MLB capsules: Twins win again

Twins 4, Angels 0MINNEAPOLIS -- Scott Baker pitched seven shutout innings, Michael Cuddyer had a bases-loaded double, and the Twins beat the Angels.Danny Valencia homered for the Twins, who took two of three from Los Angeles.Minnesota went 7-2 on its nine-game homestand to increase its lead in the AL Central to five games over struggling Chicago.Valencia homered to open the fifth against Jered Weaver (11-9), and Cuddyer fouled off five straight pitches with two strikes before hitting his double to left-center.That was plenty of support for Baker (11-9), who bounced back from a pair of poor performances where he left the ball up in the zone. He allowed five hits, struck out three and walked one.Yankees 10, Mariners 0NEW YORK -- Robinson Cano hit a grand slam and drove in a career-high six runs, CC Sabathia extended his home winning streak to 15 decisions and the New York Yankees routed the Seattle Mariners 10-0 on a rain-slicked field Sunday.Austin Kearns and Jorge Posada also homered for the Yankees, who notched another win minus slugger Alex Rodriguez. New York is a confounding 12-0 this season without the three-time MVP, placed on the 15-day disabled list Saturday with a strained left calf.Cano is a big reason for all that success. Making his own bid for an MVP award, the All-Star second baseman launched his 25th home run in the fifth inning off Luke French (2-4) gave up Cano's 25th homer.Sabathia (17-5) held Seattle hitless until the fifth and became the AL's first 17-game winner.Rays 3, Athletics 2OAKLAND, Calif. -- Matt Garza came out on top in a matchup between pitchers who threw no-hitters this season, outpitching Dallas Braden for his career-high 13th win and leading Tampa Bay over the Athletics.Garza (13-7) scattered four hits over 7 2-3 innings and overcame a balk that led to Oakland's only run against him.Braden (8-9) allowed only four hits but gave up all three Tampa Bay runs and took the loss. It's only the second loss in six starts for the A's lefty, who pitched a perfect game against the Rays on May 9.Red Sox 5, Blue Jays 0BOSTON -- Clay Buchholz pitched six innings of five-hit ball to lower his AL-best ERA to 2.26 and Bill Hall hit a two-run homer for the Red Sox.The game began 1 hour, 44 minutes late and was stopped for 59 minutes by more rain with two outs in the top of the third of a scoreless tie.Buchholz (15-5) extended his streak to 23 2-3 innings without allowing an earned run.Shaun Marcum (11-7) retired Boston's first 12 batters. He left after seven innings, having given up three runs and four hits. He had six strikeouts and without a walk.Rangers 6, Orioles 4BALTIMORE -- Josh Hamilton and Vladimir Guerrero each hit three-run homers, Tommy Hunter earned his career-high 10th win and Texas beat Baltimore to split the four-game series.The AL West-leading Rangers had lost 11 of 15 before the victory, which also snapped a 1-7 stretch on the road.Luke Scott hit his 100th career homer and Ty Wigginton also connected for Baltimore, now 12-8 under manager Buck Showalter.Hunter (10-2) gave up three runs and five hits over eight innings.Hamilton and Guerrero both connected off Kevin Millwood (2-14).Tigers 8, Indians 1DETROIT -- Justin Verlander pitched eight strong innings, rookie Will Rhymes had four hits and the Tigers completed a three-game sweep.The Tigers outscored Cleveland 19-3 in the lopsided weekend series, and have had two three-game winning streaks and a three-game losing streak in their last nine games.Verlander (14-8), who has struggled with high pitch counts early in games this season, didn't throw his 100th pitch Sunday until the eighth inning. He gave up a run in the first and finished with eight strikeouts against seven hits and a walk.Jeanmar Gomez (3-2) left after the third, having allowed as many runs as he had in his first five starts combined. He gave up eight runs, seven earned, 11 hits and three walks.National League Cardinals 9, Giants 0ST. LOUIS -- Jaime Garcia threw a three-hitter for his first career shutout and fellow rookie Allen Craig hit a two-run home run for the Cardinals.Jon Jay had three hits and an RBI and Brendan Ryan and Yadier Molina each had two hits with an RBI for the Cardinals. St. Louis rebounded from a five-game