DETROIT (AP) -Justin Verlander pitched the first no-hitter in Comerica Park history, mixing 100 mph heat with crazy curveballs to lead the Detroit Tigers over the Milwaukee Brewers 4-0 on Tuesday night.
Verlander struck out a career-high 12 and got a huge assist from shortstop Neifi Perez, who turned a possible single up the middle in the eighth into an inning-ending double play. The 2006 AL Rookie of the Year benefited from several other stellar defensive plays and worked around four walks in the Tigers’ first no-hitter since Jack Morris in 1984.
Verlander (7-2) trotted to the mound for the ninth to a standing ovation. He struck out Craig Counsell and Tony Graffanino before getting J.J. Hardy to fly out to the warning track in right field.
It was the second no-hitter of the season in the majors, with Mark Buehrle of the Chicago White Sox doing it against the Texas Rangers on April 18. This was the first no-hitter in Detroit since Nolan Ryan of the Angels did it at Tiger Stadium in 1973. Comerica opened in 2000.
Milwaukee was last no-hit on April 27, 1994, by Scott Erickson at Minnesota.
The best play belonged to shortstop Neifi Perez in the eighth. After Bill Hall walked for the third time, Gabe Gross hit a hard grounder up the middle. Perez skidded to his left to glove it, but the force of the ball knocked him over. Perez managed to flip the ball to second baseman Placido Polanco, who completed the inning-ending double play. Verlander pumped his fist near the mound and was one of the first to congratulate Perez in the dugout.
Brandon Inge homered and drove in two runs. Jeff Suppan (7-7) took the loss.
Marlins 3, Indians 0
MIAMI (AP) – Scott Olsen allowed three hits in seven innings to outpitch Fausto Carmona, and Miguel Olivo’s three-run double helped the Florida Marlins beat the Cleveland Indians.
Olivo chopped a ball over the head of Cleveland third baseman Casey Blake, clearing the bases with one out in the seventh and delivering the blow that sent Carmona (7-2) to his first loss in his last 11 starts. Carmona hadn’t been beaten since his 2007 debut, April 13 against the Chicago White Sox.
Armando Benitez pitched a perfect eighth for Florida, and Kevin Gregg finished it off for his 10th save in as many chances.
Olsen (5-5) issued no walks, marking the first time in his career that he’d pitched more than five innings in a game without allowing a free pass. He only allowed one runner to reach third base; David Dellucci was stranded there in the third.
Phillies 7, White Sox 3
PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Chase Utley drove in four runs to help Cole Hamels become the National League’s first nine-game winner in the Phillies’ victory.
Hamels (9-2) allowed two runs and six hits and struck out eight in eight innings, Utley was 3-for-3 with a two-run homer and the Phillies moved a season-best three games above .500 (34-31) with their sixth win in eight games.
Paul Konerko and Jermaine Dye hit consecutive homers in the first inning, but the White Sox couldn’t manage any more runs off Hamels.
White Sox starter Jose Contreras (4-7) allowed seven runs – five earned – and seven hits in 3 1-3 innings. It was his shortest outing since lasting one inning against Cleveland on opening day.
Red Sox 2, Rockies 1
BOSTON (AP) – Tim Wakefield pitched eight innings of four-hit ball, and David Ortiz went 3-for-3 with a double that helped break an eighth-inning tie for the Red Sox.
Wakefield (6-7) won for just the second time in six starts. He struck out three and walked one before Jonathan Papelbon pitched the ninth for his 15th save.
Aaron Cook (4-3) allowed two runs on seven hits and struck out four in 7 1-3 innings, as the Rockies failed to return to .500 for the first time since April 13.
Cook held Boston to just one run before Dustin Pedroia singled to lead off the eighth. One out later, Jeremy Affeldt gave up a double to Ortiz and pinch-runner Alex Cora was held up at third base. Manny Ramirez was intentionally walked, then J.D. Drew hit a sacrifice fly to center to give Boston the lead.
Devil Rays 11, Padres 4
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) – Carlos Pena hit an eighth-inning grand slam and Delmon Young delivered a pair of run-scoring singles off Greg Maddux as Tampa Bay came from behind three times before pulling away against San Diego.
Pena, who also had a RBI double in the seventh, hit his fourth career grand slam off Doug Brocail to finish a five-run eighth. Young had RBI singles in the second and fourth as Maddux, eyeing a major league-best 20th career interleague win, was unable to hold leads of 1-0, 2-1 and 4-3.
