Giants overcome lineup blunder, beat Dodgers 4-2

Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO — With his team slumping and his offense struggling, all Giants manager Bruce Bochy could do was take responsibility and shake his head for a lineup mistake that wiped away a run and a rare lead.

“At that point, I just said, ‘What else?’” Bochy recalled.

The day turned out just fine for Bochy, with Madison Bumgarner driving in two runs and striking out nine in seven innings to lead the Giants to a 4-2 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-2 on Saturday.

San Francisco was caught batting out of order in the first inning, taking away Buster Posey’s RBI double. Bochy submitted a lineup with Posey batting fourth, but the reigning NL MVP and batting champion hit third.

Bochy called the mistake a “perfect storm” of events.

As the defending World Series champion manager, Bochy had been finishing rosters all day for the NL All-Star team announcement. It also was only the second day the Giants used a digital lineup in the clubhouse, which showed Posey batting third, where the All-Star catcher had batted in 15 straight games until Friday.

Papers passed out in the press box and the scoreboard in center field listed Posey third as well — just not on the official lineup card submitted to the Dodgers and umpires. Bochy said he filled out the card and gave it to bench coach Ron Wotus, declining to name the Giants official who entered the lineup into the electronic system.

“The buck stops here,” Bochy said, assuming all the blame.

“You feel horrible,” he said. “There’s not a worse feeling. At that point, you’re going, ‘Geez, what’s going on?’ We’ve had a lot of things happen, and now that. That was a huge game for us. I would’ve felt horrible if that would’ve played a part in us not winning.”

Thankfully for the Giants, it didn’t.

On the day he earned his first All-Star selection, Bumgarner bailed out the man who made the choice. The big lefty retired his first 14 batters, allowing Tim Federowicz’s two-run homer in the fifth inning for Los Angeles’ only runs.

Bumgarner (9-5) said Bochy had informed him Friday to take the pressure off his start. The pitcher only told his wife until the official announcement.

“That was tough to walk around and not tell anybody,” he said.

Gregor Blanco had three hits and an RBI to end an 0-for-25 skid, and first-time All-Star Marco Scutaro drove in another run to help San Francisco stop a four-game losing streak.

Sergio Romo pitched a perfect ninth for his 20th save.

Stephen Fife (3-3) allowed seven hits and four runs — although only one was earned — in 4 1-3 innings. The Dodgers committed three errors and never got going offensively, with rookie sensation Yasiel Puig striking out four times for the first time this season.

Help is on the way for the Dodgers. They acquired right-hander Ricky Nolasco from the Miami Marlins during the game in exchange for three minor league pitchers.

But they couldn’t find a way to match Bumgarner, who gave up three hits and walked none. He has won five of his last six starts.

It was only the fourth time in 15 games the Giants had scored more than two runs. San Francisco also had lost 10 of its last 11 games and started off looking even worse.

After Posey hit third in Pablo Sandoval’s spot to give the Giants a 1-0 lead, Dodgers manager Don Mattingly called out the mistake to umpires. Posey was ruled out but got to bat again in the fourth spot, ending the inning on a flyout to right field.

Mattingly said bench coach Trey Hillman pointed out Posey’s mistake as soon as he was announced at the plate.

“It’s one of those things. It can happen easily when you make lineups day to day with the computer programs,” Mattingly said.

Posey said he looked at the digital lineup in the clubhouse. “I was batting third and I looked at the lineup on the scoreboard and I was batting third. Somewhere, something got crossed up,” he said.

Bochy even talked before the game about wanting to return Posey permanently to the fourth spot with Sandoval healthy again and San Francisco struggling.

“In the middle of the at-bat I was looking at it like I was losing it,” Bochy said.

The move might have been a bit of redemption for Mattingly, though the Giants were able to laugh it off in a win.

After separate ejections of manager Joe Torre and bench coach Bob Schaefer in the Dodgers’ 7-5 loss to San Francisco on July 20, 2010, Mattingly made his own mistake while he was the hitting coach. He went to the mound for a chat with closer Jonathan Broxton in the ninth inning before Andres Torres came up. Mattingly took a few steps back off the dirt toward the dugout before turning around and advising first baseman James Loney exactly where he wanted him positioned.

