Ichiro’s homer lifts Yankees
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NEW YORK — Ichiro Suzuki homered for the first time since last August, prolonging extended slumps against the New York Yankees for Mark Buehrle and the Toronto Blue Jays.
Suzuki hit a go-ahead, three-run shot in the third inning, and the Yankees overcame an early deficit to beat the Blue Jays 6-4 Friday night for their 17th straight home win against Toronto.
Jose Bautista hit two homers to reach 20 for the fifth straight season. He also doubled and drove in four runs, but Buehrle couldn’t hold leads of 3-0 and 4-2. The All-Star left-hander dropped to 1-12 against the Yankees, including 10 straight losses over the past decade.
New York won for the seventh time in eight games since the All-Star break and moved one game in front of the third-place Blue Jays in the AL East. The Yankees are 26-10 against Toronto since September 2012.
Rays 6, Red Sox 4
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — David Price won his sixth start in a row, Evan Longoria hit a three-run double and the Tampa Bay Rays earned their eighth straight victory, beating the Boston Red Sox.
Price (11-7) struck out 10 over eight innings. He tied the team record shared by Matt Moore and Scott Kazmir for victories in consecutive starts.
This was Price’s first game against Boston since he hit David Ortiz with a fastball on May 30, setting off a verbal skirmish between the stars. There was no trouble between them this time.
Ben Zobrist got his fourth hit, an RBI double that made it 3-all in the Rays seventh. Later in the inning, Longoria delivered his go-ahead hit off Junichi Tazawa (1-2).
Jake McGee gave up a run in the ninth and got his 10th save.
Desmond Jennings homered off Boston starter Jon Lester.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Cubs 7, Cardinals 6
CHICAGO — Luis Valbuena hit a decisive two-run homer in the seventh inning, and the Chicago Cubs overcame a three-run deficit to hand the St. Louis Cardinals the fourth straight loss.
The teams combined for five home runs and 23 hits with a persistent wind at their backs.
The Cardinals tied the score 5-5 on solo homers by Matt Carpenter and Matt Holliday in the fifth inning. Pinch-hitter Oscar Taveras singled to break the tie in the sixth, but the lead was short-lived.
Kevin Siegrist (1-2) hit Anthony Rizzo with a full-count pitch to lead off the seventh. One batter later, Valbuena sent hit a first-pitch homer into the bleachers in center field.
Justin Grimm (3-2) pitched a scoreless inning for the win. Hector Rondon retired the side in the ninth for his 12th save in 15 chances.
Cubs starter Travis Wood did well to survive five innings after a rocky start. He allowed five runs — two earned — and seven hits with one walk.
Wood aided his cause with a solo homer off Joe Kelly in the fourth inning, his third of the season.
Nationals 4, Reds 1
CINCINNATI — Denard Span matched Cincinnati’s hit total with his four singles, and Tanner Roark allowed only three singles over seven innings, leading the Washington Nationals to a victory that extended their surge and the Reds’ slump.
The Nationals won for the seventh time in nine games. They are 56-44, the second-best mark after 100 games in franchise history. The 2012 club went 60-40 on its way to the NL East title.
The Reds remain stalled since the All-Star break, dropping all seven games for their longest losing streak in five years. It’s the first time they have lost their first seven games after the All-Star break since 1991, when they dropped eight in a row.
Span had four singles, stole a base and drove in a run off Alfredo Simon (12-5), who has lost both starts since his first All-Star selection. The Nationals piled up nine hits, two walks and three runs off Simon in only 4 1-3 innings.
Roark (10-6) became Washington’s first 10-game winner and improved to 3-0 in his last three starts. The right-hander has allowed three runs over 21 innings during those three wins.
Rafael Soriano gave up a walk and a double in the ninth while getting his 24th save in 27 chances and finishing the combined four-hitter.
Phillies 9, Diamondbacks 5
PHILADELPHIA — Domonic Brown homered, doubled and drove in three runs to lead the Philadelphia Phillies to a victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Grady Sizemore had three hits, including the 1,000th of his career, with a double and an RBI for Philadelphia, which had a rare offensive outburst.
The Phillies, who entered 12th in the NL in runs, scored at least nine for the eighth time this season and improved to 10-0 when reaching eight runs.
Kyle Kendrick (5-10) allowed three runs and six hits in 5 2-3 innings. It was the first win for Kendrick in his eighth career start against the Diamondbacks, giving the right-hander a victory over every NL team.
Padres 5, Braves 2
ATLANTA — Rookie Jesse Hahn allowed only three hits in six innings to remain unbeaten on the road and the San Diego Padres beat Atlanta to continue their recent success against the Braves.
Hahn (6-2) allowed one run as he improved to 4-0 in four road starts.
The Padres had 13 hits — 12 singles — to beat Alex Wood (7-8). Tommy Medica drove in a run and had a career-high four hits. Chris Denorfia had three hits and an RBI for San Diego.
The Padres, who were 5-1 against the Braves in 2013, have won five of their last six series against Atlanta since early in 2011.
