Haren's 14-K gem, Pujols' homer lead Angels past Mariners

Stretch out: Cardinals second baseman Tyler Greene dives after a ball hit by the Phillies' Placido Polanco on Friday in St. Louis. The play resulted in an RBI single. Philadelphia won 10-9. AP

SEATTLE — The gem Dan Haren tossed Thursday night looked awfully familiar to Albert Pujols. Except this time instead of Pujols getting fooled by what Haren was tossing, he was helping the Los Angeles Angels' right-hander put together one of the finest efforts of his career.

"He makes good hitters look pretty bad including myself, he has in the past," Pujols said. "He is pretty amazing when he keeps the ball down.

Pujols had three hits, including his 450th career home run, and Haren struck out a career-high 14 to lead the Los Angeles Angels to a 3-0 win over the Seattle Mariners on Thursday night.

Pujols, a newcomer to the AL West rivalry, made his presence known immediately. He lined a two-run shot off Seattle starter Jason Vargas (5-4) with one-out in the top of the first, and added line-drive singles in the fourth and sixth innings. It was just his third three-hit game this season.

And those three runs proved to be plenty for Haren (2-5), who tossed the sixth shutout and 16th complete game of his career. He allowed four hits and only one Mariners baserunner reached third base. Only one other pitcher in Angels history had more strikeouts without allowing a walk than Haren did against Seattle.

After struggling with a sore back for the early part of the season, putting together that kind of performance was gratifying for Haren.

"Even pitching at 80 percent I should get better results than I have been getting in prior starts. I think it was obvious tonight that my stuff was better and I was feeling better in general," Haren said. "I'm happy obviously to win a game. I forgot what it felt like."

Seattle's Ichiro Suzuki finished 1-for-4 in the loss.

Indians 2, Tigers 1

In Cleveland, Justin Masterson (2-3) matched Justin Verlander pitch for pitch for his first career win over Detroit, and the first-place Indians did just enough to complete a three-game sweep of the underperforming Tigers.

Choo Shin Soo homered on the third pitch from Verlander (5-2) as Cleveland won for the eighth time in 10 games and opened a six-game lead over third-place Detroit in the AL Central.

White Sox 11, Twins 8

In Chicago, Paul Konerko and Alex Rios hit back-to-back homers and Alejandro De Aza added a grand slam to cap a six-run sixth, leading the White Sox to a victory over Minnesota.

A.J. Pierzynski and Dayan Viciedo also went deep as Chicago won for the sixth time in seven games.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Reds 6, Braves 3

In Cincinnati, rookie catcher Devin Mesoraco capped a series full of homers with his first career grand slam, leading his club to a victory over Atlanta.

The Reds completed their first four-game sweep of the Braves in Cincinnati since 1980 at Riverfront Stadium.

Giants 14, Marlins 7

In Miami, Melky Cabrera had three hits and drove in four runs for San Francisco, which gave starter Ryan Vogelsong robust run support for a change.

Vogelsong (3-2) allowed three runs in 6? innings, which hiked his ERA to 2.50. The Giants had scored 22 runs in his previous seven starts.

Padres 11, Mets 5

In New York, Will Venable hit a pair of RBI doubles and Cameron Maybin had two run-scoring singles as San Diego broke out the offense after a long rain delay.

Phillies 10, Cardinals 9

In St. Louis, Shane Victorino and Freddy Galvis each drove in three runs, including Galvis' go-ahead single in the sixth inning, in Philadelphia's close win.

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Weaver tosses no-hitter for Angels against Twins

ANAHEIM, California — Jered Weaver pitched the fifth no-hitter ever thrown against the Twins and the second in the majors in less than two weeks, propelling the Los Angeles Angels to a 9-0 victory in Minnesota's ninth loss in 10 games.

Splendid: Los Angeles starter Jered Weaver acknowledges the fans after throwing a no-hitter against Minnesota on Wednesday night in Anaheim, California. The Angels beat Twins 9-0. AP

Only one Twins batter reached base in the first seven innings, and that was only when catcher Chris Iannetta committed a passed ball on strike three to Chris Parmelee with two outs in the second. Josh Willingham drew the only walk Weaver allowed, passing on a full-count pitch with two outs in the seventh.

Weaver struck out nine and walked one. Minnesota never even tested his defense, never really coming close to getting a hit against the All-Star right-hander. The closest might have been Trevor Plouffe's liner hooked foul about 15 feet before the left-field foul pole in the eighth inning.

"It was an easy ride," Weaver said. "Guys were picking me up left and right. We scored some runs early and took a little pressure off me. I was able to throw some strikes, and Iannetta was throwing down the right fingers. Gotta love that."

Orioles 5, Yankees 0

In New York, Jake Arrieta pitched eight innings of five-hit ball, and Baltimore ended Ivan Nova's 15-game winning streak with a victory over the Yankees.

Rays 5, Mariners 4

In St. Petersburg, Florida, Sean Rodriguez and Luke Scott homered for Tampa Bay, helping Rays right-hander James Shields become the AL's first five-game winner by beating the Mariners.

Seattle's Ichiro Suzuki was 2-for-3 with a run scored and an RBI.

