Highlights of Friday's Major League games

Braves 8, Blue Jays 7

Pinch-hitter Jonny Gomes hit a solo home run, first baseman Freddie Freeman added a two-run homer in a three-run eighth inning and the Atlanta Braves held on to defeat the Toronto Blue Jays.

The Braves (7-3) overcame a five-homer barrage by the Blue Jays (5-6), including two each by third baseman Josh Donaldson and catcher Russell Martin, to win the opener of a three-game interleague series.

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Tigers 2, White Sox 1

Jose Iglesias bounced a single past drawn-in second baseman Emilio Bonifacio to score pinch runner Andrew Romine from third with one out in the ninth inning and give the Detroit Tigers a victory over the Chicago White Sox.

Interim closer right-hander Joakim Soria pitched a perfect ninth for Detroit to gain the win and send the Tigers to 9-1.

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Red Sox 3, Orioles 2

Xander Bogaerts delivered the first walk-off hit of his career in the ninth inning, giving the Boston Red Sox a victory over the Baltimore Orioles.

Boston (7-3) trailed 2-0 but Ryan Hanigan hit a two-run homer in the fifth, before Bogaerts came through with the winning RBI single.

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Royals 6, Athletics 4

Paulo Orlando stroked a tie-breaking triple in the eighth inning as the Kansas City Royals beat the Oakland Athletics.

Orlando's hit broke a 4-4 tie and the Royals pounded out 15 hits to improve to 8-2.

Stephen Vogt went 3-for-4 with two home runs for the A's (5-6).

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Mets 4, Marlins 1

The New York Mets won their sixth game in a row for the first time in four years after turning back the Miami Marlins.

Pitcher Bartolo Colon (3-0) went seven innings and the Mets (8-3) scored in the fifth, sixth and eighth to secure their first six-game streak since April 21-27, 2011.

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Cardinals 6, Reds 1

Catcher Yadier Molina drove in three runs with a bases-loaded double in the seventh inning to snap a 1-1 tie and send the St. Louis Cardinals to a win over the Cincinnati Reds on Friday night.

Cardinals starter Michael Wacha (2-0) gave up five hits in seven innings to get the win for St. Louis (6-6).

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Yankees 5, Rays 4

Alex Rodriguez had two home runs and drove in the go-ahead run with an eighth-inning single, leading the New York Yankees to a win over the Tampa Bay Rays.

Rodriguez got his first multi-homer game in nearly three years, then came through with a single to centre with a full count and two outs in the eighth.

New York improved to 4-6 while Tampa Bay fell to 6-5.

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Padres 5, Cubs 4

Wil Meyers went 3-for-4 and clubbed a go-ahead, three-run homer in the seventh inning as the San Diego Padres rallied for a victory, their third straight.

The Cubs (5-4) debuted highly touted prospect Kris Bryant, who struck out three times and grounded out once against San Diego (7-4).

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Nationals 7, Phillies 2

Starter Max Scherzer allowed just one run in eight innings and Bryce Harper hit a three-run homer in the first as the Washington Nationals beat the slumping Philadelphia Phillies.

The Nationals (5-6) have won three games in a row and scored 29 runs in their last four contests. In contrast, the Phillies (3-8) have lost six in a row scoring just 13 runs.

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Pirates 6, Brewers 3

Slumping Starling Marte started a decisive two-run rally with a single, then later hit a two-run home run as the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Milwaukee Brewers after being shut out in their previous two games.

Marte went 2-for-4 to lift his batting average to .152, and Gregory Polanco added three hits, including a double, for the Pirates (4-6).