Braves Drop Rockies – MLB Roundup

UNDATED (AP) — Lonnie Chisenhall doesn't have enough at-bats to qualify for the American League batting race right now. If he did, he'd be 50 points ahead of current leader Alex Rios of Texas.

Chisenhall is hitting .385 in 161 at-bats after he homered three times and tied a team record with nine RBIs in Cleveland's 17-7 laugher at Texas. Chisenhall went 5-for-5 and Michael Brantley scored five times in the Indians' third straight win.

The Indians say Chisenhall is only the fourth major league player since RBIs became a statistic in 1920 to have at least five hits, nine RBIs and three homers in a game, and the first since Boston's Fred Lynn in 1975.

Chisenhall is hitting .500 with four homers and 16 RBIs in 28 at-bats during a seven-game hitting streak.

Elsewhere in the majors:

— Toronto blew a 4-2 lead in the ninth before Kevin Pillar lined an RBI single in the bottom half to give the Jays a 5-4 win over Minnesota. Edwin Encarnacion (ehn-kahr-nah-see-OHN') launched a three-run homer and Jose Reyes added a solo shot as Toronto halted a two-game skid and won for the seventh time in 21st time in 27 games. Encarnacion is second in the majors with 20 home runs, one behind Baltimore's Nelson Cruz.

— Garrett Richards was sharp in the Angels' 4-1 win against Oakland, allowing a run and four hits in seven innings for his sixth win. Mike Trout drove in a pair of runs and Hank Conger was 2-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored in the Angels' fourth straight win.

— Jarred Cosart struck out eight and allowed three runs and five hits in six innings of Houston's 4-3 win at Arizona. Jose Altuve (al-TOO'-vay) and Jason Castro hit RBI doubles to put the Astros ahead 4-0 by the second inning.

— Jose Abreu hit a two-run homer and the White Sox snapped a three-game losing streak with a 6-5 victory over Detroit. The Tigers lost for the seventh time in nine games despite homers by Miguel Cabrera, Victor Martinez and Eugenio Suarez.

— Baltimore was a 4-0 winner against Boston behind the pitching of Bud Norris, who limited the woeful Red Sox to three hits in eight innings. Adam Jones, Nick Markakis (mahr-KAY'-kihs) and Ryan Flaherty homered as the Orioles dealt the Bosox their sixth loss in seven games.

— Tampa Bay lost for the 13th time in 14 games after Robinson Cano (kuh-NOH') hit a two-run double and Seattle stretched its scoreless streak to 19 innings by blanking the Rays 3-0. The Mariners have won eight of nine after five pitchers combined on a five-hit shutout.

— Ian Desmond was the hitting star in Washington's 9-2 pounding of San Francisco, going 3-for-5 with five RBIs. Stephen Strasburg struck out seven and held the Giants to a run and four hits in six innings.

— Scott Van Slyke hit a three-run homer and a solo shot as the Dodgers whipped the Reds 6-2 in Cincinnati. Dan Haren allowed two runs in 5 1/3 innings for his sixth win.

— Gavin Floyd was sharp in his first victory since undergoing Tommy John surgery last year, allowing a run and just three hits in 6 2/3 innings to lead Atlanta past Colorado 3-1. Chris Johnson had three hits, including a pair RBI singles in the Braves' 15th victory in their last 18 games versus the Rockies.

— Andrew McCutchen smacked a two-run homer and had three RBIs in Pittsburgh's 6-2 win over the Chicago Cubs. Charlie Morton allowed one run over seven innings to win for the third time in his last four starts after beginning the season 0-6.

— The Yankees' game in Kansas City was postponed by rain. No makeup date has been announced.

UNDATED (AP) — Grant Balfour is out as the Tampa Bay Rays' closer. Rays manager Joe Maddon says the team will use a closer by committee instead of the struggling Balfour, who gave up five runs in the ninth inning of Sunday's 5-0 loss to the Mariners. It was the second time the right-hander has had a five-run inning this season.

Balfour is 0-2 with a 6.46 ERA in 24 games this season, converting nine of his 11 save opportunities.

Also in the majors:

— Kendrys (KEHN'-drihs) Morales went 1-for-3 with a walk in his Minnesota Twins debut Monday in Toronto. Morales signed a one-year contract with the Twins Sunday after hitting .277 with 23 homers and 80 RBIs with Seattle last season.

— The Twins also signed shortstop Nick Gordon, the fifth overall pick in the first-year player draft. The lefty-hitting Gordon hit .494 as a high school senior and possesses a strong arm.

— The Colorado Rockies have placed outfielder Michael Cuddyer (kuh-DY'-ur) and pitcher Eddie Butler on the 15-day disabled list. Cuddyer is out because of a strained left shoulder and Butler has inflammation in his right rotator cuff. The Rockies also recalled pitcher Christian Bergman, who is making his major league debut tonight against Atlanta.