Nova Stifles Yankees; Other MLB News
(AP) — It was a sweet victory of Ivan Nova on Sunday.
Nova limited his former club to a run and four hits over seven innings as the Pirates cooled off the New York Yankees, 2-1 in Pittsburgh. He struck out a season-high seven, walked one and blanked the Yankees until Jacoby Ellsbury's seventh-inning homer.
Gregory Polanco doubled and David Freese added a sacrifice fly to help the Bucs win for just the second time in eight games since their three-game sweep of the Cubs at Wrigley Field.
The Yanks lost for just the third time in their last 13 games and dropped to 3-6 on the road this season.
Elsewhere in the majors:
— The Nationals have a seven-game winning streak after Daniel Murphy belted a grand slam and Ryan Zimmerman added a two-run blast in a 6-3 win over the Mets in New York. Max Scherzer helped Washington complete a three-game sweep by working eight innings, allowing three runs and five hits with nine strikeouts. The Mets have dropped eight of nine to fall 5 ½ games behind the Nationals, who own baseball's top record at 13-5.
— Gerardo Parra hit a two-run homer and had three RBIs as the Rockies ripped the Giants, 8-0 in Colorado. Charlie Blackmon drove in two runs to back Kyle Freeland, who tossed six-hit ball over seven innings to help the Rockies improve to 13-6.
— Brandon McCarthy served up Paul Goldschmidt's two-run homer in the first before allowing just two more hits and lasting seven innings of the Dodgers' 6-2 win at Arizona. Yasmani Grandal homered in a six-run fifth that allowed Los Angeles to avoid a three-game sweep.
— Mookie Betts and Hanley Ramirez homered on successive pitches in a four-run first before Mitch Moreland added a solo blast to help Boston salvage the finale of its three-game series with the Orioles, 6-2. Red Sox starter Eduardo Rodriguez allowed one hit and five walks with seven strikeouts over six frames.
— Houston erased a four-run deficit before Brian McCann and Yuli Gurriel delivered RBI singles in the 10th inning of the Astros' ninth win in 11 games, 6-4. Carlos Correa slammed a two-run homer in the third and Jose Altuve added a solo shot two innings later before Evan Gattis extended the game with a sacrifice fly in the ninth.
— The Cardinals won for the sixth time in seven games since a 3-9 start as Mike Leake collected two RBIs while allowing two runs over six innings of a 6-4 win at Milwaukee. Eric Fryer and pinch-hitter Matt Adams provided two-run singles in the eighth to put St. Louis ahead, 6-2.
— Bronson Arroyo turned back the clock as the 40-year-old right-hander had his best outing since leaving the majors for 2 1/2 years, scattering three hits over six innings of Cincinnati's 7-5 win over the Cubs. Patrick Kivlehan's bases-loaded double highlighted a four-run sixth inning off John Lackey.
— Yu Darvish was sharp in his longest outing since undergoing Tommy John surgery two years ago, holding the Royals to five hits over eight innings to lead Texas to a 5-2 victory. The Rangers scored the tying and go-ahead runs without a hit in the fourth as Jurickson Profar walked with the bases loaded and Carlos Gomez poked an RBI grounder to break a 2-2 tie.
— John Hicks was 3-for-5 with his first big league homer and five RBIs as Detroit clobbered the Twins, 13-4 in Minnesota. Alex Avila hit a two-run homer, Victor Martinez had two ribbies and Michael Fulmer allowed two runs on four hits in seven innings.
— Melky Cabrera drove in a pair of runs and Derek Holland pitched one-run ball over six innings to lead the White Sox's 6-2 win against the Indians. Chicago collected just six hits in the first two games of the series and had a 23-inning scoreless streak before breaking out against Danny Salazar.
— Justin Bour's three-run blast capped a six-run sixth that sent Miami past the Padres, 7-3 in San Diego. Giancarlo Stanton had three hits, including an RBI single that chased starting pitcher Luis Perdomo.
— Marcus Stroman retired 14 straight batters and went the distance on a seven-hitter as the Blues Jays beat the Angels, 6-2 for just their fifth win in 18 games. The game was tied 2-2 until Devon Travis launched a two-run homer during Toronto's four-run eighth.
— Cesar Hernandez, Aaron Altherr and Odubel Herrera hit consecutive homers in the eighth as the Phillies downed the Braves, 5-2 to wrap up a three-game sweep. The game was tied 3-1 in the eighth until Hernandez slammed a two-run shot.
— The Mariners destroyed the Athletics, 11-1 as Taylor Motter hit his first career grand slam and Nelson Cruz crushed a three-run homer and collected five RBIs. Robinson Cano had two hits and Yovani Gallardo worked into the seventh for his first win with Seattle.