MINNEAPOLIS: Francisco Liriano narrowly missed out on his second no-hitter of the season as the Minnesota Twins beat the Texas Rangers 6-1 in the American League Sunday. Liriano (4-6), who held the Chicago White Sox hitless in on May 3, was perfect through the seventh inning against the high-scoring Rangers before Adrian Beltre led off the eighth with a single. Liriano matched a season high by striking out nine batters in eight innings, allowing two hits without a walk. The Twins scored five times in the seventh, an inning that included an injury to Texas starter Matt Harrison. Harrison (5-6) left after being struck on his arm by Danny Valencia's line drive leading off the seventh. Red Sox 14, Blue Jays 1: In Toronto, Jon Lester pitched two-hit ball over eight innings and David Ortiz and Kevin Youkilis each homered and drove in four runs as Boston won its ninth in a row. Adrian Gonzalez and Dustin Pedroia also homered for Boston, which never trailed while sweeping the three-game series against the Blue Jays. Gonzalez connected in the first off Kyle Drabek (4-5) for his 13th home run. Gonzalez leads the majors with 60 RBIs and has driven in at least one run in nine straight games. Lester (9-2) got his AL-leading ninth win of the season. In other games it was: Yankees 9, Indians 1; Mariners 7, Tigers 3; Royals 9, Angels 0; White Sox 5, Athletics 4; Rays 9, Orioles 6. Braves top Astros Tommy Hanson struck out a career-high 14 in seven innings while Brian McCann and Dan Uggla hit two-run homers as the Atlanta Braves beat the Houston Astros 4-1 in the National League Sunday for their sixth straight win. Hanson (8-4) gave up one run and three hits. He struck out five in a row early in the game and fanned the last three batters he faced. The Astros lost for the eighth time in nine games and struck out 17 times overall. Elsewhere in the NL it was: Diamondbacks 5, Marlins 1; Dodgers 10, Rockies 8; Mets 7, Pirates 0; Brewers 4, Cardinals 3; Phillies 4, Cubs 3; Nationals 2, Padres 0; Giants 4, Reds 2.
