The Miami Herald from Miami, Florida • D5

MIAMI HERALD H3 THURSDAY, JULY 3, 5D Sean Rodriguez hit a tie- breaking homer in the sixth inning and drove in three runs, helping the streaking Tampa Bay Rays extend their longest winning string this year to five and handing the host New York Yankees their season-worst fifth consecutive loss, 6-3 on Wednesday. Ben Zobrist doubled twice among his three hits for the Rays, but ran into two outs. With manager Joe Maddon encouraging his team to be more aggressive on the bases, Rodriguez was thrown out trying to stretch an RBI single to the wall in right field in the fourth. The Rays won all three games at Yankee Stadium for their first road sweep since taking three in the Bronx on Sept. 24-26.

The Rays improved to 11 games under .500 for the first time in a month after falling 18 under on June 10. New York is below .500 at 41-42 for the first time since April 11. Brett Gardner hit a leadoff homer and an RBI single against Jake Odorizzi (4-7) and added another hit for the Yankees. New York could muster little other than Brian long ball on a sweltering day at Yankee Stadium. Humidity made the temperature feel as if it were in the high 90s.

Joel Peralta tied Esteban record for appearances with the Rays at 266 when he pitched a scoreless eighth inning. Brad Boxberger was perfect in the ninth for his first save. Royals 4, Twins 0 Jason Vargas threw seven scoreless innings, Raul Ibanez homered in his second game for Kansas City and the Royals beat host Minnesota. Vargas (8-3) became the first Royals left-hander to win eight games or more before the All-Star break since Chris George in 2003. Ibanez, 42, who signed with Kansas City on Monday, became the oldest Royals player to hit a home run.

Tigers 9, Athletics 3 Torii Hunter hit three RBI singles and capped a six-run burst in the sixth inning as host Detroit beat Oakland for a three-game sweep. Hunter, who turns 39 on July 18, came into the game hitting .185 in his previous 32 games. Justin Verlander (7-7) pitched six innings for his first win since May 30. Interleague Blue Jays 7, Brewers 4 Edwin Encarnacion hit a three-run, walk-off home run in the ninth inning as host Toronto handed Milwaukee its third loss in a row. Jose Bautista and Juan Francisco also connected for the Blue Jays, who have hit a major league-high 113 home runs this season.

Mariners 5, Astros 2 Logan Morrison drove in two runs in big sixth inning, Chris Young (8-4) pitched seven strong innings and the Mariners beat host Houston to complete a three-game sweep. The Mariners were down by two before a four-run sixth inning, highlighted by double to right field off Brad Peacock (2-5) that put them on top. James Jones scored on a wild pitch in the inning and John Buck had an RBI single. Interleague Cubs 16, Red Sox 9 Justin Ruggiano, Mike Olt and Welington Castillo hit two-run homers to power Chicago over host Boston, completing a three-game sweep. Ruggiano drove in five runs, Darwin Barney had four hits and Nate Schier- holtz added a solo homer for Chicago, which won for the sixth time in seven games away from Wrigley Field and posted its first inter- league sweep of three or more games since taking three from Cleveland in 2009.

White Sox 3, Angels 2 Leury Garcia drove in the winning run with a pinch- hit single off Michael Morin in the ninth inning to lift host Chicago over Los Angeles. The White Sox beat the Angels after dropping their first five games against them this season. AMERICAN LEAGUE ROUNDUP Rodriguez, Rays hand Yankees fifth loss in row From Miami Herald Wire Services Mike Aviles capped a three-run eighth inning with atwo-run single against Brian Wilson, rallying the Cleveland Indians to a 5-4 win over the host Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday. Ryan Raburn homered off Hyun-Jin Ryu, who was lifted after seven innings with a 3-2 lead. But Wilson (1-3) retired only one of the six batters he faced, giving up a tying single by pinch-hitter David Murphy and clutch hit after an intentional walk to Lonnie Chisenhall.

