MLB Capsules - AL: Texas still undefeated after 7-3 win over Seattle

ARLINGTON (AP) — Mitch Moreland delivered the tiebreaking double for the still undefeated Texas Rangers off Cy Young winner Felix Hernandez. The young first baseman then earned a dinner from new teammate Adrian Beltre for his work with the glove.

Moreland put the Rangers ahead to stay with his RBI double into the right-field corner in the seventh. He then started the next inning with an incredible snag of Beltre’s bounced throw after the Gold Glove third baseman made an equally impressive stop in the Rangers’ 7-3 win over the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday.

"It was OK. He made a better play than I did because it was a tough hop I threw over there, a little two-seamer low. He picked it very nice," said Beltre, who snagged Milton Bradley’s hard high chopper near the line. "Every time he does that I owe him a dinner. Hopefully he can save me a lot of errors."

So far this season, the AL champion Rangers are flawless.

They wrapped up their season-opening homestand with their first 6-0 start since 1996, when they set a team record by winning their first seven games. Texas has a day off Thursday before starting its first road trip of the season Friday in Baltimore.

"Everybody’s talking about homers, but pitching and defense got us where we needed to be, got us six big wins," designated hitter Michael Young said.

Moreland’s go-ahead hit in the seventh inning, which he pulled down the line into the right-field corner, made a winner of C.J. Wilson (1-0). Arthur Rhodes, the 41-year-old lefty, needed only four pitches to get through the 3-4-5 batters in the Seattle lineup in the eighth.

Hernandez (1-1) allowed four runs, two unearned, in seven innings. He struck out six and walked three.

"It was the wind first, I couldn’t get my balance. But after that I felt good. All the pitchers were working," Hernandez said. "I know they’re gonna swing anyway, so I just have to make good pitches. It was pretty good today, I got seven innings."

A pair of errors by newly converted second baseman Jack Wilson led to the Mariners’ troubles.

After pitching a complete game on opening day, Hernandez started against Texas with a 10-pitch walk to Ian Kinsler. The right-hander also walked AL MVP Josh Hamilton in the first without giving up a run.

But in the second, Hernandez allowed consecutive one-out singles and a walk to the bottom three hitters in the Texas lineup to load the bases. Wilson then made consecutive errors on what could have been ending-inning double plays.

Kinsler hit a grounder to third baseman Chone Figgins, whose throw to second was bobbled by Wilson without getting an out when a run scored. The next play was a grounder to shortstop Brendan Ryan, and Wilson got the forceout but threw wide of first after Kinsler slid in hard. Wilson was knocked to the ground and two runs scored on the errant throw.

Luis Rodriguez replaced Wilson at second base to start the bottom of the third.

"(Wilson) was a little hazy after that play at second base," manager Eric Wedge said. "He was having trouble getting it back to we had to take him out."

Known for making stellar plays at shortstop, Wilson had only played that position during 10 years in the majors until being shifted to second base this season. Ryan took over as the starting shortstop.

C.J. Wilson gave up two earned runs and six hits over seven innings. The crafty left-hander was a 15-game winner last season when he made the transition from reliever to starter.

"I thought he matched (Hernandez) pitch for pitch," Rangers manager Ron Washington said. "He held his composure and got us through seven innings. ... Fortunatley we were able to come back and get some runs, and get the win. He deserved it."

The Rangers broke it open in the bottom half of the eighth with three runs, two on a double by Nelson Cruz off Brandon League.

After playing their first six games on the road, the Mariners (2-4) have a day off Thursday before their home opener against Cleveland, Wedge’s old team.

During pregame festivities Friday in Seattle, Hernandez will be presented his Cy Young Award he won last season when he was 13-12 with a league-best 2.27 ERA.

Rodriguez had a leadoff double in the fifth and scored on a grounder. Bradley led off the sixth with a double and scored on a single by Jack Cust.

