Baseball-Highlights of Monday's MLB games

May 23 (The Sports Xchange) - Highlights of Monday's Major League Baseball games. Dodgers 1, Reds 0 Clayton Kershaw won his fifth straight decision and helped Los Angeles to a shutout win over Cincinnati in the series opener at Dodger Stadium. Kershaw (7-1) did not have much offense to work with as the game was scoreless until the bottom of the sixth inning, but he was dominant nonetheless, shutting out the Reds in his 24th career complete game. He scattered five hits, walked one and struck out seven in his 15th career shutout. Pirates 6, Rockies 3 Josh Harrison drove in two runs with a pair of singles, first baseman Mark Reynolds' two-base throwing error scored two more runs during Pittsburgh's four-run third and the Pirates beat the Colorado Rockies 6-3 Monday. The Pirates got a major scare when right-hander Ryan Vogelsong was struck near the left eye by a Jordan Lyles pitch during a two-run Pittsburgh second. A bloodied Vogelsong left the field on a cart, holding a towel to his face, but there was no immediate update on his status. White Sox 7, Indians 6 (Game 1) The Chicago White Sox broke out of an offensive slump and needed every run to defeat Cleveland in the first game of a doubleheader at U.S. Cellular Field. Brett Lawrie, playing designated hitter for the first time this season, led the way for the White Sox by going 2-for-2 with a two-out, three-run home run in the fifth inning that put Chicago up 6-3. Indians 5, White Sox 1 (Game 2) Cody Anderson earned his first win and Cleveland hit three home runs to split a doubleheader against Chicago with a win in the second game at U.S. Cellular Field. Anderson, called up from Triple-A Columbus as the Indians' 26th man for the doubleheader, allowed just one run in seven innings for the win. Carrying an inflated 7.99 ERA into the game, Anderson struck out nine and walked none in his third stint with Cleveland this season. Cardinals 4, Cubs 3 Randal Grichuk fired his helmet high in the air as he neared home plate, hero of the latest installment in the Chicago Cubs-St. Louis Cardinals rivalry. Grichuk's two-out solo homer in the bottom of the ninth inning Monday night lifted St. Louis to a 4-3 win at sold-out Busch Stadium. Angels 2, Rangers 0 Albert Pujols' creep up baseball's ladder of history hasn't been done silently, especially recently. Pujols tied Rafael Palmeiro for 12th all-time with his 569th career home run, a two-run shot with two outs in the third inning that accounted for the only runs in Los Angeles' shutout win over Texas. Tigers 5, Phillies 4 Victor Martinez lined a single to right to score Miguel Cabrera from third with one out in the seventh inning to give Detroit a victory over Philadelphia and the club's seventh win in eight games. Cabrera, who also hit two solo home runs, became the 62nd major league player to reach 500 career doubles when he lined a two-bagger to the wall in right center with one out in the seventh. He went to third on a wild pitch and scored the tie-breaking run when Victor Martinez lined a high 1-0 pitch to right for a single. Marlins 7, Rays 6 Ichiro Suzuki went 4-for-5 -- including a key eighth-inning hit -- to help Miami rally to a win over Tampa Bay at Marlins Park. Suzuki, making his third consecutive start in place of left fielder Christian Yelich (back issues), has 10 hits in 13 at-bats during that span and has 2,960 hits for his U.S. career. Mets 7, Nationals 1 David Wright, Yoenis Cespedes and Neil Walker hit home runs and Bartolo Colon settled down after a rocky start as New York hammered first-place Washington in the first of a three-game series. The Mets went deep three times against starter Gio Gonzalez (3-2), who had allowed just three homers in his first eight starts. Colon (4-3), meanwhile, kept the ball in the park as he gave up just one run on five hits in seven innings after he had yielded 11 runs in his previous three outings. Royals 10, Twins 4 Salvador Perez went 5-for-5, setting a career high for hits, as Kansas City rolled to a win over Minnesota. Perez finished a homer shy of the cycle. Giants 1, Padres 0 Hunter Pence's towering flyball fell between two San Diego Padres defenders in short right field with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, scoring Brandon Belt from first base and giving the San Francisco Giants a 1-0 victory. Pence was pinch-hitting for Johnny Cueto, who went the distance, allowing just two hits. The win was the seventh straight for the Giants this season against the Padres and ninth in a row dating back to last season. Athletics 5, Mariners 0 Oakland starter Rich Hill continued his mastery of Seattle by pitching eight shutout innings as the A's snapped the Mariners' four-game winning streak. Hill (7-3) scattered eight hits while striking out six over eight innings, falling three outs short of his third career shutout. Over 11 career appearances against Seattle, including four starts, the 36-year-old Hill is now 4-0 with a 1.35 ERA. (Editing by Peter Rutherford)