Maddux allowed four runs and six hits in 6 1-3 innings. He struck out four and walked a season-high three, including Elijah Dukes with one out in the seventh. The next two batters singled off reliever Cla Meredith (2-4), then first baseman Adrian Gonzalez booted Greg Norton’s sharp grounder for an error that allowed two runs to score. Pena followed with a RBI double to put Tampa Bay up 6-4.
Casey Fossum (4-6) pitched one perfect inning in relief of Scott Kazmir for the victory.
Pirates 7, Rangers 5
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Jose Bautista homered and had three hits as the Pittsburgh Pirates snapped a three-game losing streak.
Xavier Nady and Adam LaRoche also homered for the Pirates, who won their first interleague game of the season after getting swept by the New York Yankees.
Texas closed within 7-5 in the ninth on an RBI double from Brad Wilkerson and a base hit by pinch-hitter Adam Melhuse. But Matt Capps got Ramon Vazquez to line into a double play and struck out pinch-hitter Kenny Lofton for his third save in as many chances.
Zach Duke (3-6) gave up two runs on eight hits in six innings. He struck out three and walked two.
Kevin Millwood (2-6) allowed six runs – five earned – on eight hits in 4 1-3 innings. He walked two and struck out one, and has not won since April 13.
Nationals 7, Orioles 4
BALTIMORE (AP) – Ryan Church hit the first of three home runs off Daniel Cabrera, and the Washington Nationals received another strong performance from converted reliever Micah Bowie in a victory over the Baltimore Orioles.
Church hit a solo shot, and Ryan Zimmerman and Brian Schneider both connected with a man on for the Nationals. Felipe Lopez ended an 0-for-19 skid with a two-run double and received three of the 10 walks allowed by Baltimore pitchers.
Bowie (3-2) allowed three runs and three hits in six innings. Since leaving the bullpen to replace injured Jerome Williams in the starting rotation, Bowie is 3-0 in five starts, and the Nationals are 5-0 in those games.
Cabrera (5-7) gave up seven runs and seven hits in 4 2-3 innings, matching his shortest appearance of the season. Melvin Mora and Miguel Tejada homered for the Orioles, who have lost eight of 10.
Reds 5, Angels 3
CINCINNATI (AP) – Ken Griffey Jr.’s tiebreaking sacrifice fly in the seventh inning helped Cincinnati survive an overpowering performance by Kelvim Escobar, rallying the Reds past the Los Angeles Angels.
Escobar struck out a career-high 14 – including Griffey twice – during six innings, leaving after his pitch count reached 116. As soon as he was gone, the Reds got rolling.
Singles by Scott Hatteberg and Brandon Phillips off Dustin Moseley (4-1) set up the tiebreaking run, and Griffey’s fly to right off Darren Oliver snapped a 3-all tie. A fielding error by second baseman Erick Aybar let in another run in the eighth.
Jon Coutlangus (3-1) pitched a perfect inning in relief, and David Weathers got four outs for his 13th save.
Casey Kotchman and Gary Matthews Jr. hit solo homers for the Angels, who lost for only the ninth time in their last 32 games. Still, their 40-25 mark is the best in franchise history – the 1979, ’80 and ’02 teams had 39 wins at the same point of the season.
Yankees 4, Diamondbacks 1
NEW YORK (AP) – Chien-Ming Wang outpitched Brandon Webb in a marquee matchup of exceptional sinkerballers, and streaking Bobby Abreu hit an early three-run homer to help the Yankees win their seventh straight.
The Yankees (31-31) won for the 10th time in 12 tries following a five-game skid, reaching .500 for the first time since they were 16-16 after beating Texas on May 9. It’s their first seven-game winning streak since a 10-game run in May 2005.
Coming off a five-hitter at the Chicago White Sox, Wang (6-4) allowed six hits and walked none in seven innings. Runner-up for the AL Cy Young Award last year, he has won his last three starts and five of six overall.
Wang had to be on top of his game because Webb (6-4) settled down after giving up Abreu’s homer in the first. The reigning NL Cy Young Award winner yielded four runs – three earned – and five hits in seven innings.
Chad Tracy homered for Arizona, which lost for the fourth time in five games after an 11-1 stretch.
Astros 5, Athletics 4, 11 innings
HOUSTON (AP) – Brad Ausmus drove in his fourth run of the night with the game-winning single in the 11th, and the Houston Astros overcame another blown save by Brad Lidge to beat the Oakland Athletics.
Ausmus also had an RBI double and a two-run homer, though none of that mattered when Mark Kotsay led off the ninth inning with a homer off Lidge, who was trying to close out a game for the first time since April, when manager Phil Garner demoted him from the role.
