Davis finally ends hitless streak
BOSTON — Chris Davis definitely kept the souvenir ball from this most elusive hit.
Davis ended his record slump at 0-for-54 and drew applause from rival fans at Fenway Park, lining a single and two doubles while driving in four runs as the Orioles beat the Red Sox 9-5 on Saturday to stop a four-game losing streak.
“That’s a long time without a hit,” he said. “I don’t know what I’m going to do with it, but obviously something special.”
Davis broke into a smile when his bases-loaded, two-run single in the first inning broke the drought. “It meant a lot,” he said. Davis walked to the plate in the first to what mostly appeared to be mock cheers when he was announced. But many of those quickly changed when he hit a liner over the head of second baseman Dustin Pedroia, ending the longest hitless streak ever by a position player.
It was his first hit Sept. 14.
Once he safely reached first, Davis tipped his cap to the Orioles dugout and many of his teammates since raised their arms and hollered in support. He smiled and made a motion that he wanted the ball.
“Significant weight lifted off my shoulders,” he said.
Davis, a two-time home run champ, had been 0for-33 this season.
The 33-year-old Davis is in the fourth season of a seven-year, $161 million contract.
He lined an RBI double in the fifth that put the Orioles ahead 3-2. The Orioles broke it open four in the sixth, with Davis adding a run-scoring groundout.
■ Yankees: CC Sabathia began his 19th and final big league season with five one-hit, scoreless innings, pinch-hitter Luke Voit came through with a broken-bat RBI single in the seventh and the Yankees beat the White Sox 4-0 on Saturday in New York to end a four-game slide. Sabathia allowed one hit and no other baserunners in his return from the injured list. Yankees manager Aaron Boone kept the 38-year-old Sabathia on a short leash in his first start following offseason operations on his heart and right knee . ... RHP Dellin Betances received a cortisone shot in his right shoulder, which will keep him out another six to seven weeks. Betances, 31, opened the season on the injured list after dealing with inflammation in his shoulder during spring training.
■ Royals: Homer Bailey pitched seven innings of two-hit ball, and the Royals beat the Indians 3-0 in Kansas City, Mo., for their second straight win after a 10-game skid. Ian Kennedy pitched a perfect eight and Willy Peralta followed in the ninth for his first save to complete the two-hitter. Ryan O’Hearn homered, and Whit Merrifield and Adalberto Mondesi each had an RBI single.
■ Blue Jays: Lourdes Gurriel Jr. hit a two-run double in the seventh to help the Blue Jays overcome reigning AL Cy Young winner Blake Snell’s no-hit bid in a 3-1 win over the Rays in Toronto. It was the Rays’ first loss in six games. Snell didn’t allow a hit until Luke Maile singled with one out in the sixth. Despite failing to get a decision, Snell continued his stellar form since allowing five earned runs on opening day, with a 0.47 ERA in his 19 innings since. He has 33 strikeouts in those three starts, including nine Saturday.
■ Giants: Madison Bumgarner allowed just two runs on six hits and pitched into the eighth to give a weary bullpen much needed rest, and the Giants beat the Rockies 5-2 in San Francisco. It was the eighth straight loss for the Rockies, who at 3-12 are off to their worst start in franchise history. Kevin Pillar homered for the fourth time in six days in the victory.
■ Reds: Derek Dietrich hit a tiebreaking HR in the seventh and added a tworun triple as the Reds won their fourth straight game, beating the Cardinals 5-2 in the first game of a twogame series in Monterrey, Mexico. The Cards had won five in a row.
■ Extra innings: Zack Cozart broke out of a slump with three hits and Cody Allen wiggled out of a jam in the ninth, helping the Angels top the Cubs 6-5 in Chicago. The Angels won for the seventh time in their last eight games . ... Austin Dean hit his first career HR and went 4-for-4 with five RBIs to help the Marlins end a five-game skid with a 10-3 win over the Phillies in Miami . ... The Rangers put 2B Rougned Odor on the injured list with a sprained knee . ... Longtime broadcasting analyst and former pitcher Ron Darling announced that he will have surgery next week to remove a “large mass” in his chest and he hopes to return to the booth in May. Darling, 58, didn’t reveal further details.