NOTES: The Rangers are the first team since 2003 to win at least six consecutive games to open a season. That year, Kansas City started 9-0 and San Francisco was 7-0. ... Mariners C Adam Moore left the game in the eighth after hurting his right knee when retrieving a bounced pitched that he blocked and had just retrieved. He will have an MRI on Thursday. ... Beltre, who is hitting only .125 (3 for 24), snapped an 0-for-14 slump since his grand slam Saturday when a bad-hop single in the third. ... After the day off Thursday, the Mariners are scheduled to play 17 consecutive days. ... C.J. Wilson’s career record is now 28-28.

AL Capsules

Indians keep Red Sox winless to start season

CLEVELAND (AP) — Asdrubal Cabrera had four RBIs, Shin-Soo Choo hit a two-run homer and the Cleveland Indians kept the built-to-win Boston Red Sox winless on Wednesday night with an 8-4 victory that dropped one of baseball's big spenders to 0-5.

From Cambridge to Cape Cod, the panic buttons are glowing.

The Red Sox are off to their worst start in 15 years and look nothing like the team many forecast to be the last one standing in October. Boston hasn't started this poorly since 1996, and after finishing this series Thursday, the Sox head home to face the rival New York Yankees on Friday and what could be angry fans in Fenway Park.

Reliever Rafael Perez (1-0) worked 1 1-3 perfect innings for the Indians, who have won three straight.

Cabrera hit a three-run homer off reliever Dan Wheeler to cap a strange sixth inning, when mistakes on the mound and in the field cost the Red Sox four runs.

Matt LaPorta also homered for Cleveland.

Daisuke Matsuzaka (0-1) took the loss.

Teixeira credits Iron Mike for exceptional start

NEW YORK (AP) — Mark Teixeira was tired of his annual April funk, so he invested about $3,500 in his swing and decided to try something different.

The results have been dramatic.

After buying his own pitching machine and overhauling his winter workout regimen, the New York Yankees’ slugger is off to an exceptional start this season. Through five games, he already had more home runs (four) and RBIs (10) than he managed the entire first month last year.

"I’d like to think I could keep this up all year, but obviously I’m going to have ups and downs," Teixeira said Tuesday night after hitting a three-run shot against Minnesota. "I’m just trying to ride this out as long as I can."

The early success has marked a drastic turnaround for Teixeira, a notoriously slow starter who came into the season batting .235 in March and April, 51 points below his career average. His .342 on-base percentage was 35 points off and his .411 slugging mark was down a whopping 125 points, according to STATS LLC.

Those spring slumps even carried over to international competition: Teixeira went 0 for 15 with four strikeouts for Team USA during the World Baseball Classic in March 2006.

All that trouble getting out of the gate is one reason Teixeira has been chosen for only two All-Star squads in eight seasons, even though he’s widely recognized as one of baseball’s best all-around players. Along with Albert Pujols and Yankees teammate Alex Rodriguez, "Tex" is one of just three major leaguers to reach 30 home runs and 100 RBIs each of the past seven years.

Often asked for an explanation, Teixeira has pointed in the past to the fact that he’s a switch-hitter and it’s difficult for him to get two swings tuned up in time for opening day.

But rather than accept another April freeze, he changed his routine last winter, taking more cuts in the cage and spending less time in the weight room.

"I work out very hard and a lot in the offseason and spring training," he said. "I just toned it down a little bit to give myself some more energy, and my bat feels good right now."

He thinks the key to his quick start is the pitching machine he purchased and brought to Bobby Valentine’s indoor baseball facility, where Teixeira works out in the offseason about 15 minutes from his Connecticut home.

Known as an Iron Mike, the machine costs about $3,500 to $4,000 and can dial up accurate fastballs at 90 mph, Teixeira said. When he’s not around, area high school players and Little Leaguers get to use it.

"Just pounded away on that three or four days a week all offseason. And I think it really helped just kind of get my timing ready for the season," he said.

"Just getting to see pitches from 60 feet, 6 inches, where you really don’t get to do that very much in the offseason. But when you have a machine like that that has the arm action, you can really simulate game conditions. I’d spend an hour or two in there just bangin’ balls and hitting off the tee and I felt good coming into spring training and I’m continuing to feel good the first week of the season."

