Ryan Howard hit a two-run shot off reliever

LOS ANGELES -- Through most of the first two months of the season, Yasiel Puig batted second and Hanley Ramirez hit third for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Ramirez is still hitting behind Puig, only now they are in the third and fourth spots, and the change is starting to generate positive results for manager Don Mattingly. Ramirez homered twice, drove in five runs and scored four times, tying career highs in all three categories and leading the defending NL West champions to a 12-2 rout of the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday. "I just try to help the team any way I can," Ramirez said. "When Donnie asked me if I was OK with it, I said: "I just want to win. Puigs been doing a great job, so why not hit him third so he can learn how to drive runs in?" Ramirez, whose 4 for 4 day increased his career average against Pittsburgh to .362, hit a two-run homer in the fourth inning against Brandon Cumpton and led off the sixth against Bryan Morris with his ninth of the season. The 2009 NL batting champion and three-time All-Star shortstop is 8 for 20 with eight RBIs in five starts in the cleanup spot after missing four games because of a sore left calf. "He found some good pitches to hunt and put some good swings on some balls," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. "The history hes got against this organization is significant. I saw him break in. I had him on the All-Star team in 2008. Hes a good player, a good hitter, and hes done some damage at the plate. He also stole a base today, so that shows you his wheels OK." Puig had an infield hit in the third inning and has reached base in 32 straight games, the longest active streak in the majors. He is 13 for 32 with a homer and three RBIs in nine games since Mattingly moved him from second to third in the lineup, and the Dodgers are 5-4 during that stretch. Hyun-Jin Ryu (6-2) breezed to his third straight victory, allowing two runs and 10 hits with four strikeouts and no walks. Last Monday at Dodger Stadium, Ryu did not allow a baserunner through the first seven innings of his 4-3 victory over Cincinnati. "He threw the ball really well," catcher Drew Butera said. "He had good command, changed speeds well in and out and did a real good job focusing on every pitch, and he made my job easy. Our guys do a really good job of having a plan and purpose every pitch." Jamey Wright was credited with his second save in 19 major league seasons, after pitching the final three innings and allowing one hit. His other save was in 2011 with Seattle. Cumpton (0-2) was charged with 11 runs -- 10 earned -- and 11 hits in 3 2-3 innings. The 25-year-old right-hander had allowed a total of one run during the first four innings of his eight previous major league starts. "I was getting behind guys, so they were sitting on heaters and doing what they get paid to do," Cumpton said. "When I made my pitch, it found a hole -- and when I didnt make my pitch, it found a gap. Its discouraging, but its only one start. Ive gotten beaten around before and Im sure its going to happen again. But Im not going to hang my head over it." The Dodgers staked Ryu to an 11-1 lead with two runs in the first inning, four in the third and five more in the fourth. Ramirez and Matt Kemp triggered the onslaught with two-out RBI singles during Cumptons 28-pitch first inning. Cumpton threw only 18 pitches during the Dodgers third-inning rally, as four batters put the ball in play on the first offering and two others did on the second. "I knew almost all of them were going to be aggressive early in the count," Cumpton said. "Thats a great lineup. They made me throw pitches, and when I got behind, they made me pay." Andre Ethier started things off in the third with a drive that popped out of left fielder Starling Martes glove for a two-base error as his left arm hit the fence. Ramirez and Justin Turner had RBI singles, Adrian Gonzalez doubled home a run and Kemp hit a sacrifice fly. After Ramirezs first homer, Turner chased Cumpton three batters later with another RBI single and Butera greeted Jeanmar Gomez with a two-run triple. NOTES: 3B Josh Harrison had two hits, including a single on Ryus third pitch of the game. He is batting .324 in the 19 games hes started in the leadoff spot. ... Reigning NL MVP Andrew McCutchen has no RBIs or extra-base hits in nine games and 32 at-bats since his run-scoring single against Washingtons Blake Treinen on May 22. ... Marte has no RBIs in 42 career at-bats against the Dodgers, and teammate Jose Tabata has none in 29 at-bats against them. ... Butera has three triples in 574 career at-bats. Replica NCAA Jerseys . -- The Jacksonville Jaguars are bringing back quarterback Chad Henne -- and making him the starter. Clearance NCAA Jerseys . -- During Kansas shootaround on Wednesday before the Jayhawks faced Oklahoma, coach Bill Self told Wayne Selden