Braves Off To Best Start Since 94 – MLB Roundup For April 11th

UNDATED (AP) — The 8-1 Atlanta Braves are off to their best start since 1994 when they started 14-1. The Braves scored their second straight three-game sweep by blanking Miami 8-0 as Evan Gattis hit a three-run homer.

Only three series into the season, Atlanta enjoys a seven-game lead over the Marlins, who have the worst record in the big leagues at 1-8. They've scored just 16 runs in nine games.

Elsewhere around the majors:

— Matt Moore and four Rays relievers combined on a five-hitter and Tampa Bay beat Texas 2-0 in the coldest day game ever at Rangers Ballpark. It was 39 degrees when the game started after a rain delay of 1 hour, 29 minutes.

— Buster Posey drove in three runs, Barry Zito (ZEE'-toh) pitched another gem and the San Francisco Giants completed a sweep of the Colorado Rockies with a 10-0 rout. Zito has not allowed a run in 14 innings this year.

— A.J. Pollock homered twice, doubled and drove in four runs as the Arizona Diamondbacks salvaged the final game of their series against Pittsburgh, routing the Pirates 10-2

— J.P. Arencibia (ah-rehn-SEE'-bah) hit a three-run double in the seventh inning, and the Toronto Blue Jays rallied from a five-run deficit to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-6.

— Manny Machado's three-run homer capped a five-run ninth inning and gave the Baltimore Orioles an 8-5 win over the Boston Red Sox.

— Kansas City blanked Minnesota 3-0 to finish a three-game sweep. Billy Butler and Jeff Francoeur (fran-KOOR') homered as the Royals have won six of seven.

— Jake Westbrook pitched a five-hit shutout and the St. Louis Cardinals backed him with four home runs in a 10-0 rout of Cincinnati. Matt Carpenter had a two-run homer and four RBIs. Jon Jay, Carlos Beltran and Matt Adams homered in a span of seven at-bats off Reds starter Homer Bailey.

— Philadelphia erupted with five runs in the first inning and coasted past the New York Mets 7-3. Chase Utley, Domonic Brown and Laynce Nix homered for the Phils.

— Carl Crawford hit his first home run and the L.A. Dodgers held off San Diego 4-3. The Padres rallied with two in the bottom of the ninth but Dodgers closer Brandon League got out of the jam, ending the game with two runners on base. A.J. Ellis added a two-run homer for the Dodgers.

— Brandon Moss homered and drove in five as the Oakland Athletics routed the L.A. Angels 11-5. Tommy Milone got the win for the A's.

— After scoring 16 runs Tuesday night, the Houston Astros again raked Seattle pitching. This time the Astros rapped out 15 hits in an 8-3 win over the Mariners.

— In the interleague game, Washington rapped out 11 hits and beat the Chicago White Sox 5-2. Bryce Harper hit his fourth home run of the season. The game began 16 minutes late because, according to the Nationals, the umpires got stuck in traffic.

— The Brewers-Cubs game in Chicago was postponed by bad weather and will be made up as part of a day-night doubleheader on July 30.

— The Yankees-Indians game in Cleveland was rained out. No immediate makeup date.

UNDATED (AP) — Texas Rangers opening day starter Matt Harrison is going on the disabled list after trying to pitch with soreness in his lower back.

The Rangers say that Harrison will be put on the 15-day DL after an MRI revealed an inflamed nerve in his back. The left-hander will remain in Texas for treatment instead of going with the team to Seattle, where he was scheduled to start tonight.

In other baseball news:

— The longest home sellout streak in major pro sports history ended last night at 820 games for the Boston Red Sox. The official attendance for the game against the Baltimore Orioles was 30,862, well short of the Fenway Park capacity of 37,493.

— Major League Baseball has created an 18-member task force that will study how to increase diversity in the game, especially among black players.