MLB Scoreboard: Yu Darvish Strikes Out 10 As Texas Rangers Down Detroit Tigers

AMERICAN LEAGUE

Texas Rangers 7, Detroit Tigers 5

Yu Darvish got hit hard early, but his Texas Rangers still captured the starter his 10th win thanks to an offensive outburst in the middle innings. Darvish gave up four runs in seven innings and struck out 10 for the victory. The Rangers got a balanced offense performance that involved home runs from stars Ian Kinsler and Josh Hamilton, who is now once again tied for the Major League lead with 24. Joe Nathan struck out two in an inning to earn his 17th save and lower his ERA below 2.00. Prince Fielder doubled and homered to knock in four runs for the Tigers.

Oakland Athletics 3, Seattle Mariners 2

Brendan Ryan certainly isn’t known for his ability to hit (like, at all), but he delivered with an eighth inning RBI single that would eventually seal the deal Tuesday night. Jason Vargas kept the Mariners in good position by pitching 6 2/3 innings of two-run baseball and striking out 10. Travis Blackley also allowed only two runs, but Oakland bullpen arm Jim Miller surrendered the go-ahead score. Yoenis Cespedes hit the game’s only home run.

Los Angeles Angels 7, Baltimore Orioles 3

C.J. Wilson pitched well, but he didn’t necessarily need to. Wilson benefited from 17 Angel hits, and among them were long balls from Albert Pujols, Mark Trumbo, Peter Bourjos, and John Hester. Wilson Betemit took Jason Isringhausen deep for two runs late, but it wasn’t enough to get the Orioles back in the game. Howie Kendrick had three hits for the Angels, but still remains well shy of that batting title we all predicted like a decade ago.

New York Yankees 6, Cleveland Indians 4

The Yankees just keep on rolling thanks to one of those nice, random good starts from Phil Hughes. Hughes went eight scoreless innings, allowed just seven baserunners, and struck out four. Curtis Granderson drove in a pair, while Alex Rodriguez hit his 13th home run of the season. Jose Lopez hit a three-run shot off Cory Wade to make the game closer, but Rafael Soriano shut the door to end it.

Boston Red Sox 5, Toronto Blue Jays 1

This game was a far cry from the slugfest a day ago, and the end result was different as well. Daisuke Matsuzaka pitched 5 2/3 respectable innings, while Aaron Laffey finished six shutout innings of his own. The Sox plated all of their runs against the Toronto bullpen including a solo home run from Jarrod Saltalamacchia. The catcher now has 14 homers and is slugging .539.

Kansas City Royals 8, Tampa Bay Rays 2

The Royals continued their assault on the Rays to win their second straight contest against the Florida team. The Royals have outscored Tampa 16-2 through the first two games in the series. Bruce Chen pitched seven solid innings, while Yuniesky Betancourt and Jeff Francoeur each went deep. Brooks Conrad‘s hit his first dinger of the season in the loss.

Chicago White Sox 3, Minnesota Twins 2

Alex Rios went deep early to give the White Sox a quick lead, and Gavin Floyd pitched wonderfully. Floyd, who has long had plenty of promise, struck out nine and walked none in seven shutout innings. Addison Reed surrendered a couple of runs late, but Chicago was able to service and retain their AL Central lead. Jamey Carroll drove in both of the Minnesota runs in the ninth inning.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Houston Astros 5, San Diego Padres 3

Kip Wells started this game for the Padres, so it’s not really all that surprising they weren’t able to win, Plus, they’re the Padres. The Astros scored four of their runs in the fifth inning and were the recipient of long balls from J.D. Martinez and Jed Lowrie. Lowrie’s got to be the best choice to represent the NL at shortstop in the All-Star game. Lowrie has hit 14 homers and owns a .270/.359/.506 line. Chase Headley, the best Padre, was kind enough to drive in 66.6% of his team’s runs despite not even starting the game.

Philadelphia Phillies 5, Pittsburgh Pirates 4

It’s about time we all gushed over the year Carlos Ruiz is having. Ruiz is now hitting at a .361/.427/.579 clip, and he had three hits and a home run to power the Phillies to victory in this game. Ty Wigginton also homered, while Jonathan Papelbon was able to narrowly avoid coughing up the lead to the Pirates. Pittsburgh didn’t get most of their production from the the usual suspect (Andrew McCutchen), they got it from Michael McKenry. The catcher went 3-3, homered, and drove in two.

Atlanta Braves 8, Arizona Diamondbacks 1

Tim Hudson pitched eight solid innings of one-run ball, struck out seven, and enjoyed plenty of early offensive support. Michael Bourn quickly homered, while Brian McCann and Freddie Freeman each had multiple hits and RBI. Jason Kubel hit his 11th home run for the only D-Back run, while Daniel Hudson imploded yet again and left the game with injury. Hudson, who had become quite dependable, has been just terrible all season. Health issues would make sense in explaining the decline.

Cincinnati Reds 4, Milwaukee Brewers 3

The Reds scored the eventual game-winner in the bottom of the eighth and finished off the Brewers thanks to Aroldis Chapman‘s three-strikeout ninth and subsequent gymnastics show. Bronson Arroyo somehow took a no-hitter into the eight inning only to realize who he was and give up three runs, two of which came on a pinch-hit double from Corey Hart. Jay Bruce hit a three-run homer in the sixth, while Drew Stubbs was responsible for the go-ahead run with his eighth long ball of the season. While his team didn’t win, Marco Estrada was able to strike out 12 in six innings for the Brewers.

St. Louis Cardinals 5, Miami Marlins 2

The Cardinals scored all five of their runs in the first inning, and all five were unearned thanks to a couple of Marlin miscues. After gaining a 2-0 lead, St. Louis received a gift in the form of Yadier Molina‘s third home run in as many days. Molina’s three-run shot was the difference maker, as not even the mighty Giancarlo Stanton (2-4, double, home run) could bring the Marlins back. Kyle Lohse offered up yet another solid outing, going seven innings and allowing two earned runs. Oh, and Ozzie Guillen was ejected for the first time in 2012 for arguing balls and strikes. Shocking, right?

Chicago Cubs 5, New York Mets 3

Anthony Rizzo once again got the Major League call, and this time he looked ready. Rizzo had two hits and one RBI for the Cubs, while Darwin Barney, Luis Valbuena, and Alfonso Soriano also drove in runs. Perhaps most surprisingly, Carlos Marmol was able to close this one out without any real drama. Jose Thole had two hits and a RBI for the Mets in the loss.

Washington Nationals 12, Colorado Rockies 5

The Nationals didn’t win this one with pitching, they won it with 21 hits and outbursts from key contributors the team needs to catch fire. Ryan Zimmerman has been battling injuries all season, but he put together a 3-5 night and hit his fourth home run. Adam LaRoche hit a pair of homers, while Michael Morse and Ian Desmond each had four-hit nights. Gio Gonzalez nabbed his 10th win despite a shaky start that featured Colorado home runs by Dexter Fowler and Jonathan Herrera.

San Francisco Giants 2, Los Angeles Dodgers 0

The Dodger offense is really, really sputtering. This makes two shutouts in a row, and this one was at the hands of Ryan Vogelsong and the killer bullpen. Vogelsong went seven innings and whiffed three, while opposing starter Clayton Kershaw pitched well in his own right with eight strikeouts and two earned runs across six frames. The Giants got both runs in the fourth inning courtesy of a Melky Cabrera solo homer and a Pablo Sandoval RBI single.

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