Teixeira, who turns 31 on Monday, said he can notice the difference from previous Aprils.

"Yeah, definitely. Physically, my bat feels quick. I feel stronger and I think that’s a combination of like I said, lifting a little bit less, having a little more energy to swing the bat and then fine-tuning my swing in that extra time," he said.

It took about a month for Teixeira to rehab the strained right hamstring that kept him out of New York’s final two playoff games against Texas last October. Still, he started baseball workouts on Jan. 1, a few weeks earlier than usual.

Using a weighted bat, Teixeira would take 40 swings off a tee from each side of the plate to help rebuild strength and quickness. Then, about 100-150 hacks against the Iron Mike.

Throw in footwork drills on the artificial turf, and he was at it for about 60-90 minutes each time.

"The Iron Mike was the biggest difference. I would usually just have a coach throwing to me or someone throwing soft toss which, you know, you can swing but it’s not the same as 90 mph from 60 feet. So I think that was a good thing for me this year," said Teixeira, who signed a $180 million, eight-year contract with the Yankees before their 2009 championship season.

The Gold Glove first baseman also credits highly regarded Yankees hitting coach Kevin Long for his fast start. Teixeira said the two "worked very, very hard" in spring training "to make sure my swing was where it needed to be."

After batting .136 with two homers and nine RBIs last April, Teixeira was 6 for 18 (.333) with a team-high six runs scored through New York’s first five games this season. He ranked among the early major league leaders in home runs, RBIs, slugging percentage and total bases.

"He’s such a great player that even with the slow starts the past couple years he’s more than made up for it," teammate CC Sabathia said. "So him getting off to a hot start, we just expect hopefully that he keeps going."

To be sure, Teixeira has had plenty to smile about when it comes to his performance on the field. But he was still smiling Wednesday afternoon for an entirely different reason.

He was joined at Yankee Stadium by kids from Harlem RBI in announcing a $1 million donation to the program, which is designed to foster baseball’s growth in the inner-city.

Teixeira met with officials from the program last year and started off with a modest check, then learned that the program needed to raise $20 million in donations to fund a $90-million development in East Harlem that will include a school, community center and offices.

"Mark has written a very big check here today," said Rich Berlin, the executive director of Harlem RBI. "Hopefully that’s going to inspire others to do the same."

-- Mike Fitzpatrick

Yankees’ Soriano learning about Bronx baseball

NEW YORK (AP) — Rafael Soriano is already learning a lot about playing for the Yankees.

The former Rays closer, who was signed in the offseason by New York to be the eighth-inning setup guy for Mariano Rivera, put together scoreless outings in his first two appearances before blowing a four-run lead in a loss to the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday night.

Soriano was nowhere to be found in the clubhouse after the game, drawing the ire of the often-harsh New York media. He finally appeared before Wednesday night’s game, offering a mea culpa and promising that he’ll be available — good or bad — whenever he pitches this season.

-- Dave Skretta

Sushi, HD video for Fenway in 100th season

BOSTON (AP) — Fenway Park is all dressed up and ready for its 100th birthday party.

The Boston Red Sox wrapped up 10 years and $285 million in improvements for the ballpark this offseason, unveiling HD video boards and a home plate concourse Wednesday that have the oldest ballpark in the major leagues looking like new in time for its 100th opening day Friday.

By completing the renovations this winter, the Red Sox leave themselves next offseason to prepare for a 100th anniversary celebration next summer. Fenway opened April 20, 1912; no major league stadium has ever survived to be 100, leaving team president Larry Lucchino to look elsewhere for comparisons.

"Rome had one for the 100th year of the Colosseum," he said.

But the Colosseum didn't have three HD video boards in center field or concession stands selling sushi. Among the other new features unveiled Wednesday was a new concourse behind home plate with — for the first time in decades — a smooth, cement floor and plenty of space for the crowds filing in and out of the ballpark.

"When you consider the pictures we've seen of the ballpark in the 20th century, it really is more vibrant than it ever was," owner John Henry said. "Since the moment we arrived, the restoration of Fenway Park has been a real labor of love. It's been nine years that we've been at this. The end result is better than anything we could have imagined."

