ATLANTA — Shortstop Didi Gregorius went a surprising 4-for-5 with a homer and a career-high six RBIs as the New York Yankees broke out for a 15-4 Inter-League rout of the Atlanta Braves to remain 1 1/2 games behind Toronto in the AL East. “I felt really good,” said Gregorius, whose only out was a long drive to center field. “We need this. The offense had been struggling the last couple games. I was just trying to help the team win.” The Yankees (70-57) backed right-hander Masahiro Tanaka with five runs in the first inning and four more in the second after scoring just four times in their previous three games. Catcher Brian McCann, playing his first game at Turner Field since leaving the Braves for the Yankees before last season, hit a three-run homer in the eighth and left fielder Chris Young connected in the ninth as outfielder Jonny Gomes mopped up on the mound. It was the 23rd homer of the season for McCann, who also walked three times and had a sacrifice fly before a crowd of 35,546 dominated by Yankees fans. The three-run shot by Gregorius in the first inning was his seventh homer of the season and second in two games. The Yankees had gone 144 at-bats without a home run until he connected in the seventh inning against Houston Wednesday. The loss was the 10th in the last 11 games for Atlanta (54-74). The Braves are 12-32 since being 42-42 on July 7. Red Sox 6, Mets 4 (10 innings): Blake Swihart hit an inside-the-park home run leading off the 10th inning as Boston snapped New York's seven-game winning streak. Diamondbacks 6, A's 4: Paul Goldschmidt hit a two-run homer to cap a four-run seventh inning and Arizona broke a four-game losing streak in a victory over Oakland at Chase Field. American League Rangers 4, Orioles 1: Left-hander Cole Hamels struck out 10 and limited the Baltimore Orioles to two hits over eight innings in the Texas Rangers' 4-1 victory. Right fielder Choo Shin-soo had a solo home run and two RBIs, while catcher Chris Gimenez's solo homer in the fifth represented the go-ahead run. Center fielder DeLino DeShields added a run-scoring triple for Texas (66-61), which remained a half-game ahead of Minnesota in the chase for the second wild-card spot in the American League. Blue Jays 5, Tigers 3: R.A. Dickey pitched into the seventh inning and Toronto hit three solo home runs to defeat Detroit. Troy Tulowitzki, Josh Donaldson and Jose Bautista homered for the Blue Jays in the opener of a three-game series. Edwin Encarnacion extended his hitting streak to 23 games with an RBI double in the first. It is the longest hit streak in the majors this season. Other results: Indians 3, Angels 1; Royals 3, Rays 2; Mariners 2, White Sox 0; Twins 3, Astros 0. National League Dodgers 4, Cubs 1: Clayton Kershaw struck out 14, sparking the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 4-1 victory over the Chicago Cubs before 44,874 at Dodger Stadium. Kershaw (11-6), who is unbeaten in his last 10 starts, gave up a run on three hits with a walk in eight innings. Although he had his string of scoreless innings at home halted at 31 1/3, when Anthony Rizzo homered in the fourth inning, Kershaw retired 14 of the next 15 batters after the Cubs first baseman's home run. Kershaw fanned Chicago third baseman Kris Bryant three times as closer Kenley Jansen worked a perfect ninth for his 26th save in 28 opportunities. Marlins 4, Nationals 3: Martin Prado had two hits, including a two-run homer, and scored twice as Miami beat Washington to put a dent in the post-season hopes of the defending division champions. Marcell Ozuna also had two hits, including a solo homer and double. The Nationals began the night 6 1/2 games behind the first-place New York Mets in the National League East. Washington has lost nine of its last 11 games decided by one or two runs and the Marlins won just their 22nd road game of the season. Phillies 7, Padres 1: Rookie right-hander Aaron Nola worked seven strong innings to run his personal winning streak to five as Philadelphia beat San Diego. Cameron Rupp hit a three-run homer in a five-run eighth inning for the Phillies, who snapped a four-game losing streak. Other results: Pirates 5, Rockies 3; Brewers 5, Reds 0; Giants 5, Cardinals 4. — Agencies
