Carlos Gonzalez hit three doubles, Nolan Arenado had three hits for the second consecutive night and the Colorado Rockies beat the Atlanta Braves 5-3 on a rain-soaked Thursday at Coors Field. Troy Tulowitzki singled to extend his hitting streak to 21 games — longest in the majors this season — for the Rockies, who dealt with another weather delay at home. Jace Peterson had two hits and two RBIs, and Chris Johnson had three hits for the Braves. A rainstorm came through two pitches into the bottom of the first inning and sent the players and fans scurrying for shelter. The delay lasted 2 hours, 6 minutes, and ended the night early for both starters. David Hale, the scheduled starter Friday for Colorado, took over for Kyle Kendrick in the second but left with one out in the third with a mild left groin strain. Hale (3-4) went 1 2-3 innings to get the win.
Thursday Across the Majors:
— The St. Louis Cardinals have padded their division lead by winning a matchup of the National League’s top teams. Carlos Martinez struck out eight and gave up just four hits over 7 1/3 scoreless innings to lead the Redbirds past the Pirates, 4-1 in Pittsburgh. Martinez improved to 10-3 this season, and he’s 7-1 with a 1.20 ERA in his last 10 starts. The Cards did their scoring in the fifth inning as Matt Carpenter and Yadier Molina each hit two-run singles. The Pirates didn’t score until Andrew McCutchen homered in the ninth. The Cardinals are 56-31, good for a 5 1/2-game lead over the Bucs in the NL Central. The Pirates ended a five-game winning streak.
— Meanwhile, Missouri’s other division leader completed a four-game sweep after learning one of their All-Stars will be out eight weeks. Lorenzo Cain and Salvador Perez each launched two-run homers and Yordana Ventura worked five innings as Kansas City crushed Tampa Bay 8-3. Cain’s two-run blast put the Royals ahead 3-0 in the first inning before Perez went deep to cap a three-run fifth. Ventura allowed three runs in his first start since coming off the disabled list. The Royals improved to an AL-best 50-33, one day after outfielder Alex Gordon suffered a severe groin strain while chasing down a fly ball. Gordon was hitting .279 with 11 home runs and 39 RBIs.
— Kansas City’s lead in the AL Central is up to 5 ½ games after the second-place Twins absorbed a 4-2 loss to Detroit. The game was tied 2-2 in the eighth until Ian Kinsler and Yoenis Cespedes. Kinsler also hit a first-inning homer and finished with three RBIs to support David Price, who held the Twins to two runs and five hits in eight innings.
— Zack Greinke held the Phillies to one hit over eight scoreless innings to lead the Dodgers’ 6-0 rout in Los Angeles. Greinke allowed just one base-runner and retired his last 21 batters after Ryan Howard led off the second with a single. Yasiel Puig hit a two-run homer and a two-run double as the NL West-leading Dodgers moved 5 ½ games ahead of San Francisco and Arizona.
— The Astros suffered their third straight loss as Cody Anderson held them to a run and three hits in 6 2/3 innings of Cleveland’s 3-1 victory. The Indians scored three times in the sixth on Francisco Lindor’s homer, Ryan Raburn’s go-ahead double and Carlos Santana’s RBI triple. Houston’s lead in the AL West remains 1 ½ games over the Los Angeles Angels.
— The Angels were 7-2 losers at Seattle as Felix Hernandez scattered five hits in seven shutout innings to improve to 11-5. The Mariners tagged Garrett Richards for four runs and 12 hits in 5 1/3 innings. Logan Morrison socked a solo homer and seven other Mariners had at least two of the team’s 19 hits.
— Jose Fernandez was terrific in his second start since returning from Tommy John surgery, scattering six hits while striking out nine in seven innings of Miami’s 2-0 shutout of Cincinnati. Dee Gordon had two hits and scored both runs as the Marlins ended a four-game losing streak.
— Brett Gardner homered and Masahiro Tanaka ended a four-start losing streak in the New York Yankees’ 6-2 victory against Oakland. Gardner went 3-for-5 and learned during the game that he was replacing Alex Gordon on the American League squad for Tuesday’s All-Star game in Cincinnati. Tanaka had surrendered 14 earned runs over 16 innings in his three previous outings before limiting the A’s to just one earned run and two hits in 7 2/3 innings.
— Jeff Samardzija carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning for the second consecutive start and settled for a four-hitter in the Chicago White Sox’s 2-0 shutout of Toronto. Samardzija has gone at least seven innings in his last seven starts, recording a 3.09 ERA in that span. Melky Cabrera homered for the White Sox, who took three of four in the series.