Lidge had pitched well lately as a setup man, allowing only one earned run in his last 19 2-3 innings. He’s 0-for-3 on save opportunities this season. Kotsay hit Lidge’s third pitch into the right-field seats for his first home run of the season. Kotsay went 4-for-5, his best game since coming off the disabled list on June 1.
Adam Everett doubled with one out in the 11th before Ausmus singled off Ron Flores (0-1). Jason Kendall’s throw to the plate was off line as Everett slid across the plate.
Dave Borkowski (1-0) pitched two scoreless innings of relief after replacing Lidge.
Twins 7, Braves 3
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Luis Castillo had three hits, drove in two runs and made a couple of stellar plays at second base to lead the Twins over the Atlanta Braves.
Rookie Kevin Slowey (2-0) gave up two earned runs on seven hits in another solid performance, and Torii Hunter added a two-run double for the Twins.
Jeff Francoeur and Scott Thorman hit solo homers for the Braves, but it wasn’t enough after a shaky start from Kyle Davies (3-5). The right-hander allowed five runs on six hits in 3 2-3 innings – his shortest outing of the season – and the Braves lost for the seventh time in 10 games.
Castillo’s two-out, two-run single in the fourth chased Davies and gave the Twins a 5-1 lead that Castillo helped preserve with two eye-popping plays in the fifth.
Royals 8, Cardinals 1
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – Brian Bannister won his third consecutive start with seven scoreless innings and Esteban German had three hits and three RBIs, leading Kansas City past St. Louis.
Bannister (3-3), who failed to make the club out of spring training, gave up seven hits, walked two and tied his season-high with six strikeouts. In his last three starts covering 22 innings, the son of former major league pitcher Floyd Bannister has allowed only one earned run and 14 hits. He hasn’t given up an earned run in 17 consecutive innings.
Mark Teahen had an RBI triple in the first inning, doubled and scored in the second and singled home a run in the third, going 3-for-5. He and German keyed a five-run outburst in the first inning against Brad Thompson (4-2), who had his worst outing since joining the rotation on May 8. Thompson allowed 10 hits and eight runs in just 4 1-3 innings, with a season-high four walks and, for the first time in seven starts, no strikeouts.
Ryan Ludwick hit a pinch-hit homer leading off the ninth against reliever David Riske to help the Cardinals avoid being shutout for the seventh time this season.
Mariners 5, Cubs 3, 13 innings
CHICAGO (AP) – Willie Bloomquist singled in the go-ahead run with two outs in the 13th inning, and Seattle won its season-high fifth straight game.
All of the wins in the streak have come in their final at-bat, and the latest occurred after Chicago’s Michael Barrett drove in Derrek Lee with a single to tie it at 3 in the eighth.
The winning rally started when Jose Vidro knocked a double off the ivy in left field with two outs. After Will Ohman (0-4) intentionally walked Yuniesky Betancourt, Bloomquist grounded a single to right and Vidro beat Jacque Jones’ two-hop throw to the plate. Ohman intentionally walked Ichiro Suzuki, and Jamie Burke lined a single off first baseman Lee’s glove to drive in Betancourt.
Eric O’Flaherty (3-0) pitched 2 2-3 scoreless innings for the win. J.J. Putz pitched the 13th for his 19th save, getting pinch-hitter Koyie Hill to ground out with two outs and the bases loaded.
Giants 3, Blue Jays 2
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – Ryan Klesko drove in two runs on his 36th birthday, helping Noah Lowry end a three-start winless stretch.
Dave Roberts doubled, singled and scored two runs in another strong performance at the top of the order and shortstop Omar Vizquel dazzled with a leaping catch to rob Curtis Thigpen of a hit in the fourth – a play in which he did the splits in the air, showing off the form that has earned him 11 Gold Glove awards.
Randy Winn also made a great catch for the Giants in the ninth, timing his jump perfectly to haul in Aaron Hill’s hard-hit ball near the top of the wall in left-center for the second out.
Giants slugger Barry Bonds, stepping in to chants of “Barry! Barry!” went 2-for-2 with the double, a single and his 23rd and 24th intentional walks of the year a night after connecting for his 747th career homer. He’s within eight of Hank Aaron’s record of 755.
Alex Rios hit a two-run homer off Lowry (6-5) in the third for Toronto, which lost right-hander A.J. Burnett (5-6) in the fifth inning with a strained throwing shoulder. His status for his next start wasn’t immediately known.
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