Samardzija, Pitching for A's, Finally Gets Some Run Support
Marcus Stroman and two relievers combined on a one-hitter, and Juan Francisco drove in four runs, coming within a double of the cycle as the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Boston Red Sox, 8-0, at home on Thursday.
Stroman's no-hit bid ended in the seventh, when Shane Victorino blooped a single to center field to lead off the inning. One out later, Victorino was erased on Mike Napoli's double-play grounder.
Stroman (6-2) only allowed two other base runners on walks and struck out seven in seven innings. A rookie right-hander, Stroman is 5-1 with an earned run average of 1.54 in seven home starts.
Todd Redmond worked the eighth and Rob Rasmussen finished.
The Red Sox slugger David Ortiz injured his lower back on a swing in the ninth inning and was replaced by Jonny Gomes, who flied out to end the game. Francisco tripled and scored in the second, hit a two-run homer in the third and added a two-run single in the fifth as the Blue Jays won for the fifth time in six games.
The Red Sox right-hander Rubby De La Rosa allowed seven runs, six earned, in a season-low four-plus innings, raising his E.R.A. from 2.64 to 3.54. De La Rosa (3-3) walked two and struck out one.
Cabrera opened the scoring on a passed ball with the bases loaded in the first. Toronto made the score 3-0 in the second when Francisco tripled off the glove of Jackie Bradley Jr. and scored on Ryan Goins's double, with Goins coming home on Cabrera's first double.
Francisco made the score 5-0 with his two-out homer in the third, then added a bases-loaded single off Burke Badenhop in the sixth.
Cabrera made the score 8-0 when he doubled home Jose Reyes against Edward Mujica in the eighth.
ATHLETICS 13, ASTROS 1 Brandon Moss hit a grand slam and Oakland gave Jeff Samardzija more run support than he has had all season in a victory over Houston at home.
Jed Lowrie had three hits and drove in a run for the A's, who have the best record (63-38) in baseball and are a season-best 25 games over .500.
Chris Carter hit a home run for the Astros, who fell to 2-4 since the All-Star break.
Samardzija (2-1) gave up a leadoff single to Jose Altuve and then retired 10 straight before Carter's 20th home run put Houston on the board. He did not walk a batter and struck out six.
Carter was the lone Astro to venture past second base against Samardzija, who retired 12 of 13 after Carter's blast. Samardzija was 2-7 with the Cubs despite a 2.83 E.R.A. He entered with the third-lowest run support in the majors at 3.05 per outing.
PHILLIES 2, GIANTS 1 Cole Hamels pitched eight strong innings and Chase Utley had a run-scoring single to lift host Philadelphia to a victory over San Francisco.
Hamels (5-5) gave up six hits while striking out 10 and walking one. San Francisco's Tim Hudson (8-7) gave up two runs in six innings, both unearned. He struck out six and walked two.
The Giants, who were looking for their first four-game sweep in Philadelphia since 1998, lost for the second time in eight games.
METS RECALL FLORES The Mets have recalled infielder Wilmer Flores from Class AAA Las Vegas a day after shortstop Ruben Tejada was hit in the helmet by a pitch.
The Mets optioned outfielder Kirk Nieuwenhuis to Las Vegas before Thursday's game at Milwaukee. Flores started at shortstop Thursday night against the Milwaukee Brewers. This is Flores's third stint with the Mets this season.
KNOBLAUCH ARRESTED The former major leaguer Chuck Knoblauch was charged with assaulting his former wife, and as a result of the incident the Minnesota Twins canceled the team's Hall of Fame induction ceremony scheduled next month.
According to KHOU television in Houston, the 46-year-old Knoblauch was charged with assault of a family member, Cheri Knoblauch, whom he divorced in 2012. He was released on $10,000 bond. Knoblauch was convicted of hitting his then-wife, Stacy Stelmach, in 2010 and received one year of probation.
Knoblauch had been scheduled to be inducted Aug. 23 at Target Field. He retired in 2002 after a 12-year career with the Yankees, the Twins and the Kansas City Royals. He was the 1991 American League rookie of the year with the Twins. (REUTERS)
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