MLB: Hamels reaches 2,000 K’s, Rangers beat Seattle 6-4

SEATTLE — Cole Hamels became the seventh active pitcher to reach 2,000 strikeouts and Mitch Moreland homered to lead the Texas Rangers past the Seattle Mariners 6-4 on Sunday.

The AL West-leading Rangers took two out of three games in the series against second-place Seattle to open up a season-high five-game division lead. The Rangers have won seven straight series and 12 of their last 15 games.

Hamels (6-1) picked up strikeout No. 2,000 in the third inning when he got Leonys Martin swinging. It was one of five strikeouts for Hamels, who allowed one run on four hits in seven innings.

Martin homered for the Mariners, who have now lost eight of their last 12 games. Seattle starter Wade Miley (6-3) allowed three runs on four hits in five innings and picked up his first loss since April 19. Miley had won his last six decisions.

INDIANS 8, ANGELS 3

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Francisco Lindor homered and drove in three runs in the first two innings, and the Cleveland Indians pounded another David Huff in a victory over Los Angeles.

Carlos Santana hit two homers and drove in three more runs for the AL Central leaders, who took two of three at the Big A.

Mike Trout left the game in the eighth inning with a bruised right thumb after getting hit by a pitch from Cleveland reliever Tommy Hunter. X-rays showed no broken bones for the 2014 AL MVP.

Lindor’s three hits included a solo shot in the first and a bases-loaded single during Cleveland’s four-run second, chasing Huff (0-2).

Danny Salazar (7-3) pitched three-hit ball into the sixth with eight strikeouts, earning his third victory in four starts. Jefry Marte hit his third homer in five games for the Angels.

GIANTS 2, DODGERS 1

SAN FRANCISCO — Brandon Belt hit a two-run homer off rookie Julio Urias in the sixth inning to help Jake Peavy earn his 150th win when San Francisco beat Los Angeles.

Belt struck out in his first two plate appearances against the 19-year-old Urias (0-2) before homering into the right-center stands. Joe Panik singled ahead of Belt’s home run.

Joc Pederson homered and Chase Utley had three hits for Los Angeles. The Dodgers fell five games behind the first-place Giants in the NL West after losing the final two games of the series.

Peavy (3-6) tossed six scoreless innings and gave up four hits. He became the sixth active pitcher in the majors with 150 wins.

Six relievers combined to pitch the final three innings. Santiago Casilla worked the ninth for his 13th save.

BLUE JAYS 10, ORIOLES 9

TORONTO — Russell Martin hit a three-run homer, Kevin Pillar had a solo shot and the Toronto Blue Jays used a five-run first inning to beat the Baltimore Orioles.

Edwin Encarnacion scored three runs and extended his streak of reaching base safely to nine plate appearances before grounding into a fielder’s choice in the sixth as the Blue Jays took three of four from the AL East leaders.

Adam Jones hit two of Baltimore’s five home runs, four of which came off Aaron Sanchez (6-1), but the Orioles lost their third straight. Jason Grilli gave up a bases-loaded sacrifice fly in the ninth but struck out Jonathan Schoop with runners at the corners to end it for his first save.

Ubaldo Jimenez (3-7) allowed five runs and six hits in one-third of an inning, the shortest start of his career. Pedro Alvarez, Chris Davis and Matt Wieters also homered for Baltimore.

TIGERS 4, YANKEES 1

NEW YORK — Detroit rookie Michael Fulmer dominated on Old-Timers’ Day at Yankee Stadium, winning his fifth straight start while extending his scoreless streak to 28 1/3 innings to lead the Tigers over New York.

With Whitey Ford, Reggie Jackson and several more Hall of Famers and World Series MVPs on hand for the pregame festivities, the 23-year-old Fulmer by far was the biggest star of the afternoon.

Fulmer (7-1) blanked the Yankees on two hits for six innings and left with a 2.52 ERA. He’s won six consecutive decisions overall — in a tremendous string of five starts, he’s yielded just one run and 13 hits in 34 1/3 innings.

Michael Pineda (3-7) gave up two runs and struck out eight in six innings.

