Sunday's MLB summary

Sunday's MLB summary

AMERICAN LEAGUE

Blue Jays 7, Yankees 3.

NEW YORK -- Aaron Hill and Vernon Wells each hit two-run homers and the Toronto Blue Jays spoiled Alex Rodriguez's return to the New York lineup, beating the Yankees 7-3 on Sunday to halt their eight-game winning streak.

Rodriguez had been out since Aug. 20 with a strained left calf, but the Yankees sure didn't seem to miss him. They were riding their longest winning stretch of the season and 11-3 since he went on the disabled list, carrying a 2 1/2-game lead over Tampa Bay in the AL East into Sunday.

The three-time AL MVP had a pair of hits and drove in a run, but he also grounded out with a runner aboard in the first, dribbled one back to the pitcher with two on in the third, and struck out looking with a runner on third base to end the game.

Royals 2, Tigers 1.

KANSAS CITY, Mo.  -- Alex Gordon homered and Kyle Davies beat Detroit for the first time in six home starts, leading Kansas City past the Tigers 2-1 on a warm, windy Sunday afternoon.

Davies (7-9) went six innings and allowed only three hits and one run, a home run by Casper Wells in the fifth. He walked three and struck out four after coming in with an 0-5 record and a 6.59 ERA in five starts against the Tigers in Kauffman Stadium.

Joakim Soria had two strikeouts while pitching a perfect ninth to extend his club record with 30 consecutive saves. The right-hander has not allowed a score in 17 straight innings, spanning his last 17 outings. He has converted 37 of 39 save opportunities this season.

Orioles 8, Rays 7.

BALTIMORE  -- Corey Patterson homered and had three RBIs, and the Baltimore Orioles withstood four home runs by the Tampa Bay Rays in an 8-7 victory Sunday.

Baltimore took two of three from the Rays, who remained 2 1/2 games behind the first-place New York Yankees in the AL East. It was only the second time in 14 tries that the Orioles won the finale to take a three-game series.

Tampa Bay scored all its runs on homers by Ben Zobrist, Evan Longoria, B.J. Upton and Rocco Baldelli.

White Sox 7, Red Sox 5.

BOSTON -- Gordon Beckham's bases-loaded walk with two outs pushed Chicago ahead in a four-run ninth inning that lifted the White Sox to their sixth straight win and an improbable 7-5 comeback victory over the Boston Red Sox on Sunday.

The win completed a sweep of the three-game weekend series and came after Chicago trailed 5-3 entering the ninth inning and had two outs.

Victor Martinez had a two-run homer for the Red Sox, who lost both games of a day-night doubleheader by 3-1 scores on Saturday.

Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon (5-6) was one out away from the save, but Carlos Quentin's bloop RBI double to center cut the score to 5-4 before Ramon Castro tied it with a single.

Twins 6, Rangers 5.

MINNEAPOLIS -- In a bizarre ending, Texas third base coach Dave Anderson was called for interfering with runner Michael Young for the final out Sunday, giving the Minnesota Twins a 6-5 win over the Rangers.

Down 6-2, the Rangers scored twice in the ninth inning and had the bases loaded with two outs.

Vladimir Guerrero grounded an RBI single up the middle that Twins second baseman Orlando Hudson fielded behind the bag. Young, who had been on second, came running around third and appeared to tap hands with Anderson before stopping and scrambling back to the bag.

Young made a dive back into third and appeared to beat Hudson's throw to third baseman Matt Tolbert. But third base umpire Alfonso Marquez pointed and made the interference call, ending the game.

Mariners 3, Indians 0.

SEATTLE  -- Felix Hernandez scattered four hits over eight innings and the Seattle Mariners scored just enough runs for him in a 3-0 victory over the Cleveland Indians on Sunday.

Hernandez (11-10) gave up four singles in his 111-pitch effort. He walked one and struck out nine. David Aardsma worked the ninth to pick up his 28th save in 33 opportunities.

Russell Branyan drove in a pair of runs with a solo home run in the sixth, his 23rd, and a RBI double in the eighth.

Jeanmar Gomez (3-3) took the loss for the Indians, allowing seven hits and two runs in six innings. He struck out three and didn't walk anyone.

Angels 7, Athletics 4.

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Bobby Abreu hit a home run and drove in three runs, leading the Los Angeles Angels to a 7-4 victory over the Oakland Athletics on Sunday, avoiding their first sweep by the A's in six years.

Mike Napoli also hit a home run for the Angels, who have still lost nine of their past 13 games. Torii Hunter and Hideki Matsui also drove in runs.

Jeff Larish drove in two runs for the A's, who lost for the fifth time in seven games. Landon Powell and Jack Cust each added an RBI.

Ervin Santana (15-9) gave up three runs and six hits to improve to 7-2 over his last nine starts. He walked four and struck out three.

Vin Mazzaro (6-8) lost his sixth straight decision after allowing five runs on six hits over 4 1-3 innings. He walked three and did not strike out a batter.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Marlins 7, Braves 6, 10 innings.

MIAMI  -- Sent to the plate after a scary scene, pinch-hitter Scott Cousins delivered a game-winning single in the 10th inning for his first big league hit and the Florida Marlins beat the Atlanta Braves 7-6 Sunday.

The Braves had overcome a 6-0 deficit. They began the day with a one-game lead over Philadelphia in the NL East.