The decade-long renovation began shortly after Henry's group bought the team and decided not to replace the crumbling facility with one of the old-time replicas that were in fashion. Instead, they have spent the winters working on the ballpark in sections, adding talked-about features such as new seats above the Green Monster and less-visible ones like making the bathrooms accessible to the disabled.

This year's changes will be most obvious to fans who enter behind home plate into a brightly lit, spacious concourse absent the cracked tiling and crumbling brick that showed Fenway's age. Now, a new gate leads into an area with concessions offering seafood shack fare and New England favorites like a turkey sandwich with stuffing and cranberry sauce.

"We were careful not to do too much and overwhelm the intimacy of Fenway Park," Lucchino said. "We're proud that we were able to improve the ballpark and increase the capacity without changing the overall ambiance."

Capacity this year will be 37,493 for night games and 37,065 for day games — an increase of 91 over 2010's totals.

The Year 10 renovations also included repairing the concrete and waterproofing in the right field grandstand that was originally built in 1933-34. The entire lower bowl of seats has now been waterproofed, and every seat in Fenway has been either replaced or refurbished; field box seats are now padded, and box seats have cup holders.

The plumbing running beneath the home plate concourse has been brought up to code.

"That will make Fenway viable for 30 or 40 more years," Lucchino said.

The Red Sox return home from a season-opening road trip Friday to face the New York Yankees. Picked by the majority of baseball experts to win the World Series, Boston was swept by the Texas Rangers and fell to 0-4 on Tuesday night with a loss in the series opener against the Cleveland Indians.

"We still have a lot of games to go, and we'll be there, folks," Mayor Tom Menino said at Fenway on Wednesday morning. "I'm not panicking."

-- Jimmy Golen

Hearing on Cabrera’s suspended license postponed

FORT PIERCE, Fla. (AP) — An administrative hearing has been postponed on whether to reinstate Detroit Tigers star Miguel Cabrera’s driver’s license after it was suspended last month following his arrest on drunken-driving charges.

The change was made to give one of the arresting deputies a chance to testify. No new hearing date has been scheduled.

Cabrera did not attend Wednesday’s hearing with the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, but was represented by his attorney, Michael Kessler. Cabrera and the Tigers are scheduled to play at Baltimore on Wednesday night.

Cabrera’s was arrested Feb. 16 in Ft. Pierce and charged with DUI and resisting an officer. Anyone arrested for drunken driving automatically has their license suspended but can request a hearing to have it reinstated.

Even if his driving privilege is reinstated, the criminal case will proceed separately.

According to last month’s arrest affidavit, the 27-year-old Cabrera was spotted by a deputy in a car with a smoking engine alongside a road in Ft. Pierce. Inside the vehicle, Cabrera smelled of alcohol, had slurred speech and took a drink from a bottle of scotch in front of an officer. He refused to cooperate and two other deputies were called. Cabrera later refused the field sobriety test.

During Wednesday’s hearing, Kessler briefly questioned the two other deputies that were present during Cabrera’s arrest, as well as a local mechanic who Kessler asked to examine the Land Rover that Cabrera was in at the time of his arrest. The mechanic said he determined that it was inoperable.

That could prove to be significant in resolving whether Cabrera gets his license back.

In a 2008 case, Jose Sarmiento got the suspension of his license overturned in circuit court. The court determined that it was improper for the DHSMV to suspend his license for refusal to take a breath test after his DUI arrest.

The court said that though Florida statute implies consent to a breath test when a person operates a motor vehicle in the state, that they must be "in actual physical control of a motor vehicle" and "to be in control of a motor vehicle, the vehicle must be operable."

Kessler declined to comment on Wednesday’s hearing.

-- Kyle Hightower

Struggling Rays DH Ramirez out of the lineup

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Struggling Tampa Bay Rays designated hitter Manny Ramirez is getting a break. Ramirez, who started the season with one hit in his first 16 at-bats, was out of the lineup for Wednesday’s game against the Los Angeles Angels.

