MINNEAPOLIS — David Ortiz homered twice for the second straight game and the Boston Red Sox beat the Minnesota Twins 9-4 on Wednesday night. ADVERTISING MINNEAPOLIS — David Ortiz homered twice for the second straight game and the Boston Red
MINNEAPOLIS — David Ortiz homered twice for the second straight game and the Boston Red Sox beat the Minnesota Twins 9-4 on Wednesday night.
Big Papi went 3 for 5 with two RBIs, one night after a four-hit performance against his former team. Both of his home runs — off Kevin Correia (1-5) in the third and Caleb Theilbar in the fifth — traveled more than 400 feet into the right-field upper deck at Target Field, where he’s batting .528 (28 of 53) in 13 career games.
It was more than enough for Felix Doubront (2-3), who allowed a run on seven hits in 6 1/3 innings and retired nine straight at one point. Doubront hadn’t won since April 3 at Baltimore, his first start of the season.
WHITE SOX 4, ATHLETICS 2
OAKLAND, Calif. — Jose Abreu hit a three-run homer in the eighth inning to help Chicago snap a four-game losing streak.
Gordon Beckham homered on the first pitch of the game for the White Sox, who rallied against Oakland’s bullpen to end a seven-game losing streak at the Coliseum.
John Jaso and Josh Donaldson hit solo homers off Andre Rienzo for the Athletics.
Beckham and Conor Gillaspie started the rally with one-out singles against Fernando Abad (0-1), and Abreu greeted Luke Gregerson with a no-doubt drive to left field for his 15th home run of the season.
TIGERS 7, ORIOLES 5
BALTIMORE — Rajai Davis homered, and Detroit overcame a rare shaky performance by Justin Verlander to complete a three-game sweep.
The Tigers have won 12 of their last 15 games, including eight in a row on the road. Baltimore has lost four straight.
Verlander (5-2) allowed a season-high five runs on six hits with four strikeouts and three walks in six innings. He still improved to 7-0 in eight outings at Camden Yards. But it was the first time in 15 games a Detroit starter allowed more than three runs.
Davis hit his third home run and had two RBIs for the Tigers.
RAYS 2, MARINERS 0
SEATTLE — Jake Odorizzi pitched one-hit ball for six innings, but the Tampa Bay Rays lost All-Star Ben Zobrist in a win.
Zobrist dislocated his left thumb on a headfirst slide while trying to steal second base in the fifth. The valuable all-purpose player jammed himself into the bag after being tagged out, walked off the field holding his hand and later had his thumb adjusted back into place.
Zobrist will remain with the team for the final four games of a West Coast road trip and be re-evaluated when the Rays return home.
INDIANS 15, BLUE JAYS 4
TORONTO — David Murphy had five hits and five RBIs and Lonnie Chisenhall had five hits and an RBI and Cleveland beat Toronto.
Corey Kluber (4-3) pitched seven innings to win consecutive starts for the first time this season, and Carlos Santana and Yan Gomes homered as the Indians set season-highs with 22 hits and 15 runs in winning for the sixth time in eight games.
Infielder Steve Tolleson came on to record the final out in the ninth inning after Gomes drilled a three-run homer off Neil Wagner. Throwing knuckleballs, Tolleson faced two batters, giving up a double to Chisenhall before Mike Aviles popped out.
ASTROS 5, RANGERS 4
HOUSTON — Matt Dominguez hit an RBI single off the right-field wall in the ninth inning and Houston won a series against their in-state rivals for the first time since 2008.
The Astros took two of three after losing 15 straight series to the Rangers. Houston overcame a four-run deficit to win.
Dexter Fowler singled with one out in the ninth, Jason Castro drew a walk and Dominguez hit a long fly ball off Nick Martinez (0-1).
Chad Qualls (1-1) got the last two outs in the ninth for the win.
ROYALS 3, ROCKIES 2
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Mike Moustakas hit a three-run double in the second inning, and Jason Vargas and the Kansas City bullpen made it stand up.
Vargas (4-1) did not allow a hit until the fourth inning and did not allow a run until Drew Stubbs belted a two-run homer in the seventh.