Chisenhall is hitting .344, one point better than American League leader Jose Altuve of Houston but is still a few plate appearances shy of the number he needs to qualify for the AL batting race. The Indians had a batting champion since Bobby Avila in 1954. Brian Shaw (3-1) pitched a scoreless seventh to get the victory. Scott Atchison gave up a solo homer by Scott Van Slyke in the eighth. Cody Allen got four outs for his eighth save, retiring Matt Kemp on a flyball to the warning track with the potential tying and winning runs in scoring position.

Ryu allowed two runs and seven hits, struck out eight, and hit an RBI double that triggered a three-run fifth. The left-hander did not walk a batter, his 13th consecutive outing with fewer than three bases on balls. Dodgers starting pitchers have issued fewer than three walks in 36 consecutive games, tying the 2005 Minnesota Twins for the longest such streak in the modern era (since 1900). Braves 3, Mets 1 Chris Johnson hit a three-run double, Julio Teheran (8-5) pitched seven strong innings and host Atlanta beat New York to finish a three- game sweep. The Braves extended their season-best winning streak to seven games.

The Mets have lost four in a row and are a season-worst 11 games below .500. Padres 3, Reds 0 Tyson Ross (7-8) threw a three- hitter for his first career shutout and Rene Rivera hit athree-run single off big- league ERA leader Johnny Cueto (8-6) as host San Diego beat Cincinnati for its first three-game sweep since September. Ross had received only one run of support in his previous five starts, and he knocked in that run in his last start, a 2-1loss to Arizona. Ross was 0-4 in his previous five starts. Nationals 4, Rockies 3 After a replay review, Ian solo homer provided the go-ahead run and host Washington rallied from a three-run deficit to beat Colorado and sweep the three-game series.

Jayson Werth also home- red for the Nationals, who have won a season-high five in a row. Pirates 5, Diamondbacks 1 Gregory Polanco homered, Charlie Morton (5-9) gave up one run and five hits in six innings, and host Pittsburgh defeated Arizona. NATIONAL LEAGUE ROUNDUP Reliever Wilson falters as Indians top Dodgers From Miami Herald Wire Services Thursday. hard to concentrate with such a huge event Redmond said. he did a great So did his teammates.

McGehee and Lucas who had the walk-off hit in Tuesday 11-inning win over the Phillies singled, doubled, scored a run and drove a run in to help stake Koehler to an early 3-0 lead. Saltalamacchia then drilled his eight home run of the season a two-run bomb to left field off Mario Hollands adding a pair of key insurance runs in the eighth. That turned out to be more than enough to help Koehler to his first win June 4, lifting his record to 6-6 on the season. Koehler struck out seven and allowed only three hits and a walk on 91pitches, dropping his ERA down to 3.48. just tried to go out there, stick to the game plan and throw lots of strikes, have them put the ball in play and go from Koehler said.

The night start off looking good for Koehler. He gave up back-to-back singles to Ben Revere and Jimmy Rollins to start the game and the Phillies (36-48) had runners on second and third with no- body out after Rollins stole second. But Koehler fought back to strike out Chase Utley and Marlon Byrd and then got Ryan Howard to ground out to second to end the inning. Koehler retired 15 in a row until giving up a walk to pinch-hitter Tony Gwynn Jr. and a single to Revere to open the sixth.

But once again, Koehler worked himself out of trouble, ending the inning by getting Byrd to fly out to deep right field. It was the fifth time this season Koehler pitched at least six innings and give up a run, but the first time he had done it since May 17. McGehee, meanwhile, became the first Marlins player since 2011to have at least 100 hits before the All-Star break. He opened the fourth inning by extending his hitting streak to nine games before scoring on Donovan bases-loaded single to right. After Lucas doubled home Christian Yelich to open the fifth, McGehee crushed a Cole Hamels pitch off the base of the wall in left field for a double, producing his 49th RBI of the season.