Athletics 4, Red Sox 2

In Boston, Brandon McCarthy beat an AL East opponent once again, holding the hosts to one run over 6? innings as Oakland defeated the Red Sox.

Blue Jays 11, Rangers 5

In Toronto, Edwin Encarnacion hit a three-run homer, Kelly Johnson added a two-run drive and the Blue Jays beat Texas, giving the Rangers consecutive losses for the first time this season.

Royals 3, Tigers 2

In Detroit, Chris Getz's infield single in the ninth inning put Kansas City ahead, and the Royals held on to beat the Tigers.

Indians 6, White Sox 3

In Chicago, Carlos Santana and Travis Hafner homered to Cleveland to a win over the White Sox.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Nationals 5, Diamondbacks 4

In Washington, Bryce Harper made a tumbling barehanded catch in center field and then led off the ninth inning with a double to set the stage for Ian Desmond's two-out game-ending home run that gave the Nationals a victory over visiting Arizona.

Marlins 3, Giants 2 (10)

In San Francisco, Giancarlo Stanton homered off Santiago Casilla in the 10th inning, and Miami beat the Giants after blowing a two-run lead in the ninth.

Braves 15, Phillies 13 (11th)

In Atlanta, Chipper Jones hit a two-run homer in the 11th inning and the Braves overcame Carlos Ruiz's seven RBIs to outlast Philadelphia.

Rockies 8, Dodgers 5

In Denver, pinch hitter Jason Giambi launched a three-run homer off Scott Elbert in the ninth inning, lifting Colorado to win over Los Angeles.

Cubs 3, Reds 1

In Cincinnati, Bryan LaHair and Ian Stewart hit solo homers in a victory over the Reds.

Padres 5, Brewers 0

In San Diego, Jeff Suppan pitched five solid innings to win his first game since 2010, leading the Padres to a win over Milwaukee.

Astros 8, Mets 1

In Houston, Chris Johnson had four hits, homered twice and drove in a career-high six runs and the Astros beat New York to complete a three-game sweep.

Cardinals 12, Pirates 3

In St. Louis, Carlos Beltran drove in a career-best seven runs with a pair of three-run home runs and an RBI single in the first three innings against Pittsburgh.

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Angels land star slugger Pujols in staggering $254 million deal

DALLAS — Three-time NL MVP Albert Pujols agreed Thursday to a $254 million, 10-year contract with the Los Angeles Angels, leaving the World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals after more than a decade for a new baseball life in Southern California.

Pujols' contract, which is subject to a physical, is the second-highest in baseball history and only the third to break the $200 million barrier, following Alex Rodriguez's $252 million, 10-year deal with Texas before the 2001 season and A-Rod's $275 million, 10-year contract with the Yankees before the 2008 season.

"This is a monumental day for Angel fans and I could not be more excited," Angels owner Arte Moreno said.

In addition to the Pujols signing, the Angels agreed to a five-year contract with left-hander C.J. Wilson, a deal worth $77.5 million that raised their spending for the day to $331.5 million.

People familiar with the deals and the terms of each contract, spoke on condition of anonymity because those details were not made public.

Pujols had spent all 11 of his major league seasons with the Cardinals, hitting .338 with 445 home runs and 1,329 RBIs to become a franchise icon second only to Stan Musial. He is fourth in career slugging percentage at .617, trailing only Hall of Famers Babe Ruth (.690), Ted Williams (.634) and Lou Gehrig (.632).

Pujols' numbers in nearly every major offensive category are on a three-year decline. He had his poorest season in 2011 and at 31 is likely to spend the majority of his career with the Angels at designated hitter rather than first base.

"We understand that players will go through peaks and valleys of sort," new Angels general manager Jerry Dipoto said. "Albert has spent many years operating at peak, and if we want to call a decline going from superhuman to just great, I don't think we've seen the last great days of Albert Pujols, obviously, or we wouldn't be sitting here today."

Some have speculated he is older than his listed age. "Albert Pujols' age to me is not a concern," Dipoto said. "I'm not a scientist. I can't say where he is, but I can tell you he hits like he's 27."

St. Louis also offered the slugger a 10-year deal, but he chose to leave the Gateway City for the freeway life.

"We are disappointed," Cardinals chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. said. "I would like our fans to know that we tried our best to make Albert a lifetime Cardinal but unfortunately we were unable to make it happen."

The Angels, who finished 10 games behind pennant-winning Texas in the AL West, made the move as the financially troubled Los Angeles Dodgers are in the process of being sold by Frank McCourt in U.S. Bankruptcy Court, a deal that could give the region's NL team a new, wealthy owner. The Dodgers could aggressively bid for talent a year from now, giving them a boost in the regional competition for fans' attention.

Pujols led the Cardinals to a seven-game World Series victory over Wilson's Rangers, his second title with the team in the last six seasons. He also had been pursued by the Miami Marlins, but they dropped out Wednesday after agreeing to a deal with left-hander Mark Buehrle that raised their free agent-spending to $191 million for three players following deals with closer Heath Bell and shortstop Jose Reyes. The Angels and Marlins committed $522.5 million to just five free agents.