Jr. https://www.chinajerseysncaa.us/. Eller said the Oilers were a "junior team" that was "all over the place" before Edmontons 4-3 victory over Montreal on Tuesday night, Oilers head coach Dallas Eakins took offence to Ellers comments and used it to motivate his youthful team. NCAA Jerseys Outlet . With the Pirates in the thick of the race in the NL Central, the timing couldnt be better. Liriano struck out a season-high 11 in seven innings to win consecutive starts for the first time this season and Pittsburgh beat the San Francisco Giants 3-1 on Tuesday night. Cheap NCAA Jerseys . Torres scored the first goal by an English team in the knockout phase of the Champions League this season when he met Cezar Azpilicuetas cutback in the ninth minute of their first leg match in the last 16. But Chelsea failed to make the most of its counterattacks and the Turkish champions equalized in the second half after gaining in confidence and cutting out their defensive mistakes.TORONTO -- The Toronto Blue Jays have put up some impressive numbers of late and the long ball is helping them get it done. Edwin Encarnacion hit two of Torontos season-high five home runs as the Blue Jays capped a two-game mini-sweep of Philadelphia by outscoring the Phillies 12-6 on Thursday at Rogers Centre. It was the second straight night that the Blue Jays had a double-digit run total as they extended their winning streak to five games. "Were some kinda hot right now," said Jays manager John Gibbons. Toronto (18-17) has hit at least one homer in eight straight games, a big reason why they have moved back over the .500 mark. Colby Rasmus, Juan Francisco and Adam Lind also went deep to help make a winner of R.A. Dickey (3-3). "Were swinging it good right now and everybody is feeding off each other," Gibbons said. "I would say right now its probably a good club to pitch for." Dickey had a few rough moments but his knuckleball was moving nicely and it regularly handcuffed the Phillies. He worked into the seventh inning and struck out a season-high eight batters. "Im making strides," he said. "I had a good (knuckler). I had one that was a swing-and-miss one tonight. It was comfortable out of my hand all night long." Former Blue Jay starter A.J. Burnett (2-2) was roughed up for six earned runs over six innings. He allowed nine hits and two walks while striking out four. "Balls ran over the plate tonight," Burnett said. "I wasnt on the corners at all. The hook was inconsistent. I had it at times. The bottom line is the balls werent on the corners, the ball was in the middle of the plate." Encarnacion set the tone early by blasting his 200th career homer in the second inning. "(Im) swinging at better pitches, (Im) more confident and (Im) feeling great at the plate," Encarnacion said through translator Luis Rivera. Rasmus hit a rainbow shot that barely cleared the wall by the right-field pole later in the frame. Lind added a two-run shoot in the sixth inning as the Blue Jays pulled away.dddddddddddd "You want to come in and stop the bleeding and set the tone and that wasnt there," Burnett said. Encarnacion added a two-run shot in the seventh and Francisco tagged a solo shot on the next pitch. Jose Reyes broke out of a slump as his ground-rule double in the third inning ended an 0-for-10 skid. He stole third and came home on a Jose Bautista sacrifice fly. Reyes was at it again in the fifth inning after he was hit by a pitch. The speedy shortstop -- who battled a hamstring problem last month -- stole second, moved to third on a passed ball and scored on a Bautista groundout. "You can tell hes feeling a lot more comfortable and he was able to turn it loose," Gibbons said. The Blue Jays have won their last eight meetings against Philadelphia (15-18). They will continue their nine-game homestand Friday with the opener of a four-game set against the Los Angeles Angels. Toronto, which clobbered the Phillies 10-0 a night earlier, outhit Philadelphia 13-10 in front of an announced crowd of 18,158. The Phillies opened the scoring in the second inning and scratched out singles runs in the fifth and the seventh. Ryan Howard hit a two-run shot off reliever Esmil Rogers in Philadelphias three-run ninth inning. Dickey allowed seven hits, three earned runs and walked three batters over 6 1-3 innings pitched. Notes: The game took three hours to play. ... Olympic curling champion Brad Jacobs was in attendance. ... Toronto optioned right-hander Chad Jenkins to triple-A Buffalo before the game. ... Bautista has reached base in all 35 games this season. ... It was Encarnacions 12th career multi-homer game. ... Howard has seven homers this season. ... Dustin McGowan (2-1) is scheduled to start for Toronto on Friday against Garrett Richards (3-0). ... It was the 20,000th game in franchise history for the Phillies. The team played its first game on May 1, 1883, dropping a 4-3 decision to the Providence Grays at Recreation Park. ' ' '