Martinez honors late Taveras, pitches Cardinals to 3-1 win over Dodgers

ST. LOUIS: Carlos Martinez wiped away tears during a pregame tribute to late teammate Oscar Taveras, then allowed just one hit through seven scoreless innings to lead the St. Louis Cardinals over the Los Angeles Dodgers 3-1 on Sunday.
Jhonny Peralta homered and drove in all three runs for the Cardinals.
On the one-year anniversary of Taveras’ major league debut, his family was on the field to honor him. Taveras and his girlfriend were killed in a car accident in his native Dominican Republic in October.
Martinez was close friends with Taveras, and is wearing the outfielder’s No. 18 this season.
Martinez (5-2) struck out eight and extended his scoreless-inning streak to 20 1-3.
Rookie Joc Pederson hit his 13th homer in the eighth.
Minnesota slugger Trevor Plouffe hit a two-run homer and Torii Hunter had a go-ahead double in the seventh inning as the Twins beat the Toronto Blue Jays 6-5.
Ryan Pressly (3-1) got two outs for the win as the Twins overcame an early injury to starter Ricky Nolasco to win two of three in the series. A sore right ankle ended Nolasco’s bid for a sixth straight victory in the second inning.
The Blue Jays led 5-4 in the seventh after Josh Donaldson’s 15th homer, but a throwing error by shortstop Jose Reyes allowed Aaron Hicks to reach safely in the bottom half against Roberto Osuna (1-2). One out later, Brian Dozier singled and then Hunter launched a two-run double over Chris Colabello’s head in left field.
In Milwaukee, Martin Maldonado homered with one out in the bottom of the 17th inning as the Brewers outlasted the Arizona Diamondbacks 7-6 to end a seven-game losing streak.
The catcher hit the first pitch from reliever Vidal Nuno (0-1) over the wall in center field to start a well-earned celebration. Maldonado slid into home as his tired but giddy teammates surrounded the plate.
The Cleveland Indians downed the Seattle Mariners 6-3 after Michael Brantley drew a bases-loaded walk in the 12th inning from reliever Dominic Leone.
The Indians outhit Seattle 18-5, and took advantage of Leone’s control trouble to win.
John Danks earned his first shutout of the season to help the Chicago White Sox defeat the Houston Astros 6-0, while Steve Souza Jr. homered for the third time in three games as the Tampa Bay Rays downed the Baltimore Orioles 9-5.
In other games, David Ross hit an RBI single with one out in the 11th inning to lift the Chicago Cubs over the Kansas City Royals 2-1, the New York Mets edged the Mimia Marlins 4-3, the Colorado Rockies downed the Philadelphia Phillies 4-1 and the Atlanta Braves defeated the San Francisco Giants 7-5.
The Texas Rangers earned a late 4-3 win over the Boston Red Sox, the Oakland Athletics blanked the New York Yankees 3-0, the Cincinnati Reds trounced the Washington Nationals 8-2 , the Los Angeles Angels downed the Detroit Tigers 4-2 and the San Diego Padres were 7-1 winners over the Pittsburgh Pirates.