Although he rank among the top five vote-getters in the National League at his position, McGehee entered the night leading all third basemen in the senior circuit in batting average, hits, RBI, on-base percentage and fielding percentage. He has also now reached base safely in 26 consecutive games. love to have both Stanton and Casey McGehee in that All-Star Redmond said. at what has been able to do big hit after big hit. an All-Star on our Brad Penny made his first minor-league appearance Wednesday for the Marlins and pitch all that great.

Starting for SingleA Jupiter, Penny, 36, gave up seven hits and four earned runs with two strikeouts over 4 2 3 innings. Penny, who ranks fifth on the all-time wins list and won two games for them in the 2003 World Series, pitched in the majors since 2012. On Wednesday, the first day teams are allowed to sign international players, the Marlins announced deals with Venezuelan outfielder Anderson Castro and shortstop Andres Villalobo, and Panamanian right-hander Alberto Guerrero. Most of the players will start off at the Marlins academy in the Dominican Republic. FROM THE SPORTS FRONT ADDING SOME PUNCH Donovan Solano singles in the fourth inning.

PHOTOS BY PEDRO NUEVO HERALD Big night for Koehler in victory over Phils MARLINS, FROM 1D MARLINS 5, PHILLIES 0 PhiladelphiaABRHBIBBSOAvg. Revere cf402000.291 Rollins ss402001.252 Utley 2b400001.288 Bastardo p000000--- Byrd rf400001.267 Howard 1b301011.235 Mayberry lf400001.214 Asche 3b400002.247 K.Hill c300002.200 Hamels p100001.241 Gwynn Jr. ph000010.167 Rosenberg p000000--- Giles p000000--- C.Hernandez ph100000.247 Hollands p000000--- A.Blanco 2b000000--- Totals32050210 MiamiABRHBIBBSOAvg. Yelich lf410012.258 Lucas ss412101.256 Stanton rf300011.313 McGehee 3b312110.312 Ozuna cf411001.264 Saltalamacchia c311201.241 Je.Baker 1b302010.217 Solano 2b401101.182 Koehler p200000.074 Bour ph100000.286 M.Dunn p000000--- Gregg p000000--- R.Johnson ph100000.263 Hatcher p000000.000 Totals3259547 Philadelphia 7, Miami 8. Lucas (2), McGehee (20), Je.Baker (5).

Saltalamac- chia (8), off Hollands. Lucas (7), McGehee (49), Saltalamacchia 2 (24), Solano (9). Rollins (15), Lucas (1), Stanton (8). Runners left in scoring Philadelphia 3 (Howard 2, Byrd); Miami 6 (Saltala- macchia 3, Koehler 2, Yelich). Philadelphia 0 for Miami 2 for 11.

Runners moved Ozuna. Koehler. Philadelphia 1(Utley, Rollins, Howard). PhiladelphiaIPHRERBBSONPERA Hamels Rosenberg110001226.55 Giles100001121.00 Hollands032200112.70 Bastardo100002213.66 MiamiIPHRERBBSONPERA Koehler M.Dunn 14110003143.58 Gregg 4110000106.14 Hatcher100010193.54 Hollands pitched to 3 batters in the 8th. Inherited Bastardo 1-0.

by Hamels (Saltalamacchia). Home, Eric Cooper; First, Tom Hallion; Second, Angel Campos; Third, Chris Guccione. 3:11. 20,084 MLB THROUGH TUESDAY NATIONAL LEAGUE Tulowitzki, Colorado, Lucroy, Milwaukee, MaAdams, St. Louis, Stanton, Miami, .316 Morneau, Colorado, Puig, LA, Gennett, Mil, .311.