losing streak to take two of three from the Giants.During the game the Giants were awarded outfielder Cody Ross on a waiver claim from Florida.Garcia (11-6) faced one batter over the minimum and struck out six.Barry Zito (8-8) lasted only 3 2-3 innings, surrendering five runs on seven hits.Phillies 6, Nationals 0PHILADELPHIA -- Roy Oswalt struck out eight in seven sharp innings and led the Philadelphia Phillies over the Washington Nationals on a rainy day.Oswalt (9-13) has won three straight starts for the first time this season, helping the Phillies try to make a move on Atlanta for the NL East lead.Oswalt allowed five hits, and the Phillies backed him with the kind of run support he rarely got in Houston before getting traded in July. He never came out for the eighth after the game was delayed 1 hour, 44 minutes by rain.The right-hander also got two hits and scored a run.Scott Olsen (3-6) took the loss.Reds 5, Dodgers 2LOS ANGELES -- Bronson Arroyo earned his 100th career victory, Joey Votto homered and drove in three runs and the NL Central-leading Cincinnati Reds beat the Los Angeles Dodgers.The Reds took two of three in the series and held their 3Ãâ#128;šÃ#130;circ;frac12;-game division edge over St. Louis.Arroyo (14-7) allowed two runs and seven hits in seven innings, striking out six and walking none. The right-hander came in 0-3 with a 5.56 ERA lifetime at Dodger Stadium.Francisco Cordero pitched as perfect ninth for his 34th save in 40 attempts.Clayton Kershaw (11-8) struck out 11, allowing three runs and five hits over seven innings. He threw a career-high 118 pitches.Votto hit a tiebreaking homer in the sixth and added a two-run single in the ninth.Astros 2, Marlins 1MIAMI -- Hunter Pence hit a tiebreaking homer in the eighth inning and Houston averted a series sweep by ending the Marlins' season-high five-game winning streak.Pence also drove in the game's first run with a sacrifice fly in the third inning.Nelson Figueroa and two relievers combined on a six-hitter. Wilton Lopez (5-0) faced only six batters in two innings, and Brandon Lyon earned his sixth save in seven chances by retiring Mike Stanton with two on to end the game.Pence's 19th homer, one of only five hits for Houston, came with one out in the eighth off Jose Veras (2-1).Padres 7, Brewers 3MILWAUKEE -- Adrian Gonzalez and Chase Headley each homered for San Diego.Jon Garland (13-8) had his scoreless-innings streak ended at 21 innings when he gave up Ryan Braun's 18th home run in the fifth, but he won his third straight start and four of five.Manny Parra (3-10) gave up seven runs in six innings on eight hits and four walks. He struck out five.Pirates 2, Mets 1PITTSBURGH -- A slumping Zach Duke limited the Mets to one run over seven innings and Jose Tabata and Lastings Milledge homered, allowing the Pirates to salvage the final game of the three-game series.Duke (6-12), a loser of eight of his previous 11 starts, struck out five and walked two to win for only the third time in 13 starts since May 18.The Pirates, trying to dodge their first 100-loss season since 2001, had lost five in a row and 12 of 13 to fall 43 games below .500 at 40-83.Mets starter Johan Santana (10-8) didn't allow a hit until Pedro Alvarez's leadoff single in the fifth. Santana went the distance for New York, giving up only two other hits over eight innings while striking out nine and walking one.Rockies 1, Diamondbacks 0PHOENIX -- Dexter Fowler hit a run-scoring single in the eighth inning and Jhoulys Chacin pitched 7 2-3 strong innings to lead the Colorado Rockies over the Arizona Diamondbacks.Fowler also helped Chacin with a diving catch in center field that took away a hit from Adam LaRoche in the fourth inning. Fowler landed hard on his left side but held onto the ball. He was shaken up for a few moments but remained in the game.Eric Young singled with one out in the eighth off reliever Aaron Heilman (4-5) and stole second base before Fowler's hit.Chacin (6-9) allowed three hits and a walk with nine strikeouts. It was the longest outing of the 22-year-old rookie's major league career.Huston Street got his 10th save of the season with a perfect ninth. The Rockies ended a three-game losing skid and avoided a road sweep by the last-place Diamondbacks.