NEW YORK — Masahiro Tanaka improved to 9-1 in his first Major League Baseball campaign, throwing six strong innings for New York in the Yankees' 2-1 home victory over Oakland. The Japanese right-hander surrendered only one run, a solo home run by Oakland's John Jaso in the first inning, on five hits while striking out four A's batters in the triumph. Alfonso Soriano hit a run-scoring single in the second inning and Brett Gardner smacked a solo homer in the third to provide all the scoring Tanaka and his relief help would need as the Yankees snapped a four-game losing streak. Tanaka was named the American League Pitcher of the Month for May after going 5-1 in the month with a 1.88 earned run average in six starts. He struck out 42 batters while issuing only six walks over 43 innings. The Yankees improved to 30-29, six games behind the pace-setting Toronto Blue Jays in the AL East division. Blue Jays 7, Tigers 3 Juan Francisco and Brett Lawrie hit back-to-back home runs during a three-run sixth to power the Toronto Blue Jays to a 7-3 win over the Detroit Tigers. Rangers 8, Orioles 6 The Texas Rangers snapped a seven-game losing streak against Baltimore by storming past the Orioles in the seventh inning for an 8-6 victory. Brewers 8, Twins 5 The Milwaukee Brewers, powered by the long ball and two three-run rallies in the middle innings, defeated the Minnesota Twins 8-5. National League Giants 6, Reds 1 Shortstop Brandon Crawford hit a three-run home run and first baseman Michael Morse added a two-run shot to back Madison Bumgarner's solid eight innings to lift the San Francisco Giants to a 6-1 victory over the Cincinnati Reds. Bumgarner (8-3) was dominant following a rocky first inning, retiring 23 of the last 24 batters he faced. He allowed just one run on three hits and struck out five with no walks. Third baseman Todd Frazier hit his 12th home run for Cincinnati. Nationals 4, Phillies 2 Doug Fister won his fourth successive start as the Washington Nationals beat the Philadelphia Phillies 4-2. Fister (4-1) gave up two runs and just four hits in seven innings before reliever Tyler Clippard pitched a scoreless eighth. The Nationals scored three runs, headlined by first baseman Adam LaRoche's two-run homer, in the fifth inning against Kyle Kendrick (1-6) to take a 4-1 lead. Cubs 7, Mets 4 Anthony Rizzo went 2-for-4 with a go-ahead solo home run in the seventh inning as the Chicago Cubs wrapped up a three-game sweep of the New York Mets with a 7-4 victory. Diamondbacks 12, Rockies 7 Chris Owings homered and drove in four runs, Paul Goldschmidt and Miguel Montero also homered and the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Colorado Rockies 12-7. Inter-League Marlins 11, Rays 6 The Miami Marlins sent the Tampa Bay Rays to their 10th successive loss with an 11-6 victory at Tropicana Field. Marcell Ozuna went 3-for-5 with a homer and four RBIs for a Miami lineup that amassed 17 hits. Royals 3, Cardinals 2 Rookie right-hander Yordano Ventura pitched six strong innings and the Kansas City Royals grouped five hits in the sixth to score three runs and beat the cross-state rival St Louis Cardinals 3-2. Astros 8, Angels 5 Jose Altuve delivered a bases-loaded, two-out double in the eighth inning as the Houston Astros claimed an 8-5 win and a series victory over the Los Angeles Angels. — Agencies
