HOUSTON — Tampa Bay right-hander Chris Archer recorded the third shutout of his career as the Rays salvaged a series split with a 1-0 victory over the Houston Astros in the American League Thursday. Archer (11-9) allowed just one hit and issued one walk while recording 11 strikeouts, and needed only 98 pitches to stifle the Astros (66-56), who required walk-off, extra-inning wins to claim the middle two games of the four-game set. Behind brilliant starting pitching, the Rays (60-61) limited Houston to just eight total runs during the series and will feel a little aggrieved to have not earned more than just a split. “I thought about the fact that our bullpen needed to breathe a little bit and it was either get 130 pitches and go six or seven (innings), or go eight or nine and give everybody a complete blow,” Archer said. “So yeah, I thought about it. I didn't let it really affect how I was pitching. I pitched normal with the same mentality but I knew that was going to be important.” Rays left fielder Desmond Jennings drove in the only run of the game with a single in the fourth inning, scoring second baseman Logan Forsythe. Red Sox 4, Royals 1 Left-hander Wade Miley earned his team-high 10th victory with 7-1/3 strong innings while catcher Ryan Hanigan had a two-run single in a three-run third inning as the Boston Red Sox beat the Kansas City Royals 4-1. Miley allowed only a solo homer to third baseman Mike Moustakas in the fifth inning. Tigers 4, Rangers 0 Alfredo Simon allowed just one hit while Nick Castellanos drove in two runs with a single and a sacrifice fly to help the Detroit Tigers beat the Texas Rangers. Simon struck out five and walked two as he pitched the first shutout of his career and first complete game in his 74th career start. Indians 3, Yankees 2 Right-hander Josh Tomlin pitched seven innings for his first win as a starting pitcher in more than a year as the Cleveland Indians held on for a 3-2 victory over the New York Yankees. In his second major league start following right shoulder surgery in March, Tomlin (1-1) allowed a home run to designated hitter Alex Rodriguez among two hits, while he struck out six and issued two walks. Twins 15, Orioles 2 Miguel Sano and Eduardo Escobar both homered while rookie starter Tyler Duffey threw 7-2/3 solid innings as the Minnesota Twins beat the Baltimore Orioles. The game was delayed by rain for two hours, 31 minutes at the start. White Sox 8, Angels 2 The Chicago White Sox broke open a tie game with a five-run fifth inning to post an 8-2 win over the Los Angeles Angels. Center fielder Adam Eaton, third baseman Tyler Saladino, first baseman Adam LaRoche and catcher Geovany Soto all had two hits for Chicago. National League Pirates 4, Giants 0 Charlie Morton pitched into the seventh inning while Neil Walker hit a two-run home run as the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the San Francisco Giants. Morton (8-4) scattered four hits over 6-2/3 innings while striking out eight and walking two. Walker hit his 13th home run of the season in the sixth inning off right-handed starter Jake Peavy (3-6) to push the Pirates' lead to 4-0. Diamondbacks 5, Reds 4 Center fielder A.J. Pollock hit a two-run single in the eighth to lift the Arizona Diamondbacks to a 5-4 victory over the Cincinnati Reds. Pollock went 4-for-5 with three RBIs. Marlins 9, Phillies 7 Third baseman Martin Prado and center fielder Marcell Ozuna each hit two-run homers to lead the Miami Marlins to a 9-7 win over the Philadelphia Phillies. Marlins left-hander Brad Hand (3-3) allowed four hits, two walks and one run in six innings. He struck out five. Cubs 7, Braves 1 Chris Coghlan went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and scored twice while right-hander Jake Arrieta pitched six shutout innings to help the Chicago Cubs post a 7-1 victory over the Atlanta Braves. Arrieta (15-6) allowed four hits, struck out seven and walked one. Rockies 3, Nationals 2 Yohan Flande pitched a career-high seven innings as the Colorado Rockies beat the Washington Nationals 3-2. The loss dropped the Nationals four games behind the idle New York Mets in the National League East. — Agencies
