Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Martinez, Upton spur Tigers past Kansas City
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — J.D. Martinez and Justin Upton hit tworun doubles with two outs in the third inning as the Detroit Tigers held off the Kansas City Royals 6-5 on Wednesday night.
Royals starter Ian Kennedy (0-5) walked the bases loaded before giving up the doubles on consecutive pitches.
Victor Martinez and Alex Avila homered for the Tigers, who completed a 4-7 three-city trip.
Kennedy was pulled after three innings, allowing five runs, four hits and three walks. Kennedy is 0-7 in 13 starts since he last won on Sept. 11. He threw 41 pitches in the third.
Kennedy went 0-3 with an 11.30 ERA in May, allowing 18 earned runs, 16 hits, including six home runs, and nine walks in 141 /3 innings.
The Royals took a 3-0 lead on four hits in the first. Salvador Perez singled home Lorenzo Cain with the first run. Cheslor Cuthbert's two-out single scored Eric Hosmer and Perez.
Cuthbert doubled and scored on Alcides Escobar's two-out single in the fourth.
The Royals cut the lead to one run in the eighth when Jorge Bonifacio and Whit Merrifield singled. Bonifacio scored on Alex Wilson's wild pitch. Merrifield extended his hitting streak to a career-high 16 games, the longest by a Royal this season.
Justin Wilson worked the ninth to collect his fifth save in six opportunities.
Tigers left-hander Matthew Boyd did not make it out of the fourth, permitting four runs and seven hits. Warwick Saupold (1-0) allowed one hit in three scoreless innings to pick up the victory.
Hosmer led off the fifth with a single for his 1,000th hit.
ASTROS 17, TWINS 5 George Springer reached base in all six plate appearances and hit two of Houston’s season-high six home runs to lead the Astros to their seventh straight victory, 17-6 over the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday. Carlos Correa, Alex Bregman, Evan Gattis and Marwin Gonzalez also went deep for the Astros, who scored 40 runs in the three games to set a franchise record for runs in a series of any length. They had 19 hits on Wednesday and 37 in the series.
ORIOLES 10, YANKEES 4 Adam Jones homered and drove in five runs, Chris Davis added a two-run shot and the Baltimore Orioles beat Masahiro Tanaka and the New York Yankees 10-4 on Wednesday night. Baltimore took two of three from the AL East leaders after coming in with a seven-game losing streak. The Yankees have lost 11 straight series in Baltimore -- the second-longest road skid in
franchise history behind a 12-series drought at Oakland from 1985-91. RAYS 7, RANGERS 5 (10) Logan Morrison and Derek Norris homered in a three-run 10th inning to cap a late Tampa Bay comeback as the Rays beat the Texas Rangers 7-5 on Wednesday night. Kevin Kiermeier tied the score with two outs in the ninth inning with a first-pitch home run off Texas closer Matt Bush. The 10th-inning homers came off Sam Dyson (1-6), who began the season as Texas’ closer.
RED SOX 4, WHITE SOX 1 Pablo Sandoval hit a tiebreaking single in Boston’s four-run sixth inning and Drew Pomeranz struck out eight in his second straight win, helping the Red Sox beat the Chicago White Sox 4-1 on Wednesday night. Sandoval went 3-for-4 in his first game since he was activated from the disabled list Tuesday after being sidelined by a sprained right knee. It was an encouraging sign for the Red Sox, who are in need of some help at the plate with Dustin Pedroia sidelined by a sprained left wrist.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
CARDINALS 2, DODGERS 1 Dexter Fowler hit tiebreaking homer in the eighth inning to back Carlos Martinez and give the St. Louis Cardinals a 2-1 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers Wednesday night. Martinez (4-4) allowed one run on four hits while striking out nine as he pitched into the eighth inning for his third consecutive start to help St. Louis snap a three-game losing streak.