Betts hits 3-run double in 10th, Boston beats Toronto
TORONTO: Chris Sale struck out 13 over eight shutout innings, Mookie Betts hit a three run double in the 10th and the Boston Red Sox beat the struggling Toronto Blue Jays 4-1 on Thursday. At 3-12, Toronto is off to the worst start in team history and has lost its first five series for the first time. Sandy Leon drew a oneout walk from Jason Grilli (0-2), Brock Holt singled to stop an 0-for-12 slide, Andrew Benintendi walked with two outs, and Betts pulled a 2-0 fastball down the left-field line. Mitch Moreland hit a two-out double in the ninth off Roberto Osuna and scored on Xander Bogaerts’ single, but Kendrys Morales homered against Craig Kimbrel (1-0) leading off the bottom half.
ASTROS 2, ANGELS 1
Carlos Beltran hit his first home run this season and Jake Marisnick also homered. Beltran’s shot came with one out and the first inning off Matt Shoemaker (0-1), and Marisnick’s second homer this season made it 2-0 in the fifth. Lance McCullers (2-0) scattered three hits and struck out eight over 6 2/3 scoreless innings as Houston won for the seventh time in eight games. Chris Devenski allowed home run to Mike Trout starting the ninth inning and back-to-back singles with one out before fanning Cameron Maybin and Danny Espinosa for his first save.
RAYS 8, TIGERS 1
Steven Souza Jr. came within a single of hitting for the cycle, and Erasmo Ramirez (2-0), Chase Whitley and Tommy Hunter combined on a five-hitter as Tampa Bay Rays completed a three-game sweep. Souza doubled in the first, hit a two-run triple in the second and added a solo homer in the eighth. In the rotation because Jake Odorizzi strained his left hamstring, Ramirez allowed one run and two hits in five innings with five strikeouts and no walks. Daniel Norris (1-1) gave up five runs and eight hits over 4 2/3 innings.
INDIANS 6, TWINS 2
Trevor Bauer (1-2) struck out seven in 6 1/3 innings, giving up two runs, three hits and three walks, and Carlos Santana had two doubles and two RBIs. Ervin Santana gave up one run, four hits and three walks over six innings for the Twins, who are 1-5 in a 10-game homestand. Carlos Santana delivered another RBI double in the seventh inning, and Tyler Duffey (0-1) and Taylor Rogers each walked in a run with the bases loaded.
PHILLIES 6, METS 4
Maikel Franco homered and doubled while breaking a career-worst 0-for 22 hitless streak, and Philadelphia capitalized on an error by untested first baseman Jay Bruce. Mets closer Jeurys Familia struck out two and walked two in a hitless ninth inning of his season debut after serving a 15game suspension for violating Major League Baseball’s domestic violence policy. Philadelphia took two of three at Citi Field after losing six straight series to the Mets. New York made seven errors in the set. Aaron Nola (2-0) labored through five innings, and Hector Neris earned his first save this season. Noah Syndergaard (1-1) struck out 10 in seven innings. New York slugger Yoenis Cespedes limped off in the fifth inning with a left hamstring cramp. The Mets already were minus injured first baseman Lucas Duda, catcher Travis d’Arnaud and infielder Wilmer Flores.
ORIOLES 2, REDS 1
J.J. Hardy singled home the tiebreaking run off Blake Wood (0-2) in the 10th inning, and the Orioles took two of three in the series, leaving them 8-4 in interleague play against the Reds. Three pitchers limited Cincinnati to two hits for the second night in a row. Darren O’Day (1-1) fanned two of the three batters he faced in the ninth. Brad Brach retired the side in the 10th for his second straight save, filling in while closer Zach Britton recovers from a sore forearm.
NATIONALS 3, BRAVES 2
Ryan Zimmerman hit a two-run homer in the sixth that erased a 2-1 deficit against R.A. Dickey (12), and Washington completed a three-game sweep. Stephen Strasburg (2-0) struck out 10 in seven innings Shawn Kelley allowed Kurt Suzuki’s twoout single in the ninth and walked pinch-hitter Tyler Flowers, then retired Ender Inciarte on a game-ending flyout for his second save in three tries.
RANGERS 1, ROYALS 0, 13 INNINGS
Delino DeShields had an RBI single with one out in the 13th inning to score Joey Gallo from second base and Texas beat Kansas City. Gallo had pulled a one-out double into the right-field corner off Travis Wood (0-1), the third Royals reliever after starter Danny Duffy went 7 1-3 innings. Gallo scored when DeShields hit a sharp single to left on the 10th pitch of the at-bat. It was only the third game in the 24 seasons of the Rangers’ ballpark to go to extra innings scoreless. This was the longest of those games. Gallo’s double was the first hit for the Rangers since Jonathan Lucroy’s leadoff double in the fifth. It was the first hit in the game since Royals leadoff hitter Alex Gordon’s one-out single in the eighth. Dario Alvarez (1-0), the seventh Texas pitcher, struck out three in two innings after walking the first batter he faced on four pitches.
BREWERS 7, CARDINALS 5
Jett Bandy, Eric Thames and Travis Shaw each hit home runs to help Milwaukee beat St. Louis. Bandy hit a two-run homer in the sixth and Thames put Milwaukee ahead with a two-run shot off Carlos Martinez (0-3) in the fifth. Shaw’s threerun blast in the first made it 12 consecutive games going yard for the Brewers, who lead the majors with 32 home runs. Zach Davies (1-2) allowed four runs on eight hits in 5 1-3 innings. He walked two and struck out five, but needed Thames’ NL-leading eighth home run and seventh in the past eight games for his first win in four starts. Jacob Barnes pitched the ninth for his first save of the season.
PADRES 4, DIAMONDBACKS 1
Clayton Richard pitched into the seventh inning and Wil Myers and Austin Hedges homered to lead San Diego over Arizona. Richard (2-2) gave up a run and nine hits in 6 2/3 innings. The left-hander struck out a season high eight to win for the first time in his past three starts. Brandon Maurer pitched the ninth for his third save and second in consecutive nights. Myers cracked his fourth homer in the first and Hedges added his third in the seventh as the Padres won their second straight to earn a split of the four-game series. Patrick Corbin (1-3) limited the Padres to three runs or less for the fourth time at Petco Park. But it wasn’t enough with Richard keeping the Diamondbacks off-balance with his sinker.
ATHLETICS 9, MARINERS 6
Cesar Valdez pitched in the major leagues for the first time in nearly seven years and the Athletics beat the Mariners. He allowed three runs and five hits in four innings, struck out four and walked two. This marked just the third start of his career at age 32 and 10th appearance in all - and he is probably headed right back to the minors soon. A right-hander from the Dominican Republic, he was called up from Triple-A Nashville to fill in for injured opening day starter Kendall Graveman. Valdez last pitched in the big leagues on June 10, 2010, with Arizona just more than a month after his previous start on May 8. Trevor Plouffe hit a three-run homer in the seventh and Ryan Dull (1-1) pitched 1 1-3 scoreless innings for the victory in Oakland’s third straight win. Taylor Motter hit a two-run homer for Seattle in the sixth against Frankie Montas. — AP