Cubs Drop Rockies In 16th – MLB Roundup

UNDATED (AP) — The Oakland Athletics were able to pad their lead in the American League West by rallying for a victory in Houston while the Los Angeles Angels were losing in extra innings.

The A's erupted for six runs in the ninth inning to beat the Astros 7-4. Alberto Callaspo (ky-AS'-poh) sparked the rally with a two-run single before Yoenis Cespedes (yoh-EH'-nehs SEHS'-peh-dehs) and Brandon Moss added RBI singles to put the Athletics ahead. Josh Donaldson capped the rally with a two-run double as the A's moved 2 ½ games ahead of the second-place Angels.

The Angels were 7-6 losers in Baltimore on Manny Machado's leadoff homer in the bottom of the 12th. Nick Markakis (mahr-KAY'-kihs) hit a three-run homer and Adam Jones added a solo blast before the Orioles improved to 12-3 in extra innings.

The Birds blew a 6-4 lead before maintaining their 2 ½-game lead over Toronto in the AL East.

The Blue Jays kept pace with the O's as Marcus Stroman held Boston to a run and six hits while fanning eight over seven innings of Toronto's 4-2 triumph at Fenway Park. Anthony Gose snapped a 1-1 tie with a two-run double in the fourth after Colby Rasmus homered.

Detroit's lead in the AL Central remains five games over Kansas City. Jose Abreu (ah-BRAY'-oo) was 3-for-4 with a two-run homer and four RBIs as the Chicago White Sox blasted the Tigers 11-4 in Detroit. Alexei Ramirez added a three-run double and Adam Dunn smacked a solo homer to help the Chisox deal the Tigers their fourth consecutive loss.

The Royals were held to no runs and two hits by Kyle Gibson over seven innings of Minnesota's 2-1 triumph at Kansas City. Brian Dozier's RBI single in the fifth put the Twins ahead 2-0.

The Tampa Bay Rays continued their torrid stretch while dealing the Milwaukee Brewers their third straight loss.

Alex Cobb struck out 12 while limiting the Brewers to a run and three hits in eight innings of the Rays' 11th victory in 12 games, 5-1 at St. Petersburg. Ben Zobrist (ZOH'-brihst) tied the game with a solo homer in the sixth before his RBI double triggered the Rays' four-run eighth. Logan Forsythe added an RBI double and scored on Brandon Guyer's two-run single.

The surging Rays are one game under .500 for the first time since April 23.

The Pirates are within one game of the NL Central-leading Brewers after Francisco Liriano struck out 11 and allowed just four hits over seven innings of Pittsburgh's 3-1 triumph at San Francisco. Josh Harrison hit a solo homer and Travis Snider added a two-run blast to help Liriano win his second consecutive start since opening the season 1-7.

The Cardinals' 3-1 loss at San Diego keeps St. Louis 1 1/2 games behind Milwaukee. Jedd Gyorko (JUR'-koh) singled home the tiebreaking run, Yangervis Solarte (yahn-JUR'-vihs soh-LAHR'-tay) added a solo homer and Tyler Ross struck out seven in six innings to lead the Padres.

The Dodgers doubled up Atlanta 8-4 to stretch their lead in the NL West to three games over the Giants while keeping the Braves a half-game behind the NL East-leading Nationals. Matt Kemp led the Dodgers' 15-hit attack with a pair of two-run homers, and Yasiel Puig (YAH'-see-ul pweeg) went 4-for-5 with two runs scored.

Miami's Henderson Alvarez surrendered just three hits in seven innings of a 3-0 shutout of Washington. Giancarlo Stanton hit an RBI double and a run-scoring single in the Marlins' sixth consecutive win.

Elsewhere in the majors:

— Brett Gardner hit a leadoff homer and was 4-for-5 with three runs scored as the New York Yankees won a 12-11 slugfest against the Rangers in Texas. Mark Teixeira (teh-SHEHR'-uh) added a two-run homer and scored three times to help the Yankees overcome J.P. Arencibia's (ar-ehn-SEE'-bee-uhz) grand slam and solo homer.

— Seattle was a 5-2 winner at Cleveland behind the pitching of Hisashi Iwakuma (hih-SAH'-shee ih-wah-KOO'-mah), who surrendered two runs and six hits in seven innings. Dustin Ackley led the Mariners' offense with three hits, including a two-run double.

— Mike Leake was sharp in Cincinnati's 3-0 blanking of Arizona, allowing five hits and striking out eight over 7 2/3 innings. Leake, Todd Frazier and Brayan Pena furnished RBI singles as the Reds won for only the second time in 11 games to move back to .500.

— Cole Hamels struck out eight while scattering six hits in eight innings of Philadelphia's 6-0 shutout of the New York Mets. The Phillies' runs came on homers as Jimmy Rollins and Grady Sizemore hit solo shots before Chase Utley launched a grand slam.

—The Chicago Cubs won a marathon against Colorado, beating the Rockies 4-3 on Starlin Castro's sacrifice fly with two out in the bottom of the 16th. Cubs third baseman Emilio Bonifacio (boh-nah-FAH'-see-oh) came within a triple of the cycle, going 4-for-7 with a pair of solo homers.

CINCINNATI (AP) — Cincinnati Reds outfielder Jay Bruce went on the bereavement list before the second game of a series against the Arizona Diamondbacks. The team did not provide details to honor Bruce's privacy. Bruce is eligible to rejoin the team Friday in Miami.