Baseball-Highlights of Thursday's Major League Baseball games

Aug 19 (The Sports Xchange) - Highlights of Thursday's Major League Baseball games: Orioles 13, Astros 5 The Baltimore Orioles erupted for six home runs, including two apiece by J.J. Hardy and Chris Davis, in a 13-5 victory over the Houston Astros in the opener of a four game series. Mark Trumbo regained the major league lead with his career-high 35th homer, while Manny Machado got his 27th of the season. Baltimore moved into a second-place tie with the Boston Red Sox and trail the Toronto Blue Jays by 1 1/2 games in the American League East. Houston has lost five in a row. The Orioles' Kevin Gausman (4-10) allowed five runs (four earned) and seven hits with eight strikeouts over 6 2/3 innings to pick up the win. Indians 5, White Sox 4 Tyler Naquin's sacrifice fly in the ninth inning drove in the winning run as Cleveland beat Chicago as Andrew Miller (7-1) pitched a scoreless top of the frame to get the win. Indians starter Danny Salazar came off the disabled list to make his first appearance since Aug. 1 and was removed from the game after a 34-pitch, three-walk, three-run first inning. Phillies 5, Dodgers 4 Maikel Franco hit a go-ahead two-run homer in the seventh inning as Philadelphia beat Los Angeles. Ryan Howard added a solo homer for the Phillies, who salvaged the finale of a three-game series while winning for the fifth time in seven games. Cubs 9, Brewers 6 Kris Bryant went 5-for-5 with two home runs while right-hander Jake Arrieta picked up his 15th win as Chicago completed a four-game sweep of Milwaukee. Bryant, who also scored four times and collected five RBIs, has 30 home runs to tie Colorado's Nolan Arenado for the National League lead. Tigers 4, Red Sox 3 Andrew Romine walked with the bases loaded and two out in the eighth inning to force home the winning run in Detroit's victory over Boston. It was the Tigers' first victory following three straight losses and the first time the Red Sox had tasted defeat in seven games. Reds 5, Marlins 4 Ramon Cabrera hit his second career home run and right-hander Dan Straily outpitched Jose Fernandez as Cincinnati held on to defeat Miami. Fernandez (12-7) eclipsed the 200-strikeout mark in the second inning but not much else went right for the Marlins' ace, who lasted only four innings. Straily (9-6) allowed two runs on six hits over six innings. He struck out seven and did not walk a batter. Royals 8, Twins 1 Dillon Gee pitched a season-high seven innings and hot-hitting Alex Gordon belted a grand slam as Kansas City won its fifth straight game. Gee (5-6) gave up one run on five hits while matching a career high with seven strikeouts and claiming his first victory as a starter since May 31. Nationals 8, Braves 2 Rookie right-hander Reynaldo Lopez struck out 11 over seven innings as Washington routed Atlanta, improving to 9-1 against the Braves this year. Lopez (2-1) has recorded both of his major league wins against the Braves. Angels 6, Mariners 4 Matt Shoemaker surrendered five hits in seven innings, Yunel Escobar had three hits and scored two runs, and Los Angeles defeated Seattle at Angel Stadium. The Angels won for only the second time in their past 14 games and remain in last place in the AL East, trailing the Oakland Athletics by a game. Giants 10, Mets 7 Madison Bumgarner came to his own rescue with a two-run home run to cap a five-run fourth inning, helping San Francisco outslug New York in the opener of a four-game series. Eduardo Nunez had four hits and three RBIs for the Giants, who moved seven games ahead of the Mets in the National League wild-card race while also edging within a half-game of the Los Angeles Dodgers atop the NL West. Padres 9, Diamondbacks 8 Alex Dickerson hit a three-run double with two outs in the eighth inning to give San Diego a come-from behind victory over Arizona at Petco Park. The win moved the Padres back into sole possession of fourth in the National League West and snapped a five-game losing streak. Arizona saw its four-game winning streak end. (Editing by John O'Brien)