Associated Press
NEW YORK — Chipper Jones and the Atlanta Braves eventually caught the ball, and the New York Yankees.
Jones atoned for a costly error by cutting down the potential tying run at the plate and the Braves held on to end the Yankees’ 10-game winning streak with a 4-3 victory Tuesday night.
“Sometimes you’re going to whiff on some balls,” the All-Star third baseman said. “But you’ve got to have a hockey goalie mentality down there. You’ve got to flush it or you’re going to get the next one down your throat.”
The Yankees were trying to match their longest winning string in nearly a half-century. Instead, the Braves threw out two runners at home and won for only the second time in nine games — their skid included four losses to the Yankees.
“They pitched really well and had some really good defense. That’s kind of what we’ve been doing,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said.
Jason Heyward singled home the go-ahead run in the sixth inning off Hiroki Kuroda (6-7). Heyward also tripled and scored, and nailed Mark Teixeira at home with a strong throw from right field.
“We wouldn’t have gotten there if it wasn’t for Jason Heyward,” Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said.
Rookie Andrelton Simmons drove in two runs and Jones delivered an RBI double for the slumping Braves.
Down by a run, the Yankees threatened in the seventh. Curtis Granderson opened with a single off Jonny Venters, Alex Rodriguez walked and the runners moved up on a groundout. Teixeira followed with a sharp grounder and Granderson broke home, but Jones made a strong throw and catcher Brian McCann applied the tag. Raul Ibanez then struck out.
“You play third base, you know you’re going to have the lowest-fielding percentage in the infield,” Jones said. “You get some rockets, some balls with topspin. The big thing on that play was the pick. Once I picked it, I could make the throw and Mac set a nice target.”
The Yankees’ recent run was built entirely against NL teams. Only once since 1965 had the Yankees won 11 in a row, and that was in 1985. The team’s record winning streak was 19 in 1947.
“None of the breaks kind of went our way tonight,” Teixeira said.
Tim Hudson (5-3) labored through five innings and four relievers preserved the lead. Craig Kimbrel closed for his NL-leading 20th save.
The Braves were hurt by missing mitts more than missing bats in the early innings.
In the second, center fielder Michael Bourn got twisted around trying to track down Nick Swisher’s deep drive. Bourn tapped his glove, then saw the ball glance off the tip as he ran into the padded wall on a two-run double. Swisher was sidelined the past two games with a bruised left quadriceps.
In the fourth, Ibanez hit a grounder that first baseman Freddie Freeman misplayed for an error. With two outs and two on, Jones let Russell Martin’s low liner skip off his glove for an error that scored a run and made it 3-all. As the crowd cheered, the 40-year-old Jones looked down at the ground, took off his mitt and scuffed the dirt.
“I could’ve made that play,” he said.
Jones grounded an RBI double in the top of the fourth, a day after the scuffling star said he needed to do more at the plate. Later in the inning, Simmons hit a bases-loaded single that scored a run, but Heyward was nailed at third base for the third out an instant before Jones slid home.
Heyward threw out Teixeira in the fifth. In the sixth, Heyward victimized Teixeira again, hitting a hard grounder that nailed the first baseman in the left foot for an RBI single with two outs that put Atlanta ahead 4-3.
METS 5, ORIOLES 0
NEW YORK — Johan Santana pitched six sharp innings, Lucas Duda hit a two-run homer, and the New York Mets beat Baltimore for their second straight shutout of the Orioles.
Santana followed R.A. Dickey’s second one-hitter in a row with his best outing since he tossed a no-hitter on June 1. Jordany Valdespin added a two-run single for New York, which won by the same score Monday night in the series opener.
It was the second time this month that Santana and Dickey have thrown back-to-back shutouts.
TIGERS 6, CARDINALS 3
DETROIT — Justin Verlander allowed one earned run in seven innings, leading the Tigers to a victory over the Cardinals.
RED SOX 7, MARLINS 5
BOSTON — David Ortiz hit his 17th homer and Clay Buchholz won his fourth straight start as Boston won for the fifth time in six games.
PHILLIES 7, ROCKIES 2
PHILADELPHIA — Cole Hamels threw eight sharp innings and John Mayberry Jr. and Carlos Ruiz hit two-run homers for Philadelphia.
PIRATES 7, TWINS 2
PITTSBURGH — Andrew McCutchen had three hits, including his 12th homer of the season, and Kevin Correia ended a lengthy winless streak at home as Pittsburgh beat Minnesota.
RAYS 5, NATIONALS 4
WASHINGTON — Carlos Pena hit a two-run homer and David Price bounced back from his worst start of the season to pitch seven strong innings, leading the Rays to a victory over the Nationals.
INDIANS 3, REDS 2 (10)
CLEVELAND — Asdrubal Cabrera hit a two-run homer with one out in the 10th inning off hard-throwing Aroldis Chapman to give Cleveland a win over Cincinnati.
ROYALS 2, ASTROS 0
HOUSTON — Luke Hochevar pitched into the eighth inning, two relievers completed the shutout, and Billy Butler hit a solo home run to lead Kansas City over Houston.
CUBS 2, WHITE SOX 1
CHICAGO — Travis Wood pitched six strong innings for his first win as a starter in more than a year and the Cubs beat the White Sox.
BLUE JAYS 10, BREWERS 9
MILWAUKEE — Colby Rasmus and Jose Bautista erased a one-run deficit with back-to-back home runs off closer John Axford in the ninth inning, and the Blue Jays rallied to beat the Brewers.
ATHLETICS 3, DODGERS 0
OAKLAND, Calif. — Brandon McCarthy showed no signs of an ailing shoulder in seven impressive innings, winning his third straight start and sixth consecutive decision to lead Oakland past the Los Angeles Dodgers,
RANGERS 7, PADRES 3
SAN DIEGO — Josh Hamilton returned to the Texas lineup after missing four starts due to illness and hit a two-run triple.
MARINERS 12,
D-BACKS 9 (10)
PHOENIX — Casper Wells hit a pinch-hit, two-run single in the top of the 10th inning and Seattle rallied to beat Arizona.