Louis Coleman got the Royals out of the inning without any more damage, and Kelvin Herrera worked a perfect eighth before Greg Holland survived a shaky ninth for his 10th save.
PIRATES 4, BREWERS 1
MILWAUKEE — Backup catcher Chris Stewart’s single keyed a three-run burst in the ninth inning against Francisco Rodriguez and sent Pittsburgh past Milwaukee, ending the Brewers’ three-game winning streak.
Rodriguez (1-1) had given up only one run in 21 innings in his first 21 games. But the Pirates tagged the Milwaukee closer for four consecutive hits to beat the Brewers for only the second time in nine games.
Milwaukee managed only six hits and went 0 for 7 with runners in scoring position minus Carlos Gomez. The star center fielder dropped his appeal Wednesday and began a three-game suspension for his part in a bench-clearing fracas at Pittsburgh on Easter Sunday.
MARLINS 13, DODGERS 3
LOS ANGELES — Ed Lucas homered for Miami during a six-run second inning in which second baseman Dee Gordon’s fielding error led to five unearned runs, and the Marlins scored another six runs two innings later.
Anthony DeSclafani (1-0) allowed two runs and seven hits over six innings to earn the win in his major league debut. He had a single and drove in two runs.
Reed Johnson had a two-run homer and Jeff Mathis added a three-run shot in support of DeSclafani, a 24-year-old right-hander who was inserted into the rotation after Marlins ace Jose Fernandez was placed on the disabled list on Monday.
GIANTS 10, BRAVES 4
SAN FRANCISCO — Hunter Pence, Michael Morse and Brandon Crawford homered to power the San Francisco Giants past Atlanta.
Gregor Blanco stole three bases and scored three runs as the Giants continued to dominate the matchup of NL division leaders. San Francisco finished 5-1 against Atlanta this season.
Madison Bumgarner (5-3) allowed four runs and five hits in five innings.
Julio Teheran (2-3) lasted only 3 1/3 innings. He gave up five runs and seven hits in his second loss to the Giants this season.
NATIONALS 5, DIAMONDBACKS 1
PHOENIX — Ian Desmond and Tyler Moore each lined two-run singles in the ninth inning to break open a close game, helping the Washington Nationals beat Arizona.
Nationals starter Doug Fister was locked into a pitcher’s duel with Brandon McCarthy before Washington pulled away.
Jayson Werth homered and Tyler Clippard (4-3) tossed one scoreless inning for Washington. Brad Ziegler (0-1) had pitched 18 1/3 straight scoreless innings.
ANGELS 3, PHILLIES 0
PHILADELPHIA — Garrett Richards allowed five hits over seven innings and the Angels swept the two-game series.
Mike Trout, who grew up in nearby Millville, New Jersey, went 1 for 4 with a triple, walk and stolen base.
Richards (4-0) struck out eight, had no walks and lowered his ERA to 2.42. Ernesto Frieri pitched a perfect eighth and Joe Smith finished off the five-hitter for his fifth save in seven tries.
A.J. Burnett (2-3) labored through five innings, allowing three runs and seven hits. He struck out six and walked five.
The Angels have won five of six to move a season-high three games above .500. Philadelphia has lost three straight and seven of nine to fall a season-worst four games under .500.
YANKEES 4, METS 0
NEW YORK — Masahiro Tanaka pitched a four-hitter for his first major league shutout and the Yankees got home runs from Yangervis Solarte and Mark Teixeira at Citi Field.
Brian Roberts tripled twice and the Yankees finally beat their crosstown rivals after dropping six straight. The Mets took all four Subway Series games last year and won two slugfests in the Bronx this week.
Tanaka (6-0) overwhelmed the Mets with his vast assortment of pitches while spoiling Rafael Montero’s major league debut. Montero (0-1) threw six competitive innings but was no match for the $155 million rookie from Japan.
Tanaka struck out eight and walked none in his first complete game in the majors. He also singled, giving him one more than Mets pitchers have in 64 at-bats this season.
