DETROIT – Going up against Justin Verlander is never easy. The New York Yankees started early and Phil Hughes held the Detroit Tigers in check and the Yankees beat the Tigers 5-1. For land or gave up five runs, three of which were earned and nine hits over 6 1/3 innings.Verlander has now lost three straight starts, something he has not done since 2008. Derek Jeter homered on the first pitch of the game and the Yankees never looked back. Hughes was solid throughout the game giving up just one run and striking out eight for complete-game victory. Alex Rodriguez also homered in the third inning, his ninth of the season.
TORONTO – José Bautista hit a three-run homer to lead the Toronto Blue Jays over the Boston Red Sox 5-1. Red Sox starter Daniel Bard allowed five runs, walked six, struck out two, and hit two batters in an inning in two thirds of work. Bard, who has lost four straight decisions to Toronto, acknowledged that he’s not the same pitcher as a starter as he was as a reliever the past three years, saying he’s “constantly trying to tweak little things in (my) delivery to make the next pitch a little better than the last.” The game was marred by a beanball war of sorts as for batters were hit by pitches. Home plate umpire Mike Winters warned both teams. Kelly Shoppach picked supplied the only runfor the Red Sox hitting his third home run in the fifth inning off of Blue Jays starter Drew Hutcheson.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Scoring runs has not been easy for the Tampa Bay Rays lately. The Rays took advantage of three Baltimore Orioles errors and came out on top beating the Orioles 8-4. The win lifted the Rays back into solo position of first place in the American League East. BJ Upton doubled to left field in the fifth inning to break it to to tie. Will Rhymes and Jose Molina scored on the play. The Rays scored four more runs in the sixth inning to take an 8-2 lead. Rays rookie starter Matt Moore turned in his second quality start in a row pitching six innings and giving up one earned run while striking out four.
KANSAS CITY, Mo.- Vin Mazzaro and three Royals relievers combined to shut out the Oakland A’s 2-0. Eric Hosmer hit his seventh home run of the season to lead the Royals.
CLEVELAND – The Minnesota Twins beat the Cleveland Indians 6-3 Sunday, but the talk in the Twins clubhouse wasn’t the victory. Joe Mauer the former American League MVP and three-time batting champion sprained his right thumb and had to leave the game. At this time is not known how long Mauer will be out. Mauer got hurt while striking out in the seventh inning and was lifted for a pinch hitter in the ninth.
ANAHEIM, Calif. – Nelson Cruz hit a 3-0 pitch in the seventh inning and Matt Harrison won his third straight start as the Texas Rangers handled the Los Angeles Angels 7-3 and avoid a weekend sweep. The ball was estimated to have traveled 484 feet, making it the longest home run in the majors this season, according to the Angels based on information from ESPN Home Run Tracker.
