TORONTO — Carlos Beltran and Mark Teixeira hit solo home runs, but the big difference for the New York Yankees Saturday was Masahiro Tanaka. The right-hander pitched his first complete game of the season, and the fourth of his career, in a 4-1 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays.
“Just an unbelievable job by Masahiro,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. “We had him on a short leash (in the ninth), but we sent him back out there.”
Tanaka (9-5) allowed five hits, three walks and one run while striking out eight.
“He was great,” Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. “He was on. He was hitting his spots, both sides. Nice little split, was dotting his fastball.”
Beltran's first-inning home run was his second of the series. He won the game for the Yankees Friday with a three-run, pinch homer in the eighth.
The Yankees (64-51) have won three successive game to move 1-1/2 games ahead of the second-place Blue Jays (64-54) in the American League East.
Red Sox 22, Mariners 10: Jackie Bradley Jr. slugged a pair of two-run home runs and had seven RBIs as the Boston Red Sox lit up Seattle ace Felix Hernandez for 10 runs in 2-1/3 innings in their 22-10 rout of the Mariners.
Bradley hit his homers in the second and eighth innings, added an RBI-double in the sixth and a two-run double in the seventh.
Bradley had five hits, while shortstop Xander Bogaerts and catcher Blake Swihart each had four hits for Boston. Designated hitter David Ortiz had three hits and three RBIs.
Orioles 4, Athletics 3: Chris Davis hit his second homer of the game, a solo shot off switch pitcher Pat Venditte with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, to give the Baltimore Orioles a 4-3 victory over the Oakland A's.
The A's took an early 3-0 lead and the Orioles used two homers to tie it before Davis's walk-off homer.
Rangers 12, Rays 4: Third baseman Adrian Beltre punctuated Texas' seven-run sixth inning with a three-run home run in the Rangers' 12-4 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays.
Texas (58-57) moved within 1-1/2 games of the second wild-card spot in the American League and four games behind the Houston Astros in the AL West. Texas right fielder Shin-Soo Choo was 3-for-4 with a double, his 15th home run and three RBIs. Catcher Chris Gimenez had two run-scoring hits and three RBIs, including a two-run home run.
Cardinals 6, Marlins 2: Mark Reynolds lined a three-run homer to center field in the bottom of the sixth inning to lift St. Louis to a 6-2 win over the Miami Marlins.
John Lackey (10-7) went 8-1/3 innings, scattering nine hits and allowing two runs with one walk and six strikeouts. Diamondbacks 8, Braves 4: Patrick Corbin allowed just three hits and struck out eight over 6-2/3 scoreless innings as the Diamondbacks defeated the Braves.
Left fielder Dave Peralta had three RBIs and first baseman Paul Goldschmidt delivered a two-run double in the ninth inning for the Diamondbacks after the Braves had scored four times in the eighth.
Brewers 4, Phillies 2: Jean Segura drove in the go-ahead run with a single in the seventh inning while Scooter Gennett recorded a career-best four hits to lift the Milwaukee Brewers to a 4-2 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies.
Pirates 5, Mets 3 (14 innings): Chris Stewart delivered a pinch-RBI single in the top of the 14th inning as the Pittsburgh Pirates went on to beat the New York Mets.
It was the second successive extra-inning win for the Pirates (68-46), who remained 1-1/2 games ahead of the Chicago Cubs in the National League wild-card race.
Right-hander Joe Blanton (2-0) picked up the win, giving up one hit in three innings before Mark Melancon converted his 35th successive save opportunity, and 37th overall, allowing one hit in the 14th.
Cubs 6, White Sox 3: The Chicago Cubs will gladly take the results of a 6-3 victory over the Chicago White Sox for their ninth successive win. Right-hander Jake Arrieta pitched 6-2/3 innings to pick up the win and right-hander Hector Rondon worked the ninth for his 21st save. Arrieta allowed three runs and struck out five in his third successive win. — Agencies
