Baseball-Highlights of Thursday's Major League Baseball games

(Updates with late games) April 10 (The Sports Xchange) - Highlights of Thursday's Major League Baseball games. - - - Yankees 4, Red Sox 1 Right-hander Michael Pineda allowed one run and four hits in six-plus innings and the New York Yankees opened a four-game series against the Boston Red Sox with a win at Yankee Stadium. But Pineda's performance was shrouded in controversy over whether he used a foreign substance on his right hand in the first four innings. Speculation arose it might have been pine tar, which is banned because it might help a pitcher grip the ball better, but Pineda said it was merely dirt, and manager Joe Girardi shrugged off questions from reporters. After allowing one run and five hits in six innings on Saturday in Toronto, Pineda (1-1) was even more impressive in his second start for the Yankees after missing two seasons because of shoulder injuries. He struck out seven - all swinging - and issued two walks. He threw 63 of 94 pitches for strikes and won his first start since July 2011. - - - Athletics 6, Twins 1 The Oakland Athletics got a quality start from Dan Straily and a pair of two-run homers in a big win over Minnesota to sweep the Twins in the series finale. The Twins took an early lead in the first inning when second baseman Brian Dozier hit a solo home run, his third of the year, to left field on the first pitch he faced, but it was all Oakland after that as Straily dominated. The right-hander (1-1) pitched seven innings, allowing three hits, walking two and striking out five as Oakland won their fourth in a row, and ninth straight against the Twins. - - - Nationals 7, Marlins 1 Right-hander Stephen Strasburg struck out 12 batters as the Washington Nationals beat the Miami Marlins to sweep the three-game series at home. The Nationals scored five runs in the eighth as left fielder Ian Desmond hit a grand slam to left against reliever Arquimedes Caminero. It was the second grand slam in as many days for the Nationals (7-2), who have won four in a row. - - - Pirates 5, Cubs 4 Third baseman Pedro Alvarez capped a five-run seventh inning with his third home run in two days as the Pittsburgh Pirates claimed a come-from-behind win in the finale of a three-game series at Wrigley Field. Alvarez greeted Cubs left-handed reliever James Russell with his three-run shot to center with two out in the seventh as the Pirates beat the Cubs for the fourth time in six games in the season's first 11 days. - - - Brewers 6, Phillies 2 The Milwaukee Brewers earned their sixth win a row as they completed their first ever series sweep in Philadelphia. Marco Estrada pitched six effective innings to earn his first victory of the season, and left fielder Khris Davis drove in two runs for Milwaukee. The Brewers (7-2) are off to their best start since 1998, while the Phillies have lost four straight. - - - Astros 6, Blue Jays 4 Left fielder Robbie Grossman, shortstop Jonathan Villar and catcher Jason Castro hit home runs and left-hander Dallas Keuchel pitched seven innings as the Houston Astros held on to beat the Toronto Blue Jays on the road. The Astros (4-6) withstood a three-run Toronto ninth to halt a three-game losing streak as they salvaged the finale of the three-game series. - - - Mets 6, Braves 4 Left fielder Eric Young Jr. helped the New York Mets beat the Atlanta Braves on the road. Young, who came in hitting just .154, had three hits, including a triple, stole three bases and scored four times as the Mets took the three-game series. - - - White Sox 7, Indians 3 First baseman Jose Abreu hit two home runs and the Chicago White Sox ended a bad day by halting their 14-game losing streak against the Cleveland Indians. Cleveland starter Danny Salazar had a historically bizarre night for the Indians. Salazar matched a career high with 10 strikeouts but only lasted 3 2/3 innings, giving up six hits and five runs. He became the first pitcher since 1900 to strike out 10 in less than four innings. The White Sox learned before the match that prized right fielder Avisail Garcia will miss the rest of the season with a torn labrum in his left shoulder that he suffered on Wednesday in Colorado. (Editing By Andrew Both in Cary, North Carolina/Peter Rutherford)