NATIONALS 5, PHILLIES 4

WASHINGTON — Jayson Werth hit a two-out, two-run single in the ninth inning, helping the Washington Nationals rally past the Philadelphia Phillies for a three-game sweep.

The Nationals (39-24) improved to a season-best 15 games over .500. It was the second three-game sweep of Philadelphia in two weeks for Washington, which has won 10 of its last 13.

The Phillies (29-34) fell to a season-high five games under .500 and have lost 17 of their last 22.

Philadelphia closer Jeanmar Gomez (2-2) loaded the bases by surrendering one-out singles to pinch hitter Bryce Harper and Danny Espinosa and a two-out walk to pinch hitter Clint Robinson. Werth then singled to center to bring home Harper and Espinosa.

Jonathan Papelbon (1-2) earned the victory despite giving up a home run to former teammate Maikel Franco to lead off the ninth inning. The Nationals acquired Papelbon from Philadelphia last year.

RAYS 5, ASTROS 0

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Reigning AL Cy Young Award winner Dallas Keuchel became the first major league pitcher to lose nine games this season when Matt Moore pitched two-hit ball over seven innings to lead the Tampa Bay Rays over the Houston Astros.

After going 20-8 with a 2.48 ERA last season, Keuchel (3-9) has a 5.54 ERA this year. He is 1-8 with a 6.58 ERA in his last 11 starts, allowing 83 hits in 67 innings, and he is 0-4 in six career starts against Tampa Bay.

Moore (3-4) gave up singles to Jose Altuve in the fourth and sixth innings while striking out 10 and walking one. Enny Romero got one out and Tyler Sturdevant completed the two-hitter for the Rays, who have won seven of nine.

Keuchel, who gave up five runs — four earned — and five hits in five innings with nine strikeouts and two walks. Since Houston joined the AL in 2013, the Rays are 17-7 against the Astros — pitching eight shutouts.

ATHLETICS 6, REDS 1

CINCINNATI — Marcus Semien and Jake Smolinski each hit a two-run homer in Oakland’s four-run second inning, and the Athletics snapped their seven-game losing streak.

Danny Valencia added a solo homer and Billy Butler had three hits — one short of his combined total in eight previous June games — as Oakland also ended a nine-game road losing streak, the team’s longest since an 11-game slide in 2005.

Kendall Graveman and four relievers combined to throttle the Reds’ offense. Fernando Rodriguez (2-0) allowed one hit over two innings of relief for the win.

Reds left-hander John Lamb (1-4), who lasted a career-high 7 1/3 innings in his previous start Tuesday against St. Louis, tied his season low by finishing just four innings on Sunday, giving up seven hits and four runs with two walks and one strikeout.

CUBS 13, BRAVES 2

ATLANTA — Jon Lester earned his fourth straight victory after allowing no earned runs in seven innings as the Chicago Cubs beat the Atlanta Braves to win their final series at Turner Field.

Lester (8-3) has allowed only one earned run with no walks in three wins this month, lowering his ERA to 1.89. He gave up five hits to the Braves, his high mark of the month, with seven strikeouts.

Chicago outscored Atlanta 21-4 in winning the final two games of the three-game series. Javier Baez hit a three-run homer off Chris Withrow to cap the Cubs’ six-run eighth inning.

Braves rookie right-hander John Gant (0-1), making his first start after seven relief appearances, allowed three runs, two earned, in 4 1/3 innings.

BREWERS 5, METS 3

MILWAUKEE — Zach Davies tossed six-plus strong innings of three-hit ball before the Milwaukee Brewers held on against the mistake-prone New York Mets, who played without ill manager Terry Collins.

He was seen by a trainer and Brewers team doctor after feeling sick before the game. Assistant general manager John Ricco said Collins was being taken to a hospital for precautionary tests.

New York couldn’t overcome three errors, including throwing miscues during run-scoring innings for the Brewers in second and fifth.

Davies (5-3) struck out seven and retired 17 in a row at one point. The young right-hander outshined fellow rookie Steven Matz (7-3), who allowed nine hits and four earned runs over six innings, striking out five.

