KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) β The Royals’ eight-game winning streak is over after Josh Donaldson went 3-for-4 with a pair of solo homers, four RBIs and three runs scored in Oakland’s 11-3 romp at Kansas City. Brandon Moss added four hits and two RBIs as the A’s stayed 3 Β½ games ahead of the Angels in the AL West and kept the AL Central-leading Royals a half-game ahead of Detroit. Jon Lester won for the third time in as many starts since joining the A’s, striking out nine and allowing three runs in six innings.
PITTSBURGH (AP) β The Pittsburgh Pirates are within 1 Β½ games of the NL Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers following a 4-2 win over the Tigers. Gaby Sanchez, Travis Snider and Ike Davis laced RBI doubles in the Pirates’ fifth victory in seven games. Edinson Volquez gave up two runs and five hits in seven innings to help the Bucs deal the Tigers their sixth loss in seven games.
UNDATED (AP) β Anthony Rizzo smacked his 26th homer of the season and first in 19 games in the Cubs’ 3-0 shutout of the Brewers in Chicago. Arismendy Alcantara (ehr-is-MEHN’-dee al KAHN’-tah-rah) and Justin Ruggiano each had two hits and an RBI to back Kyle Hendricks, who limited the Brewers to six hits in 7 1/3 innings. St. Louis also absorbed a 3-0 loss to the Marlins, keeping the Cardinals three games off the NL Central lead.
ATLANTA (AP) β The Los Angeles Dodgers beat Atlanta 4-2 for their third straight win, which gives the NL West leaders a league-best 69-52 mark. Darwin Barney singled home the game’s first run and scored on a wild pitch to give Los Angeles an insurance run in the ninth. Dan Haren allowed two runs and six hits while striking out seven over six innings as the Dodgers handed the Braves their 11th loss in 13 games.
NEW YORK (AP) β Washington enjoys a five-game lead over Atlanta in the NL East after Michael Taylor hit a two-run homer in his major league debut to help the Nationals whip the New York Mets 7-1. Bryce Harper and Ian Desmond also hit two-run blasts and Anthony Rendon (rehn-DOHN’) added a solo shot as the Nats won for the 23rd time in their last 27 games at Citi Field. That was more than enough offense for Doug Fister, who is 12-3 with a 2.34 ERA after scattering seven hits in seven scoreless innings.
