8 Hits Not Enough For Rockies – MLB Roundup For July 23rd

UNDATED (AP) — The Tampa Bay Rays and Los Angeles Dodgers remain baseball's hottest ballclubs.

Matt Moore tossed a two-hitter and James Loney had two RBIs as the Rays beat the Red Sox 3-0 for their sixth consecutive victory and 18th in 20 games. Moore allowed just one runner past first base and needed only 109 pitches to complete his first career shutout.

Ben Zobrist had three hits for the Rays, who are within a half-game of first-place Boston in the American League East after sitting seven games back on June 28.

The Dodgers are the new leaders in the National League West following their 21st victory in 26 games, just one month after falling 9 ½ games back.

A.J. Ellis went 4-for-6 with a two-run homer, five RBIs and three runs scored to lead the Dodgers' assault in a 14-5 rout of the Blue Jays in Toronto. Skip Schumaker (SHOO'-mah-kur) added a three-run blast for Los Angeles, which scored four times in the second, sixth and seventh innings.

Arizona fell a half-game behind the Dodgers by losing to the Chicago Cubs 4-2. Junior Lake hit a two-run homer and singled home the insurance run in the ninth inning.

Also in the majors, Max Scherzer improved to 14-1 by allowing just two runs and four hits over eight innings of Detroit's 7-3 win over the Chicago White Sox. Victor Martinez had four hits and three RBIs for the Tigers, who finished the game without third baseman Miguel Cabrera. The reigning AL Triple Crown winner came out of the game in the fifth inning with a sore hip flexor muscle that will be evaluated Tuesday.

Aaron Harang gave up a run and four hits in seven innings of Seattle's 2-1 triumph against Cleveland, which drops the Indians 2 ½ games behind the AL Central-leading Tigers. The Mariners' runs came on solo homers by Kendrys Morales and Mike Zunino.

Oakland's lead in the AL West remains three games over Texas after the Athletics came back from a 3-0 deficit to beat Houston 4-3. Josh Reddick hit a go-ahead, two-run homer in the eighth inning as the A's improved to 10-0 against the Astros this season.

Yu Darvish pitched into the seventh inning and Nelson Cruz hit a solo homer as the Rangers blanked the New York Yankees 3-0. Darvish limited the Yanks to two hits over 6 1/3 innings to improve to 9-4.

Baltimore has a season-high five-game winning streak after J.J. Hardy hit a two-run homer and provided three RBIs in the Orioles' 9-2 pounding of Kansas City. Chris Davis leads the majors with 97 RBIs after supplying a sacrifice fly and a two-run double.

Dillon Gee carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning, but John Buck's passed ball helped Atlanta score the tying and winning runs in the ninth inning of a 2-1 victory against the New York Mets. Reed Johnson singled home the tiebreaking run with two out, allowing the Braves to end a two-game skid and stretch their lead in the NL East to seven games over Philadelphia.

Andrew McCutchen belted a pair of two-run homers off Dan Haren while Pittsburgh was building a 5-0 lead in a 6-5 win at Washington. The Nationals have gone 0-4 since the All-Star break to fall eight games behind the East-leading Braves.

Homers by Devin Mesoraco, Shin-Soo Choo and Jay Bruce powered Cincinnati's 10-0 laugher against San Francisco. Todd Frazier had two hits and three RBIs to back Bronson Arroyo's sixth career shutout.

Miami had gone 37 consecutive innings without scoring until Giancarlo Stanton hit an RBI double in a two-run first that helped the Marlins beat Colorado 3-1. Ed Lucas scored the game's first run and hit a solo homer to support Tom Koehler, who struck out seven while holding the Rockies to a run and eight hits in seven innings.

Jesus Guzman homered and collected three RBIs in San Diego's 5-3 victory at Milwaukee. The Padres trailed 3-1 until Carlos Quentin and Guzman hit two-run doubles in the sixth inning.

The Minnesota Twins were 4-3 winners over the Angels behind Samuel Deduno (deh-DOO'-noh), who limited the Halos to a pair of runs and four hits in seven innings. Clete Thomas supported Deduno with a solo homer and an RBI double.

UNDATED (AP) — The Texas Rangers have bolstered their starting rotation by acquiring right-hander Matt Garza from the Chicago Cubs. The Cubbies receive rookie pitcher Justin Grimm, third baseman and top prospect Mike Olt, Class-A pitcher C.J. Edwards and a player to be named.

Garza is 6-1 with a 3.17 ERA in 11 starts this season, including a 5-0 mark and a 1.24 earned run average in his last six outings. He is scheduled to become a free agent after the season.

In other major league news, Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp is expected to miss the three-game series against the Blue Jays in Toronto after spraining his left ankle in Sunday's win at Washington. Kemp is expected to have X-rays tonight, but the team believes he does not have a fracture or ligament damage. He came off the disabled list yesterday after missing 11 games with a sore left shoulder.

Mariners manager Eric Wedge suffered a dizzy spell during batting practice, had to be helped into the dugout by team personnel and was taken to a hospital as a precaution before Monday night's game against the Cleveland Indians. Wedge was feeling better after being checked out in the clubhouse, but the team still decided to have him examined at a hospital.

Braves outfielder Jason Heyward returned to the lineup on Monday after missing six games with a right hamstring injury. Heyward promptly made a diving catch in center field to end the Braves' 2-1 win over the Mets.

Atlanta also placed starting pitcher Paul Maholm (mah-HAH'-luhm) on the 15-day disabled list because of a bruised left wrist.