Tulowitzki, Colorado, 65; Goldschmidt, Arizona, 60; Pence, San Francisco, 60; Stanton, Miami, 59 FFreeman, Atlanta, 55; Rendon, Washington, 55; Rizzo, Chicago, 54. Miami, 61 Morneau, Colorado, 58; Goldschmidt, Arizona, 53; AdGonzalez, Los Angeles, 52; Howard, Philadelphia, 51; Byrd, Phila, 49; Desmond, Washington, 49. DanMurphy, New York, 104; Lucroy, Milwaukee, 100; Stanton, Miami, 99 McGehee, Miami, 98 Pence, San Francisco, 98; Tu- lowitzki, Colorado, 97; Goldschmidt, Arizona, 95; AMcCutchen, Pittsburgh, 95. Goldschmidt, Arizona, 28; Lucroy, Milwaukee, 28; SCastro, Chicago, 25; Span, Washington, 25; FFreeman, Atlanta, 24; AMc- Cutchen, Pittsburgh, 24; Utley, Phila, 24. DGordon, Los Angeles, BCraw- ford, San Francisco, Yelich, Miami, 6 Owings, Arizona, Rendon, Washington, Revere, Philadelphia, Span, Washington, 5.

HOME Miami, 21 Tulowitzki, Colorado, 18; Frazier, Cincinnati, 17; Rizzo, Chicago, 17; Byrd, Philadelphia, 16; Gattis, Atlanta, 16; JUpton, Atlanta, 16. Simon, Cincinnati, 10-3; Wainwright, St. Louis, 10-4; Greinke, Los Angeles, 10-4; Kershaw, Los Angeles, 9-2; Lohse, Milwaukee, 9-2; Ryu, Los Angeles, 9-4; WPeralta, Milwaukee, 9-5; Bumgarner, San Fran, 9-5. Cueto, Cincinnati, 1.88; Wainwright, St. Louis, 2.01; HAlvarez, Miami, 2.33 Teheran, Atlanta, 2.34; Beckett, Los Angeles, 2.37; Hudson, San Fran, 2.59; Greinke, LA, 2.78.

Strasburg, Washington, 131; Cueto, Cincinnati, 122; Kennedy, San Diego, 116; Bumgarner, San Francisco, 114; Greinke, Los Angeles, 111; Kershaw, Los Angeles, 107; Miley, Arizona, 106. FrRodriguez, Milwaukee, 27; Kimbrel, Atlanta, 26; Jansen, Los Angeles, 25; Rosenthal, St. Louis, 24; Romo, San Francisco, 22; Street, San Diego, 22; AReed, Arizona, 19; RSoriano, Washington, 19. AMERICAN LEAGUE Altuve, Houston, Beltre, Texas, VMartinez, Detroit, Cano, Seattle, Brantley, Cleveland, Trout, Los Angeles, MiCabrera, Detroit, .311. Dozier, Minnesota, 60; Donaldson, Oakland, 57; Kinsler, Detroit, 56; Bautista, Toronto, 55; Brantley, Cleveland, 55; Encarnacion, Toronto, 55; Trout, Los Angeles, 55.

JAbreu, Chicago, 67; NCruz, Baltimore, 67; Encarnacion, Toronto, 66; MiCabrera, Detroit, 65; Trout, Los Angeles, 62; Donaldson, Oakland, 61; Moss, Oakland, 60. Altuve, Houston, 118; MeCabrera, Toronto, 104; AJones, Baltimore, 104; Kinsler, Detroit, 102; Markakis, Baltimore, 102; Cano, Seattle, 100; Brantley, Cleveland, 96; MiCa- brera, Detroit, 96; VMartinez, Detroit, 96; Al- Ramirez, Chicago, 96. MiCabrera, Detroit, 29; Altuve, Houston, 25; Kinsler, Detroit, 25; AEscobar, Kansas City, 23; EEscobar, Minnesota, 23; AGordon, Kansas City, 23; Pedroia, Boston, 23; Plouffe, Minnesota, 23. Rios, Texas, Bourn, Cleveland, Eaton, Chicago, Gardner, New York, Trout, Los Angeles, JJones, Seattle, Reddick, Oakland, 4. HOME JAbreu, Chicago, 26; NCruz, Baltimore, 26; Encarnacion, Toronto, 25; VMartinez, Detroit, 20; Ortiz, Boston, 19; Trout, Los Angeles, 19; Donaldson, Oakland, 18; Moss, Oakland, 18.

