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ARLINGTON -- Tommy Hunter earned his first career victory on his 23rd birthday, Hank Blalock homered and the Texas Rangers won their third in a row, beating the Tampa Bay Rays 3-1 Friday night.
Hunter (1-1) was making his sixth career start and third this season. The right-hander allowed three hits and struck out five in 51/3 innings to help slow down baseball's top-scoring offense.
Jason Jennings, C.J. Wilson and Frank Francisco pitched 32/3 innings of scoreless relief to complete the three-hitter, which equals the fewest hits Tampa Bay has had this season. Francisco pitched a perfect ninth for his 13th save.
Blalock, who hit a two-run homer in the ninth to beat the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday night, had a two-run shot in the fourth.
B.J. Upton had an RBI single in the fifth, and the Rays were threatening to score more with runners on second and third in the inning.
Texas second baseman Ian Kinsler saved at least one run, and probably two, when he made a diving catch to his left on Carl Crawford's liner to end the fifth.
Scott Kazmir (4-5) made his second start for Tampa Bay, which has won eight of 11, since coming off the disabled list June 27. The left-hander gave up three runs -- one earned -- and struck out six in five innings.
In the bottom of the fourth, Andruw Jones reached on a throwing error from Tampa Bay shortstop Jason Bartlett.
Blalock was 0 for 7 lifetime with three strikeouts against Kazmir before he drove a 2-2 pitch into the seats in right to put the Rangers up 2-0.
Texas scored its second unearned run in the fifth.
Kinsler reached on a fielder's choice and took second when Ben Zobrist made a wild throw on a double-play attempt.
Marlon Byrd brought Kinsler home with an RBI double that made it 3-1.
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Giants 13, Astros 0: SAN FRANCISCO -- Pablo Sandoval hit a two-run homer to boost his bid for an All-Star spot and stake rookie Ryan Sadowski to an early lead.
Travis Ishikawa added a three-run homer that was initially ruled a double before the umpire crew went to the replay booth, at the urging of San Francisco skipper Bruce Bochy. The ball hit off the railing of the right-field arcade and Ishikawa stayed at second until getting to finish his trot about 3 minutes later.
Randy Winn added a two-run triple and Nate Schierholtz an RBI single in the Giants' six-run second that chased Felipe Paulino (2-5). San Francisco, which already had 14 of its 15 hits in the third inning, snapped a six-game losing streak to the Astros.
The Giants' runs were a season high and this was their majors-best 10th shutout. Jonathan Sanchez pitched two innings of relief to finish it.
Sadowski pitched another gem in his home debut, not allowing a hit until Lance Berkman's one-out single in the fourth. The 26-year-old righty has 13 scoreless innings to start his career, the longest such streak by a Giant since Mike Remlinger's 15 shutout innings in 1991, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
Sadowski worked six innings in his first big league start last Sunday in a 7-0 win at Milwaukee, then topped that with seven more scoreless inning. Pretty impressive for a guy who was never in major league camp this spring training and whose bio is buried among the minor leaguers in the back of the media guide.
Sandoval had an RBI triple in the third. If he and starters Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum are all All-Stars, it would be the first time the Giants have sent three players to the Midsummer Classic since Barry Bonds, Robb Nen and Benito Santiago in 2002.
Schierholtz added an RBI double in the third.
Paulino got in trouble in a hurry in his first career appearance against San Francisco, needing a mound visit in the first from pitching coach Dewey Robinson. The right-hander was tagged for nine runs -- eight earned -- and nine hits in two innings in his second start since being activated from the disabled list following a right groin strain. He beat the Tigers last Saturday, but this time saw his ERA go from 5.51 to 6.66.
The Astros took three of four from the Giants in San Francisco last year and captured the season series 7-1.
San Francisco scored its most runs since a 13-0 home win against Arizona on July 1, 2007.
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Tigers 11, Twins 9, 16 innings: MINNEAPOLIS -- Placido Polanco hit two extra-inning RBI singles, the second giving Detroit the lead for good in the 16th inning.
Polanco drove in a run in the top of the 14th off R.A. Dickey (1-1), but Michael Cuddyer's RBI single in the bottom half tied it at 8.
With runners on second and third in the 16th, Polanco lined a single through the left side of a drawn-in infield, scoring Ramon Santiago with the go-ahead run. Ryan Raburn and Magglio Ordonez added insurance runs.
Freddy Dolsi (1-0) gave up an unearned run in the bottom of the inning, but held on for his second career win.
The Twins rebounded from a 7-2 deficit with a five-run sixth, highlighted by Denard Span's two-run triple. Span finished with a career-high five hits.
Twins starter Kevin Slowey lasted three innings for the second consecutive start, allowing a season-high six runs.
Luke French made his major league starting debut for Detroit allowing two runs and six hits in 42/3 innings.