Bochy came out to protest to plate umpire Adrian Johnson that Mattingly’s about-face constituted a second trip to the mound. The umpires huddled and agreed, and Broxton had to leave the game. Mattingly was forced to summon George Sherrill, who promptly served up Torres’ two-run double that gave the Giants the lead.

Los Angeles made more than its share of mistakes on Saturday.

In the second inning, Nick Punto’s throw pulled shortstop Hanley Ramirez off second base for an error. Bumgarner walked to force in a run, Blanco’s single drove in another and Scutaro flied out to right to put the Giants ahead 3-0.

Torres also reached in the fourth when Ramirez misplayed his grounder and was slow to recover, setting up Bumgarner’s sacrifice fly that stretched San Francisco’s lead to 4-0.

Andre Ethier’s bloop single to left with two outs in the fifth was the first baserunner off Bumgarner. Federowicz followed with his third home run to trim the Dodgers’ deficit to 4-2.

Ramirez tripled leading off the seventh before getting thrown out at the plate after Sandoval fielded a grounder at third.

YANKEES 5, ORIOLES 4

NEW YORK — Andy Pettitte stopped the Orioles once again, Eduardo Nunez returned with a go-ahead hit in the Yankees’ season-high sixth straight win.

The Yankees overcame Chris Davis’ major league-leading 33rd home run and yet another double from Manny Machado, who was celebrating his 21st birthday. The Orioles have lost four of five.

The 41-year-old Pettitte (6-6) earned his 251st win, tying Hall of Famer Bob Gibson for 44th place on the all-time list.

Pettitte stretched his unbeaten streak against Baltimore to 11 starts dating to 2007, winning eight times. Overall, he is 28-6 against the Orioles — only Yankees great Whitey Ford (30) has beaten the Birds more often since the franchise moved from St. Louis to Baltimore for the 1954 season.

Mariano Rivera worked the ninth for his 29th save.

Nunez came off the 60-day disabled list before the game and played for the first time since a strain on his left side slowed him in early May. His key hit helped end a seven-game winning streak by Chris Tillman (10-3). Nunez had a sac fly in the second, singled and scored in the fifth and knocked in the go-ahead run with a single in the sixth.

TIGERS 9, INDIANS 4

CLEVELAND — Torii Hunter drove in three runs, Miguel Cabrera cracked a two-run homer and Detroit dominated Cleveland for its fifth straight win.

Hunter hit a two-run homer, tripled and doubled as the Tigers won their seventh straight over the Indians and increased their lead in the AL Central to 3½ games. Detroit is 8-2 against Cleveland, and the Tigers have outscored the Indians 16-4 in winning the first two of the four-game set.

Anibal Sanchez (7-5) returned from the disabled list and pitched five innings for his first win since June 4. Cabrera and Prince Fielder homered in the third off Carlos Carrasco (0-4), who was recalled from the minors to face the AL’s best hitting team.

TWINS 6, BLUE JAYS 0

TORONTO — Brian Dozier hit a three-run home run, Mike Pelfrey and three relievers combined for a four-hitter and Minnesota beat Toronto.

Dozier had two hits and four RBIs, connecting off knuckleballer R.A. Dickey for his eighth homer as the Twins snapped a six-game skid and won for just the fourth time in 14 games.

Minnesota came in having lost 17 of 23 to Toronto, including eight of nine at Rogers Centre.

Pelfrey (4-6) snapped an eight-start winless streak to earn his first victory since May 5 at Cleveland. He allowed three hits in six innings, walked three and struck out two.

Dickey (8-9) gave up six runs and seven hits in seven innings. He struck out three.

ROYALS 4, ATHLETICS 3

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Jarrod Dyson delivered an infield single with the bases loaded and two outs in the eighth inning, giving Kansas City a scrappy victory over Oakland.

The Royals had rallied to tie the game on a sacrifice fly by Eric Hosmer in the seventh, and then loaded the bases on an error and a pair of walks by reliever Ryan Cook.

