Baseball-Highlights of Saturday's MLB games

(Adds late games) May 2 (The Sports Xchange) - Highlights of Saturday's Major League baseball games: - - - Astros 11, Mariners 4 Powered by a hitting display that produced five home runs, including back-to-back blasts in the third and fourth innings, the Houston Astros extended their winning streak to nine games with a win over the Seattle Mariners. Evan Gattis, Colby Rasmus, Jose Altuve, Luis Valbuena and Hank Conger all went deep for the Astros (17-7), providing ample run support for right-hander Collin McHugh. The Mariners fell to 10-14. - - - Cardinals 2, Pirates 1 (11 innings) Starter Francisco Liriano flirted with a no-hitter but all the Pittsburgh Pirates got in the end was another bitter extra-inning defeat. Stranding a whopping 18 men on base, Pittsburgh eventually paid the price when St Louis' Matt Carpenter delivered a sacrifice fly the scored in the bottom of the 11th. St Louis (17-6) won its fifth straight game, while the Pirates (12-12) fell for the fourth time in five games. - - - Yankees 4, Red Sox 2 Brett Gardner's fifth-inning double drove in two runs and the left fielder had three RBIs on the day as the New York Yankees beat the Boston Red Sox. New York (15-9) won for the ninth time in its last 11 games and has taken the first two of a three-game weekend set against Boston (12-12), who will try to avoid a sweep on Sunday. - - - Nationals 1, Mets 0 Left-hander Gio Gonzalez continued his mastery of the New York Mets when he earned the win with seven shutout innings in the Washington Nationals' victory. Center fielder Michael Taylor's RBI infield single in the second inning provided the game's only run as the Nationals (11-14) won for the fourth time in five games. The Mets (16-9) have lost six of nine. - - - Orioles 4, Rays 0 Playing their second home game at Tropicana Field because of the rioting that occurred in Baltimore after the funeral of Freddie Gray, starter Miguel Gonzalez limited the Tampa Bay Rays to four hits in 7 2/3 innings to give Baltimore the win. After stranding two runners in the second inning, the Orioles (11-11) broke a scoreless tie with three runs in the third to take permanent control. - - - Giants 5, Angels 4 Brandon Crawford and Buster Posey belted home runs to help right-hander Tim Hudson post his first win of the 2015 season in the San Francisco Giants' victory over the Los Angeles Angels. Casey McGehee had three hits and Crawford, Posey and left fielder Nori Aoki added two apiece in San Franciso's (11-13) 11-hit assault on four Angels pitchers. - - - Twins 5, White Sox 3 Torii Hunter had three hits, including a two-run homer, as the Minnesota Twins won over the Chicago White Sox. Hunter, the designated hitter, also scored a pair of runs as the Twins rallied from an early two-run deficit for their third consecutive victory and climbed to .500 for the first time this season. Minnesota (12-12) will go for the four-game sweep of Chicago on Sunday. - - - Brewers 6, Cubs 1 Ryan Braun's first-inning home run gave right-hander Mike Fiers all of the support he needed in the Milwaukee Brewers' victory over the Chicago Cubs. The right fielder's two-run shot was just the start for Milwaukee (6-18), who led 4-0 after two innings and gave Fiers (1-3) a comfortable cushion early in his six-inning outing, his longest of the season. The Cubs fell to 13-9. - - - Marlins 7, Phillies 0 Martin Prado hit a three-home run to lead the Miami Marlins to a victory over the Philadelphia Phillies. Prado finished 2-for-3 with four RBIs. Second baseman Dee Gordon went 3-for-3, raising his batting average to .340, and scored three runs. - - - Blue Jays 11, Indians 4 The Toronto Blue Jays scored six unearned runs in the sixth inning and Cleveland's 2014 Cy Young Award winner, Corey Kluber, remained winless in 2015 as the Blue Jays routed the Indians. Designated hitter Jose Bautista had two hits and four RBIs, Russell Martin homered and right-hander Aaron Sanchez (2-2) pitched into the sixth inning to get the win for the Blue Jays (12-13). - - - Reds 8, Braves 4 Jason Marquis, who did not pitch in the majors last season after elbow surgery, won his third straight start as the Cincinnati Reds defeated the Atlanta Braves. Marlon Byrd, Todd Frazier and shortstop Zack Cozart homered, the first two off Braves starter Eric Stults. - - - Tigers 2, Royals 1 David Price threw a complete game and Anthony Gose collected three hits and scored a run as the Detroit Tigers beat the Kansas City Royals 2-1. Price stopped the Royals on five hits, walked none and struck out three. Center fielder Lorenzo Cain homered with two out in the ninth to ruin Price's shutout. - - - Padres 4, Rockies 2 Brandon Morrow held Colorado to two runs in six innings and left fielder Justin Upton reversed a one-run deficit with a two-run single in the fifth as the San Diego Padres defeated the Rockies 4-2. - - - Rangers 8, Athletics 7 (10 innings) Second baseman Rougned Odor's walk-off single through a drawn-in infield with the bases loaded scored Choo Shin-soo and gave the Texas Rangers an 8-7 victory over the Oakland Athletics. Kyle Blanks matched a career high with four hits and four RBIs, including a solo home run in the sixth for the Rangers (8-15). Oakland (10-15) right fielder Josh Reddick was 3-for-4 with four RBIs, including a three-run homer in the Athletics' four-run seventh inning. - - - Dodgers 6, Diamondbacks 4 Joc Pederson hit another home run and second baseman Howie Kendrick added a run-scoring single in the bottom of the seventh inning to lead a two-run rally that enabled the Los Angeles Dodgers to defeat the Arizona Diamondbacks 6-4. Pederson is the first Dodgers (15-8) rookie to hit home runs in four consecutive games since Bill Sudakis in 1969, according to Elias Sports Bureau. (Compiled by Jahmal Corner; Editing by Peter Rutherford)