ARLINGTON, Texas — Josh Hamilton drove in four runs, and the Rangers offense bailed out Ryan Dempster in his Texas debut in a 15-9 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Thursday night. ARLINGTON, Texas — Josh Hamilton drove in
ARLINGTON, Texas — Josh Hamilton drove in four runs, and the Rangers offense bailed out Ryan Dempster in his Texas debut in a 15-9 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Thursday night.
The Rangers broke an 8-8 tie after six innings when they scored four runs in the seventh, including Hamilton’s two-run double, and added three in the eighth.
Dempster allowed eight runs and nine hits in 4 2/3 innings. The Rangers acquired Dempster from the Cubs minutes before Tuesday’s non-waiver trade deadline.
Roy Oswalt (4-2) threw two scoreless innings in relief for the win.
C.J. Wilson gave up eight runs and 10 hits in 5 1/3 innings. David Carpenter (0-1) took the loss for the Angels.
Texas leads Los Angeles by five games in the AL West.
Ian Kinsler went 3-for-5 and scored four runs, and Elvis Andrus and Michael Young also had two hits and two RBIs as Texas finished with 18 hits.
Mitch Moreland and David Murphy hit back-to-back pinch-hit singles before Hamilton’s double in the seventh.
Outfielder Torii Hunter led the Angels with three hits, two RBIs and a run scored. Kendrys Morales went 2-for-5 with a homer and two RBIs. Albert Pujols, Alberto Callaspo and Howie Kendrick added two hits each for Los Angeles.
ATHLETICS 4, BLUE JAYS 1
OAKLAND, Calif. — Josh Reddick hit a two-run homer to back another strong outing by Oakland’s Bartolo Colon.
Brandon Inge and Seth Smith also drove in runs for the A’s, who improved to 14-5 since the All-Star break.
Oakland moved past the Los Angeles Angels into second place in the AL West. The A’s are 4½ games behind Texas.
METS 9, GIANTS 1
SAN FRANCISCO — Ronny Cedeno drove in five runs to match his career high, Jason Bay had only his second multi-RBI game this year, and the Mets beat San Francisco to take three of four from the Giants and win their first series in a month.
Bay had two RBIs as the Mets won for the fourth time in five games following a 2-14 slide. His only other multi-RBI game was April 13, when he hit a two-run homer against Philadelphia.
Chris Young (3-5) allowed one run and four hits in seven innings.
REDS 9, PADRES 4
CINCINNATI — Todd Frazier hit a two-run homer, and Johnny Cueto overcame a pair of rare long balls to pitch into the eighth inning and lead the surging Reds to their 13th win in 14 games.
Scott Rolen had three hits, Frazier had three RBIs, and Jay Bruce drove in two runs, helping push the Reds to 23 games over .500 (64-41) for the first time since Sept. 4, 2010.
Cueto (14-5), who gave up home runs for the first time in more than two months, allowed eight hits and four runs with one walk and nine strikeouts in 7 1/3 innings.
TWINS 5, RED SOX 0
BOSTON — Samuel Deduno allowed two hits in six innings in his third straight strong performance, and the Twins spoiled a rare solid outing by Jon Lester.
Brian Dozier had three hits for Minnesota, including a two-run homer in the ninth.
Deduno, making his sixth major league start, has given up just two earned runs and 10 hits in 19 1/3 innings.
Lester (5-9) had allowed 25 earned runs over his previous four starts and gave up only three runs and seven hits in eight innings on Thursday.
NATIONALS 3, PHILLIES 0
WASHINGTON — Ross Detwiler pitched three-hit ball for seven innings and Adam LaRoche homered in Washington’s victory over Philadelphia.
LaRoche had three hits and two RBIs. Jayson Werth also drove in a run for the NL East leaders in his first game back from a broken wrist.
BRAVES 6, MARLINS 1
ATLANTA — Chipper Jones and Freddie Freeman each hit a two-run double, and Atlanta scored six runs in the first two innings to beat Miami.
Jason Heyward had three hits and drove in a run for the Braves, who improved to 6-1 on their 10-game homestand.
ROYALS 7, INDIANS 6 (11)
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Alcides Escobar’s RBI single with two outs in the 11th inning gave Kansas City the win.
Escobar’s two-strike hit scored Eric Hosmer, who led off the inning with a single.
The Indians rallied from a six-run first-inning deficit but lost their sixth straight, their longest losing streak since dropping seven in a row from June 19-26, 2010.
ROCKIES 8, CARDINALS 2
DENVER — Tyler Colvin hit a tiebreaking double in the seventh inning and rookie Josh Rutledge homered in his fourth straight game, lifting Colorado over St. Louis to avert a three-game sweep.
Wilin Rosario hit his first career pinch-hit homer, a two-run shot in the eighth, and Jordan Pacheco went 3-for-3 with two doubles and two RBIs.
