Max Scherzer, who pitched seven innings and allowed one run, said he was expecting Murphy to come through.
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Ian Desmond homered and Robinson Chirinos drove in two runs as Texas avoided a three-game sweep in the matchup of division leaders. Washington wasted little time scoring with single runs in the first and second innings plus three in the fourth for a 5-0 lead.
Daniel Murphy hit a ninth inning home run to tie things up at 1-1, but the Pittsburgh Pirates got a solo blast from Starling Marte in the 18th as they salvaged the series finale with the Washington Nationals in the nation’s capital.
Marte’s solo homer off Oliver Perez in the 18th inning gave the visiting Pirates a 2-1 victory Sunday.
“It was a start we needed out of him, and I think it’s a start he expected out of himself”, Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said.
“It is a good idea in that case to walk him, but they gave me an opportunity to pitch against him”, Perez said. “It definitely reveals character”.
It took 17 pitchers combining for 540 pitches in a bullpen- and stadium-emptying affair that lasted 5 hours, 48 minutes. It was close to ending a lot earlier – the Nationals were down to their last strike in the ninth inning when pinch hitter Daniel Murphy hit a tying home run.
Chad Kuhl pitched well in earning a no-decision against the Nationals on Sunday, firing six innings of shutout ball. Pittsburgh recently demoted left-hander Jon Niese to the bullpen and is trying to infuse some youth into the rotation with rookie right-hander Chad Kuhl getting the nod on Sunday. It was one of a series of bits of luck that had gone the Pirates’ way to that point, as the Nats’ line drives always seemed to work in the Bucs’ favor.
METS 5, PHILLIES 0 Jacob deGrom tossed a one-hitter, Curtis Granderson and Asdrubal Cabrera hit home runs and visiting NY beat Philadelphia.
“I knew they were out of men, I knew they were out of players, I knew they were out of pitchers, just like we were and that hurts to make a mistake like that to not – I mean, I was aware of the situation, but like I said, before I could get Wilson’s attention and I had just said it to [Pitching Coach] Mike [Maddux], I just said, ‘Hey, man, we’ve got Niese on deck, ‘ and before I could respond he hit the first pitch out of the ballpark”.
ST. LOUIS – Ichiro Suzuki doubled, singled twice and had another hit taken away on a replay challenge, leaving him six shy of 3,000, after Miami’s win over St. Louis. The Nationals lost an 18-inning game to San Francisco in the 2014 playoffs.
The Pirates should have taken the lead in the 16th on a double by Josh Harrison, but a ideal relay from Washington centre fielder Michael A. Taylor to shortstop Danny Espinosa to catcher Wilson Ramos was good enough to get Eric Fryer at the plate.
ANGELS 8, WHITE SOX 1 Albert Pujols hit a pair of two-run home runs, Jered Weaver pitched seven strong innings and host Los Angeles completed a three-game sweep of Chicago. Jonathon Niese (8-6) survived a couple of singles to get the victory.
“I felt good in (my) first inning and I was kind of running on fumes there in the second”, said Niese, who tossed three hitless innings.
“That was my fault, because I didn’t put the fingers up soon enough to walk him”, Baker said. “If I made one quality pitch I followed it up with a subpar (pitch)”.
Pirates: OF Gregory Polanco remained out with a sore left hamstring, but general manager Neal Huntington hopes he’ll play Tuesday against the Milwaukee Brewers. “He could have done it getting out of the bathtub”, Baker said. LHP Sammy Solis will be placed on the disabled list Tuesday with a right knee injury.
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BLUE JAYS 5, A’S 3: Josh Donaldson hit a tiebreaking two-run double with two outs in the ninth against his former team and Toronto won in Oakland, California. After a 91-second review in the top half, Marte was awarded his 32nd stolen base of the season, and Washington’s Danny Espinosa was called out on a steal attempt in the bottom half after a 31-second review.