Dyson, hardly known for his power, showed bunt on his first pitch from Cook (1-2) before hitting a grounder deep behind second base. Shortstop Adam Rosales fielded it cleanly but didn’t even bother with a throw as pinch runner Alcides Escobar scored the go-ahead run.

Aaron Crow (6-3) worked the eighth and Greg Holland handled the ninth for his 20th save.

RAYS 3, WHITE SOX 0

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Matt Moore won his fourth consecutive start to help Tampa Bay beat All-Star selection Chris Sale and the Chicago White Sox.

Moore (12-3), who could still become an All-Star as an injury replacement, gave up five hits, two walks and struck out six in 6 1-3 innings.

The Rays have won seven of eight, improving to a season-best eight games (48-40) over .500. Fernando Rodney, the third Tampa Bay reliever, pitched the ninth for his 19th save — completing the six-hitter.

Sale (5-8) allowed three runs, six hits, one walk and had nine strikeouts in seven innings for the White Sox, who have lost eight of 10. The left-hander, despite giving up just 20 runs — 17 earned — over 49 1-3 innings, is 0-6 in his last seven starts.

ASTROS 9, RANGERS 5

ARLINGTON, Texas — Jason Castro hit a tiebreaking three-run homer hours after being chosen for his first All-Star team, and Houston beat Yu Darvish and Texas.

The catcher’s drive came off Robbie Ross in the seventh inning but made a loser of Darvish (8-4), who had a rough night after earning his second All-Star nod in two years in the majors.

The Astros built a 4-0 lead on a two-run homer by Brandon Barnes in the fourth and a two-run single from fellow rookie Marc Krauss an inning later.

Geovany Soto pulled the Rangers even in the sixth, following Mitch Moreland’s sacrifice fly, with a three-run homer off Wesley Wright.

Travis Blackley (1-0) got the win with 1 1-3 innings of scoreless relief.

Darvish came out after walking Jose Altuve to start the seventh, and Brett Wallace was hit by a pitch from Ross. Castro, who had two hits and scored twice, followed with his 12th homer. Wallace reached base five times, adding two doubles and two walks.

Darvish, the major league strikeout leader, had six in six innings, but gave up six hits and a season-high five earned runs.

CUBS 4, PIRATES 1

CHICAGO — Alfonso Soriano hit two-run homers in consecutive innings to lead the Chicago Cubs to a 4-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-1 on Saturday.

Edwin Jackson and three relievers combined on a five-hitter, and the Cubs handed the Pirates their third loss in 14 games. Pittsburgh came in with baseball’s best record and a seven-game, road-winning streak.

Soriano hit a drive off Charlie Morton in the fourth and a shot into the bleachers in left to make it 4-1 in the fifth.

That was enough for Jackson (5-10), who won his second straight start. He held the Pirates to one run and four hits in 5 2-3 innings.

Matt Guerrier worked two scoreless innings, and Kevin Gregg came on in the ninth for his 15th save in 16 chances.

Morton (1-2) pitched six innings for Pittsburgh, allowing four runs and seven hits. He struck out six and walked three.

CARDINALS 5, MARLINS 4

ST. LOUIS — Jon Jay scored from first on right fielder Giancarlo Stanton’s throwing error on Shane Robinson’s single with two outs in the ninth inning, giving St. Louis a win over Miami.

Edward Mujica (1-1) worked a scoreless ninth for the Cardinals after Matt Adams’ pinch-hit, two-run homer tied it two innings earlier.

Jay drew a full-count walk off A.J. Ramos (3-3) with two outs in the ninth and took third easily on Robinson’s pinch-hit single. He scored without a play after Stanton hesitated before throwing a relay that skipped under Logan Morrison’s glove at first base.

The Marlins got homers from Derek Dietrich and Morrison but their run of four straight series wins ended after they lost their second straight to the Cardinals.

Morrison has four homers in six games against the Cardinals.

NATIONALS 5, PADRES 4

WASHINGTON — Bryce Harper drove in three runs after talking his way into the lineup, Ryan Zimmerman knocked in the go-ahead run, and Washington rallied to beat San Diego.

