Strasburg stays perfect as Nats top Mets

Washington Nationals' Bryce Harper has a green four-leaf clover on the end of his bat as he awaits a pitch from New York Mets starter Matt Harvey during the first inning of a baseball game at Nationals Park, Tuesday, May 24, 2016, in Washington.
Washington Nationals' Bryce Harper has a green four-leaf clover on the end of his bat as he awaits a pitch from New York Mets starter Matt Harvey during the first inning of a baseball game at Nationals Park, Tuesday, May 24, 2016, in Washington.

WASHINGTON-Stephen Strasburg remained unbeaten with an 11-strikeout performance, and the Washington Nationals hit three of their season-high five home runs off struggling Matt Harvey in a 7-4 victory over the New York Mets on Tuesday night.

Strasburg (8-0) gave up two runs and four hits over 6 2/3 innings in defeating Harvey and the Mets for the second time in six days. Strasburg has five games this season with at least 10 strikeouts and 26 over his seven-year career.

Harvey (3-7) stumbled through a third straight ineffective start, allowing five runs and eight hits over five rocky innings. The right-hander has yielded 16 earned runs and 31 hits over his last three outings.

 

Indians 6, White Sox 2

CHICAGO-Josh Tomlin beat Chris Sale in a one-sided matchup of unbeaten pitchers and Francisco Lindor had three hits, leading Clevelandto over Chicago.

Tomlin pitched eight innings of two-run ball to become the first Indians starter to reach 7-0 since Dennis Martinez won his first nine decisions in 1995. Sale was knocked out in the fourth, ending his bid to become the first pitcher to win his first 10 starts in a season since Andy Hawkins for San Diego in 1985.

It was baseball's first matchup of 6-0 or better pitchers since 1988, and only the fourth time in major league history, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Chris Gimenez homered for Cleveland, which had lost three in a row before Monday's 5-1 victory at Chicago in the second game of a doubleheader. Jose Ramirez walked twice and scored twice, and Mike Napoli drove in two runs.

 

Royals 7, Twins 4

MINNEAPOLIS-Salvador Perez hit a two-run homer, Lorenzo Cain had four hits and two RBIs, and Kansas City picked up where their bats left off the night before while beating tumbling Minnesota.

Wade Davis worked a wobbly ninth inning for his 12th save in 13 attempts, preserving the seventh win for the Royals in their last nine contests. They raised their two-game total in Minnesota this week to 30 hits and improved to 5-0 against the Twins this season.

After going 5 for 5 in the series opener, missing the cycle by a home run, Perez went deep just one day and a couple of innings too late. The three-time All-Star catcher followed a leadoff walk by Kendrys Morales in the second inning with a soaring drive off his 2013 teammate Ervin Santana that landed in the grass behind the wall in center field for a 2-0 lead.

 

Pirates 12, Diamondbacks

PITTSBURGH-Gregory Polanco hit a three-run homer and drove in a career-best five runs as Pittsburgh rolled by Arizona.

Polanco's shot to the concourse in right-center field off Shelby Miller (1-6) in the first inning gave Pittsburgh an early boost. Francisco Liriano (4-3) scattered two hits in 5 2/3 innings and added an RBI single as the Pirates improved to 6-2 during a 10-game homestand.

After a short adjustment period, Polanco has thrived batting third in the lineup, hitting .317 (20 of 63) with three home runs and 13 RBIs in 15 games. The Pirates spread their 17 hits among 11 batters.

 

Brewers 2, Braves 1

ATLANTA-Scooter Gennett's tiebreaking single in the eighth inning lifted Milwaukee Brewers over Atlanta, spoiling Brian Snitker's home debut as the Braves' interim manager.

With two outs in the eighth, Bud Norris (1-6) walked Jonathan Villar, who stole second base. Gennett then lined a single to right field. Villar scored as Nick Markakis' throw to the plate from right field was up the third-base line.

Ryan Braun's eighth homer gave the Brewers a 1-0 lead in the fourth.

Atlanta's Julio Teheran set a personal high with 12 strikeouts while allowing one run in seven innings.

Jimmy Nelson allowed one run in six innings for Milwaukee.

 

Yankees 6, Blue Jays 0

NEW YORK-For the first time since the second week of the season, the New York Yankees are back at .500.

A resurgent Nathan Eovaldi combined with his bullpen on a two-hitter to win his fifth straight decision, and the Yankees beat Toronto to extend their winning streak to six games.

Carlos Beltran homered off knuckleballer R.A. Dickey and drove in New York's first two runs. Having dropped as many as eight games under .500 during their worst start in a quarter-century, the Yankees (22-22) won for the 13th time in 18 games and evened their record for the first time since they were 4-4 on the morning of April 15.

New York is on its longest winning streak since the first week of last June.

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