Martinez honours late Taveras, pitches Cardinals over Dodgers
(MENAFN- Gulf Times) On the day the St. Louis Cardinals honoured the late Oscar Taveras with a pregame ceremony, Carlos Martinez channelled his emotions into seven powerful shutout innings to beat Los Angeles Dodgers 3-1 in the of Major League Baseball played on Sunday.
While warming up in the bullpen, Martinez (5-2) appeared to wipe tears from his eyes as a tribute to his former teammate Taveras, who died last October at age 22 in an auto accident in the Dominican Republic, played on a video board. "When (I) went out to start, (I) was just about 'OK, this is an opportunity to take this win for Oscar, to play hard, to compete, to get my focus and do it for him,'" Martinez said through an interpreter.
Martinez then allowed just one hit-a second-inning single to Andre Ethier-and walked three with eight strikeouts.
Jhonny Peralta homered and drove in all three runs for the Cardinals. On the one-year anniversary of Taveras' major league debut, his family was on the field to honor him. Martinez was best friends with Taveras, and is wearing the outfielder's No. 18 this season.
Martinez (5-2) struck out eight and extended his scoreless-inning streak to 20 1/3. "He was great, maybe one of his best yet," manager Mike Matheny said. "Just from the first pitch and his last one, he turned it up a notch."
"He was just very consistent with everything he had. He had great movement and great poise. Today was just a very tough test for him all the way around and he answered," he said.
Trevor Rosenthal earned his 15th save in 16 tries. Justin Turner was ejected by plate umpire Marty Foster for arguing after looking at strike three to end the game.
Indians 6, Mariners 3 (12 innings)
Cleveland had mashed 17 hits but only had three runs by the 12th inning against Seattle. It took a walk to finally give the Indians the run that mattered.
A bases-loaded walk from Seattle's seventh relief pitcher, Dominic Leone, resulted in the go-ahead run in the 12th before the Indians added another hit and two more runs in a 6-3 win after rallying from an early 3-0 deficit.
Brewers 7, Diamondbacks 6
Martin Maldonado homered in the bottom of the 17th inning, snapping Milwaukee's seven-game losing streak by beating visiting Arizona in the longest game ever at Miller Park.
Matt Garza (3-7), scheduled to start Monday in St. Louis, put up five scoreless innings of relief, holding the Diamondbacks scoreless, allowing three hits and a pair of intentional walks.
Angels 4, Tigers 2
Second baseman Johnny Giovatella delivered a two-run single up the middle in the bottom of the eighth off reliever Joba Chamberlain to give Los Angeles a four-game sweep of Detroit.
The Angels broke a 2-2 tie after Tigers starter David Price was removed after popping up pinch-hitter Carlos Perez for the second out of the inning with the bases loaded. Price had thrown a season-high 121 pitches.
Rangers 4, Red Sox 3
Pinch hitter Josh Hamilton lined a two-run double to left-center with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, lifting the Texas to a 4-3 win over Boston.
Hamilton started the previous six games since returning to Texas but was left out of Sunday's starting lineup.
Reds 8, Nationals 2
Washington was the hottest team in baseball coming into this weekend's series in Cincinnati, having won 21 of 27, but Cincinnati got home runs from Todd Frazier and Brandon Phillips to complete a three-game sweep of the visiting Nationals.
Padres 7, Pirates 1
San Diego scored seven runs in the first four innings, bolstered by a home run and three RBIs from third baseman Will Middlebrooks to earn a split of their four-game series against Pittsburgh. Winning starter Odrisamer Despaigne (3-3) pitched a career-high eight innings, allowing one run on seven hits.
Rockies 4, Phillies 1
After hitting six home runs over the first two games, Colorado (22-26) clubbed two more, as Nolan Arenado and DJ LeMahieu connected for a pair of two-run shots to help the Rockies beat Philadelphia for their seventh win in eight games.
Mets 4, Marlins 3
Bartolo Colon took over the National League lead in wins, throwing seven solid innings and helping his own cause with an RBI double as New York beat Miami. The 42-year-old Colon (8-3) allowed three runs on six hits and no walks while striking out two.
White Sox 6, Astros 0
With his spot in the rotation on shaky ground, John Danks threw a shutout and Chicago claimed the rubber match of a three-game series with Houston. Danks (3-4) worked more than seven innings for the first time this season and scattered 10 hits.
Rays 9, Orioles 5
Tampa Bay right-hander Jake Odorizzi snapped a three-game losing streak and Steven Souza had three hits, including a home run, in the victory over defending AL East champion Baltimore.
Twins 6, Blue Jays 5
Torii Hunter's two-run double in the bottom of the seventh inning lifted Minnesota over Toronto in the rubber match of a three-game series.
With the Twins trailing by a run after a solo homer by Toronto's Josh Donaldson in the top of the inning, Hunter ripped the first pitch he saw off the wall in left-center to put Minnesota ahead to stay.
Cubs 2, Royals 1 (11 innings)
David Ross delivered a walk-off RBI single with the bases loaded in the 11th inning, giving Chicago a victory over Kansas City.
Shortstop Alcides Escobar sprinted to short left to try to catch Ross's bloop, but it fell in for a hit that scored Kris Bryant from third.
