Aug 16, 2016; Detroit, MI, USA; Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Danny Duffy (41) pitches in the second inning against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. Photo Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
DETROIT — Danny Duffy won his ninth straight decision with the aid of four solo home runs, including the first of Raul Mondesi’s career, as the Kansas City Royals defeated the Detroit Tigers 6-1 on Tuesday at Comerica Park.
Duffy (10-1) limited the Tigers to one run on three hits while striking out five in 7 2/3 innings. He has the longest winning streak by a Royals pitcher since Jeremy Guthrie won 10 straight decisions in 2012-13.
The breakthrough homer for the 21-year-old Mondesi came in his 19th game and 60th official at-bat.
Alex Gordon, Eric Hosmer and Kendrys Morales also homered for Kansas City, which has won eight of 10. Gordon, who scored twice, stretched his hitting streak to seven games
Tigers starter Justin Verlander (12-7) allowed five runs — three earned — on four hits while striking out six in seven-plus innings.
Blue Jays 12, Yankees 6
NEW YORK — Edwin Encarnacion and Russell Martin hit two-run homers in the eighth inning as Toronto rallied from a six-run deficit for a victory over New York.
The Blue Jays, held scoreless for the first 14 innings of the series, capitalized on a 42-minute rain delay that knocked both starting pitchers out early.
After getting the deficit to 6-4, Encarnacion followed a 12-pitch walk by Josh Donaldson by lining a 1-0 slider from Adam Warren (1-1) into the left field seats for his 34th home run and 99th RBI.
Troy Tulowitzki had four hits, including a two-run homer in the sixth and scored the tiebreaking run when Martin hit a 1-2 fastball pitch over the right field wall.
Red Sox 5, Orioles 3
BALTIMORE — Mookie Betts homered twice Tuesday, including a tiebreaking two-run shot in the top of the eighth inning that gave Boston a victory over Baltimore.
Boston earned its fifth consecutive win and pulled into a tie with Baltimore for second place in the American League East. Both teams are a game back of Toronto.
Betts drove in all five Red Sox runs with a three-run homer and the two-run blast. He has hit eight homers against Baltimore this year, and he has three multi-homer efforts at Camden Yards.
Reds 6, Marlins 3
CINCINNATI — Tucker Barnhart’s grand slam highlighted a five-run first inning, and Anthony DeSclafani gave up two runs over six frames, lifting Cincinnati to a victory over Miami at Great American Ball Park.
DeSclafani (7-1) overcame an injury scare in the fourth inning when he limped off the field after being doubled off first base, but remained in the game.
He finished with two runs allowed on seven hits with no walks and six strikeouts in his second career start against the Marlins, the club he debuted with in 2014.
Indians 3, White Sox 1
CLEVELAND — Jason Kipnis had three hits and Corey Kluber outpitched Jose Quintana as Cleveland beat Chicago at Progressive Field.
The Indians scored single runs in the first, third and seventh innings, and Kluber and two relievers made it stand up. Andrew Miller retired all six batters he faced in the seventh and eighth innings, and closer Cody Allen pitched the ninth to pick up his 23rd save.
Kluber (13-8) pitched six innings, allowing one run and seven hits, with seven strikeouts and two walks. In seven starts since his last loss July 3, Kluber is 5-0 with a 1.65 ERA.
Quintana (9-9) also pitched six innings, allowing two runs and seven hits, with three strikeouts and two walks.
Dodgers 15, Phillies 5
PHILADELPHIA — Chase Utley hit a grand slam and solo homer in his return to Philadelphia as Los Angeles battered Philadelphia.
Howie Kendrick went 4-for-5 with a two-run homer for the Dodgers, and Yasmani Grandal went 3-for-4 with a two-run shot. Both drove in three runs.
Los Angeles piled up 14 hits in support of rookie right-hander Kenta Maeda, who went six innings to extend his personal winning streak to four. He is 12-7 this season.
Twins 4, Braves 2
ATLANTA — Ervin Santana got a victory against his former team and in the process helped Minnesota snap a seven-game interleague losing streak against Atlanta.
Santana allowed four hits over seven scoreless innings, Joe Mauer homered as part of a three-hit game and the Twins defeated the Braves 4-2 on Tuesday night.
The Braves swept a two-game series at Minnesota three weeks ago.
Rays 15, Padres 1
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Tampa Bay’s bats have never been hotter, with five home runs and a season-high 15 runs in an easy victory over slumping San Diego at Tropicana Field.
In their last three games — all wins — the Rays have 35 runs, the most in any three-game stretch in the franchise’s history. Tuesday’s five home runs — including two by first baseman Brad Miller — came one shy of that franchise record.
The Rays chased Padres starter Edwin Jackson after only four innings, then tagged reliever Carlos Villanueva for another seven runs, all on home runs. Nick Franklin and Miller had two-run home runs in the fifth, Corey Dickerson added a solo shot in the sixth and Evan Longoria hit his team-best 27th, a two-run shot, in the seventh.
Cardinals 8, Astros 5
HOUSTON — Tommy Pham and Jedd Gyorko slugged home runs and St. Louis turned a four-run sixth inning into an interleague victory over Houston at Minute Maid Park.
Pham went 2-for-4 with a double and a two-run home run while Gyorko produced three RBIs for the Cardinals, who extended their winning streak to three games. The offensive output provided support for left-hander Jaime Garcia (10-8), who labored into the sixth inning but lasted long enough to benefit from the rally.
Garcia allowed three home runs, solo shots to Alex Bregman in the first inning, Marwin Gonzalez leading off the third, and Jason Castro to open the sixth. He was yanked after Castro socked his eight homer 453 feet into the upper deck in right field, but the Cardinals had opened an 8-4 lead before Castro took Garcia deep.
