Baseball-Highlights of Thursday's Major League Baseball games

April 24 (The Sports Xchange) - Highlights of Thursday's Major League Baseball games - - Tigers 7, White Sox 4 Max Scherzer struck out 10 while collecting his second win of the season and first baseman Miguel Cabrera drove in three runs as the Detroit Tigers downed the Chicago White at Comerica Park. Scherzer (2-1) gave up two runs and seven hits in six innings while winning his second straight start. He became only the second Tigers pitcher since at least 1914 to record seven strikeouts in his first five starts. - - Yankees 14, Red Sox 5 The New York Yankees took advantage of sloppy Boston defense and shoddy pitching to cruise to a 14-5 win over the Red Sox. The Yankees (13-9) capitalized on five errors, three wild pitches and a passed ball by the Red Sox (10-13) to improve to 5-2 against the MLB champions this season. Most of the defensive damage on a chilly night was done in the first three innings, when the Yankees took a 7-0 lead against losing pitcher Felix Doubront (1-3), and Yankees starter CC Sabathia took it from there. Sabathia (3-2) gave up two runs in the bottom of the third but then worked through the sixth, leaving with a 12-2 lead. Rookie third baseman Yangervis Solarte stroked a pair of two-run hits, former Red Sox center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury had three hits and three RBIs, shortstop Derek Jeter drove in two runs and first baseman Mark Teixeira hit a solo homer, his first of the year, in a 14-hit attack by the Yankees. - - - Orioles 11, Blue Jays 4 First baseman Chris Davis drove in three runs, including the tying and go-ahead runs with a single in a five-run seventh, and right-hander Bud Norris pitched six innings as the Baltimore Orioles defeated the Toronto Blue Jays 11-4. Center fielder Adam Jones also drove in three runs for the Orioles (11-10), who won the three-game series after dropping the opener. The Blue Jays (11-11) led 3-0 on second-inning homers by catcher Dioner Navarro and center fielder Colby Rasmus. They were the only runs against Norris (1-2), who allowed five hits and one walk and struck out four. - - - Padres 4, Nationals 3 (12 innings) Xavier Nady singled in Jedd Gyorko with the go-ahead run with two outs in the top of the 12th inning against reliever Craig Stammen and the San Diego Padres beat the Washington Nationals 4-3. Nady, who played for Washington in 2012, entered the game with an average of .167, but his grounder got through the middle and scored Gyorko, who had singled, stole second and gone to third on a throwing error by catcher Jose Lobaton. The Padres had lost 11 of their previous 15 games to Washington. Nationals first baseman Adam LaRoche tied the game at 3-3 with one out in the seventh with a solo home run. - - - Athletics 10, Astros 1 Left-hander Scott Kazmir recorded his first career victory in his hometown and third baseman Josh Donaldson got his first multi-homer game as the Oakland Athletics blasted the Houston Astros 10-1. Kazmir, the 15th overall pick of the 2012 draft out of Cypress Falls High School in northwest Houston, allowed one run on five hits and two walks with seven strikeouts over six innings. He started 3-0 for the first time in his career by overcoming a sluggish start and breezing through his final four innings of work. The Athletics (14-8) belted three home runs, including a pair of two-run blasts from Donaldson, his fifth and sixth, in the first and seventh innings. - - - Phillies 7, Dodgers 3 Catcher Carlos Ruiz hit a tie-breaking two-run double in the ninth inning and right fielder Marlon Byrd drove in four runs, sparking the Philadelphia Phillies to a 7-3 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers. Ruiz, who went 3-for-3 with two walks, started a four-run ninth with his double to left off reliever Brian Wilson to drive in Cody Asche and Ben Revere with one out. After an intentional walk to Chase Utley and Wilson hitting Ryan Howard with a pitch, Byrd, who had a 3-for-5 outing with two doubles, lined a two-run single to left, scoring Ruiz and Utley. The victory allowed the Phillies (11-11) to take three of four in the series against the Dodgers (13-10). Mike Adams (1-0) pitched two innings of relief, allowing a solo home run to Adrian Gonzalez, his club-leading sixth, that tied the score at 3 in the seventh inning. - - - Indians 5, Royals 1 David Murphy and Asdrubal Cabrera each drove in two runs to highlight a five-run fifth inning and right-hander Corey Kluber pitched a four-hitter for his first career complete game as the Cleveland Indians beat the Kansas City Royals. Kluber struck out a career-high 11 and did not walk a batter to improve to 2-2 this season. Left-hander Bruce Chen (1-2) started for the Royals gave up five runs on six hits in 4 1/3 innings to take the loss. - - - Reds 2, Pirates 1 Left fielder Ryan Ludwick hit a two-run double and left-hander Tony Cingrani pitched six solid innings as the streaking Cincinnati Reds edged the slumping Pittsburgh Pirates. Ludwick lined his double to center field with two outs in the sixth inning to put the Reds ahead as first baseman Joey Votto and third baseman Todd Frazier, who were both hit by pitches, scored. Cingrani (2-2) allowed one run as he scattered six hits. He struck out seven and walked two. Cincinnati won for the seventh time in nine games to reach .500 at 11-11. - - - Mets 4, Cardinals 1 Right-handed pitcher Bartolo Colon struck out nine over seven innings and second baseman Daniel Murphy drove in two runs as the New York Mets beat the St. Louis Cardinals at Citi Field. The Mets (12-10) scored just nine runs in the four-game series but took three games from the Cardinals (12-11). The Cardinals didn't get much at all going against Colon, who retired the first 10 batters he faced and allowed only two runners to get into scoring position, both in the fifth inning, when they scored their lone run. - - - Twins 9, Rays 7 Left-hander Erik Bedard could only give the Rays four innings, and their worn-down bullpen couldn't stop the Twins lineup as Minnesota captured a win over Tampa Bay. With the win, the Twins (11-10) secured their first series victory at Tropicana Field since September 4-6, 2006. Twins starter Ricky Nolasco struggled in the second inning and wound up allowing six runs on 10 hits. But Minnesota got six innings out of Nolasco, and the recently untouchable Twins bullpen held on, surviving the Rays' late rally. - - - Diamondbacks 5, Cubs 2 Rookie right-hander Mike Bolsinger allowed just four hits while striking out seven as the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Chicago Cubs. The victory was the first of the season for Bolsinger (1-1) who grew up near Wrigley Field and made his first career appearance against the Cubs. (Editing by Peter Rutherford)