AMERICAN LEAGUE

McCann's home run in 11th wins it for Tigers

Detroit Tigers' James McCann rounds the bases on his walk-off home run during the 11th inning of a baseball game against the Houston Astros, Thursday, May 21, 2015, in Detroit.
Detroit Tigers' James McCann rounds the bases on his walk-off home run during the 11th inning of a baseball game against the Houston Astros, Thursday, May 21, 2015, in Detroit.

DETROIT -- James McCann (Arkansas Razorbacks) hasn't hit many home runs in the major leagues, but when he has connected, he's done it with style.

McCann's first home run came on an inside-the-park jolt last month. His second home run came Thursday -- a leadoff drive in the bottom of the 11th inning that lifted the Detroit Tigers over the Houston Astros, 6-5.

"I'm not sure what I'm going to do for an encore," McCann said. "I'm hoping to play long enough up here to hit a bunch of normal homers, too."

McCann hit Tony Sipp's 0-2 splitter into the Tigers bullpen, just beyond the reach of leaping left fielder Colby Rasmus.

"He threw me the same pitch on 0-1, and I swung at it in the dirt," McCann said. "On 0-2, I wanted to make sure to get something in the zone, and he left it up a little."

Alex Wilson (2-0) pitched two scoreless innings for the victory.

Detroit led 5-0 after six innings. Pinch hitter Preston Tucker tied it with one out in the ninth, connecting off Joakim Soria for his first career home run.

"That was great," Astros Manager A.J. Hinch said. "To see a kid come off the bench and get his first home run in a huge spot to tie the game against a closer who is having a great year."

Astros reliever Josh Fields got the first out in the bottom of the ninth, but had to leave the game after Anthony Gose's liner hit him on the right knee. Will Harris came in to strike out Ian Kinsler and Miguel Cabrera to send the game to extra innings.

Tigers starter David Price allowed 3 runs -- two earned -- while striking out 12 in 6 2/3 innings.

Houston starter Scott Feldman gave up 5 runs on 10 hits and a walk in 6 innings.

ORIOLES 5, MARINERS 4 Steve Pearce hit his first career grand slam, J.J. Hardy singled in the tiebreaking run in the eighth inning and host Baltimore weathered a lengthy rain delay and a comeback by Seattle. After Pearce connected in the first inning for a 4-0 lead, the Orioles managed only one more hit until Chris Davis led off the eighth with a single off Danny Farquhar (0-3). Davis advanced on a groundout and scored on an awkward slide after Hardy bounced a single up the middle. Tommy Hunter (1-1) worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the eighth and Zach Britton got three straight outs for his ninth save.

RAYS 3, ATHLETICS 0 Alex Colome (3-1) and four relievers combined on a six-hitter, David DeJesus drove in two runs and host Tampa Bay beat Oakland to take sole possession of first place in the AL East.

RANGERS 3, RED SOX 1 Mitch Moreland hit a home run and drove in two runs, Wandy Rodriguez pitched 6 2/3 solid innings and visiting Texas beat Boston.

BLUE JAYS 8, ANGELS 4 R.A. Dickey snapped a two-start losing streak with a complete game, Edwin Encarnacion hit a three-run home run and host Toronto beat Los Angeles.

INDIANS 5, WHITE SOX 2 Danny Salazar threw six scoreless innings and was backed by first-inning home runs from Nick Swisher and Mike Aviles, leading visiting Cleveland past Chicago.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

GIANTS 4, DODGERS 0 Madison Bumgarner hit a home run off Clayton Kershaw and once again outpitched the reigning NL MVP and Cy Young winner, too, as the host San Francisco Giants shut out the Los Angeles Dodgers for the third consecutive day. The Giants outscored the Dodgers 10-0 in sweeping the three-game series. This was the third time this season that Bumgarner, the current World Series MVP, had started against Kershaw -- the Giants have won all three.

METS 5, CARDINALS 0 Jacob deGrom retired his final 23 batters following a first-inning single, and Lucas Duda hit two long home runs to nearly the same spot in host New York's victory over St. Louis. In his latest stingy start at Citi Field, deGrom struck out 11 over eight dominant innings. His only blemish was Matt Carpenter's clean single with one out in the first. Michael Cuddyer had his first three-hit game of the season and also walked for a perfect day at the plate. John Mayberry Jr. put the slumping Mets lineup on the scoreboard with an RBI single in the fourth.

BRAVES 10, BREWERS 1 Julio Teheran pitched seven strong innings and host Atlanta took advantage of Milwaukee reliever Will Smith’s seventh-inning ejection for allegedly using pine tar.

CUBS 3, PADRES 0 Kyle Hendricks threw a five-hitter for his first career complete game and shutout, and Kris Bryant hit a two-run home run to help visiting Chicago beat San Diego.

ROCKIES 7, PHILLIES 3 Michael McKenry hit a two-run home run and Jorge De La Rosa became Colorado’s career strikeouts leader, helping the host Rockies beat Philadelphia.

DIAMONDBACKS 7, MARLINS 6 A.J. Pollock beat out a run-scoring infield hit with two out in the eighth inning, and visiting Arizona beat Miami to complete its first four-game sweep in seven seasons. It was the fifth four-game road sweep in Diamondbacks history. The Marlins mishandled two sacrifice bunts, including one in the eighth, and fell to 0-7 on their homestand. The Marlins' seven-game losing streak is their longest since they dropped eight consecutive in April 2014. Dan Jennings fell to 0-4 since he replaced Mike Redmond as manager. It's the worst start by a first-time manager since Tony DeFrancesco opened 0-4 after taking over Houston in 2012. Arizona's Yasmany Tomas had two hits for his sixth consecutive multi-hit game. The four-game sweep was the first for the Diamondbacks since September 2008 against the Giants.

ROCKIES 7, PHILLIES 3 Michael McKenry hit a two-run home run and Jorge De La Rosa became Colorado's career strikeouts leader, helping the host Rockies beat Philadelphia. De La Rosa fanned Freddy Galvis on the fourth for this 774th strikeout in a Rockies uniform, moving past Ubaldo Jimenez. The left-hander struck out five in 4 1/3 innings. Christian Bergman (2-0) got two flyouts in the fifth. Troy Tulowitzki added a two-run single for the Rockies. Brandon Barnes, just recently called up from Triple-A Albuquerque, had four hits.

Sports on 05/22/2015

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