WASHINGTON — Philadelphia’s Jeremy Hellickson allowed two hits over seven innings while his teammates eventually took advantage of Washington’s sloppiness to push across some runs as the Phillies beat Bryce Harper and the Nationals 3-0 on Wednesday night.
Philadelphia, which entered the series below .500, will try to complete a three-game sweep of the NL East-leading Nationals on Thursday.
WHO'S HOT
n The Cubs’ Jake Arrieta is 15-0 (0.53 ERA) in his past 16 regular-season starts.
who’s Not
n The San Diego Padres (7-14) have lost five straight games.
Unbothered by the temperature in the low 50s or intermittent drizzles, Hellickson (2-1) struck out eight and lowered his 2016 ERA from 5.21 to 3.81. He gave up NL batting leader Daniel Murphy’s ground-rule double in the second inning and Danny Espinosa’s 500th career hit on a bunt single in the fifth – and that was it.
GIANTS 13, PADRES 9: Brandon Belt was a homer short of the cycle and drove in five runs, Hunter Pence drove in a pair on three hits and San Francisco completed a three-game sweep with a win at home.
METS 5, REDS 2: Neil Walker hit his ninth home run, tying for the major league lead, Matt Harvey won his second straight start and New York won at home to stretch its winning streak to six.
Walker’s third-inning homer off Jon Moscot (0-2) extended the Mets’ lead to 3-1 and tied the team record for home runs in April.
Harvey (2-3) won his second consecutive start after losing his first three.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
WHITE SOX 4, BLUE JAYS 0: Dioner Navarro hit a go-ahead, two-run triple in the seventh inning as visiting Chicago won its sixth straight game.
Jose Quintana (3-1) struck out a season-high 10 in six innings for Chicago, which at 16-6 is 10 games above .500 for the first time since Sept. 25, 2012.
TIGERS 9, ATHLETICS 4: Justin Verlander pitched impressively into the seventh inning, and J.D. and Victor Martinez both homered as Detroit won at home.
Verlander (2-2) allowed three runs and five hits in 61/3 innings, his third straight quality start since allowing seven runs against Pittsburgh on April 11.
Oakland’s Sonny Gray (3-2) lasted only two innings in the shortest start of his big league career. He allowed four runs, two hits and four walks, throwing 65 pitches.
RANGERS 3, YANKEES 2: Elvis Andrus had a tie-breaking RBI triple while former Rangers shortstop Alex Rodriguez hit his 100th homer in the stadium at Arlington, Texas.
A-Rod’s 690th career homer gave him triple digits in the Rangers’ ballpark. He hit 86 at home for Texas from 2001-03 and has 14 more in 65 games as a visitor there – first with Seattle before his big deal with the Rangers, and after being traded to the Yankees.
ORIOLES 3, RAYS 1: Joey Rickard hit a three-run home run and Chris Tillman gave up two hits in 62/3 innings to help visiting Baltimore break a three-game losing streak.
Rickard’s second home run of the season came off Matt Moore in the fifth inning after Nolan Reimold walked and Jonathan Schoop singled.
It was only the third home run in eight games for the Orioles, who have scored just five runs in their last four games.
Tillman (2-1) tied a career high with nine strikeouts. Both of his wins have come against Tampa Bay.
NOTES
ROCKIES: Colorado placed left-hander Jorge De La Rosa on the 15-day disabled list with a left groin strain and recalled right-hander Eddie Butler from Triple-A Albuquerque.
PHILLIES: Starting pitcher Charlie Morton is out for the season because of a torn left hamstring. Morton is scheduled for surgery on the hamstring next Monday and the recovery time is expected to be 6 to 8 months.
TIGERS: Detroit optioned outfielder Tyler Collins to Triple-A Toledo, although Manager Brad Ausmus said the move was not related to the obscene gesture Collins directed at booing home fans Monday after he missed a fly ball.
Collins went 2 for 20 in 10 games with the Tigers this season.
RANGERS: Ace Yu Darvish is scheduled to pitch Sunday in his first minor league rehab start since Tommy John surgery more than 13 months ago.
The right-hander from Japan last pitched in a major league game Aug. 9, 2014, then missed the end of that season because of right elbow inflammation.
Darvish, 29, is 39-25 with a 3.27 ERA and 680 strikeouts in 83 starts for Texas from 2012-14.
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