The Atlanta Braves handed Tampa Bay a rare home loss when they chased top pitcher James Shields after six innings in a 5-3 victory over the Rays Friday. Freddie Freeman's run scoring double in the fifth put Atlanta ahead to stay and the Braves added another run two batters later for a 4-2 advantage. Martin Prado made it a 5-2 game with a seventh inning homer as the Braves, who lead the National League East, won for the 10th time in 12 road games. Tampa Bay, chasing Baltimore for the American League East's top spot, lost at home for only the fifth time in 19 games this season. Shields (6-2) had been bidding for an AL leading seventh win but lasted just six innings, giving up four runs and seven hits while striking out eight. Prado said the Braves watched a lot of video to determine how to bat against Shields. But the Rays could manage only one run in an eighth inning rally and went down in order in the ninth. Atlanta's Tommy Hanson (5-3) got the win, allowing two runs and six hits over seven innings. Rangers 4, Astros 1: Adrian Beltre homered and drove in two runs and Michael Young broke out of a slump with two hits and an RBI to lift the Texas Rangers to a 4-1 win over the Houston Astros. The Rangers were up 3-1 when Beltre belted his eighth homer, a two-out solo shot to left-center in the seventh inning. Beltre put the Rangers on top 1-0 in the third with a sacrifice fly. He also doubled in the fifth and scored on Young's double to make it 3-1. Young entered the game in a 0-for-11 slide and was 5 for 41 with one RBI in his previous nine games. Tigers 6, Pirates 0: Justin Verlander came within two outs of his third no-hitter, allowing only Josh Harrison's ninth-inning single in the Detroit Tigers' win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. The 29-year-old Verlander, last year's AL MVP and Cy Young Award winner, nearly became the sixth major league pitcher with at least three career no-hitters. But with one out in the ninth, Harrison reached out and flicked a 1-2 slider into shallow center field for a clean single. The crowd at Comerica Park, already on its feet, gave Verlander a big ovation and the right-hander quickly finished off the Pirates with a pair of groundouts. Verlander (5-1) completed his one-hit gem with 12 strikeouts and two walks. It was his sixth career shutout and 16th complete game. Yankees 4, Reds 0: Andy Pettitte pitched eight sharp innings for his first regular-season win since July 2010, leading New York over Cincinnati. Marlins 3, Indians 2: Carlos Zambrano pitched seven strong innings to help Miami open interleague play with a victory over Cleveland. Blue Jays 14, Mets 5: J.P. Arencibia and Rajai Davis each hit two home runs, Yan Gomes hit his first career homer and Toronto routed the New York Mets. In other games it was: White Sox 3, Cubs 2; Phillies 6, Red Sox 4; Orioles 2, Nationals 1, 11 innings; Diamondbacks 6, Royals 4; Minnesota 11, Milwaukee 3; Seattle 4, Colorado 0; LA Angels 7, San Diego 2; San Francisco 8, Oakland 6.