Tanaka, New York, 11-3; Porcello, Detroit, 11-4; FHernandez, Seattle, 10-2; Buehrle, Toronto, 10-5; Richards, Los Angeles, 9-2; Kazmir, Oakland, 9-3; Scherzer, Detroit, 9-3; Lackey, Boston, 9-5; Weaver, Los Angeles, 9-6; Lester, Boston, 9-7. FHernandez, Seattle, 2.10; Tanaka, New York, 2.10; Darvish, Texas, 2.42; Buehrle, Toronto, 2.50; Kazmir, Oakland, 2.61; ASanchez, Detroit, 2.63; Keuchel, Houston, 2.78. Price, Tampa Bay, 153; FHer- nandez, Seattle, 137; Scherzer, Detroit, 132; Darvish, Texas, 128; Tanaka, New York, 127; Kluber, Cleveland, 127; Lester, Boston, 115. Rodney, Seattle, 23; Holland, Kansas City, 23; Perkins, Minnesota, 20; Uehara, Boston, 18; DavRobertson, New York, 18; Nathan, Detroit, 17; Soria, Texas, 15. Brad Hand is getting another shot at earning a spot in the rotation.

Back with the team on Wednesday after six minor-league starts on a rehab assignment, the left- hander will start Thursday in the final home game for the Marlins before a nine- game road trip that precedes the All-Star break. How long Hand remains in the rotation, manager Mike Redmond said Wednesday, is up to see how it goes, Redmond said. tried some different guys. an opportunity for somebody to run with it. I would love for Brad Hand to step in there and pitch great and be the guy for the rest of the season.

That would be outstanding. That would make things a lot easier for all of The Marlins, who rank 12th in the National League in ERA (4.03), have used 10 different starting pitchers through the first half of the season. tied for second- most in the NL with the Padres and two fewer than the Rockies. Part of that was losing ace Jose Fernandez for the season. The other part were injuries to and struggles by Jacob Turner who is now the long reliever.

Hand, who began the season with the Marlins as along reliever, was 0-1with a6.38 ERA and an awful 1.792 WHIP in 16 appearances before he sprained his right ankle on May 24. He made two starts earlier in the year when Turner was on the disabled list. Hand do very well in either start, posting a combined 11.37 ERA and not getting beyond the fourth inning in either appearance, both Marlins losses. He did pitch well, though, during his rehab assignment, going 2-0 with a3.27 ERA in four starts with 22 strikeouts and nine walks for TripleA New Orleans. He posted a 0.75 ERA in two starts for Sin- gleA Jupiter.

was nice to go down there, get some innings in and make everything comfortable said Hand, who in 17 career big-league starts with the Marlins is 1-11with a 5.38 ERA with 54 strikeouts and 47 walks. a starter on a routine. You get a feel for certain pitches. This was the first time I threw out of the bullpen. a learning Marlins shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria is due to come off the disabled list on Sunday and the hope is be ready then.

But if he the Marlins going to rush him, Redmond said. Ed Lucas who had the walk-off hit in 11-inning win over the Phillies, said he received a tweet from the fan who ended up with the ball after the celebration was over. said it was flipped to Lucas said. keeping it. got for all my firsts.

So remember that COMING UP Thursday Marlins LHP Hand (0-1, 6.38 ERA) vs. Philadelphia Phillies RHP Kyle Kendrick (3-8, 4.22), 6:10 p.m., Marlins Park. Friday Marlins RHP Nathan Eovaldi (5-3, 3.71) at St.Louis Cardinals RHP Carlos Martinez (1-3, 4.13), 7:15 p.m., Busch Stadium. MARLINS NOTEBOOK Hand will get opportunity at fifth spot in the rotation BY MANNY NAVARRO BOXSCORE MLB LEADERS Be sure to get the Miami Miami Marlins App, available for both iOS and Android or go to MiamiHerald.com/sports. GOT AN APP FOR THAT!.