Hamels, Gomez power Rangers past Indians
Nats’ Scherzer shuts down Balitmore
ARLINGTON, Texas — Cole Hamels allowed only two singles over eight innings for his 14th victory, Carlos Gomez hit a three-run homer in his first at-bat with Texas and the ALbest Rangers beat the Cleveland Indians 9-0 on Thursday night in the opener of a fourgame series matching division leaders.
Hamels (14-4) retired 19 straight batters after Francisco Lindor’s solid two-out single to left in the first. The only other baserunner for the Indians was Carlos Santana after a leadoff hit in the eighth, though he was stranded at second after advancing on a passed ball.
Adrian Beltre and Rougned Odor also homered for the Rangers (75-53). NATIONALS 4, ORIOLES 0: In Washington, Max Scherzer allowed two hits over eight innings, Bryce Harper had a two-run double and Washington avoided a four-game home-and-home sweep with a victory over Baltimore.
Scherzer (14-7) struck out 10 and did not walk a batter. He retired 12 straight after Adam Jones’ fourth-inning double and 21 of 22 before Mark Trumbo’s leadoff single in the eighth. METS 10, CARDINALS 6: In St. Louis, pitcher Adam Wainwright lost his glove trying to tag out Yoenis Cespedes and lost the game, too, when Alejandro De Aza homered and drove in five runs for New York.
Seth Lugo (1-2) pitched five scoreless innings for his first big league win. The Mets took two of three to win their first series at Busch Stadium since 2008. ANGELS 6, BLUE JAYS 3: In Toronto, Albert Pujols reached the 100-RBI mark for the 13th time, the fifth player in history to achieve the feat, Mike Trout had three hits and drove in four runs, and Los Angeles beat Toronto.
Jered Weaver pitched 5⅔ innings to snap a three-start losing streak and help the Angels win consecutive games for the first time since Aug. 2-3. ROYALS 5, MARLINS 2: In Miami, Alcides Escobar homered and drove in two runs to
lead surging Kansas City past Miami.
Salvador Perez and Kendrys Morales also drove in runs. The defending champion Royals have won 15 of 18 to pull within four games of the second AL wild card spot. PIRATES 3, BREWERS 2
(10): In Milwaukee, Andrew McCutchen hit a home run and a pair of RBI singles, including the tiebreaker in the 10th inning as Pittsburgh stopped a nine-game skid at Miller Park.
McCutchen has 44 RBIs in 56 career games at Miller Park, his highest total at any opposing park. WHITE SOX 7, MARINERS 6: In Chicago, Todd Frazier tied it with an RBI single in the seventh inning and won it with a line drive down the left-field line in the ninth to
lift Chicago to a victory over Seattle.
David Robertson (4-2) worked around a walk and two incidents of fans running on the field in the ninth that delayed play for several minutes in Chicago’s fourth win in five games.
RAYS 2, RED SOX 1: In St. Petersburg, Fla., Enny Romero earned his first major league save, relieving with two outs in the ninth inning and fanning Boston slugger David Ortiz to give Tampa Bay a victory and a four-game split with the Red Sox.
After Tyler Sturdevant struck out Hanley Ramirez and Jackie Bradley Jr. to begin the ninth, Romero was summoned. Romero sent Ortiz to the ground with a high-andtight 1-2 fastball, then got him to look at strike three.
TIGERS 8, TWINS 5: In Minneapolis, James McCann had a three-run homer and finished with four hits, Daniel Norris pitched into the seventh inning and Detroit completed a sweep for Minnesota’s seventh straight loss. BRAVES 3, DIAMONDBACKS 1: In Phoenix, Matt Wisler, called up from TripleA in time to start Thursday night’s game for Atlanta, didn’t allow Arizona a hit for six innings and led the Braves to a victory.
YANKEES FAN: A fan fell into the New York Yankees dugout during their victory over the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday, landing on the dugout steps before being corralled by law enforcement.
The incident happened midway through the Yankees’ 5-0 win. Manager Joe Girardi said the fan appeared intoxicated and fell into a part of the dugout where no players were at that moment.
“It kind of freaked me out, actually,” Girardi said. “I think he tried to jump in, but he was probably not even in a state to be walking.”
Girardi said the fan fell twice, landing on his ribs at first then going down again when he tried to stand. The fan was escorted from the stadium by two members of law enforcement.
“Let’s just say he shouldn’t have really been doing anything,” Girardi said.
RED SOX: Boston has placed rookie left fielder Andrew Benintendi on the 15-day disabled list with a left knee sprain. MARINERS: Seattle has activated left-hander James Paxton after a stint on the 15-day disabled list with a bruised elbow. TRADE: The NL West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers have swapped catchers with Philadelphia, getting Carlos Ruiz and trading A.J. Ellis to the Phillies.
The deal was announced Thursday. The Dodgers also got cash while giving up Ellis, minor league pitcher Tommy Bergjans and a player to be named or cash.
WBC: Dodger Stadium will host the championship game of the 2017 World Baseball Classic, with Marlins Park and Petco Park also holding games leading up to final March 22.