Adam LaRoche homered, and Denard Span and Ian Desmond added two hits apiece as the Nationals won their third straight. Since returning from the disabled list and homering in his first at-bat Monday night against Milwaukee, Harper had gone 0 for 18 before his RBI single.

Jesus Guzman hit a three-run homer and doubled for San Diego, which has lost eight straight.

Ross Ohlendorf (2-0) got the win and Rafael Soriano pitched the ninth for his 24th save.

Nick Vincent (2-1) took the loss after getting only one out in the Nationals’ two-run seventh inning.

BRAVES 13, PHILLIES 4

PHILADELPHIA — Jason Heyward hit a three-run homer to lead an Atlanta offense that scored in all but two innings, Tim Hudson pitched seven strong innings, and the Braves set season highs for runs and hits in a rout of Philadelphia.

Andrelton Simmons and Dan Uggla also homered for Atlanta, which amassed 19 hits and snapped a three-game skid. Brian McCann had four hits, and Simmons was a double shy of the cycle.

Hudson (5-7) allowed one run and five hits to earn his first victory since May 5. The right-hander had been 0-6 with a 4.50 ERA in his last 10 starts. He struck out four and didn’t walk a batter.

Michael Young homered for Philadelphia, which fell 8½ games behind the first-place Braves in the NL East. Kyle Kendrick (7-6) gave up six runs and 12 hits in five innings.

BREWERS 7, METS 6

MILWAUKEE — Jonathan Lucroy homered and Yovani Gallardo scattered six hits over six innings and had two hits and scored two runs to lead Milwaukee over the New York Mets.

Gallardo (7-8) allowed four earned runs, struck out six and walked three. In his previous outing Monday against Washington, Gallardo gave up nine hits and eight earned runs in three innings. Francisco Rodriguez recorded his eighth save of the season and 302nd of his career.

Gallardo had a single and a double, and scored both times. He also had a key sacrifice bunt.

The Brewers jumped on Mets starter Shaun Marcum (1-10) for a run in the first inning. Milwaukee added two runs in the second and Lucroy made it 4-0 with a solo homer in the third.

John Buck and Marlon Byrd hit solo homers for the Mets, who never got even after the early deficit. Marcum, who went 20-11 with Milwaukee in the 2011 and 2012 seasons, allowed 11 hits and five earned runs in five innings.

DIAMONDBACKS 11, ROCKIES 1

PHOENIX — Wade Miley pitched eight effective innings and had a three-run double, first-time All-Star Paul Goldschmidt hit a two-run homer, and Arizona jumped on Colorado early en route to a rout.

Coming off a shutout in the series opener, the Diamondbacks roughed up Drew Pomeranz (0-2) for five runs in the first three innings and finished with 12 hits.

Miley (5-7) hit his third career double in the second inning, and Goldschmidt, named to the NL All-Star team earlier in the day, hit his 21st homer in the third.

Miley stretched his scoreless streak to a career-high 13 2-3 innings — 16 overall by Arizona pitchers — before Carlos Gonzalez led off the seventh with his NL-leading 24th homer.

Miguel Montero added a three-run homer, Martin Prado hit a two-run shot, and Cody Ross tied a team record with a career-high five hits for the NL West-leading Diamondbacks, who have won four straight.

Gonzalez had four hits after missing Friday’s game with a sore back.

REDS 13, MARINERS 4

CINCINNATI — Cesar Izturis drove in three runs, matching his season total, and Mat Latos doubled home two more for Cincinnati, which rallied for a win over Seattle.

The Reds earned only their second victory over Seattle. The Mariners are 9-2 overall in the interleague series.

Cincinnati manager Dusty Baker decided to give Izturis his ninth start at shortstop so he could get some at-bats and stay sharp. Izturis singled home a run in the second and doubled home two more in the fifth off Jeremy Bonderman (1-3).

The Reds scored more runs than in any game since a 13-7 win over Milwaukee on May 11. It was the second-most runs allowed by the Mariners, trailing a 16-9 loss to Houston on April 9.

Latos (8-2) matched his season high with four walks in six innings, but also doubled his RBI total by driving in a pair of runs with a double. He allowed six hits and fanned 11.

Kyle Seager drove in three runs off Latos with a homer and a sacrifice fly.