Maeda strikes out 13 in Dodgers’ win

LOS ANGELES: Exciting Japanese rookie Kenta Maeda struck out a career-high 13 batters in seven innings to lead the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 3-1 win over the San Diego Padres in Major League Baseball on Sunday.
Maeda (8-6) retired 14 of the first 15 batters he faced and struck out six straight near the end of his outing. He allowed a run on Derek Norris’ homer in the fifth and two hits.
“It seemed like everything played off the fastball,” catcher Yasmani Grandal said. “He was commanding it, and then he was the same ol’ Kenta, throwing curveballs for strikes, sliders for strikes, good pitches for changeups. But we kept them honest with the fastball.”
Adrian Gonzalez homered for Los Angeles, and Howie Kendrick had three hits. Kenley Jansen pitched a scoreless ninth for his 27th save. Gonzalez got his first homer in 25 games to give the Dodgers a 3-1 lead in the fifth against Christian Friedrich (4-5), who lost for the fourth time in five starts.
The Dodgers fought off an anemic offense early in the season to go into the All-Star break a season-high 11 games over .500 and in second place in the NL West.
In Cleveland, the New York Yankees overcame a shaky outing by Japanese pitcher Masahiro Tanaka to beat the Indians 11-7, with Jacoby Ellsbury hitting a three-run homer to secure the win.
New York scored four runs in the second and six in the fifth, moving to .500 (44-44) going into the All-Star break. The Yankees won three of four from the AL Central-leading Indians.
Tanaka took an 11-1 lead into the fifth, but was charged with seven runs (three earned) and fell one out short of qualifying for his seventh win. The right-hander was pulled after Tyler Naquin’s two-run homer capped a six-run rally, and later couldn’t pinpoint why he couldn’t hold the lead that cost him a certain win.
“If I knew the reason I’d fix that and go out and do it,” he said through a translator. “Bottom line, I have to go out there and shut them down.”
Nathan Eovaldi (7-6), demoted to the bullpen last week, allowed one hit over the final 4 1/3 innings for his first career win in relief.
In San Francisco, Madison Bumgarner allowed Arizona’s only hit with one out in the eighth inning and matched a career high with 14 strikeouts to lead the Giants over the Diamondbacks 4-0.
Bumgarner (10-4) retired 25 of the 28 batters he faced, including two double plays, and walked one while going the distance for the third time this season.
Jake Lamb broke up Bumgarner’s bid with a single. Lamb also reached on an error in the fifth when right fielder Gregor Blanco dropped a flyball.
Beyond that, San Francisco’s four-time All-Star was nearly untouchable while notching his fourth career one-hitter.
Faltering NL Central leaders, the Chicago Cubs, secured a sorely needed victory when Kris Bryant hit an RBI single in the eighth inning in Pittsburgh to set up a 6-5 win.
NL Central-leading Chicago stopped a five-game losing streak. Pittsburgh lost for just the second time in 11 games heading to the All-Star break.
In other games, Washington won 3-2 at the New York Mets, Boston beat Tampa Bay 4-0 at home, Seattle won 8-5 at Kansas City, Baltimore won 4-2 at home to the Los Angeles Angels, and Minnesota won 15-5 at Texas to give the AL-leading Rangers nine losses in 12.
Toronto beat visiting Detroit 6-1, St. Louis won 5-1 at Milwaukee, Atlanta won 2-0 at the Chicago White Sox, Houston beat Oakland 2-1 at home in 10 innings, Miami beat visiting Cincinnati 7-3, and Philadelphia won 10-3 at Colorado.