Baseball-Highlights of Friday's Major League games

(Adds late games) April 17 (The Sports Xchange) - Highlights of Friday's Major League baseball games: - - - Braves 8, Blue Jays 7 Pinch-hitter Jonny Gomes hit a solo home run, first baseman Freddie Freeman added a two-run homer in a three-run eighth inning and the Atlanta Braves held on to defeat the Toronto Blue Jays. The Braves (7-3) overcame a five-homer barrage by the Blue Jays (5-6), including two each by third baseman Josh Donaldson and catcher Russell Martin, to win the opener of a three-game interleague series. - - - Tigers 2, White Sox 1 Jose Iglesias bounced a single past drawn-in second baseman Emilio Bonifacio to score pinch runner Andrew Romine from third with one out in the ninth inning and give the Detroit Tigers a victory over the Chicago White Sox. Interim closer right-hander Joakim Soria pitched a perfect ninth for Detroit to gain the win and send the Tigers to 9-1. - - - Red Sox 3, Orioles 2 Xander Bogaerts delivered the first walk-off hit of his career in the ninth inning, giving the Boston Red Sox a victory over the Baltimore Orioles. Boston (7-3) trailed 2-0 but Ryan Hanigan hit a two-run homer in the fifth, before Bogaerts came through with the winning RBI single. - - - Royals 6, Athletics 4 Paulo Orlando stroked a tie-breaking triple in the eighth inning as the Kansas City Royals beat the Oakland Athletics. Orlando's hit broke a 4-4 tie and the Royals pounded out 15 hits to improve to 8-2. Stephen Vogt went 3-for-4 with two home runs for the A's (5-6). - - - Mets 4, Marlins 1 The New York Mets won their sixth game in a row for the first time in four years after turning back the Miami Marlins. Pitcher Bartolo Colon (3-0) went seven innings and the Mets (8-3) scored in the fifth, sixth and eighth to secure their first six-game streak since April 21-27, 2011. - - - Cardinals 6, Reds 1 Catcher Yadier Molina drove in three runs with a bases-loaded double in the seventh inning to snap a 1-1 tie and send the St. Louis Cardinals to a win over the Cincinnati Reds on Friday night. Cardinals starter Michael Wacha (2-0) gave up five hits in seven innings to get the win for St. Louis (6-6). - - - Yankees 5, Rays 4 Alex Rodriguez had two home runs and drove in the go-ahead run with an eighth-inning single, leading the New York Yankees to a win over the Tampa Bay Rays. Rodriguez got his first multi-homer game in nearly three years, then came through with a single to centre with a full count and two outs in the eighth. New York improved to 4-6 while Tampa Bay fell to 6-5. - - - Padres 5, Cubs 4 Wil Meyers went 3-for-4 and clubbed a go-ahead, three-run homer in the seventh inning as the San Diego Padres rallied for a victory, their third straight. The Cubs (5-4) debuted highly touted prospect Kris Bryant, who struck out three times and grounded out once against San Diego (7-4). - - - Nationals 7, Phillies 2 Starter Max Scherzer allowed just one run in eight innings and Bryce Harper hit a three-run homer in the first as the Washington Nationals beat the slumping Philadelphia Phillies. The Nationals (5-6) have won three games in a row and scored 29 runs in their last four contests. In contrast, the Phillies (3-8) have lost six in a row scoring just 13 runs. - - - Pirates 6, Brewers 3 Slumping Starling Marte started a decisive two-run rally with a single, then later hit a two-run home run as the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Milwaukee Brewers after being shut out in their previous two games. Marte went 2-for-4 to lift his batting average to .152, and Gregory Polanco added three hits, including a double, for the Pirates (4-6). - - - Dodgers 7, Rockies 3 Clayton Kershaw struck out 12, second baseman Howie Kendrick homered and first baseman Adrian Gonzalez set a franchise record for hits, boosting the Los Angeles Dodgers to a victory over the Colorado Rockies. Gonzalez went 3-for-4 with two RBIs, becoming the first Dodgers (7-3) player to record 22 hits in the opening 10 games. Kendrick was 2-for-4 with three runs batted in as the Dodgers (7-3) captured their fifth win in a row. - - - Rangers 3, Mariners 1 Texas Rangers starter Yovani Gallardo pitched six scoreless innings as the Rangers extended the misery of the Seattle Mariners. The Mariners (3-7) have now lost four games in a row, while Gallardo (2-1) has won each of his past two starts. Robinson Chirinos went 2-for-4 with a home run, a double and two runs scored for the Rangers (5-6). - - - Angels 6, Astros 3 Mike Trout cracked two home runs, breaking a pair of ties and carrying the Los Angeles Angels to a victory over the Houston Astros. Trout finished with five RBIs for Los Angeles (5-5) while starter Jered Weaver tossed six innings and allowed just two runs in a no-decision. - - - Twins 3, Indians 2 Trevor Plouffe's leadoff home run in the bottom of the 11th inning lifted the Minnesota Twins to a win against the Cleveland Indians. Plouffe's second homer of the season came on a 3-1 offering from Cleveland right-hander Bryan Shaw, who took the loss, spoiling a fantastic start from right-hander Corey Kluber. - - - Diamondbacks 9, Giants 0 Josh Collmenter pitched a four-hit shutout and helped his own cause with three of Arizona's 18 hits as the Diamondbacks handed the San Francisco Giants an eighth consecutive defeat. Third baseman Jake Lamb belted a two-run triple and center fielder A.J. Pollock had four hits as the Diamondbacks (6-5) added to the Giants' (3-9) winless homestand. (Editing by Jahmal Corner/Sudipto Ganguly)