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Mariners 7, Red Sox 6: BOSTON -- Rob Johnson doubled home two runs in the 11th inning and Seattle beat Boston 7-6 on Friday night.
George Kottaras hit his first major-league homer in the bottom of the 11th for the Red Sox, who tied the game at 5 with two runs in the eighth inning.
Seattle's Ronny Cedeno hit a tie-breaking, two-run homer in a three-run fourth, three batters after a fan in the front row snatched a foul pop that third baseman Kevin Youkilis was attempting to make a play on.
Tim Wakefield made his 383rd start for the Red Sox, surpassing Roger Clemens for the top spot on the team's all-time list.
Jose Lopez added a solo homer for Seattle, which won for the 11th time in 16 games.
J.D. Drew hit a solo homer for the Red Sox, who saw their major league-best home record fall to 25-11.
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White Sox 5, Royals 0: KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- John Danks threw 7 1/3 shutout innings and got a big lift from reliever Scott Linebrink as Chicago won its seventh straight.
A. J. Pierzynski homered and he and Scott Podsednik both had three hits for the White Sox, who won for the 11th time in 13 games.
Chicago has won five straight over the Royals, who have lost seven of nine and scored just three runs in their last four games.
Zack Greinke (10-4) lost to the White Sox for the first time in three decisions this season.
Danks (7-6) gave up five hits while striking out seven and not allowing a walk. He left with one out in the seventh after the Royals loaded the bases. Linebrink came in and got a double play grounder from Alberto Callaspo. Linebrink earned his second save.
Greinke gave up four runs and nine hits in six innings and his major league-leading ERA went from 1.95 to 2.00.
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Yankees 4, Blue Jays 2: NEW YORK -- A.J. Burnett scattered six hits over seven innings and Robinson Cano and Alex Rodriguez homered for New York.
The Yankees rebounded from Thursday night's 8-4 loss to Seattle for their eighth win in nine games.
Burnett (7-4), who lost to his former team at Toronto on May 12, allowed two runs, struck out seven and walked two. Mariano Rivera struck out two in a perfect ninth for his 21st save in 22 chances.
Brian Tallet (5-6) gave up three runs -- two earned -- six hits and four walks in six innings, forcing in the go-ahead run with a bases-loaded walk to Mark Teixeira in the fifth.
That was the third walk of the inning for the Yankees, who made it 3-1 on a passed ball by Raul Chavez.
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Indians 15, Athletics 3: CLEVELAND -- Shin-Soo Choo homered twice and drove in a career-high seven runs and Cleveland snapped a five-game losing streak.
Choo had an RBI single, two-run double, three-run homer and capped his night with a solo shot, his 12th. It was Choo's second career multihomer game and the most RBIs by a Cleveland player since Grady Sizemore drove in seven last Aug. 21 against Kansas City.
Cleveland, with the worst record in the AL at 32-49, won for only the third time in 16 games. Asdrubal Cabrera had three RBIs in the Indians' biggest output since a 22-4 win at Yankee Stadium on April 18. They scored 13 runs and batted .195 during their five-game losing skid.
David Huff (4-3) gave up five doubles, but only three runs over six innings to improve to 4-1 in his last six starts.
Oakland opened a nine-game trip by losing for the seventh time in nine games as rookie Trevor Cahill (5-7) gave up five earned runs over 3 2/3 innings.
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Orioles 6, Angels 4: ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Aubrey Huff hit a three-run homer and Luke Scott doubled home two runs for Baltimore.
David Hernandez (2-2) allowed three runs and six hits over 62/3 innings after being staked to a 6-0 lead. The right-hander was making his fourth big league start.
George Sherrill got three outs for his 18th save.
Ervin Santana (1-4) went five innings, allowing six runs -- four earned -- eight hits and three walks in his first start off the disabled list. He missed two starts because of stiffness in his right forearm and triceps.
Scott hit two-out double in the first for a 2-0 lead. He has driven in at least one run in four consecutive games, equaling the longest streak of his four-year career.
Huff made it 5-0 in the third with his 11th homer of the season. He has 14 RBIs in his last 14 games and a team-leading 55 for the season.
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Dodgers 6, Padres 3: SAN DIEGO -- Manny Ramirez returned from his 50-game suspension for violating baseball's drug policy and he barely hit the ball out of the infield.
With more than half the crowd at sold-out Petco Park wearing Dodger blue and cheering him on, Ramirez went 0 for 3 with a walk. The farthest he hit the ball was a popup caught in shallow center field.
Ramirez popped up to end the sixth and was taken out of the game.
Rafael Furcal had four hits for the Dodgers and Russell Martin drove in two runs.
Hiroki Kuroda (3-4) and four relievers combined to hold the Padres to four hits. Jonathan Broxton pitched a perfect ninth for his 12th straight save and 20th in 22 chances.
