Baseball-Highlights of Sunday's MLB games

May 25 (The Sports Xchange) - Highlights of Sunday's Major League Baseball games. - - - Dodgers 6, Phillies 0 Josh Beckett retired 23 consecutive batters on his way to the first no-hitter of the season and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday. "It's something that you certainly think about throughout your career, but very few people have been able to do it," Beckett said after throwing 128 pitches, striking out six and walking three in his first career no-hitter. "To be completely honest with you, I was just waiting for them to get a hit. You don't think at this point in your career that you're gonna do that." Beckett's pitch count had climbed to 100 through seven innings, but the three-time All-Star and former World Series MVP wanted to go the distance. "I went to check on him after seven, and he's like 'You're not taking me out'," Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said. "He was talking about the no-hitter the whole time." The 34-year-old Texan's no-hitter was the first for the Dodgers since Hideo Nomo in 1996. Since the beginning of 2010, there have been 20 no-hitters in baseball, including the postseason. Sunday also was the 11th no-hitter in Los Angeles Dodgers history. Before Sunday, the most recent no-hitter was by Henderson Alvarez of the Miami Marlins, against the Detroit Tigers on Sept. 29, the final day of last season. - - - Yankees 7, White Sox 1 Masahiro Tanaka pitched a strong game to help lead the New York Yankees to a decisive victory over the White Sox in Derek Jeter's final regular-season game in Chicago. Tanaka pitched 6 2/3 innings while giving up just one run on five hits while striking out six in his first start since having a lengthy unbeaten streak halted in his previous outing. Tanaka, in his first season with the Yankees, had a string of 42 straight unbeaten starts between Japan and MLB snapped in his previous outing on May 20. - - - Rays 8, Red Sox 5 The Tampa Bay Rays scored five runs in the seventh inning and the Boston Red Sox became the first defending World Series champions to lose 10 straight games since the 1998 Miami Marlins. Sean Rodriguez began the barrage with a three-run homer to left field off left-hander Craig Breslow - his sixth of the season and first of his career as a pinch-hitter. - - - Padres 4, Cubs 3 Pinch hitter Carlos Quentin singled home the go-ahead run as the San Diego Padres scored four times in the sixth inning to beat the Chicago Cubs. The Padres took a three-run lead into the bottom of the ninth, but closer Huston Street gave up a two-run homer to shortstop Starlin Castro after issuing a leadoff walk to first baseman Anthony Rizzo. Street, however, retired the next three Cubs to earn his 14th save. - - - Giants 8, Twins 1 Hunter Pence homered, singled twice and scored three runs as the San Francisco Giants scored a big victory over the Minnesota Twins. Left-hander Madison Bumgarner (6-3) remained unbeaten in May and won his second consecutive home start after a rocky April, limiting the Twins to three hits and one run in seven innings while striking out 10. In running their major-league-best record to 32-18, the Giants won their seventh consecutive interleague game, including six in a row this season. - - - Angels 4, Royals 3 Catcher Chris Iannetta hit a solo home run in the bottom of the eighth inning to give the Los Angeles Angels victory over the Kansas City Royals. Los Angeles recovered from a 3-0 deficit to earn their 15th come-from-behind victory this season. - - - Astros 4, Mariners 1 Left-hander Dallas Keuchel turned in his second complete game in a span of three starts while rookie team mate George Springer continued his offensive onslaught as the Houston Astros beat the Seattle Mariners. Right fielder Springer hit his third home run in two games, while Keuchel (6-2) won his fourth consecutive start after giving up an unearned run off four hits while striking out five. He did not walk a single batter in the 106-pitch, nine-inning performance. - - - Braves 7, Rockies 0 The Atlanta Braves hit four home runs and Julio Teheran stretched his scoreless streak to 15 innings in a win over the Colorado Rockies. Evan Gattis smashed two homers, while Justin Upton and Chris Johnson hit one each in support of Teheran, who allowed just four hits and a walk over six innings. - - - Blue Jays 3, Athletics 1 Edwin Encarnacion etched his name into the record books to help the Toronto Blue Jays complete a three-game sweep of the Oakland Athletics and extend their winning streak to a season-high six games. First baseman Encarnacion crushed his 14th home run of the season and his 12th this month, tying right fielder Jose Bautista for the most in May in Blue Jays franchise history. - - - Brewers 7, Marlins 1 Rookie right-hander Jimmy Nelson won his first major league game, leading the Milwaukee Brewers past the Miami Marlins. The Brewers also got a big performance from right fielder Ryan Braun, who went 4-for-5 with a triple, double and two singles. - - - Rangers 12, Tigers 4 Alex Rios and Mitch Moreland drove in three runs apiece while Colby Lewis was effectively wild in his 5 2/3 innings to lead the Texas Rangers to victory over the suddenly-struggling Detroit Tigers, who have lost six of their past seven games. - - - Orioles 4, Indians 2 Nelson Cruz hit his major league-leading 16th home run and Manny Machado added a solo shot to lead the Baltimore Orioles past the Cleveland Indians. - - - Nationals 5, Pirates 2 The Washington Nationals snapped out of their offensive slump and ended their four-game losing streak Sunday, beating the Pittsburgh Pirates behind shortstop Ian Desmond's two hits and two RBIs. - - - Diamondbacks 2, Mets 1 (first game) Shortstop Chris Owings homered in the first inning and hit the grounder that resulted in the go-ahead run in the ninth as the Arizona Diamondbacks edged the New York Mets in the first game of a doubleheader. - - - Mets 4, Diamondbacks 2 (second game) Pinch-hitter Ruben Tejada's tie-breaking RBI single in the sixth inning made a winner out of Daisuke Matsuzaka, who combined with four relievers on a five-hitter as the New York Mets earned a split of a doubleheader by edging the nightcap. - - - Cardinals 4, Reds 0 Adam Wainwright became the National League's first eight-game winner of the season, allowing just five hits in eight innings and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Cincinnati Reds. Wainwright (8-2) extended his shutout streak against Cincinnati to 15 innings this season. He walked one and tied a career-high with 12 strikeouts over 117 pitches. (Editing by Andrew Both in Cary, North Carolina and John O'Brien)