Philadelphia Phillies' Carlos Ruiz (R) hits a two-run home run as Los Angeles Dodgers' catcher Tim Federowicz (L) looks on along with home plate umpire Hunter Wendelstedt during the ninth inning of their game in Los Angeles Monday. — AP
OAKLAND – Third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff went 2-for-4 with a double and scored the go-ahead run in the eighth inning as the Texas Rangers rallied from a 3-1 deficit to beat the Oakland A's 4-3 in the opener of a three-game series. Relievers Jason Frasor, Neal Cotts, Alexi Ogando and Joakin Soria combined to blank the A's (13-6) in the final three innings. Soria posted his fourth save and Cotts picked up the win for Texas (12-8). Rangers right-hander Yu Darvish gave up three runs and eight hits in six innings and received his third straight no-decision. Orioles 7, Red Sox 6: The Baltimore Orioles jumped on Boston Red Sox right-hander Clay Buchholz for six runs in the third inning, driving him from the game with just one out in the inning, on their way to a victory. Wei-Yin Chen allowed three runs over five innings for Baltimore (9-9) and their bullpen held off Boston (9-11) the rest of the way. White Sox 3, Tigers 1: John Danks scattered six hits in 6-1/3 innings and the Chicago White Sox used a three-run seventh to down the Detroit Tigers. Danks (2-0) constantly pitched out of trouble for the White Sox (10-10) while striking out just one Detroit (9-7) batter. Indians 4, Royals 3: Jason Kipnis and Michael Brantley both belted two-run home runs and right-hander Zach McAllister pitched into the seventh inning to get the win as the Cleveland Indians beat the Kansas City Royals. McAllister pitched six innings and gave up three runs (two earned) on six hits, with two strikeouts as he improved his record to 3-0. The Indians (9-10) trailed 3-2 before Kipnis' blast in the sixth. Astros 7, Mariners 2: The worst offense in the American League erupted for six runs off Seattle ace Felix Hernandez, all of them coming in the fifth and sixth innings, and Houston rolled on to a victory over the Seattle Mariners to snap a seven-game losing streak. Seattle (7-12) has now lost seven in a row, the longest current streak in baseball. National League — Cubs 5, Diamondbacks 1 Travis Wood pitched seven strong innings and helped his cause with a three-run homer and an RBI double as the Cubs won the opener of a four-game series. Wood's four RBIs matched a career-high and also tied a career-best with nine strikeouts for Chicago (6-12). Pirates 6, Reds 5: Neil Walker's RBI single — his third hit of the game — with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning rallied the Pittsburgh Pirates to a victory over the Cincinnati Reds. Pittsburgh (9-11) outfielder Andrew McCutchen tied the score 5-5 with a leadoff home run in the eighth to set up the winning hit in the ninth. Mets 2, Cardinals 0: Jenrry Mejia threw 6-2/3 strong innings and combined with three relievers on a six-hit shutout as the New York Mets beat the St Louis Cardinals. Catcher Travis d'Arnaud had two hits, including an RBI single in the sixth, for the Mets (10-9), while David Wright boosted his hitting streak to 12 games with a third-inning RBI single. Elsewhere it was: Phillies 7, Dodgers 0; Brewers 4, Padres 3; Rockies 8, Giants 2; Braves 4, Marlins 2 (10 innings). Inter-League — Angels 4, Nationals 2 Pinch-hitter Raul Ibanez lined a bases loaded double to left-center with two outs in the eighth against reliever Tyler Clippard to break a 1-1 tie as the Los Angeles Angels beat the Washington Nationals. Erick Aybar went 3-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI for Los Angeles (9-10). – Reuters
