six-start winless stretch. He had gone 0-2 since a victory against Texas on July 26.
Gray (12-7) lost his third straight decision, matching his career high with six earned runs for the first time since exactly a year earlier on Sept. 2, 2014, at Seattle.
METS 9, PHILLIES 4
NEW YORK—Ruben Tejada hit an inside-the-park homer and drove in four runs to back Matt Harvey as New York returned to its winning ways against Philadelphia.
Yoenis Cespedes and rookie Michael Conforto had conventional home runs for the NL East leaders. They won for the 14th time in 16 games against the last-place Phillies this season. Philadelphia snapped a 10-game losing streak to the Mets with a 14-8 rout Tuesday.
Travis d’Arnaud doubled twice and singled and Cespedes had three hits as well, one night after he homered to stop an 0-for-16 slide. Handed a 6-0 lead, Harvey (127) pitched into the seventh inning and won his fourth straight decision.
Prized rookie Aaron Nola (5-2) was the loser.
MARLINS 7, BRAVES 3
ATLANTA—Marcell Ozuna hit a two-run homer, Martin Prado and Jeff Mathis each had two RBIs and Miami beat reeling Atlanta to complete a three-game sweep.
Moving past the Braves and into third place in the NL East for the first time since May 14, the Marlins earned their second three-game sweep in Atlanta and first since April 2009.
The Braves have lost eight straight at home for the first time since beginning the 1988 season 0-9. Atlanta has dropped 19 of 22 overall and is 12-37 since July 8, worst in the majors.
Hector Olivera drove in two runs for the Braves with his first career hit.
Adam Conley (3-1) won his second straight start, allowing four hits, three runs and three walks with four strikeouts in five innings. Williams Perez (4-6) was the loser.