Kris Medlen pitches Braves to win over Nationals

Kris Medlen struck out a career-high 13 and the host Atlanta Braves pulled out a 2-1 victory over the Washington Nationals Friday night when Andrelton Simmons scored on a throwing error by shortstop Ian Desmond in the ninth inning.

Simmons reached on an infield single off Sean Burnett (1-2) and scurried to third when Michael Bourn lined a single to rightfield. Pinch-hitter Tyler Pastornicky hit a one-hop grounder to Desmond, who had a shot at getting Simmons but threw wildly to the plate.

Craig Kimbrel (2-1) earned the win by striking out the side in the top of the ninth on 10 pitches, though Medlen did most of the heavy lifting. He went seven innings, allowing only a homer to Bryce Harper as the Braves snapped a three-game losing streak.

Marlins 4, Reds 0: Jacob Turner allowed only two hits in a career-high seven innings for host Miami.

Turner (1-2) outpitched Bronson Arroyo (12-8), who gave up four runs in six innings. Turner walked two, struck out three, lowered his ERA to 3.75 and helped the Marlins break a three-game losing streak.

Cubs 7, Pirates 4: Visiting Pittsburgh lost its seventh straight game and the Pirates kept fading in the NL wild-card race as Starlin Castro hit a three-run homer for Chicago. The Pirates have dropped 11 of 13 overall. They began the day three games behind St. Louis for the final NL playoff spot.

White Sox 6, Twins 0: Chris Sale (17-6) threw six scoreless innings after being rained out the night before, helping visiting Chicago keep their one-game lead in the AL Central. Dayan Viciedo had two RBIs, Kevin Youkilis homered and Alex Rios doubled, scored and drove in a run.

Tigers 4, Indians 0: Justin Verlander (14-8) pitched seven innings and made sure visiting Detroit stayed in step with first-place Chicago in the AL Central.

Red Sox 8, Blue Jays 5: Mauro Gomez hit a tiebreaking triple in the ninth and Ryan Lavarnway hit a three-run homer for visiting Boston.

-- AP