Baseball-Highlights of Saturday's MLB games

Aug 23 (The Sports Xchange) - Highlights of Saturday's Major League Baseball games. - - Nationals 6, Giants 2 Pitcher Jordan Zimmermann trailed 2-0 after the first two batters, he did not allow a run the rest of the way as team mate Jayson Werth had two hits and two RBIs and Denard Span added two hits, two runs and an RBI in a win over the Giants. Zimmermann (9-5), despite a rocky start, allowed two runs and struck out eight in eight innings as he remained unbeaten in his last seven outings.| First-place Washington (74-54) won for the 11th time in 12 games. The Giants (68-60) fell to a still impressive 22-11 against the National League East. - - - Pirates 10, Brewers 2 Pedro Alvarez belted two home runs, Russell Martin and Neil Walker added three RBIs and Pittsburgh blasted first-place Milwaukee. Edinson Volquez earned the win despite allowing 11 hits, while Major League wins co-leader Wily Peralta gave up eight runs in five innings to fall to 15-8. The Pirates (67-62) have won three straight while the Brewers (71-58) have dropped three in a row. - - - Mariners 7, Red Sox 3 Dustin Ackley blasted a three-run home run as the Seattle Mariners scored seven runs in the fourth inning to beat Boston. Seattle (70-58) starter Chris Young only lasted 3 2/3 innings but Tom Wilhelmsen came on and was credited with the win. - - - Yankees 5, White Sox 3 Carlos Beltran hit a home run in his return from a brief absence and Martin Prado had three hits, leading the New York Yankees to a victory over the Chicago White Sox. Beltran returned after missing the previous three games because of the right elbow pain that sidelined him for 21 games and kept him from playing the outfield until last weekend. - - - Cubs 7, Orioles 2 Chris Coghlan hit a bases-clearing triple and rookie Javier Baez slammed his seventh home run in only 19 games as the Chicago Cubs shrugged off a three-hour rain delay for an inter-league victory over the Baltimore Orioles. Cubs reliever Justin Grimm (4-2) got the win in a game ended six hours after it started. The first-place Orioles fell to 73-54. - - - Twins 12, Tigers 4 (Game One) For the second straight game, the Minnesota Twins posted a six-run second inning en route to a big win over the Detroit Tigers, taking game one of a day-night doubleheader. Kennys Vargas pounded out five RBIs and Yohan Pino tossed five innings to get the win for the Twins. - - - Tigers 8, Twins 6 (Game Two) Back-to-back two-run innings in the sixth and seventh innings helped lead the Detroit Tigers to victory over the Minnesota Twins in game two of a split doubleheader. Detroit (69-59) right-hander Justin Verlander was far from his normal self, allowing four runs on eight hits and three walks in 5 2/3 innings of work, but got the win anyway, evening his record at 11-11. - - - Indians 3, Astros 2 Jose Ramirez's RBI single with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning drove in the winning run as the Cleveland Indians beat the Houston Astros. Cleveland (65-63) held the Astros to just three hits on the day and reliever Cody Allen pitched the ninth to get the win. - - - Blue Jays 5, Rays 4 (10 innings) Jose Reyes singled in the winning run in the 10th inning to lift the Toronto Blue Jays to the extra-inning victory over Tampa Bay. Tampa Bay (63-66) forced extra innings with James Loney's RBI single in the ninth but they fell to their fifth loss in seven games. - - - Diamondbacks 5, Padres 2 Arizona shortstop Didi Gregorius hit a tie-breaking three-run home run in the eighth inning and rookie third baseman Jake Lamb hit his first major league homer in the Diamondbacks' victory over the San Diego Padres. Lamb hit a bases-empty homer leading off the second inning. He and center fielder Ender Inciarte had two hits apiece for the D-backs (55-75), who have won two in a row after a six-game losing streak. - - - Athletics 2, Angels 1 Center fielder Coco Crisp scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch by right-hander Joe Smith with two outs in eighth inning, and the Oakland A's held on for a victory against the Los Angeles Angels. The A's (76-52) pulled into a first-place tie with the Angels in the American League West. Oakland beat the Angels for the second straight time in this three-game series, which concludes Sunday, and improved to 5-0 against them this season at the Coliseum A's closer Sean Doolittle pitched a scoreless ninth for his 20th save. - - - Dodgers 7, Mets 4 First baseman Adrian Gonzalez homered and drove in a season-tying five runs, and the Los Angeles Dodgers rallied for a victory over the New York Mets. Gonzalez, who went 2-for-3, helped the Dodgers (74-57) continue their dominance of the Mets (60-70), winning for the 13th time in their last 15 meetings. New York has lost five of its last six games. Dodgers starter Zack Greinke (13-8), who had his start pushed back two games because of discomfort in his elbow, gave up four runs (three earned). - - - Royals 6, Rangers 3 Right-hander Jeremy Guthrie won for the fifth time in his last six starts and center fielder Jarrod Dyson matched a career high with three RBIs in the Kansas City Royals' victory over the Texas Rangers. Kansas City (72-56) increased its lead over Detroit in the American League Central to 3 1/2 games after winning for the 24th time in 30 games. Alex Gordon went 2-for-4, including a home run off Texas right-hander Nick Tepesch. - - - Cardinals 6, Phillies 5 (12 innings) Matt Carpenter drove in the go-ahead run with a sacrifice fly in the top of the 12th inning and the St Louis Cardinals beat the Philadelphia Phillies. Shortstop Jhonny Peralta homered for the Cardinals (70-58), who won for the eighth time in 10 games. Ryan Howard hit a solo homer for the Phillies, who forged a 5-5 tie on a two-run single by right fielder Marlon Byrd in the eighth inning. - - - Cincinnati 1, Braves 0 Brandon Phillips drove in his first run in six games since returning from the disabled list and the Cincinnati Reds avoided their longest losing streak in more than five years by scratching out a win over the Atlanta Braves. Cincinnati starting pitcher Mike Leake (13-7) doubled on Ervin Santana's first pitch of the sixth inning and scored from third base on Phillips' two-out single, helping the Reds (62-68) end a seven-game losing streak. Atlanta fell to 68-62. - - - Rockies 5, Marlins 4 (13 innings) Corey Dickerson tied the game with a mammoth home run in the ninth and won the game for Colorado with a single in the 13th inning as the Rockies beat the Miami Marlins. Dickerson's single of Sam Dyson (2-1) drove in third baseman Nolan Arenado, who had opened the 13th inning with a double, and ended the four hour, 28 minute marathon. (Editing by Jahmal Corner and John O'Brien)