BALTIMORE (AP) Baltimore pinch-hitter Nolan Reimold hit a game-winning, two-out homer in the ninth inning to give the Orioles a 5-3 win against Cleveland on Sunday, completing a three-game sweep of their rival American League division leader.
The victory broadened Baltimore’s lead atop the AL East to 1-1/2 games ahead of Boston. The division’s perennial power, the New York Yankees, are 7-1/2 games off the pace after defeating San Francisco.
The other AL division leader, Texas, maintained its gap atop the West after winning a tight game at Kansas City, while the key National League encounter saw the Los Angeles Dodgers down St. Louis and creep within three games of San Francisco in the West.
Baltimore began the bottom of the ninth trailing, and Indians pitcher Cody Allen began the frame by striking out Pedro Alvarez, but the ball eluded catcher Roberto Perez. After fielding the bouncing ball off the backstop, Perez hit Alvarez in the helmet with the throw for an error.
A sacrifice bunt and a strikeout followed before Reimold lined a 2-0 pitch into the left-field seats to end it.
New York’s Nathan Eovaldi held San Francisco scoreless into the seventh inning, steering the Yankees to a 5-2 win.
Making his second start following a brief banishment to the bullpen, Eovaldi dominated the Giants, who finished their road trip with a disappointing 1-7 record, eroding much of what had been a comfortable lead in the NL West.
Carlos Beltran and Mark Teixeira hit early solo home runs for the Yankees, who are expected to make some big changes ahead of the Aug. 1 trade deadline.
Texas’ Delino DeShields homered in the seventh to break a tie and give the Rangers a 2-1 win against Kansas City.
DeShields, who was recalled Thursday from the minors, walked and doubled before leading off the seventh with the homer.
The loss dropped the Royals to 48-49, the first time the World Series champions have been below a .500 winning percentage since May 15.
Los Angeles’ Adrian Gonzalez hit a grand slam and Howie Kendrick added a two-run homer, helping the Dodgers defeat St. Louis 9-6.
Cardinals pitcher Mike Mayers had a woeful major league debut, lasting just 1 1/3 innings, throwing 62 pitches and giving up nine runs.
New York’s Steven Matz pitched six scoreless innings for his first win since May, guiding the Mets to a 3-0 win against Miami that narrowed the gap between the NL East rivals to half a game.
Matz, who struck out six, is pitching despite a bone spur in his elbow and had been 0-5 in his past nine starts.
Toronto’s J.A. Happ and three relievers combined to limit Seattle to just one hit for the game and give the Blue Jays a 2-0 victory.
Happ won his eighth straight decision and set a career-high for victories in a season at 13.
Edwin Encarnacion hit a solo home run for Toronto, which avoided a three-game sweep.
Houston’s Jose Altuve hit two of his team’s season-high five homers and drove in a career-high six runs as the Astros routed the Los Angeles Angels 13-3 to complete a three-game sweep.
There were runners at first and second with no outs in the first when Altuve connected, and the Astros were never troubled after that.
San Diego’s Alex Dickerson and Ryan Schimpf hit back-to-back homers in the eighth inning and the Padres scored four runs in the ninth to beat Washington 10-6.
With the game tied 6-6 in the ninth, Wil Myers drew a one-out walk and moved to second on a wild pitch before Yangervis Solarte’s RBI single. The Padres added two more singles to load the bases, setting up Alexei Ramirez’s three-run double.
Nationals manager Dusty Baker then removed closer Jonathon Papelbon, who was booed after giving up his first runs since June 12. Papelbon had made seven scoreless appearances since returning from injury.
Chicago’s Anthony Rizzo hit a three-run double in the seventh inning to power the Cubs to a 6-5 win against Milwaukee.
The Cubs’ crosstown rivals, the White Sox, tallied two wins in quick time as they completed the game suspended on Saturday night, defeating Detroit 4-3, and then winning the scheduled Sunday game 5-4.
Pittsburgh’s Adam Frazier hit a home run in the seventh inning to power the Pirates over Philadelphia 5-4.
Boston’s Rick Porcello became the first Red Sox pitcher in 55 years to open a season 10-0 at Fenway Park, helping the Red Sox defeat Minnesota 8-7.
Colorado’s Tyler Chatwood allowed only one hit over five erratic innings as the Rockies completed a sweep of Atlanta with a 7-2 win.
Oakland’s Billy Butler hit a tiebreaking home run with one out in the eighth inning to lift the Athletics over Tampa Bay 3-2.
Arizona hit four homers in edging Cincinnati 9-8, including Paul Goldschmidt’s solo shot in the fifth inning which gave the Diamondbacks the lead for good.
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