THREE UP
Ryan Church hit a first-inning grand slam, helping the Mets finish off a three-game sweep of the Brewers with a 9-2 win. Church, who has 11 homers, has endured a long recovery from post-concussion syndrome.
Dustin Nippert, who is filling in for an injured Vicente Padilla, outdueled Felix Hernandez in the Rangers’ 1-0 win over the Mariners. Nippert scattered seven hits over seven innings with four strikeouts.
After 19 seasons of professional ball, Scott McClain finally hit his first major-league home run in the Giants’ 9-2 victory over the Rockies. The 36-year-old rookie hit 287 homers in 1,664 minor-league games.
THREE DOWN
The Orioles’ bullpen literally threw away the game in a 5-4 loss to the Red Sox. In the ninth, Jim Miller tried for a force play on a sacrifice bunt attempt but threw the ball into left field as the winning run scored.
The Twins made three errors, leading to two runs, including the game-tying tally in the ninth before losing 5-4 to the Blue Jays in 11 innings. They fell to 5-8 on the road trip and one game behind the White Sox.
Chris Perez blew a ninth-inning lead in the Cardinals’ 4-3 loss to the D’backs. Perez allowed two runs and suffered the team’s 29th relief loss of the season as St. Louis remained 51/2 games out of the NL wild card.
