Jerome Williams leads Phillies over Mariners

Jerome Williams took a three-hitter into the eighth inning, Andres Blanco hit his first home run in three years, and the host Phillies beat the Mariners, 4-1, last night.

Making his second start since joining the Phillies, Williams (1-0) allowed one run and three hits in seven-plus innings. He has now won a game for three teams this season -- the Rangers and Astros are the others.

The Phillies claimed Williams off waivers from the Rangers. He was 2-5 with a 6.71 ERA for Texas and Houston this season. But he has a 2.19 ERA in 12 1/3 innings with Philadelphia.

Blanco connected for a three-run shot in the fifth to give the Phillies a 4-0 lead. It was his first home run since July 1, 2011, for Texas against Florida.

Braves 7, Pirates 3:Jason Heyward and Andrelton Simmons homered to begin a six-run first inning as visiting Atlanta won its fourth straight. Pittsburgh has lost six in a row, but Andrew McCutchen expects to come off the disabled list when he is eligible to return today.

Nationals 5, D-backs 4: Adam LaRoche hit a walk-off homer in the 11th to give host Washington its seventh straight win.

Cardinals 6, Reds 5:

Orioles 8, White Sox 2: Nick Markakis hit a two-run homer and prevented one with a leaping catch in rightfield, and Nelson Cruz and J.J. Hardy also homered for visiting Baltimore.

Cruz hit his 32nd homer, passing White Sox rookie Jose Abreu for the AL lead.

Angels 4, Red Sox 2: Mike Trout and Albert Pujols hit consecutive RBI doubles as the visiting Angels moved a half-game ahead of idle Oakland after their fifth win in six games.

Royals 6, Twins 4: Erik Kratz homered twice after replacing an ailing Salvador Perez for visiting Kansas City. -- AP