"I think baseball needs to have a steroid-testing policy for owners," said Andrew Zimbalist, a sports economics professor at Smith College.

Pujols agreed in 2004 to a $100 million, seven-year contract, a deal that — with a 2011 option and bonuses — wound up paying him $112.55 million over eight years.

"He left a pretty good impact over there. I don't think fans will soon forget what his contributions were," said former Cardinals manager and star Joe Torre, now an executive with Major League Baseball. "I still think the St. Louis fans are going to be more appreciative than angry."

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Angels' Weaver fans 15 in first home start

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) Less than 24 hours after using all seven of his relievers for the second time in four games to grind out a 14-inning victory — with starter Dan Haren as his last pitcher — Angels manager Mike Scioscia needed Jered Weaver to pitch deep into the game in his first home start of the season.

The ace right-hander more than obliged, striking out a career-high 15 over 7 2/3 innings Sunday in a 3-1 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays. Weaver allowed a run and four hits while throwing 125 pitches.

"I just wanted to go out there, knowing that we had a long one last night, and I wanted to try to extend it as much as possible," Weaver said. "We were able to get three runs, and that was enough to work with.

"It's a tough lineup to face, but I had my fastball command early and my slider was as good as it's been in a long time. So I matched up pretty well with a bunch of righties in the lineup."

The Angels got some additional help from a costly error by Toronto center fielder Rajai Davis that led to a pair of unearned runs in the fourth. Peter Bourjos drove them in with a triple, helping Los Angeles take two of three in the series.

In the eighth, it came down to a showdown between Weaver and Jose Bautista, last year's major league home run leader. Bautista represented the go-ahead run at the plate after a pair of one-out walks, but Weaver struck him out with his final pitch of the day.

"I'm not going to lie. I was obviously getting a little tired," Weaver said. "I had too many walks again (four), but I was still able to extend myself as much as possible. Sosh let me do that. That 3-2 pitch to Bautista was a slider — and thank God he swung at it, or else it would have been bases loaded."

Hisanori Takahashi came in to retire cleanup hitter Adam Lind on a comebacker and Fernando Rodney pitched a perfect ninth for his second save.

Weaver became the first Angels pitcher with 15 strikeouts in a game since May 23, 1995, when left-hander Chuck Finley fanned 15 Yankees and pitched a two-hitter in a 10-0 win at the Big A.

"I'm not going out there trying to strike everybody out," Weaver said. "I'm just trying to get a first-pitch fastball over for a strike and trying to get ahead in the count and trying to keep my team in the game. And if it takes a couple of strikeouts here and there, then that's what it's going to take."

Red Sox 4, Yankees 0

In Boston, Josh Beckett allowed two hits in eight shutout innings.

Indians 6, Mariners 4

In Seattle, Asdrubal Cabrera welcomed Erik Bedard back to Safeco Field with a solo homer and the surprising Indians beat the Mariners for their seventh straight victory.

Ichiro Suzuki was 0-for-4 in the loss.

Rangers 3, Orioles 0

In Baltimore, Derek Holland allowed five hits over six innings, Adrian Beltre and Ian Kinsler homered, and Texas beat the Orioles to win its third consecutive series.

Royals 9, Tigers 5

In Detroit, Wilson Betemit went 4-for-4 with two doubles and Kansas City beat the mistake-prone Tigers.

White Sox 6, Rays 1

In Chicago, Paul Konerko hit two home runs and Gavin Floyd pitched eight masterful innings as the White Sox beat the slumping Rays.

Athletics 5, Twins 3

In Minneapolis, Hideki Matsui homered to help the Athletics break out of a season-long offensive slump.

Matsui finished 2-for-4 with an RBI.

Phillies 3, Braves 0

In Atlanta, Cole Hamels combined with two relievers on a five-hitter and Shane Victorino capped a big series with three hits, including his first homer, to lead the Phillies past Atlanta.

Cardinals 6, Giants 1

In San Francisco, David Freese went 3-for-4 with a homer and three RBIs and Kyle Lohse allowed one run in eight innings to help St. Louis snap a three-game losing streak.

Diamondbacks 10, Reds 8

In Phoenix, Chris Young hit the decisive three-run homer and Stephen Drew had four hits and three RBIs.

Brewers 6, Cubs 5

In Milwaukee, pinch hitter Casey McGehee delivered a two-run homer with two outs in the eighth inning and the Brewers rallied to beat Chicago.

Cubs outfielder Kosuke Fukudome finished 0-for-2 with a walk.

Rockies 6, Pirates 5

In Pittsburgh, Seth Smith drew a bases-loaded walk in the seventh inning and Colorado kept up its strong start.

Astros 7, Marlins 1

In Houston, J.A. Happ pitched four-hit ball into the eighth inning and drove in two runs with a double for the Astros.

Nationals 7, Mets 3 (11)

In New York, Ivan Rodriguez hit a tiebreaking RBI single in the 11th inning and Washington rallied late.

Padres 7, Dodgers 2

In San Diego, Aaron Harang pitched six sharp innings, and Ryan Ludwick broke out of a slump with a go-ahead homer and Nick Hundley added a two-run shot in the Padres' win.

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