The Dodgers took a 5-0 lead in the first against Chad Gaudin (4-7) on four hits, two walks and two throwing errors on the same play.
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Cardinals 7, Reds 4: CINCINNATI -- Albert Pujols hit his club-record fourth grand slam of the season, and Jarrett Hoffpauir drove in the go-ahead runs in the ninth inning with his first career hit.
Hoffpauir, playing his first major league game after being recalled Wednesday from Triple-A Memphis, capitalized on shortstop Paul Janish's two-out error with a bases-loaded single off Daniel Ray Herrera (1-4) to snap a 4-4 tie.
The win gave the Cardinals sole possession of first place in the NL Central, a game ahead of Milwaukee.
Pujols gave the Cardinals a 4-3 lead in the eighth with his 10th career slam, also a team record, but the Reds tied it on Ramon Hernandez's sacrifice fly in the bottom of the inning.
Pujols, who leads the majors with 31 home runs and 82 RBIs, added an RBI double in the ninth.
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Pirates 7, Marlins 4: MIAMI -- Brandon Moss and Ramon Vazquez homered and Charlie Morton pitched six shutout innings for Pittsburgh.
Hanley Ramirez failed to drive in a run for the first time in 11 games for Florida, which was coming off a three-game sweep of Washington.
Morton (1-1) gave up one hit, walked four and struck out four as the Pirates beat Florida for the fourth straight time and improved to 14-8 against the NL East.
Andrew McCutchen's run-scoring double and Jack Wilson's two-run double highlighted a three-run seventh that gave Pittsburgh a 7-0 lead.
John Baker had three RBIs, including a two-run homer in the ninth for the Marlins.
Florida starter Chris Volstad (5-8) allowed four runs and three hits in three innings.
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Braves 9, Nationals 8: WASHINGTON -- Pinch-hitter Brooks Conrad hit a go-ahead three-run homer in the seventh inning and Atlanta won its season-high fifth straight.
Conrad, a 29-year-old rookie whose contract was purchased from Triple-A Gwinnett to replace the injured Kelly Johnson, crushed a fastball from Jesus Colome (1-1) for his first career homer.
Boone Logan (1-0) pitched 12/3 perfect innings in relief. Rafael Soriano worked the ninth for his eighth save, despite yielding Cristian Guzman's two-out, two-run double.
Chipper Jones, Diaz and Escobar drove in two runs apiece for the Braves.
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Phillies 7, Mets 2: PHILADELPHIA -- Rodrigo Lopez took a three-hitter into the seventh inning in his first outing in two years, helping Philadelphia snap a six-game home losing streak.
Lopez (1-0) allowed two runs and six hits in 61/3 innings to earn his first win since beating the Phillies on July 7, 2007, when he played for Colorado. The right-hander hadn't pitched in the majors since having elbow ligament replacement surgery 23 months ago.
The NL East-leading Phillies were swept by Toronto and Baltimore in consecutive three-game series at Citizens Bank Park last month. They won for just the fifth time in 19 games.
Mets starter Livan Hernandez (5-4) lasted three-plus innings, allowing seven runs and 10 hits.
Jayson Werth hit a solo homer and Jimmy Rollins had two hits and two RBIs for the Phillies.
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Cubs 2, Brewers 1, 10 innings: CHICAGO -- Chicago's Jake Fox drew a bases-loaded walk from Mark DiFelice to force in the winning run with two outs in the 10th inning.
Ryan Theriot singled off second baseman Craig Counsell's glove with one out in the 10th and went to second on a wild pitch from DiFelice (4-1). After Theriot moved up on a fly ball, the Brewers intentionally walked Milton Bradley. With a 3-0 count on pinch-hitter Geovany Soto, DeFelice walked him intentionally to load the bases.
Fox fouled off four straight pitches before walking on a close 3-2 pitch that had DiFelice extending his arms and walking toward plate umpire Bill Welke as the Cubs celebrated.
The Brewers' run came in the fourth when Carlos Zambrano walked Corey Hart with the bases loaded. The Cubs tied it in the fifth on Zambrano's RBI single off Jeff Suppan.
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Rockies 5, Diamondbacks 0: DENVER -- Jorge De La Rosa pitched eight innings and Ian Stewart hit a solo homer for Colorado.
The Rockies have won a season-best six straight at Coors Field, and moved to 24-9 overall since Jim Tracy replaced Clint Hurdle as manager.
De La Rosa (5-7), who has never had a complete game, won for the fifth time in six starts, allowing four hits and striking out six. The left-hander got 14 groundball outs.
Max Scherzer (5-6) allowed six hits over six innings as the Diamondbacks lost for the eighth time in nine games.
The Diamondbacks had three more errors, running their season total to a major league-leading 74.
Stewart's homer in the second was his 15th of the season and it ended a 12-inning scoreless streak by Colorado.
