DENVER – The Los Angeles Angels have figured out a few things offensively. Mark Trumbo hit a pair of three-run homers and drove in six runs and the Angels beat the Colorado Rockies 10-8 . Torri Hunter added a two-run homer and scored three runs to help the Angels finished off the sweep of the Rockies.
Mike Trout, Hunter and Albert Pujols, the top three batters in Los Angeles’ lineup, combined to go 23 for 42 (.548) with 16 RBIs and 21 runs scored in the series. The Angels are now only three games back of the division leading Texas Rangers.
Ervin Santana allowed seven runs in 5 2/3 innings of work and still picked up the victory. Tyler Colvin and Carlos Gonzalez homered for the Rockies.
SAN FRANCISCO – Tim Lincecum was charged with five earned runs and the Texas Rangers beat the San Francisco Giants 5-0. The Rangers Alexi Ogando started the game and pitched three perfect innings before leaving with a strained groin. in Kinsler had two RBI, as did Josh Hamilton to lead the Rangers.
ST. LOUIS – Cleveland’s Jason Kipnis hit a tiebreaking three-run homer off closer Jason Motte in the ninth inning and Chris Perez came on for his 20th save and the Cleveland Indians rallied to beat the St. Louis Cardinals 4-1. Carlos Beltran hit his 18th home run for the Cardinals. the Cardinals have now lost eight of their last 12 games.
PITTSBURGH – Andrew McCutchen drove in three runs with a homer and Pittsburgh starter AJ Burnett won his fifth consecutive start. The Pirates swept the Kansas City Royals with a 3 – 2 victory on Sunday. Burnett took a no-hitter into the sixth inning when Alex Gordon singled with one out. Burnett would finish with six strikeouts and allowed two earned runs.
ATLANTA – the Atlanta Braves had a four-run lead over Toronto heading into the fifth inning. from that point forward the Blue Jays scored 12 unanswered runs on 18 hits and beat the Braves 12-4. Brett Lawrie and Colby Rasmus each homered and drove in three runs. the win ended a three-game losing streak for the Blue Jays.
MIAMI – James Shields pitched into the seventh inning, striking out five and allowing one earned run to lead the Tampa Bay Rays to a victory over the Miami Marlins 4-2. Matt Joyce and Elliot Johnson homered for the Rays to stake Shields to a 4-0 lead. The Marlins would score runs in the seventh and eighth inning, but could get no closer. Closer Fernando Rodney earned his 18th save to end the game.
SEATTLE – Los Angeles Dodgers ended a 10 game road trip in style with an 8-2 victory over the Seattle Mariners. The Dodgers finished the trip 7-3 and had home to take on the Los Angeles Angels this week. Andre Eithier in a grand slam in the second inning and the Dodgers took a 6-1 lead at that point. dodger starter Chad Billingsley did the rest pitching seven strong innings with eight strikeouts and allowing just one earned run.
MINNEAPOLIS – Ryan Dempster gave the Chicago Cubs a strong pitching effort and led the Cubs to a 8-2 victory over the Minnesota Twins. It was the Cubs 20th victory of the season against 40 losses. David DeJesus drove in three runs for the Cubs. Francisco Liriano gave up four earned runs while striking out six for the Twina in 5 2/3 innings.
CHICAGO – Justin Maxwell, Jose Altuve, J.D. Martinez and Brett Wallace each homered and the Houston Astros beat the Chicago White Sox in a slugfest 11-9 . Philip Humber allowed six runs and six hits in 5 1/3 innings of work. He struck out nine. Orlando Hudson hit a three-run homer in the ninth-inning to close the gap, to 11-9 but the White Sox could get no closer.
BOSTON – The Washington Nationals scored a go-ahead run on a two-out double in the top of the ninth inning and the Nationals held on to beat the Boston Red Sox and sweep their three-game series 4-3 . Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine was ejected in the ninth-inning for arguing balls and strikes. “It’s not right, ” Valentine said. “Good umpires had a real bad series this series — a real bad series — and it went one way,” Valentine said after the game. “There should be a review.” The Red Sox slipped to two games under 500 with the loss.
BALTIMORE – Walkoff victories in Baltimore are becoming more common all the time. Matt Wieters doubled in the game-winning run in the bottom of the 10th in the Baltimore Orioles beat the Philadelphia Phillies in extra innings for the second straight day 4-1. Phillies starter Cliff Lee allowed four runs over six innings in his 10th start of the year. The left-hander struck out eight, but his record remained at 0-3. Steve Tolleson added three run homer to lead the Orioles.
NEW YORK – Just when the New York Mets thought they might have a victory Russell Martin hit his second home run of the game and the Yankees walked off with a 5-4 victory. Yankees closer Rafael Soriano blew his first save of the season in the top of the ninth. The Yankees swept the Mets for the first time since 2003, with a display of power hitting eight home runs in the series.
National League Recap
MILWAUKEE – The Milwaukee Brewers lead by a strong pitching performance by Yovani Gallardo and Ryan Braun homer beat the San Diego Padres 6-5 Sunday. The Padres scored three runs in the top of the ninth-inning off of closer John Axford but fellow reliever Jose Veras was able to save the game getting two outs.