A's 3, Yankees 0
Jesse Chavez threw eight shutout innings, and Stephen Vogt hit a two-run homer and drove in three runs, leading Oakland to a victory over New York.
The A's took three of four games from the Yankees.
While warming up in the bullpen, Martinez (5-2) appeared to wipe tears from his eyes as a tribute to his former teammate Taveras, who died last October at age 22 in an auto accident in the Dominican Republic, played on a video board. "When (I) went out to start, (I) was just about 'OK, this is an opportunity to take this win for Oscar, to play hard, to compete, to get my focus and do it for him,'" Martinez said through an interpreter.
Martinez then allowed just one hit-a second-inning single to Andre Ethier-and walked three with eight strikeouts.
Jhonny Peralta homered and drove in all three runs for the Cardinals. On the one-year anniversary of Taveras' major league debut, his family was on the field to honor him. Martinez was best friends with Taveras, and is wearing the outfielder's No. 18 this season.
Martinez (5-2) struck out eight and extended his scoreless-inning streak to 20 1/3. "He was great, maybe one of his best yet," manager Mike Matheny said. "Just from the first pitch and his last one, he turned it up a notch."
"He was just very consistent with everything he had. He had great movement and great poise. Today was just a very tough test for him all the way around and he answered," he said.
Trevor Rosenthal earned his 15th save in 16 tries. Justin Turner was ejected by plate umpire Marty Foster for arguing after looking at strike three to end the game.
Indians 6, Mariners 3 (12 innings)
Cleveland had mashed 17 hits but only had three runs by the 12th inning against Seattle. It took a walk to finally give the Indians the run that mattered.
A bases-loaded walk from Seattle's seventh relief pitcher, Dominic Leone, resulted in the go-ahead run in the 12th before the Indians added another hit and two more runs in a 6-3 win after rallying from an early 3-0 deficit.
Brewers 7, Diamondbacks 6
Martin Maldonado homered in the bottom of the 17th inning, snapping Milwaukee's seven-game losing streak by beating visiting Arizona in the longest game ever at Miller Park.
Matt Garza (3-7), scheduled to start Monday in St. Louis, put up five scoreless innings of relief, holding the Diamondbacks scoreless, allowing three hits and a pair of intentional walks.
Angels 4, Tigers 2
Second baseman Johnny Giovatella delivered a two-run single up the middle in the bottom of the eighth off reliever Joba Chamberlain to give Los Angeles a four-game sweep of Detroit.
The Angels broke a 2-2 tie after Tigers starter David Price was removed after popping up pinch-hitter Carlos Perez for the second out of the inning with the bases loaded. Price had thrown a season-high 121 pitches.
Rangers 4, Red Sox 3
Pinch hitter Josh Hamilton lined a two-run double to left-center with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, lifting the Texas to a 4-3 win over Boston.
Hamilton started the previous six games since returning to Texas but was left out of Sunday's starting lineup.
Reds 8, Nationals 2
Washington was the hottest team in baseball coming into this weekend's series in Cincinnati, having won 21 of 27, but Cincinnati got home runs from Todd Frazier and Brandon Phillips to complete a three-game sweep of the visiting Nationals.
Padres 7, Pirates 1
San Diego scored seven runs in the first four innings, bolstered by a home run and three RBIs from third baseman Will Middlebrooks to earn a split of their four-game series against Pittsburgh. Winning starter Odrisamer Despaigne (3-3) pitched a career-high eight innings, allowing one run on seven hits.
Rockies 4, Phillies 1
After hitting six home runs over the first two games, Colorado (22-26) clubbed two more, as Nolan Arenado and DJ LeMahieu connected for a pair of two-run shots to help the Rockies beat Philadelphia for their seventh win in eight games.
Mets 4, Marlins 3
Bartolo Colon took over the National League lead in wins, throwing seven solid innings and helping his own cause with an RBI double as New York beat Miami. The 42-year-old Colon (8-3) allowed three runs on six hits and no walks while striking out two.
White Sox 6, Astros 0
With his spot in the rotation on shaky ground, John Danks threw a shutout and Chicago claimed the rubber match of a three-game series with Houston. Danks (3-4) worked more than seven innings for the first time this season and scattered 10 hits.
Rays 9, Orioles 5
Tampa Bay right-hander Jake Odorizzi snapped a three-game losing streak and Steven Souza had three hits, including a home run, in the victory over defending AL East champion Baltimore.
Twins 6, Blue Jays 5
Torii Hunter's two-run double in the bottom of the seventh inning lifted Minnesota over Toronto in the rubber match of a three-game series.
With the Twins trailing by a run after a solo homer by Toronto's Josh Donaldson in the top of the inning, Hunter ripped the first pitch he saw off the wall in left-center to put Minnesota ahead to stay.
Cubs 2, Royals 1 (11 innings)
David Ross delivered a walk-off RBI single with the bases loaded in the 11th inning, giving Chicago a victory over Kansas City.
Shortstop Alcides Escobar sprinted to short left to try to catch Ross's bloop, but it fell in for a hit that scored Kris Bryant from third.
A's 3, Yankees 0
Jesse Chavez threw eight shutout innings, and Stephen Vogt hit a two-run homer and drove in three runs, leading Oakland to a victory over New York.
The A's took three of four games from the Yankees.
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