TORONTO: Pinch-hitter Jonny Gomes had a tiebreaking home run in the eighth inning, Freddie Freeman added a two-run shot and the Atlanta Braves beat the Toronto Blue Jays 8-7 on Friday night
Nick Markakis went 4 for 4 and scored three runs as the Braves won for the third time in their last 11 interleague road games.
Batting for Cameron Maybin, Gomes opened the eighth with a drive to center off Blue Jays left-hander Brett Cecil (0-1). It was Gomes’ 10th career pinch-hit homer, the most among active players.
Two outs later, Markakis singled and Freeman followed with a second-deck home run, his third.
Cody Martin (1-0) worked one inning for the win, Jim Johnson gave up two runs in the eighth and Jason Grilli finished for his fifth save.
Tigers 2, White Sox 1: Jose Iglesias bounced a single past drawn-in second baseman Emilio Bonifacio to score pinch runner Andrew Romine from third with one out in the ninth inning and give the Detroit Tigers a victory over the Chicago White Sox.
Interim closer right-hander Joakim Soria pitched a perfect ninth for Detroit to gain the win and send the Tigers to 9-1.
Red Sox 3, Orioles 2: Xander Bogaerts delivered the first walk-off hit of his career in the ninth inning, giving the Boston Red Sox a victory over the Baltimore Orioles.
Boston (7-3) trailed 2-0 but Ryan Hanigan hit a two-run homer in the fifth, before Bogaerts came through with the winning RBI single.
Royals 6, Athletics 4: Paulo Orlando stroked a tie-breaking triple in the eighth inning as the Kansas City Royals beat the Oakland Athletics.
Orlando’s hit broke a 4-4 tie and the Royals pounded out 15 hits to improve to 8-2.
Stephen Vogt went 3-for-4 with two home runs for the A’s (5-6).
Mets 4, Marlins 1: The New York Mets won their sixth game in a row for the first time in four years after turning back the Miami Marlins.
Pitcher Bartolo Colon (3-0) went seven innings and the Mets (8-3) scored in the fifth, sixth and eighth to secure their first six-game streak since April 21-27, 2011.
Cardinals 6, Reds 1: Catcher Yadier Molina drove in three runs with a bases-loaded double in the seventh inning to snap a 1-1 tie and send the St. Louis Cardinals to a win over the Cincinnati Reds on Friday night.
Cardinals starter Michael Wacha (2-0) gave up five hits in seven innings to get the win for St. Louis (6-6).
Yankees 5, Rays 4: Alex Rodriguez had two home runs and drove in the go-ahead run with an eighth-inning single, leading the New York Yankees to a win over the Tampa Bay Rays.
Rodriguez got his first multi-homer game in nearly three years, then came through with a single to center with a full count and two outs in the eighth.
New York improved to 4-6 while Tampa Bay fell to 6-5.
Padres 5, Cubs 4: Wil Meyers went 3-for-4 and clubbed a go-ahead, three-run homer in the seventh inning as the San Diego Padres rallied for a victory, their third straight.
The Cubs (5-4) debuted highly touted prospect Kris Bryant, who struck out three times and grounded out once against San Diego (7-4).
Nationals 7, Phillies 2: Starter Max Scherzer allowed just one run in eight innings and Bryce Harper hit a three-run homer in the first as the Washington Nationals beat the slumping Philadelphia Phillies.
The Nationals (5-6) have won three games in a row and scored 29 runs in their last four contests. In contrast, the Phillies (3-8) have lost six in a row scoring just 13 runs.
Pirates 6, Brewers 3: Slumping Starling Marte started a decisive two-run rally with a single, then later hit a two-run home run as the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Milwaukee Brewers after being shut out in their previous two games.
Marte went 2-for-4 to lift his batting average to .152, and Gregory Polanco added three hits, including a double, for the Pirates (4-6).
Dodgers 7, Rockies 3: Clayton Kershaw struck out 12, second baseman Howie Kendrick homered and first baseman Adrian Gonzalez set a franchise record for hits, boosting the Los Angeles Dodgers to a victory over the Colorado Rockies.
Gonzalez went 3-for-4 with two RBIs, becoming the first Dodgers (7-3) player to record 22 hits in the opening 10 games. Kendrick was 2-for-4 with three runs batted in as the Dodgers (7-3) captured their fifth win in a row.
Rangers 3, Mariners 1: Texas Rangers starter Yovani Gallardo pitched six scoreless innings as the Rangers extended the misery of the Seattle Mariners.
The Mariners (3-7) have now lost four games in a row, while Gallardo (2-1) has won each of his past two starts.
Robinson Chirinos went 2-for-4 with a home run, a double and two runs scored for the Rangers (5-6).
Angels 6, Astros 3: Mike Trout cracked two home runs, breaking a pair of ties and carrying the Los Angeles Angels to a victory over the Houston Astros.
Trout finished with five RBIs for Los Angeles (5-5) while starter Jered Weaver tossed six innings and allowed just two runs in a no-decision.
Twins 3, Indians 2: Trevor Plouffe’s leadoff home run in the bottom of the 11th inning lifted the Minnesota Twins to a win against the Cleveland Indians.
Plouffe’s second homer of the season came on a 3-1 offering from Cleveland right-hander Bryan Shaw, who took the loss, spoiling a fantastic start from right-hander Corey Kluber.
Diamondbacks 9, Giants 0: Josh Collmenter pitched a four-hit shutout and helped his own cause with three of Arizona’s 18 hits as the Diamondbacks handed the San Francisco Giants an eighth consecutive defeat.
Third baseman Jake Lamb belted a two-run triple and center fielder A.J. Pollock had four hits as the Diamondbacks (6-5) added to the Giants’ (3-9) winless homestand.
Gomes has pinch-hit homer, Braves beat Blue Jays



