Sox off to best start in club history
PHOTOS BY GETTY & ATHLETESBRAND.COM DETROIT — Tyler Austin has garnered a lot of attention recently.
But he’d rather it be for his ability to overcome testicular cancer than brawling in Beantown.
Austin, who was diagnosed with the disease in 2009 when he was 17, is trying to sell 1,000 “Ball Out” tshirts to fund an early detection awareness event put on by the Sean Kimerling Testicular Cancer Foundation.
“It truly is an honor to have the ability to bring awareness to this disease and try to help as many people as I can,” Austin said.
Austin will be nine years cancer-free come this September. Testicular cancer affects 7,000-8,000 men in the United States per year. “The toughest part was not knowing if it had spread anywhere. That was the big thing for me at first,” Austin said. “And then trying to make sure my family was ok. I never want to see my mom, my dad or anyone close to me upset so seeing them upset was probably the toughest part for me.” Austin explained that he started feeling pain out of nowhere and went about a week without saying anything because it would come and go. But then suddenly one morning he woke up and felt miserable. He tried to tough it out, but it was so severe that he told his mother. She called a doctor and was told to take her son to the hospital.
“They told me they were 98 percent sure I had testicular cancer,” Austin said. “It was scary.”
Austin underwent surgery a couple days later to remove a teratoma tumor. It was the same exact cancer that Lance Armstrong survived. Fortunately, his blood work came back good and the cancer hadn’t spread anywhere.
“I was extremely lucky with that,” he said.
Austin, who is on the Yankees’ bigleague roster due to starting first baseman Greg Bird being hurt, is currently appealing a five-game suspension for charging the mound and fighting Red Sox reliever Joe Kelly on Wednesday. Kelly drilled Austin in the back as retaliation for his controversial slide earlier in the game.
“Unfortunately, there is a lot of attention on me for that,” Austin said. “But I’d rather the attention be on this shirt and this cause.”
The shirts can be purchased at athletesbrand.com. Austin helped design them. The logo is in the shape of a cup, with “Ball Out” being his motivation phrase. BOSTON — Hanley Ramirez hit a two-run homer and drove in three runs, and the Boston Red Sox beat the Baltimore Orioles 10-3 on Saturday to get to 12-2 — the best start in their 118-year history.
Andrew Benintendi had a tworun single and an RBI double, and J.D. Martinez hit a solo homer for the Red Sox.
Only once — in 1918 — had Boston started 11-2.
Alex Cobb (0-1) was roughed up in his Orioles debut, giving up eight runs — seven earned — in 3 2/3 innings. He signed a $57-million, 4-year deal as a free agent on March 21 after spending all 11 years of his professional career in Tampa Bay’s organization.
Pedro Alvarez had a two-run homer for Baltimore, which has lost four of five.
Hector Velazquez (2-0) gave up two runs in five innings. Marcus Walden pitched the final three innings for his first big-league save.
The Red Sox started fast as they’ve done frequently this season. They scored three in the first before making an out. Mookie Betts opened with a walk and raced around to score on Benintendi’s double off the Green Monster, sliding ahead of a relay throw.
PHILLIES 9, RAYS 4: Jake Arrieta won his first game for Philadelphia and rookies J.P. Crawford and Scott Kingery drove in two runs each in a win over Tampa Bay in St. Petersburg. It was the fifth straight win for the Phillies.
ANGELS 5, ROYALS 3: Mike Trout, Justin Upton and Luis Valbuena homered as Los Angeles won their seventh straight, beating host Kansas City with the final innings played with snow falling. The Angels won their ninth consecutive road game, and will have Shohei Ohtani as their starting pitcher Sunday. The Royals have lost five straight.
PIRATES 1, MARLINS 0: Corey Dickerson’s bunt single in the ninth inning scored the only run and Pittsburgh won a game of small ball, beating host Miami.
RANGERS 6, ASTROS 5: Ronald Guzman’s first career homer tied the game in the eighth inning, and he put the Rangers ahead with an infield single in the 10th as Texas rallied from five runs down in Houston.
CUBS 14, BRAVES 10: Javy Baez had a three-run double as Chicago scored nine times in the eighth inning on just three hits, rallying past wild Atlanta in cold, wet and windy conditions at Wrigley Field. —AP