Angels finish sweep behind Trout's 31st home run

AMERICAN LEAGUE

ANGELS 8, ATHLETICS 1

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Mike Trout hit his career-high 31st homer and drove in three runs, rookie Matt Shoemaker pitched seven shutout innings of five-hit ball, and the Los Angeles Angels finished off a four-game sweep, beating the Oakland Athletics 8-1 on Sunday.

The Angels won their sixth in row and own the best record in the majors at 83-53. They shut out the A's for 29 consecutive innings while opening a five-game lead atop the AL West heading into September.

Trout had a two-run single during a six-run second inning. Chris Iannetta homered and had three hits for Los Angeles, which has won 15 of 19. The A's have lost 14 of 20.

Shoemaker (14-4) won for the sixth time in August and extended his scoreless streak to 23 1/3 innings.

Scott Kazmir (14-7) got just four outs. A's Manager Bob Melvin was ejected for arguing balls and strikes after pulling Kazmir.

ORIOLES 12, TWINS 8 J.J. Hardy hit his fourth career grand slam during a seven-run sixth inning, Nelson Cruz connected for his major league-leading 35th home run and Ryan Flaherty also homered, leading host Baltimore over Minnesota. Caleb Joseph had a career-high four hits for the Orioles, who lead the AL East lead by nine games over the Yankees. Wei-Yin Chen (14-4) allowed 4 runs and 8 hits in 6 2/3 innings.

WHITE SOX 6, TIGERS 2 Jose Quintana allowed two runs over seven innings to earn his first victory in more than a month, and the host Chicago White Sox beat Detroit. Adam Eaton doubled twice and scored two runs. Jose Abreu extended his hitting streak to 12 games. The Tigers held star Miguel Cabrera out of the lineup because of a sore right foot.

BLUE JAYS 4, YANKEES 3 Jose Bautista homered for the fifth straight game and the host Toronto Blue Jays erased a three-run deficit to beat the New York Yankees. Derek Jeter had a chance to tie it for the Yankees in the ninth inning but popped up with a runner on third for the final out in his last regular-season at-bat in Toronto.

RAYS 3, RED SOX 0 Clay Buchholz threw a three-hitter to stop his string of seven starts without a victory, leading the host Boston Red Sox over Tampa Bay. Buchholz (6-8) walked none and struck out six. Only one runner reached second base during his second shutout this season and the sixth of his career. The right-hander's previous victory came over Kansas City on July 18.

ASTROS 3, RANGERS 2 Matt Dominguez hit a tying homer and Jose Altuve's fourth hit drove in the go-ahead run as the host Houston Astros rallied in the eighth inning to beat Texas.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

BRAVES 1, MARLINS 0 Alex Wood struck out 12 in eight dominant innings and Evan Gattis homered to help host Atlanta beat Miami. The Marlins had gone 60 games without getting shut out, the longest active streak in the majors.

GIANTS 15, BREWERS 5 Pablo Sandoval hit a two-run homer among his three RBIs and finished a double shy of the cycle, powering host San Francisco past Milwaukee to match a season high with its sixth consecutive victory. Madison Bumgarner (16-9) followed up his 1-hit gem Tuesday against Colorado with 7 strikeouts in 6 innings.

CARDINALS 9, CUBS 6 Matt Holliday hit his third home run in two games and broke an eighth-inning tie with a two-run single, rallying host St. Louis past Chicago. Holliday had three hits and four RBI for the Cardinals, who tied Milwaukee for first place in the NL Central.

DODGERS 7, PADRES 1 Hyun-Jin Ryu came off the disabled list to pitch four-hit ball over seven innings, and Matt Kemp singled in the go-ahead run as Los Angeles avoided a three-game sweep in San Diego. Ryu (14-6) struck out seven and walked none while allowing one run.

DIAMONDBACKS 6, ROCKIES 2 Chase Anderson pitched six strong innings in host Arizona's victory over Colorado. Anderson (8-6) gave up five hits and one run while matching his career high with eight strikeouts. Nolan Reimold's first career pinch-hit homer in the seventh was the decisive hit.

REDS 3, PIRATES 2 Chris Heisey hit two home runs, including a tiebreaking shot in the ninth inning, and Johnny Cueto overcame an early jolt to earn his 16th victory as visiting Cincinnati beat Pittsburgh. Heisey's solo drive with one out in the ninth off Jared Hughes (6-5) helped the Reds avoid getting swept at PNC Park.

METS 6, PHILLIES 5 Anthony Recker snapped a sixth-inning tie with a three-run homer in a rare start, and host New York held off Philadelphia to avoid dropping into last place.

INTERLEAGUE

MARINERS 5, NATIONALS 3 Dustin Ackley homered and drove in four runs and the host Seattle Mariners averted a three-game sweep, overcoming a pair of home runs by Bryce Harper to beat Washington. Nate Schierholz also homered for Washington. The NL East-leading Nationals hit 10 home runs in the series.

Sports on 09/01/2014

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