LOS ANGELES (AP) Los Angeles’ Zack Greinke beat San Francisco’s Madison Bumgarner in a premier pitching matchup, and the Dodgers defeated the Giants 2-1 on Tuesday to stretch the gap between the top two teams in the National League West division to 5-1/2 games.
The lead also grew in the NL Central as St. Louis downed Washington thanks to a three-run homer with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, moving six games clear of Pittsburgh, which lost to Milwaukee.
In the American League, Kansas City lost a tight contest at home against Detroit while Toronto won in 10 innings to end Cleveland’s hot streak.
The Dodgers have won the opening two games of the vital series against the Giants, and have taken seven of eight overall.
Greinke (15-3) allowed one run and one walk in 7 1-3 innings with five strikeouts. He is 7-0 in seven starts against the Giants since joining the Dodgers in 2012.
San Francisco’s Bumgarner (16-7) was an undeserving loser after giving up two runs and one walk in seven innings, with eight strikeouts.
St. Louis’ Brandon Moss hit a three-run walk-off homer with two outs in the ninth to lift the Cardinals past Washington 8-5.
The NL Central-leading Cardinals have won nine of 10 and lead the division by six games. They’ve won nine in a row over Washington.
Moss, who struck out with the bases loaded to end the third, more than made up for that when he homered off Casey Janssen (1-4) to end the game.
Detroit’s Justin Verlander threw his fifth consecutive quality start to guide the Tigers to a 6-5 win against Kansas City.
Verlander (3-6) gave up two unearned runs over 6 2-3 innings. He has a 0.76 ERA in his past five starts and the Tigers’ lone two victories since Aug. 19, including a shutout in his previous outing.
Ian Kinsler homered and drove in three runs for the Tigers, who had lost nine of their previous ten.
Toronto’s Ryan Goins hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the 10th inning to give the Blue Jays a 5-3 win against a Cleveland side that was coming off six straight victories.
Dioner Navarro singled off Bryan Shaw (3-3) to begin the 10th and was replaced by a pinch-runner. One out later, Goins drilled the game-winning homer into the right field bullpen.
The victory kept the Blue Jays 1-1/2 games clear atop the AL East.
Milwaukee’s Jimmy Nelson pitched seven dominant innings to guide the Brewers past Pittsburgh 7-4.
Nelson (11-10) gave up four hits, didn’t walk a batter and struck out six.
The Brewers had four consecutive hits in the first off Pirates ace Gerritt Cole (15-8) and grabbed a 3-0 lead before Cole retired his first batter. Cole gave up five runs in four innings.
Seattle’s Logan Morrison hit a tiebreaking two-run homer in the eighth inning to lift Seattle past Houston 7-5.
The game was tied 5-5 when Morrison sent a pitch from Pat Neshek (3-4) beyond right field.
New York’s Brett Gardner homered and Stephen Drew hit a two-run double as the Yankees pieced together just enough offense to defeat Boston 3-1.
Boston starter Rick Porcello (6-12) recorded a career-high 13 strikeouts and gave up one run in eight innings. However, the Red Sox bats gave him little support at the plate, stranding seven runners.
Boston had a promising rally going in the eighth that quickly fizzled on an attempted double steal.
Texas’ Elvis Andrus singled in the go-ahead run and then stole home to cap a four-run seventh inning as the Rangers defeated San Diego 8-6.
The Rangers broke a 4-4 tie on Andrus’ bases-loaded single off Sean Kelley. Two more runs scored on catcher Derek Norris’ error on the play. Andrus capped off the inning with a straight steal of home.
Prince Fielder hit a two-run homer for Texas, which held on despite the Padres loading the bases with no outs in the ninth, giving up only one run from that predicament.
Tampa Bay’s J.P. Arencibia homered and drove in six runs to power the Rays to an 11-2 thrashing of Baltimore.
Chicago’s Kyle Schwarber hit a go-ahead two-run home run in the seventh inning as the Cubs edged Cincinnati 5-4.
Minnesota’s Miguel Sano hit a towering home run to tie the game in the seventh inning, and two Chicago errors aided the go-ahead rally in the eighth as the Twins beat the White Sox 8-6.
Philadelphia’s Darin Ruf homered and had a career-high six RBIs, helping the Phillies emphatically end a 10-game losing streak against the New York Mets, beating the NL East leaders 14-8.
Los Angeles’ Kole Calhoun had three hits, including his 21st home run of the season, to lead the Angels past Oakland 6-2, ending a four-game skid.
Arizona swept a double-header against Colorado for the second time this season, taking the opener 6-4 and winning the night game 5-3.
Miami’s Justin Nicolino pitched seven scoreless innings to guide the Marlins past Atlanta 7-1.
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