New York Yankees designated hitter Alex Rodriguez  hits a solo home run against the Seattle Mariners during the seventh inning at Yankee Stadium. PICTURE: USA TODAY Sports

Reuters/New York


Designated hitter Alex Rodriguez hit a tie-breaking home run with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning and the New York Yankees opened the second half of the season with a 4-3 victory over the Seattle Mariners in the Major League Baseball on Friday.
The Yankees won for the eighth time in 11 games with the help of Rodriguez, who drove a 1-0 fastball from left-hander Joe Beimel (0-1) over the right-centre-field wall and into New York’s bullpen.

Royals 4, White Sox 2 (first game)
Mike Moustakas and Alex Rios each slammed solo home runs as Kansas City beat the Chicago White Sox 4-2 to open a split doubleheader at US Cellular Field. The Royals improved on their American League-best record with their second straight win and eighth in their last nine. The White Sox dropped their second straight after winning nine of their previous 13.

White Sox 2, Royals 0 (second game)
John Danks did not allow a run for the second time in three games, giving up four hits over six-plus innings as the Chicago White Sox beat the Kansas City Royals 2-0 in the second game of a doubleheader. The left-handed Danks (5-8) departed in the seventh after walking Royals right fielder Alex Rios. But two relief pitchers wrapped up the inning without damage.

Phillies 6, Marlins 3
Pinch hitter Jeff Francoeur capped a four-run eighth inning with a three-run homer as Philadelphia snapped a five-game losing streak by beating the Marlins. Marlins starter Jose Fernandez went six innings and allowed two runs and four hits. Phillies starter Adam Morgan worked 6 1/3 innings and also yielded two runs and four hits.

Tigers 7, Orioles 3
Jose Iglesias, Victor Martinez and J D Martinez hit home runs good for a combined six runs to help Anibal Sanchez to his sixth straight victory as the Tigers beat the Orioles 7-3. Detroit have scored 67 runs in their last 11 games since manager Brad Ausmus retooled his batting order but the Tigers are only 6-5 over that stretch.

Blue Jays 6, Rays 2
Toronto first baseman Justin Smoak and third baseman Josh Donaldson homered in a five-run fifth inning as the Blue Jays defeated the Tampa Bay Rays 6-2. Right-hander Drew Hutchison (9-2) continued to thrive at home, allowing five hits, two walks and two runs while striking out three in six innings.

Brewers 4, Pirates 1
Gerardo Parra drove in two runs and Mike Fiers struck out seven as the Milwaukee Brewers kicked off the second half of the season on a high note with a 4-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates at Miller Park.
Fiers (5-7) worked seven innings and held the Pirates to three hits and a walk to win his second consecutive decision.

Braves 4, Cubs 2
Light-hitting left fielder Eury Perez looped a two-out single into shallow right field to drive in two runs in the eighth inning and lift the Atlanta Braves to a 4-2 win over the Chicago Cubs.
With the bases loaded, Perez hit the first offering from right-hander Pedro Strop (1-5) in front of Cubs right fielder Jorge Soler, allowing first baseman Kelly Johnson and catcher A J Pierzynski to score with ease. The Braves won their eighth straight over the Cubs at Turner Field and snapped a five-game losing streak.

Reds 6, Indians 1
Marlon Byrd fell a triple shy of the cycle and Mike Leake pitched six strong innings and drove in three runs, lifting the Cincinnati Reds to a 6-1 victory over the Cleveland Indians in the opener of a three-game series at a rainy Great American Ball Park.
Reds first baseman Joey Votto added a solo homer, his 16th home run of the season, in support of Leake, who did not miss a beat after a one-hour, five-minute rain delay.

Cardinals 3, Mets 2
After giving up a leadoff homer, Lance Lynn permitted just two more hits and a walk over the next seven innings as the St. Louis Cardinals edged the New York Mets 3-2 at sold-out Busch Stadium. Lynn (7-5) fanned nine and retired 12 hitters in a row following a one-out walk to right fielder Curtis Granderson in the third inning. Closer Trevor Rosenthal allowed a two-out RBI infield single to shortstop Ruben Tejada in the ninth but bagged his 27th save in 29 chances.

Astros 3, Rangers 2
Right-hander Collin McHugh reached double figures in wins for a second consecutive season and the Houston Astros’ bullpen held on for a 3-2 win over the Texas Rangers on Friday at Minute Maid Park.
McHugh (10-5) worked six uneven innings, setting the Rangers down in order only twice and giving up 11 hits. He needed a double play to erase shortstop Elvis Andrus’ leadoff single in the second inning but struck out the side in the fourth.

Angels 1, Red Sox 0
Mike Trout’s home run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning lifted the Los Angeles Angels to a 1-0 win over the Boston Red Sox at Angel Stadium.  Trout hit an 88 mph fastball from Red Sox reliever Koji Uehara over the fence in centre field for his 27th homer of the season.

Twins 5, A’s 0
Second baseman Brian Dozier led off the second half of the season with a home run, third baseman Trevor Plouffe belted a grand slam and right-hander Ervin Santana pitched 7 2/3 shutout innings to lift Minnesota a 5-0 win over Oakland Athletics in the opener of a three-game series.  The win was Twins’ 50th of the season, making them second team in American League and fifth in the majors to hit the milestone.

Padres 4, Rockies 2
Homers by Matt Kemp, Jedd Gyorko and Justin Upton accounted for all of San Diego’s runs and James Shields struggled through five innings to snap a three-game losing streak as the Padres opened the second half of the season with a 4-2 victory over the Colorado Rockies at Petco Park.
Shields ran his record to 8-3 with his first win since being 7-0 on June 3. Right-handed closer Craig Kimbrel picked up his 24th save in 25 chances as the Padres won their third straight game.

Giants 6, Diamondbacks 5 (12 innings)
San Francisco shortstop Brandon Crawford scored an unearned run in the 12th inning and the Giants ran their winning streak to four games with a 6-5, 12-inning victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field.
Crawford singled to open the 12th against Randall Delgado (4-3) and took second on a passed ball before left fielder Gregor Blanco walked with one out and right-hander Ryan Vogelsong beat out a bunt to load the bases.
Crawford scored when shortstop Cliff Pennington’s throw home on centre fielder Angel Pagan’s grounder bounced in front of the plate. The game lasted five hours and 11 minutes.