WASHINGTON – Tanner Roark threw seven shutout innings, and the Washington Nationals beat the Atlanta Braves 4-0 to sweep a day-night doubleheader Tuesday, ensuring the Braves leave Washington without the NL East title.
Roark (7-0) allowed just two hits, struck out six and retired the final 13 batters he faced.
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In the first game, Andrelton Simmons allowed Denard Span’s grounder to bounce through his legs as two runs scored on the game-ending play. The Nationals’ 6-5 win was a makeup of a series opener postponed by a shooting rampage a day earlier at the nearby Navy Yard.
The Braves have lost 9 of 13 but still lead the division by eight games over Washington despite the sweep.
PADRES 5, PIRATES 2: Jedd Gyorko blasted a three-run homer among his three hits as San Diego won at Pittsburgh.
Ronny Cedeno added three hits for the Padres, who beat the Pirates for the second straight night to put a dent in Pittsburgh’s pursuit of its first NL Central title, as the Pirates are battling neck-and-neck with the Cardinals.
GIANTS 8, METS 5: Angel Pagan homered, tripled and drove in three runs for a perfect night at the plate against his former team in a win at New York.
PHILLIES 6, MARLINS 4: Chase Utley hit a three-run homer and drove in four, and Roy Halladay (4-4) tossed six effective innings as Philadelphia won at home.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
RANGERS 7, RAYS 1: Ian Kinsler and Elvis Andrus homered and drove in three runs each as Texas snapped a seven-game losing streak with a win at St. Petersburg, Fla.
With the win, the Rangers pulled even with the Rays at the top of the AL wild-card race.
The Rangers, who held the No. 1 wild-card spot or the AL West lead for most of the summer, won for only the fourth time in 17 games.
BLUE JAYS 2, YANKEES 0: R.A. Dickey (13-12) pitched seven innings to win his fourth straight decision, Colby Rasmus and Rajai Davis homered, and host Toronto handed the slumping Yankees their fourth straight loss and eighth in 12 games.
The Yankees have 11 games remaining.
INDIANS 5, ROYALS 3: Asdrubal Cabrera drove in the go-ahead run in the eighth inning, and Cleveland rallied against the stingy Royals bullpen in a win at Kansas City, Mo.
The Indians were shut out until the sixth by top prospect Yordano Ventura, who made an electric major league debut by throwing 52/3 innings and allowing just five hits.
The win allowed the Indians to remain a half-game back of Texas and Tampa Bay in the AL wild-card race. The Royals are now 3½ games adrift after the Rangers beat the Rays earlier in the night.
TIGERS 6, MARINERS 2: Miguel Cabrera hit his 44th homer, Austin Jackson hit a two-run single and Detroit held on despite a short-handed bullpen in a win at Detroit.
The AL Central-leading Tigers were ahead 3-2 when they escaped a bases-loaded jam in the eighth while playing without closer Joaquin Benoit and left-handed reliever Drew Smyly, as both bullpen mainstays were given the night off.
INTERLEAGUE
REDS 10, ASTROS 0: Jay Bruce hit a grand slam and had five RBI, Mike Leake pitched eight scoreless innings and Cincinnati cruised to a victory at Houston, handing the Astros their 100th loss.
Cincinnati is 4½ games ahead of Washington for the second National League wild-card spot.
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