Sunday, June 19, 2011
Posted: 11:26 a.m.Updated: 5:31 p.m.
The Associated Press
Orioles 7, Nationals 4
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WASHINGTON -- Mark Reynolds had three hits, including a home run, and the Baltimore Orioles ended the Washington Nationals' eight-game winning streak with a 7-4 victory Sunday.
J.J. Hardy also homered and Craig Tatum drove in two runs to back Baltimore starter Chris Jakubauskas (2-0), who pitched five innings for the win and had his first two major league hits. He allowed three runs and six hits, striking out six and walking one.
Jim Johnson worked two scoreless innings out of the bullpen. Koji Uehara pitched two innings and allowed a run.
MLB
Baltimore's Derrek Lee had two more hits to finish 9 for 13 in the three-games series. He went 5 for 5 on Friday and had hits in his first two at-bats Saturday.
The Orioles, who had lost six of seven, scored their most runs since putting up nine on May 25.
Washington's eight-game winning streak was its longest since June 2005.
The Orioles and Nationals split six games this season.
Lee scored Baltimore's first run in the second when Tatum bounced into a double play.
In the third, Hardy hit a long shot to center off Tom Gorzelanny (2-5) that landed on the grass beyond the wall. That made it 2-0.
Reynolds doubled with one out in the fourth and scored on Tatum's single for a 3-0 lead.
The Nationals scored two runs in the fourth off Jakubauskas on back-to-back RBI doubles by Michael Morse and Danny Espinosa.
Braves 4, Rangers 2
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ATLANTA -- Jason Heyward hit a two-run single in the third inning and Freddie Freeman added an RBI double in the seventh to help Jair Jurrjens earn his ninth victory in the Atlanta Braves' 4-2 win over the Texas Rangers on Sunday.
The Braves snapped a two-game losing streak, while Texas dropped its ninth in 13 games.
Jurrjens (9-3) allowed one run, seven hits, two walks and struck out four in 5 1-3 innings. The right-hander lowered his NL-best ERA to 2.11.
Craig Kimbrel earned his 19th save in 24 chances for Atlanta, striking out Josh Hamilton on three pitches to end it with a runner on first.
Alexi Ogando (7-2) lost his second straight start after giving up five hits and three runs -- one earned -- with one walk and three strikeouts.
Rays 2, Marlins 1
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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- The Florida Marlins lost both their manager and another game.
James Shields threw a four-hitter with 10 strikeouts in his second consecutive complete game, Casey Kotchman had a tiebreaking single in the eighth inning and the Tampa Bay Rays handed the reeling Marlins their 10th loss in a row, 2-1 on Sunday.
Florida manager Edwin Rodriguez unexpectedly resigned before the game, and the last-place Marlins dropped to 1-18 in June. Bench coach Brandon Hyde managed Sunday, but the club will begin a search for an interim manager.
Rodriguez, the first Puerto Rican-born manager in major league history, said it was a difficult decision to leave, given the "positive way the organization is moving, a new ballpark next season and the young core of players."
"I can't say enough about the effort that this staff and these players have put into this season," he said in a statement released by the team. "I could tell that they continued to give 100 percent effort each and every day on the field. I wish this organization and players nothing but success in their futures."
Shields (7-4) has a major league-best five complete games this season, and was coming off a 4-0 shutout over AL East-leading Boston on Tuesday.
Angels 7, Mets 3
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NEW YORK -- Tyler Chatwood finally got some runs and pitched seven scoreless innings, Erick Aybar hit a bases-loaded triple and the Los Angeles Angels beat the New York Mets 7-3 Sunday.
Vernon Wells hit a solo homer and two RBI singles for the Angels, who didn't score a run for Chatwood in any of the right-hander's three starts since May 27 but more than made up for it on a balmy, gorgeous afternoon in Queens.
Chatwood (4-4) allowed four hits and four walks in seven innings. He threw a career-high 117 pitches before Alberto Callaspo pinch-hit for him in the top of the eighth.
Los Angeles has won four of six and took two of three in New York to improve its interleague record since 2007 to 53-25, the best in baseball.
The Mets lost their first series since dropping two of three to Philadelphia in late May.
Jonathon Niese was ragged right from the start in this one, when Maicer Izturis dropped a bloop single into center field to lead off the game.
Niese (6-6) lost for the first time in five starts since May 24. In that span, he went 3-0 with five runs allowed and 25 strikeouts in 28 innings.
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Related: NL East: Marlins manager Edwin Rodriguez resigns