CHICAGO – Zack Greinke pitched three-hit ball over nine innings, Rickie Weeks drove in the lone run with a single in the 10th and the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Chicago White Sox 1-0 on Friday night.
The Brewers finally pulled out a close win after dropping five of the previous nine by one run, thanks to one dominant pitching performance and one clutch hit.
Aramis Ramirez led off the 10th by lining his second double of the game down the left-field line against Jesse Crain (1-1). Nyjer Morgan ran for him and advanced on a wild pitch before Weeks drove a single past a diving third baseman Orlando Hudson to make it 1-0.
John Axford came on in the 10th and got his 13th save in 17 chances after blowing three of his previous five opportunities.
That gave Greinke (8-2) the win on a night when Chicago’s Chris Sale pitched eight scoreless innings for the second time in three starts.
Greinke struck out four and walked one. Sale was about as dominant, striking out seven and walking one.
METS 6, YANKEES 4: In New York, Ike Davis received a bit of help from the Yankees on his three-run homer and Frank Francisco closed out the Mets’ victory after calling their crosstown rivals “chickens.”
Justin Turner had a two-run single and the Mets scored five runs in the first inning with two outs. Davis followed Turner’s hit with a fly to right that a leaping Nick Swisher got his glove on. But when he hit the wall, the ball was nudged off the top of the fence and over for a 5-0 lead.
INDIANS 2, ASTROS 0: In Houston, Shin-Soo Choo hit a leadoff triple and Michael Brantley drove in a run late to back up a strong start by Ubaldo Jimenez (7-5) as Cleveland beat the Astros. Choo’s triple was one of only two hits the Indians managed in seven innings against Houston starter Lucas Harrell (6-6) as these teams met for the first time since 2001.
RANGERS 4, ROCKIES 1: In Arlington, Texas, Roy Oswalt pitched efficiently into the seventh inning in his first start of the season as Texas won its seventh straight. Oswalt (1-0) allowed one run and nine hits in 6 2/3 innings. Adrian Beltre and Mike Napoli both homered for Texas, which improved to a major-league best 13-3 in interleague play.
CARDINALS 11, ROYALS 4: In Kansas City, Mo., Carlos Beltran hit two two-run doubles in his return to Kauffman Stadium. David Freese and Tyler Greene added two RBI each for St. Louis, and everybody in the starting lineup had a hit before the fourth inning ended.
BRAVES 4, RED SOX 1: In Boston, Jair Jurrjens made an impressive return to the majors by limiting the Red Sox to one run and three hits in 7 2/3 innings. Craig Kimbrel pitched a perfect ninth for his 21st save in 22 opportunities.
BLUE JAYS 12, MARLINS 5: In Miami, Jose Bautista homered and drove in three runs and Kelly Johnson also had three RBI to lead Toronto. Brett Lawrie had three hits and scored four times to help the Blue Jays end an eight-game losing streak to the Marlins, who have lost five straight and 14 of 16 overall.
ORIOLES 2, NATIONALS 1: In Baltimore, Jason Hammel pitched eight innings of five-hit ball and had a career high-tying 10 strikeouts to lead the Orioles. Coming off a one-hit shutout against Atlanta, Hammel (8-2) gave up an unearned run in improving to 5-0 lifetime against Washington. The right-hander has gone 19 straight innings without giving up an earned run.
PHILLIES-RAYS, ppd: Tampa Bay’s game in Philadelphia was postponed by rain. It will be made up as part of a doubleheader on Sunday, with the regularly scheduled game to begin at 1:05 p.m. and the second game scheduled to start at 6:35 p.m.
