ASTROS 5, DIAMONDBACKS 1
HOUSTON -- Chris Carter homered twice, Dallas Keuchel (Arkansas Razorbacks) pitched eight strong innings and the Houston Astros beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-1 on Wednesday night.
Keuchel (8-3) won for the sixth time in seven starts. He allowed four hits and a run, striking out five and lowering his ERA to 2.38.
Carter's first solo home run made it 3-1 in the fourth inning, and he added an opposite-field shot in the seventh. It was the fifth career multiple home run game for Carter and the second this year.
Carter has struggled this season and is batting just .199, but his power is undeniable and he's tied for the team lead with 12 home runs.
Brandon McCarthy (1-9) allowed eight hits and four runs in six-plus innings to remain winless since May 3.
Aaron Hill homered in the fourth for Arizona's only extra-base hit.
George Springer had two hits and an RBI and fellow rookie Jon Singleton drove in a run as the Astros won for the fifth time in seven games.
McCarthy has had success in Houston in the past and entered the game 2-0 with a 0.60 ERA in his career at Minute Maid Park.
But the Astros got going against him early, with Springer singling in the first, Singleton drawing a walk and Jason Castro grounding an RBI single. Singleton was thrown out at third on the play.
Jonathan Villar singled to start Houston's third before a one-out single by Springer. Both players advanced on a wild pitch by McCarthy before Villar scored on a groundout by Singleton to make it 2-0.
The Diamondbacks didn't get a hit until Hill led off the fourth with his home run to the Crawford Boxes in left field to cut the lead to 2-1.
RANGERS 6, MARLINS 0 Yu Darvish pitched his first complete game in the majors, Shin-Soo Choo broke a long hitless streak with a three-run double and host Texas denied Miami's bid for a record interleague winning streak, beating the Marlins.
RAYS 6, CARDINALS 3 Desmond Jennings had a two-run single during a four-run fourth inning and host Tampa Bay snapped a club-record 31-inning scoring drought en route to beating St. Louis.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
BREWERS 3, METS 1 Jonathan Lucroy had three hits and Wily Peralta pitched into the seventh inning to send visiting Milwaukee past slumping New York.
PHILLIES 3, PADRES 0 Reid Brignac hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to lift Philadelphia to a victory over San Diego. The Phillies have won consecutive games for the first time since a three-game streak May 17-20.
REDS 5, DODGERS 0 Johnny Cueto matched his career high with 12 strikeouts in six innings, and Joey Votto and Jay Bruce each drove in runs, leading host Cincinnati to a victory over Los Angeles.
ROCKIES 8, BRAVES 2 Tyler Matzek pitched two-hit ball for the first seven innings of his major league debut before faltering in the eighth, and Colorado beat visiting Atlanta. The left-hander retired the first 13 hitters and 21 of 23.
PIRATES 4, CUBS 2 Andrew McCutchen homered and reached base four times as host Pittsburgh beat Chicago. The Pirates pounded Cubs starter Jason Hammel for 11 hits in five innings.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
RED SOX 1, ORIOLES 0 Brandon Workman allowed one hit over 6 2/3 innings, and visiting Boston beat Chris Tillman and Baltimore for its second victory in eight games. Mike Napoli's third-inning RBI single was all the offense the Red Sox needed to come out on the positive end of a pitcher's duel for the first time this season.
WHITE SOX 8, DETROIT 2 Jose Abreu hit an early home run off Justin Verlander, then singled to start a seven-run burst in the sixth inning that sent John Danks and host Chicago over Detroit. Abreu went 3 for 4 with a walk and scored twice.
TWINS 7, BLUE JAYS 2 Josh Willingham hit a two-run home run, Phil Hughes struck out a season-high nine and visiting Minnesota beat the Blue Jays.
ROYALS 4, INDIANS 1 Yordano Ventura dominated the Indians for seven stingy innings, and Kansas City scored all of its runs on sacrifice flies in a victory over visiting Cleveland. The four sacrifice flies tied a franchise record, and the Royals became only the second team to score four runs all on sacrifice flies since it became an official stat in 1954.
Sports on 06/12/2014