Mets Blank Rockies – MLB Roundup For Aug. 8th

UNDATED (AP) — The Atlanta Braves' amazing late-season run continues. The Braves won their 13th straight game by rallying past the Washington Nationals 6-3 to complete a three-game sweep in the Nation's Capital.

Jason Heyward's go-ahead single in the Braves' three-run eighth inning was the big hit. Justin Upton went three-for-four with three RBIs, including his 21st homer.

The Nationals loaded the bases in the ninth off Braves closer Craig Kimbrel. But Kimbrel recovered to get Wilson Ramos to line out to right field for the final out to secure his league-leading 36th save.

The Braves now own a commanding 15 ½ game lead in the NL East with their 70th victory.

In other NL action:

__Matt Harvey twirled a four-hit shutout for his first major league complete game in his 33rd start as the New York Mets blanked Colorado 5-0. Harvey is 9-3. He struck out six in his 106-pitch gem.

__Charlie Morton retired his final 11 batters over seven strong innings and the Pittsburgh Pirates maintained the best record in the majors with a 4-2 victory over the Miami Marlins. The Pirates are 69-44.

— Donnie Murphy hit a tiebreaking three-run shot in the ninth inning for his second homer of the game, lifting the Chicago Cubs to a 5-2 win over the Philadelphia Phillies.

__ The L.A. Dodgers worked over St. Louis 13-4. Andre Ethier (EE'-thee-ur) and Skip Schumaker each had three hits and a season-best four RBIs.

__Khris Davis hit a home run and the Milwaukee Brewers defeated the San Francisco Giants 6-1. Marco Estrada and three relievers combined to throw a three-hitter.

In the American League:

__Prince Fielder delivered a two-run double in the top of the 14th inning and the Detroit Tigers outlasted Cleveland 6-5. The Tigers have won the first three games of this series and now own a six-game lead over the Indians in the AL Central. Detroit goes for the four-game sweep Thursday night as the Tigers send 16-1 Max Scherzer to the mound.

— Humberto Quintero's two-run homer highlighted a six-run fifth inning, and the Seattle Mariners rallied for a 9-7 victory over Toronto. That spoiled the return of Blue Jays left-hander J.A. Happ, who made his first start since he suffered a skull fracture and sprained knee after being struck by a line drive by Tampa Bay's Desmond Jennings.

__ Kansas City topped Minnesota 5-2. Alex Gordon hit a two-run homer, his 11th of the season. All-Star closer Greg Holland worked around a single in the ninth for his 30th save.

__ Boston rallied with three in the ninth to beat Houston 7-5. Stephen Drew's three-run homer in the top of the ninth won it. David Ortiz had four hits and Jonny Gomes also hit a home run for the Red Sox, who have won seven of their last nine.

— Alejandro De Aza's two-run double in the 12th rallied the Chicago White Sox to a 6-5 win over the New York Yankees, hours after New York's Alex Rodriguez appealed his suspension. A-Rod went one-for-five with a walk.

__ The Texas Rangers routed the L.A. Angels 10-3. Adrian Beltre (BEHL'-tray) hit his 25th homer and drove in three. Mike Trout hit his 20th homer for the Angels.

In interleague action:

— Chris Davis hit his major league-leading 41st homer in Baltimore's four-run eighth inning in the Orioles' 10-3 rout of the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Davis belted a tiebreaking three-run shot into the bleachers in right-center on the first pitch from reliever Colt Hynes.

— Jay Bruce hit a two-run homer and Corky Miller drove in a pair to lead the Reds to a 6-5 win over the Athletics in Cincinnati. The Reds roughed up Oakland starter Bartolo Colon (bahr-TOH'-loh kuh-LOHN') for five runs on seven hits with three walks in 2 2/3 innings. The AL West leading Athletics have lost six of their last seven.

— Martin (mar-TEEN') Prado hit a two-run single in the eighth inning and also had a two-run homer in the Arizona Diamondbacks' 9-8 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays.

CHICAGO (AP) — The Major League Baseball Players Association has formally appealed Alex Rodriguez's 211-game suspension. He was suspended through the 2014 season on Monday when the league penalized 13 players following an investigation into Biogenesis of America, a shuttered Florida anti-aging clinic accused of distributing banned performance-enhancing drugs.

The other 12 players accepted 50-game suspensions, but Rodriguez said he planned to fight. Union head Michael Weiner (WEE'-nur) said the punishment for the third baseman was "way out of line."

Rodriguez is allowed to keep playing until Wednesday's grievance is heard by arbitrator Fredric Horowitz, who isn't expected to rule until November or December at the earliest.

UNDATED (AP) — The Detroit Tigers have released veteran closer Jose Valverde (val-VAYR'-day) from his contract with Triple-A Toledo. Valverde faltered during the 2012 playoffs and became a free agent in the offseason. He didn't sign with another team and Detroit eventually brought him back on a minor league deal, calling him up to the majors in late April.

In other MLB news:

— Five-time All-Star Chase Utley and the Phillies have agreed to a two-year, $27 million contract extension that could keep the five-time All-Star in Philadelphia through at least the 2015 season. That's according to two people familiar with the deal.

— Cleveland Indians starter Corey Kluber (KLOO-bur) has been placed on the 15-day disabled list and will miss at least one month with a sprained right middle finger. He suffered the injury while throwing a breaking ball in Monday's game against Detroit. The Indians said Kluber could miss as much as six weeks, a major blow to their playoff chances.

— Cardinals rookie Shelby Miller was struck by Carl Crawford's liner on his right elbow on his second pitch of the game, cutting short his start on Wednesday night against the Los Angeles Dodgers. The 22-year-old Miller suffered what the Cards are calling an elbow contusion. X-rays were negative.

— The Indians have signed utilityman Ryan Raburn to a two-year, $4.85 million contract extension that includes a $3 million club option for 2016. He has had a major impact with Cleveland, which signed him to a minor league free agent contract in January, following his release by Detroit.

— New York City police are investigating swastikas and hate speech scrawled on a statue of Jackie Robinson and a teammate outside Brooklyn's minor league baseball stadium. The statue is of Robinson and his Brooklyn Dodgers teammate Pee Wee Reese.