By Ron Kaplan, contributor

Danny Valencia hit his second home run of the year — a solo shot in the sixth — that gave the Seattle Mariners (11-16) a brief 3-2 lead over the visiting LA Angels. But the Halos came back to take the game, 6-4. It was Valencia’s sole hit in five trips to the plate.

Kevin Pillar singled and hit his eighth double as the Toronto Blue Jays (9-18) lost to the host NY Yankees, 11-5. He was also caught stealing for the fourth time as he tried to sneak into third base in the first inning.

Ian Kinsler hit his fourth double — his only safety in four at-bats — and scored a run as the Detroit Tigers (14-12) beat the visiting Cleveland Indians, 5-2.

Alex Bregman single and scored a run as the Houston Astros (18-9) held off the visiting Texas Rangers, 8-7.

Ryan Braun struck out as a pinch-hitter with two out in the ninth to seal the deal for the Milwaukee Brewers (14-14) in a 2-1 loss to the host St. Louis Cardinals.

Scott Feldman was just plain ugly in his outing: he allowed six runs in the fourth inning as the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates keelhauled the Cincinnati Reds, 12-3. Feldman’s line: four innings, six hits (including a three-run homer), seven runs, two walks, and three strikeouts to fall to 1-2.

Richard Bleier did not appear in the Baltimore Orioles’ 5-2 loss to the host Boston Red Sox. The O’s are 16-9.

Craig Breslow did not appear for the Minnesota Twins (13-11) in their 9-1 win over the visiting Oakland A’s.

Joc Pederson remains on the DL for the LA Dodgers, who beat the visiting San Francisco Giants, 13-5.

Ron Kaplan (@RonKaplanNJ) hosts Kaplan’s Korner, a blog about Jews and sports. He is the author of three books, including The Jewish Olympics: The History of the Maccabiah Games and the forthcoming Hank Greenberg in 1938: Hatred and Home Runs in the Shadow of War.

# # #

Get your Jewish Baseball News updates via e-mail