WASHINGTON (AP) Miami pitcher Jose Fernandez starred on the mound and at the plate, striking out 11 batters over seven innings and driving in two runs to lead the Marlins to a 5-1 win at Washington, further tightening the closely fought National League East division.
The Nationals still lead but are only 2-1/2 games ahead of the fourth-placed Marlins after the completion of an evenly split four-game series.
In the other key NL match-ups, Pittsburgh beat the Chicago Cubs for the first time this season, at the sixth attempt, and St. Louis won at Los Angeles to drop the Dodgers out of a share of the NL West division lead.
In the American League, Texas won the game and the fight as the Rangers beat Toronto to move to the top of the AL West and second baseman Rougned Odor landed a solid punch on the jaw of chief provocateur Jose Bautista.
Miami’s Fernandez threw a career-high 117 pitches, allowing just one run, and was the key figure in a three-run sixth inning which locked in the victory.
Giancarlo Stanton hit his 11th home run of the season, and also survived an outfield collision with Marcell Ozuna which handed Washington its only run; an inside-the-park homer by Ryan Zimmerman.
Chicago pitcher Jon Lester was tracking toward a no-hitter in the seventh inning and yet still ended up on the losing side as the Pirates won 2-1 at the Cubs.
Lester had permitted only two walks and retired 16 straight batters before Starling Marte lined a changeup pitch into right field.
Marte then scored on Jung Ho Kang’s double, and Kang homered in the eighth.
Pirates starter Gerritt Cole pitched eight scoreless innings for the win.
Texas’ 7-6 win against Toronto lifted the Rangers top of their division, but they probably took more satisfaction at belatedly getting some revenge on Bautista for his condescending bat flip during their playoff series last season.
Bautista made a hard slide toward Odor in the eighth inning, and the Texas second baseman responded with a right hook to the jaw. Players from both teams rushed the field and umpires needed about 10 minutes to restore order.
Blue Jays reliever Jesse Chavez hit Texas’ Prince Fielder with the first pitch after the game resumed. He was immediately tossed as one of eight ejections for the game, including Toronto manager John Gibbons.
St. Louis’ Matt Carpenter homered for the fifth time in eight games to help the Cardinals win 5-2 at the Dodgers.
Yadier Molina pinch hit in the seventh inning and put the Cardinals up 3-1 when he lined a pitch into the left field corner with two outs.
New York’s Chase Headley also provided a pinch-hit tiebreaking double in the seventh inning, lifting the Yankees to a 7-5 win against the Chicago White Sox.
Carlos Beltran launched his 400th career home run as the Yankees showed further improvement after a disappointing start to the season. They won seven of ten across three series against the high-flying White Sox and Boston and defending World Series champion Kansas City.
The AL Central-leading White Sox have lost 13 of their past 15 games at Yankee Stadium.
Colorado’s Ryan Raburn hit a go-ahead, two-run homer in the seventh inning that carried the Rockies past the New York Mets 4-3 to complete a three-game sweep.
Tyler Chatwood pitched seven solid innings and Carlos Gonzalez also homered for the Rockies, who swept the Mets for the first time since April 2013.
Boston’s Xander Bogaerts hit a three-run homer as the Red Sox edged Houston 10-9.
Ryan Hanigan had three singles and drove in four runs for the Red Sox, who completed a 6-1 homestand in which they score 73 runs.
San Francisco manager Bruce Bochy successfully challenged to get a game-ending double play after Brandon Crawford had apparently singled in a run in the ninth inning, and the Giants beat Arizona 2-1.
The Giants completed a four-game sweep and went clear atop the NL West.
Bochy challenged that initial call that Rickie Weeks was safe at first base on what turned out to be a 4-6-3 double play. If the call had stood, the tying run would have scored from third.
Detroit’s J.D. Martinez and Miguel Cabrera homered on consecutive pitches in the eighth inning to power the Tigers to a 6-5 win at Baltimore, ending the Orioles’ seven-game winning streak.
Los Angeles’ Hector Santiago pitched eight scoreless innings to steer the Angels to a 3-0 win at Seattle, completing a three-game sweep.
Cincinnati’s Eugenio Suarez hit a three-run homer to lift the Reds to a 9-4 win against Philadelphia.
Milwaukee’s Chris Carter hit a towering solo homer and a tiebreaking RBI double, breaking out of a long slump and leading the Brewers to a 3-2 victory against San Diego.
Oakland’s Danny Valencia hit three home runs, including a two-run shot in the ninth inning that lifted the Athletics to a 7-6 win against Tampa Bay.
Kansas City’s Kendrys Morales hit a walk-off two-run homer with two out in the 13th inning, giving the Royals a 4-2 victory over Atlanta.
Minnesota sealed its first road series victory this season by winning 5-1 at Cleveland, with Tyler Duffey pitching seven scoreless innings.
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