Apr 20, 2017; Atlanta, GA, USA; Washington Nationals starting pitcher Stephen Strasburg (37) throws a pitch against the Atlanta Braves in the first inning at SunTrust Park. Photo Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
ATLANTA — Not even facing R.A. Dickey’s dancing knuckleball could disrupt the grooved swing of Washington’s Ryan Zimmerman as the Nationals completed a three-game series sweep of the Atlanta Braves.
Zimmerman, who hit a grand slam Wednesday, connected for a two-run homer off Dickey in the sixth inning, and Washington prevailed 3-2 on Thursday night behind a 10-strikeout effort from Stephen Strasburg.
Strasburg (2-0) allowed two runs over seven innings while giving up six hits and walking two, throwing 76 of his 103 pitches for strikes. Zimmerman scored the Nationals’ first run after a double and is batting .389 with five homers and 13 RBIs.
Dickey (1-2) allowed three hits and a pair of walks over seven innings while getting 12 ground outs and striking out three. Washington has won 32 of 41 games against Atlanta since the start of the 2015 season.
Phillies 6, Mets 4
NEW YORK — Maikel Franco snapped out of a slump by delivering an RBI double and a solo homer as Philadelphia earned a rare series victory over New York. The Phillies took two of three from the Mets to snap a six-series losing streak against New York dating back to April 8-10, 2016.
Franco, who was hitting .148 entering Thursday, doubled home the first run of a two-run third before leading off the eighth with a homer.
Tommy Joseph and Andrew Knapp each had RBI doubles during a three-run second inning for the Phillies, and Aaron Altherr capped the third inning with an RBI groundout. Joseph finished with three hits while Altherr had two.
Orioles 2, Reds 1 (10 innings)
CINCINNATI — J.J. Hardy’s single in the 10th inning drove home Mark Trumbo with the go-ahead run as Baltimore topped Cincinnati.
Darren O’Day (1-1) pitched one inning with two strikeouts to earn the victory. Brad Brach retired the Reds in order in the 10th for his second straight save.
Jonathan Schoop homered for the Orioles, who took two of three from Cincinnati. Baltimore starter Wade Miley allowed only one hit through seven innings as Joey Votto’s solo home run in the fourth tied the score 1-1.
Indians 6, Twins 2
MINNEAPOLIS — Carlos Santana had three hits, including a pair of RBI doubles, and Trevor Bauer had his best outing of the season as Cleveland swept Minnesota.
Bauer (1-2) pitched 6 1/3 innings and struck out seven while allowing two runs on three hits and two walks. Abraham Almonte had two hits for the Indians, who lost seven of their previous nine games heading into the three-game rain-shortened series.
Twins starter Ervin Santana went six innings before being relieved by Tyler Duffey (0-1) to start the seventh. Ervin Santana stretched his scoreless inning streak to 22 innings before Carlos Santana doubled home Almonte in the fifth.
Red Sox 4, Blue Jays 1 (10 innings)
TORONTO — Mookie Betts hit a three-run double against Jason Grilli in the 10th inning to give Boston the rubber match of the three-game series.
After the Red Sox took a 1-0 lead in the ninth on an RBI single by Xander Bogaerts against Roberto Osuna, Kendrys Morales tied the game when he led off the bottom half with a homer off closer Craig Kimbrel (1-0). Kimbrel pitched a perfect 10th.
Boston’s Chris Sale struck out 13 in eight scoreless innings in which he allowed four hits and one walk. Toronto’s Marco Estrada pitched six scoreless innings, allowing three hits and two walks with seven strikeouts.
Astros 2, Angels 1
HOUSTON — Lance McCullers continued his dominant pitching in his home park as Houston claimed a series victory.
McCullers (2-0) did not allow a hit until Andrelton Simmons opened the fifth inning with a single to left. He pitched 6 2/3 scoreless inning and allowed three or fewer runs in each of his 23 career home starts. He improved to 11-4 at Minute Maid Park.
Carlos Beltran and Jake Marisnick hit solo home runs in the first and fifth innings, respectively, against Los Angeles starter Matt Shoemaker (0-1).
Rays 8, Tigers 1
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Tampa Bay got five strong innings from spot starter Erasmo Ramirez and completed a three-game sweep of Detroit.
The Rays moved Ramirez (2-0) out of the bullpen to fill in for the injured Jake Odorizzi, and after allowing a leadoff home run to Ian Kinsler, Ramirez held the Tigers to one hit and zero runs for the rest of his 66-pitch outing.
Tampa Bay has won six straight at Tropicana Field, its longest home streak in nearly two years. Steven Souza Jr. went 3-for-5 with a homer, a double, a triple and three RBIs for the Rays.