ROYALS 3, WHITE SOX 1

CHICAGO — Yordano Ventura pitched seven sharp innings for Kansas City in his first start since he brawled with Manny Machado in Baltimore, and the Royals beat the Chicago White Sox for their second straight win following an eight-game losing streak.

Ventura (5-4) struck out a season-high 10 and walked one in his first win since May 17 against Boston, making the most of Kansas City’s run-scoring singles in the first and second. Salvador Perez added a leadoff homer down the left-field line in the ninth.

Kelvin Herrera worked the eighth and Wade Davis finished for his 17th save in 18 chances, helping manager Ned Yost improve to 500-499 in seven years with Kansas City.

Carlos Rodon (2-6) shook off a slow start and pitched six effective innings for Chicago after he was pushed back a couple days due to a sore neck. The left-hander allowed seven hits, struck out seven and walked two.

TWINS 7, RED SOX 4, 10 INN.

MINNEAPOLIS — Max Kepler’s first major league homer was a three-run shot in the bottom of the 10th inning that gave the Minnesota Twins a victory over the Boston Red Sox.

Joe Mauer drew a leadoff walk in the 10th from Matt Barnes (2-3) and was sacrificed to second by Trevor Plouffe. Brian Dozier singled off the glove of shortstop Xander Bogaerts, sending Mauer to third.

Boston brought in outfielder Mookie Betts and played in with a five-man infield, but Kepler made that all moot when the rookie from Germany sent a long drive to center field to give Minnesota its fifth walk-off win of the season.

Michael Tonkin (2-2) allowed a single to Bogaerts in the top of the inning, but struck out David Ortiz with Bogaerts at second.

DIAMONDBACKS 6, MARLINS 0

PHOENIX — Robbie Ray threw seven-plus scoreless innings and Peter O’Brien homered to help the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Miami Marlins.

Paul Goldschmidt doubled, singled, scored twice and drove in a run for the Diamondbacks, who won the final two games of the three-game series.

Ray (3-5) held Miami to three hits and a walk over 7 2/3 innings and struck out six. Ray faced only two batters over the minimum and did not allow a Miami runner into scoring position.

Marlins starter Adam Conley (3-4) went five innings, allowing six runs on 11 hits with a walk and a strikeout.

ROCKIES 2, PADRES 1

DENVER — Tyler Anderson pitched into the seventh inning in his impressive major league debut, Mark Reynolds homered and the Colorado Rockies beat the San Diego Padres.

San Diego starter Christian Friedrich struck out a season-high nine and allowed only two hits and an unearned run against his former team. Matt Kemp had three hits for the Padres, who fell to 0-10 on Sundays and 1-20 in the final game of a series this season.

Anderson, the 20th pick in the 2011 draft, allowed one run over 6 1/3 innings, struck out six and didn’t walk a batter.

Friedrich’s bases-loaded walk to Ryan Raburn gave the Rockies a 1-0 lead in the sixth. San Diego tied it on Jon Jay’s RBI single off winner Gonzalez Germen (2-0). Reynolds homered against Kevin Quackenbush (3-3) leading off the seventh.

Boone Logan got the final out for his first save since 2012.

CARDINALS 8, PIRATES 3

PITTSBURGH — Matt Holliday and Randal Grichuk homered, and the surging St. Louis Cardinals completed a three-game sweep of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Mike Leake reverted back to his mastery of Pittsburgh with seven effective innings for the Cardinals, who have won five straight games and seven of eight. Leake (5-4) had won seven consecutive decisions against the Pirates before losing his Cardinals debut at PNC Park on April 6.

St. Louis entered this weekend series having lost 22 of its past 31 in Pittsburgh, but won a series at PNC Park for the first time since 2012 and earned a sweep there for the first time since 2008.

The slumping Pirates have lost a season-worst five straight and fell a season-high 12 games behind the first-place Cubs in the NL Central. Jonathon Niese (6-3) lost for the first time since May 9. He was charged with season highs for runs (eight) and hits (11).