Rick Porcello pitched seven innings to remain unbeaten in his Fenway Park starts this season, and the Red Sox handed the Rays their fifth straight loss with a 4-1 victory on Saturday.
On a day the Red Sox learned they lost closer Craig Kimbrel to a left knee injury for likely three to six weeks, they won for the fifth time in six games.
Dustin Pedroia added a two-run single for Boston, which looks for a sweep of the three-game series today when former Rays ace David Price is scheduled to pitch.
Brad Miller homered for the Rays, who have dropped 21 of 24. Matt Moore (5-6) gave up four runs in six innings.
Porcello (11-2) allowed a run and six hits. Koji Uehara worked the ninth for his fourth save.
Tigers 3, Blue Jays 2
Victor Martinez hit a tiebreaking homer in the eighth inning and the Detroit Tigers stopped Toronto’s seven-game winning streak, beating the Blue Jays.
Justin Upton had two hits and Andrew Romine reached three times for the Tigers, who had lost seven of their previous nine against Toronto.
Bruce Rondon (3-1) earned the win despite allowing a tying home run to Devon Travis in the seventh. Rondon missed the first two games of the series with flu-like symptoms.
Justin Wilson pitched the eighth and Francisco Rodriguez finished for his 24th save.
Martinez hit a one-out drive off Jason Grilli (3-3) for his 17th homer.
Orioles 3, Angels 2
Jonathan Schoop scored the tying run on a seventh-inning balk and delivered the decisive RBI single in the eighth, leading Baltimore to the win.
The victory assured the Orioles sole possession of first place in the AL East at the All-Star break, which begins after the conclusion of today’s schedule.
Mark Trumbo hit his major league-leading 28th homer for Baltimore, a solo shot in the second inning. Brad Brach (6-1) worked the eighth and Zach Britton finished for his 26th save.
Daniel Nava had two RBIs for the Angels, who were bidding for their season-high fifth straight win. Joe Smith (1-4) got the loss.
Yankees 7, Indians 6, 11 INN.
Brian McCann’s RBI double with two outs in the 11th inning lifted the Yankees to the victory.
McCann’s clutch hit off Tommy Hunter (2-2) pushed New York to its second win in three days over the AL Central-leading Indians.
Yankees left-hander Aroldis Chapman (3-0) struck out four in the final 2 innings.
All-Star Carlos Beltran, who was 3 for 6, started the winning rally with a two-out single. McCann’s line drive hit on the track in right field and bounced over the head of Abraham Almonte, scoring pinch-runner Ronald Torreyes.
Cardinals 8, Brewers 1
Jhonny Peralta, Tommy Pham and Aledmys Diaz homered, powering the Cardinals to the road win.
Peralta hit a leadoff drive in the second off Chase Anderson (4-10). Pham connected for a solo shot and Diaz belted a three-run homer during the Cardinals’ five-run ninth.
Carlos Martinez (8-6) struck out a season-high 11 in five innings in his first win since June 11. The right-hander allowed one run and four hits with four walks.
Anderson struggled with his command and lasted just four innings. He walked five and allowed two runs and four hits.
White Sox 5, Braves 4
Todd Frazier hit his 25th homer for the White Sox, and Jose Quintana bested Julio Teheran in the majors’ first all-Colombian pitching matchup.
Frazier, who will go for his second straight Home Run Derby title Monday, hit a two-run shot in the second and an RBI double in Chicago’s three-run third.
Teheran (3-8) allowed five runs and nine hits over six innings after missing his last start with an infection in his right thigh.
Quintana (7-8) won his second straight start despite giving up home runs to Gordon Beckham, Jeff Francoeur and Freddie Freeman in six innings.
With closer David Robertson unavailable due to an upper left leg strain, Nate Jones got four outs for his third save.
Giants 4, Diamondbacks 2
Brandon Belt had an RBI triple, Grant Green homered for the first time this season and San Francisco got a big lift from its bullpen.
Angel Pagan added two hits and Ruben Tejada doubled in a run for the Giants, who have won seven of nine and are a major league-best 56-33.
George Kontos (2-1), one of six relievers used by manager Bruce Bochy after Jake Peavy was knocked out of the game in the fifth, retired four batters for the win. Santiago Casilla pitched the ninth for his 21st save.
Arizona’s Robbie Ray (4-8) gave up three runs and six hits in five innings.
