Hamilton sparks Angels’ comeback win over Royals
KANSAS CITY, Missouri: Josh Hamilton started the Angels’ comeback when he homered leading off the seventh inning, and Los Angeles beat the Kansas City Royals 5- 2 Sunday for its eighth straight win.
The Angels were unable to get into their dugout until about 90 minutes before the game because bees swarmed into it. A beekeeper was summoned to solve the problem.
Jerome Williams (4-1) then allowed two runs and seven hits in six innings for the Angels, on their longest winning streak since taking eight straight from May 22-29 last year.
Kansas City has lost nine of 10 and 16 of 20, dropping to 21-26. In only three of those 16 losses have the Royals scored more than three runs.
Los Angeles trailed 2-0 before Hamilton homered on the first pitch of the seventh from Wade Davis (3-4), giving the former AL MVP home runs in consecutive games for only the third time since signing with the Angels during the offseason.
In Boston, Jacoby Ellsbury hit a game-ending, tworun double on Joe Smith’s first pitch, capping a four-run, ninth-inning rally that lifted the Red Sox over the Indians.
Boston won three of four against Cleveland, managed by Terry Francona in his first series back at Fenway Park since leaving the Red Sox after the 2011 season.
Cleveland led 5-2 entering the ninth, when Chris Perez (2-1) walked Dustin Pedroia leading off.
In Houston, Bartolo Colon struck out a season-high nine in seven scoreless innings, and the Athletics won their ninth straight against the Astros this season.
Oakland’s Nate Freiman, who was with the Astros in spring training as a Rule 5 selection, had a double and home run with three RBIs for the A’s.
Dating to 2007, Oakland has won 11 straight against Houston, tied for the third longest winning streak against one team in A’s history.
Colon (5-2) won his second straight start, scattering nine hits two day after turning 40.
In Detroit, Max Scherzer pitched six solid innings to remain undefeated this season, and Avisail Garcia broke the game open with a bases-loaded triple, leading the Tigers over the Twins.
Scherzer, who retired his last 22 batters in a win at Cleveland on Tuesday, allowed a run and three hits Sunday in improving to 7-0. He struck out six and walked three.
Torii Hunter homered for the Tigers, and Prince Fielder drove in a run with a fourth- inning double. Garcia, pinch- hitting in the sixth, cleared the bases to make it 6- 1.
Mike Pelfrey (3-5) allowed five runs and five hits in 5 2-3 innings. He walked three and struck out five.
In Toronto, Munenori Kawasaki hit a game-ending two-run double in a four-run ninth inning, lifting the Blue Jays to a victory over the Orioles.
Trailing 5-2 to begin the ninth against Orioles closer Jim Johnson (2-5), the Blue Jays got a leadoff double from Edwin Encarnacion, a single from Adam Lind and an RBI single by J.P. Arencibia.
Brett Lawrie flied out and Anthony Gose walked to load the bases for Mark DeRosa, who made it 5-4 with a fielder’s choice.
That brought up Kawasaki, who lined a double up the alley in left-center, scoring Arencibia and DeRosa from first with the winning run.
In St. Petersburg, Florida, Alex Cobb took a three-hit shutout into the ninth inning and led the Rays to a win that extended CC Sabathia’s winless streak to five, one short of his career high.
Cobb (6-2) lost his shutout bid when Brett Gardner homered leading off the ninth and he wound up allowing two runs and five hits in 8 1-3 innings with eight strikeouts.
Sabathia (4-4) dropped to 0-2 with a 4.85 ERA since he beat Toronto on April 27. He allowed seven runs and seven hits in seven innings and is 10-11 in 31 starts against the Rays, including a 3-10 mark since joining the Yankees. His overall ERA is 3.96.
In Seattle, Jason Bay hit a twoout RBI single in the 13th inning, lifting the Mariners to a victory over Texas that snapped an eight-game skid.
Bay came through after he was robbed of a game-winning homer in the 11, when David Murphy leaped above the fence in left-center field to catch Bay’s drive.
Raul Ibanez tied it at 3 earlier in the 11th with a home run. A.J. Pierzynski had given Texas a 3-2 lead in the top half with a pinch-hit RBI single off Oliver Perez.
Interleague
White Sox 5 Marlins 3: In Chicago, Dayan Viciedo and Alex Rios each threw out a runner at the plate, and the White Sox beat Alex Sanabia and Marlins to sweep their weekend series.
The White Sox have won five of six and nine of 12 to climb back to .500 for the first time since they were 4-4 on April 10. Dylan Axelrod (3-3) benefited from a two-run homer by Adam Dunn and a tiebreaking two-run double from Alejandro De Aza to pick up his third consecutive victory.