Cousins batted after Emilio Bonifacio lined a foul that struck teammate Logan Morrison in the helmet in the on-deck circle. Morrison collapsed face-down as the crowd gasped, but quickly rose and walked off the field accompanied by a trainer.

Bonifacio hit a leadoff triple against Eric O'Flaherty (3-2). Cousins batted for Morrison and singled over the head of left fielder Melky Cabrera. It was only the second at-bat in the majors for Cousins.

Giants 3, Dodgers 0.

LOS ANGELES -- Jonathan Sanchez pitched seven crisp innings and Juan Uribe hit a two-run homer for the second straight game, leading San Francisco to a 3-0 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday night that put the Giants within one game of first place in the NL West.

The division-leading Padres lost 4-2 to Colorado earlier in the day for their 10th consecutive defeat. The Giants have picked up 5 1/2 games on San Diego during the Padres' skid, going 5-4 during that span. It's the closest they've been to first place in the division in the last 27 days.

After hitting four home runs in a 5-4 comeback victory on Saturday night, the Giants got just enough offense to get by the slumping Dodgers, who dropped their third straight series to their rivals.

Nationals 8, Pirates 1.

PITTSBURGH  -- Ryan Zimmerman drove in four runs, Adam Dunn homered and Jason Marquis won his second in a row after previously going winless all season as the Nationals beat the Pirates 8-1 in a matchup of last-place clubs Sunday.

The Nationals outscored the Pirates 17-3 in the final two games of the three-game set for their first road series victory in 18 attempts since they won two of three against the Mets from May 10-12.

Washington did most of its damage against Pirates right-hander Charlie Morton (1-11), who gave up six runs and eight hits over 3 2-3 innings yet still lowered his ERA to 9.66 because four runs were unearned. Morton began the game with a 10.03 ERA that was the third highest in major league history at this stage of a season for a pitcher with at least 10 decisions, according to STATS LLC.

Brewers 6, Phillies 2.

PHILADELPHIA  -- Prince Fielder hit his 30th home run, Randy Wolf was sharp against his former team and the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Philadelphia Phillies 6-2 on Sunday to snap a five-game losing streak.

Fielder's three-run shot off Kyle Kendrick (9-8) made him the second Brewer in team history with four straight 30-plus home run seasons. He helped the Brewers end their six-game road trip on a high after dropping the first five in Cincinnati and Philadelphia. John Axford tossed two scoreless innings for his 20th save.

Carlos Ruiz had two RBIs for the NL wild-card leading Phillies, who ended a five-game winning streak.

Kendrick continues to struggle and could be dropped from the rotation.

Cardinals 4, Reds 2.

ST. LOUIS  -- Matt Holliday hit a go-ahead, three-run homer to back Chris Carpenter's season-best 11 strikeouts, helping the St. Louis Cardinals take two of three from NL Central-leading Cincinnati with a 4-2 victory Sunday.

The Cardinals reduced the Reds' formidable lead to seven games with 28 games to go. The two teams are not scheduled to play again this season.

Homer Bailey (3-3) walked Albert Pujols intentionally in the sixth inning before giving up Holliday's two-out shot on a 1-2 hanging breaking ball. Holliday fouled off two pitches before hitting his 25th homer, topping last season's total and giving the Cardinals a 4-2 lead.

Mets 18, Cubs 5.

CHICAGO  -- Ruben Tejada hit his first major league homer and drove in five runs, Ike Davis also connected and the New York Mets erupted for 21 hits and pounded the Chicago Cubs 18-5 Sunday to avoid a weekend sweep.

The Mets' bats perked up for season highs in runs and hits even though David Wright got a day off and Jose Reyes was still nursing a strained right oblique. They scored five runs in the fifth, eighth and ninth innings while winning for just the second time in seven games.

Tejada, who had never knocked in more than a run, had a two-run single in the fifth and homered leading off the seventh.

Davis had four hits and drove in three runs while scoring three.

Astros 3, Diamondbacks 2.

PHOENIX -- Hunter Pence's three-run home run in the first inning helped the Houston Astros beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 3-2 on Sunday.

Pence drove a pitch from Rodrigo Lopez over the right-field fence for his team-high 22nd homer of the season. Michael Bourn walked to lead off the game and Jeff Keppinger followed with a single before Pence's homer.

The hit was all the Astros needed from their offense on the day. Starter J.A. Happ (6-2) held the Diamondbacks to two runs on six hits over seven innings to get the win, his third straight as an Astro after coming over in a trade with Philadelphia for pitcher Roy Oswalt. Happ struck out seven and worked out of a jam in the seventh, striking out John Hester and pinch-hitter Ryan Roberts with runners on first and second and one out.

Rockies 4, Padres 2.

SAN DIEGO -- The NL West-leading San Diego Padres lost their 10th straight game, with Melvin Mora hitting a go-ahead single that sent the Colorado Rockies to a 4-2 win Sunday.

The Padres began the day with a two-game edge over San Francisco, which played a night game at Dodger Stadium.

Mora's tiebreaking hit in the seventh inning gave Colorado its 10th win in 14 games. The Rockies pulled within 4 1/2 games of the reeling Padres.

San Diego's losing streak is its longest since a franchise record 13-game skid in May 1994. Only two teams in major league history have made the playoffs in a season that included a losing streak of at least 10 games.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)