Royals 5, Mariners 3
Salvador Perez homered and made a key pickoff throw to help Kansas City to the win.
Perez hit a solo drive off the foul pole in the seventh inning that gave the Royals a two-run lead.
In the eighth, the World Series MVP made the defensive play of the game. With runners at the corners and one out, the star catcher trapped Kyle Seager off first base.
The pickoff was Perez’s first of the season and 18th of his career.
Kansas City’s Edinson Volquez (8-8) pitched six innings and was charged with three runs and six hits. Kelvin Herrera got three outs for his first save.
Wade Miley (6-6) allowed four runs and 10 hits in 5 innings for Seattle.
Athletics 3, Astros 2
Kendall Graveman pitched eight-plus innings for Oakland, and Stephen Vogt had three hits, including a homer.
Vogt hit a solo drive in the second and an RBI single in the third.
Graveman (5-6) allowed two runs and five hits. He retired his first 14 batters before A.J. Reed singled with two outs in the fifth.
Ryan Dull got three outs for his first save.
Houston right-hander Lance McCullers (4-3) was charged with three runs and seven hits in a season-low four innings.
Marlins 4, Reds 2
Martin Prado had three hits, including a double that put Miami ahead to stay.
Prado hiked his average to .323 and capped a rally in the fifth inning with a two-out, two-run double that right fielder Jay Bruce misjudged. J.T. Realmuto had two hits and scored three times.
All-Star Adam Duvall hit his 23rd home run for the Reds, and Brandon Phillips had two hits and an RBI with a broken left hand. Phillips played less than 24 hours after suffering a hairline fracture when he was hit by a pitch from Jose Fernandez.
John Lamb (1-6) took the loss despite a career-high nine strikeouts in five innings.
Miami’s Adam Conley (6-5) allowed two runs in 5 innings. A.J. Ramos pitched around a walk in the ninth for his 27th save.
Dodgers 4, Padres 3
Brandon McCarthy won his second straight start after a 14-month recovery from Tommy John surgery, and the Los Angeles scored a disputed run to beat San Diego.
McCarthy (2-0) gave up three runs in five innings, including a first-inning, two-run homer by Yangervis Solarte.
The right-hander retired 10 of the next 12 hitters, holding the Padres to a pair of walks. McCarthy’s win came six days after he threw five scoreless innings in his return from major surgery.
Kenley Jansen pitched a scoreless ninth for his 26th save.
It was 3-all in the fifth when Corey Seager scored from second base on a throwing error by shortstop Alexei Ramirez as he tried to complete a double play. The Padres challenged that Justin Turner made a wide slide into Ramirez, but replay upheld the original call that it was a legal play.
Luis Perdomo (3-4) took the loss.
Nationals 6, Mets 1
Major league batting leader Daniel Murphy homered for the sixth time this year against his former Mets teammates and drove in four runs, leading Max Scherzer and Washington over New York.
The NL East leaders opened a five-game lead on the Mets. At 53-36, the Nationals set a team record for wins before the All-Star break, snapping the mark from 2005, the club’s first season in Washington after the move from Montreal.
Murphy had a run-scoring single in the third inning, an RBI double in the fifth and launched his 16th home run in the seventh. He is hitting .349 overall – he’s batting .438 (21 of 48) with 19 RBIs against the Mets after becoming a free agent in the offseason and signing with Washington.
Scherzer (10-6) gave up three hits and an unearned run in seven innings. He joined fellow Nationals ace Stephen Strasburg (12-0) in having 10 wins before the All-Star break.
Logan Verrett (3-6) gave up five runs in 6 innings.
Pirates 12, Cubs 6
Josh Bell hit a grand slam in his second major-league at bat, one of four homers by Pittsburgh.
Bell slugged a 1-1 pitch from Adam Warren (3-2) over the seats perched above the 21-foot wall in right for his second pinch-hit in two games since being recalled from Triple-A on Friday. Jordy Mercer, Andrew McCutchen and Sean Rodriguez also homered for the Pirates, who have won nine of 10 and 12 of their last 15.
Cubs starter Jon Lester, the National League pitcher of the month for June, has struggled of late — allowing 13 runs in 4 innings in July.
Ben Zobrist had a two-run homer and Anthony Rizzo had four hits for Chicago, which has lost of nine of 10 and seen its lead in the NL Central cut to 6 games.
Arquimedes Caminero (1-2) struck out three in 1 2/3 innings to pick up the win.