Here are your MLB scores and highlights from Independence Day, or as the Blue Jays called it, Thursday:
Diamondbacks 5, Mets 4: These two teams did their best to extend their 1:10 p.m. ET game long enough so fans could be treated to night-time fireworks, but after Cliff Pennington's RBI single in the top of the 15th inning, the Mets failed to match the D-Backs as they had done in the previous two frames.
Anthony Recker and Kirk Nieuwenhuis both hit game-tying home runs in extra innings, with Recker going deep in the 13th and Nieuwenhuis homering in the 14th. The last time a team hit two game-tying homers in extra innings was in 1998, when Ray Lankford and Eli Marrero did it for the St. Louis Cardinals.
Arizona has now won all seven of its getaway day extra-inning games this season. The game, which lasted 5:46, was the second-longest in D-Backs history.
Royals 10, Indians 7: Kansas City overcame a 5-0 deficit, thanks in large part to Lorenzo Cain's sixth-inning grand slam off of Ubaldo Jimenez, to defeat Cleveland and win the three-game series. The Royals scored 10 runs despite only having the benefit of six hits. They drew eight walks against Indians pitchers. Despite the loss, Jason Kipnis did this after the game:
Happy 4th to everyone out there! Special thanks to all the heroes that serve! #Oooooohhhpic.twitter.com/3NF1IVYFmf
— Jason Kipnis (@TheJK_Kid) July 4, 2013
Nationals 8, Brewers 5: In lieu of typical Fourth of July events, fans in D.C. were treated to a live performance from Neil Diamond after the third inning. Most of the offensive fireworks took place after that, as the Nats and Brewers combined to score nine of the game's 13 total runs in the sixth and seventh innings.
Wilson Ramos launched a three-run home run in the bottom of the seventh to break a 5-5 tie. The Nationals' backstop drove in five runs overall as part of his 3-for-4 day at the plate. Carlos Gomez had two hits, including a two-run homer in the top half of the seventh, to lead the Brewers in the loss.
Yankees 9, Twins 5:Justin Morneau hit a pair of home runs for Minnesota, but New York jumped out to an eight-run lead and held on to cap off a road sweep. Ichiro Suzuki and Travis Hafner had three hits apiece to pace the Yankees' offense, which scored 29 runs in four games at Target Field.
Red Sox 8, Padres 2: Of course, since the Yankees earned a sweep, the rival Red Sox had to do the same. Boston easily dispatched of scuffling San Diego by putting up 18 hits, three of which came off the bat of Jacoby Ellsbury, who hit his second home run of the year.
White Sox 3, Orioles 2:Adam Dunn hit a walk-off home run, his 23rd deep fly of the year, to give Chicago a series victory over Baltimore. Jose Quintana struck out 11 batters in seven scoreless innings. He walked one and allowed just two hits but was robbed of the win after Nate Jones allowed a pair of runs -- one earned -- in the eighth inning.
Phillies 6, Pirates 4:Cole Hamels won for just the second time since April by striking out eight batters in seven innings of two-run ball. Ben Revere had three hits out of the lead-off spot to spark the Phillies, who took two out of three from the surging Pirates.
Tigers 11, Blue Jays 1: Detroit roughed up Toronto starter Esmil Rogers to the tune of seven runs on 11 hits in five innings. Justin Verlander turned in his best start in a few weeks, tossing seven shutout innings while allowing just three hits and striking out five. Tigers' leadoff hitter Austin Jackson went 4-for-5 with a home run and Don Kelly had three hits out of the ninth spot in the lineup.
Athletics 1, Cubs 0:Dan Straily and a pair of relievers combined for a two-hit shutout as Oakland completed a series victory over Chicago. The A's scored the lone run of the game on a passed ball by Cubs catcher Welington Castillo in the seventh inning.
The first-place A's are in a lot better shape now than they were at this point in 2012.
Rays 7, Astros 5:Brett Wallace homered twice and finished 3-for-5 at the plate, but Yunel Escobar's 11th-inning double put Tampa Bay ahead for good after Joel Peralta gave up three runs in the bottom of the eighth to allow Houston to tie the game. Escobar had three hits and drove in three runs for the Rays, who took three out of four from the Astros.
Marlins 4, Braves 3:Donovan Solano's two-out RBI single off of Craig Kimbrel in the top of the ninth inning pushed Miami past Atlanta for the second consecutive day. Pablo Ozuna had three hits and a homer for the Marlins. Julio Teheran struck out seven batters in five innings for the Braves, who racked up 15 total strike outs despite the loss.
Giancarlo Stanton made this catch in the ninth inning, robbing Dan Uggla of a potential game-tying extra-base hit.
Rangers 5, Mariners 4:Adrian Beltre hit a pair of home runs off of Hisashi Iwakuma as Texas avoided a three-game sweep at the hands of the M's. Raul Ibanez homered for the second time in three games and now has 21 long balls in his age 41 season.
Rockies 9, Dodgers 5: Michael Cuddyer homered, doubled and drove in three runs to help Colorado avoid the sweep against Los Angeles. Jhoulys Chacin won his fifth consecutive start by tossing 5 ⅔ innings of four-run ball. Dodgers first baseman Adrian Gonzalez homered for the third straight game in the loss.
Angels 6, Cardinals 5: Josh Hamilton hit a game-tying home run off of Edward Mujica in the bottom of the ninth inning to spoil agood outing from Adam Wainwright, who pitched into the ninth inning but departed after Albert Pujols' leadoff single.Erick Aybar produced the game-winning hit a few batters later, driving in Howie Kendrick with a two-out opposite-field single.
Pujols' and Hamilton's ninth-inning hits snapped a combined 2-for-18 slump for the duo against Cardinals pitching.
St. Louis first baseman Allen Craig hit a three-run homer in the fourth inning off of Joe Blanton and finished 2-for-4 at the plate.
Giants vs. Reds: Postponed. It rained all day in Cincinnati, so the Reds did not get a chance to complete a four-game sweep of the struggling Giants. This one may not be rescheduled though, as the two teams only share one off-day the rest of the season (Aug. 29) and it is the only break for both teams for over a month. They may decide to play this one only if necessary at the end of the season.