"We talked a little bit and then decided not to play him today," Rays manager Joe Maddon said. "I know it’s early in the season, but nevertheless, I think he’s still pressing a bit. I really think that he’s trying to carry too much of this load right now. He’s trying to be too much right now."

Maddon said Ramirez also will miss Thursday’s game at the Chicago White Sox while tending to a personal matter.

Ramirez went 0 for 4 with three strikeouts in Tuesday night’s 5-3 loss to the Angels.

"With guys like him, I think sometimes we forget, and I mean this in a manner that I hope people understand, it’s not easy to be him sometimes," Maddon said. "There’s a lot going on with his guy. He will be a Hall of Famer. He’s in the latter part of his career. So, you can have different kind of moments mentally.

"I’ve been around players like that in the past, and I think at some point it just takes a little more understanding for whomever is working with that person. I really believe he’s going to very productive in the very near future."

Ramirez said he had no problem with fans booing him after his final couple of at-bats Tuesday.

"It’s all right," Ramirez said. "It’s not my first time (to strikeout three times). I’m just getting myself out. I feel good. I’m not mad at myself."

Teammates, including ace David Price, feels the boos were not justified.

"I guess they wanted instant results," Price said. "Everybody in here has confidence in Manny. He’s going to come around."

Ramirez remains upbeat despite his early struggles, saying that he is not pressing in an attempt to impress anyone.

"I’ve got almost 600 home runs," Ramirez said, with a smile.

Jays president open to holding game in Montreal

TORONTO (AP) — Blue Jays president Paul Beeston wants to take baseball back to Montreal, at least on a part-time basis.

"Certainly we would like to play a game in Montreal or in Quebec at some point in time," Beeston said Wednesday. "I think it would be a terrific idea."

Montreal has not seen baseball since the Expos left for Washington after the 2004 season. The baseball field has since been removed from their former home, Olympic Stadium.

Beeston didn’t get into specifics but said he envisioned an exhibition game at the end of spring training, not a regular season game.

"I don’t see anything more than an exhibition game there right now," he said before the Blue Jays faced Oakland. "I haven’t even thought about it. That’s what I was contemplating at the time when I said it."

Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos was born and raised in Montreal.

"It would be exciting. I grew up there, became a baseball fan there with the Expos," Anthopoulos said. "You never forget where you came from and I know how passionate the fan base is there, both French and English."

The Blue Jays are carried on English radio in Montreal and a French-language station, CKAC, will broadcast 15 games this season, up from eight last season. Beeston’s original comment came in response to fan requests for a Blue Jays visit made on the CKAC website.

Beeston noted that "in the old days," the Blue Jays played exhibition games in Vancouver, Ottawa and Calgary. They tried to play one in Saint John, New Brunswick, but were snowed out.

Mariners 2B Wilson out of game in Texas

ARLINGTON (AP) — Seattle Mariners second baseman Jack Wilson is out of the game at Texas after falling down hard when trying to turn a double play.

There was no immediate announcement from Seattle on why Wilson was replaced in the field by Luis Rodriguez in the bottom of the third Wednesday, an inning after he had errors on consecutive plays that led to three Texas runs.

Wilson threw wide of first base when Ian Kinsler slid hard into second base, knocking the down veteran infielder.

Before that, Wilson dropped a throw from third baseman Chone Figgins on another potential inning-ending double play.

Known for making stellar plays at shortstop, Wilson had only played that position during 10 years in the majors until being shifted to second base this season.

White Sox DH Dunn has appendectomy, out five games

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Chicago White Sox designated hitter Adam Dunn underwent an emergency appendectomy Tuesday night and will miss at least five games.

The team said Dunn felt discomfort during Kansas City’s 7-6, 12-inning victory Tuesday and was taken to a hospital after the game. He was expected to travel with the team to Chicago after a Wednesday afternoon game.

Dunn scored a run and was 0 for 4 with a walk and a hit-by-pitch against the Royals.

Dunn is hitting .286 with one home run and needs 45 homers to reach 400. The offseason acquisition signed a four-year, $56 million contract with the White Sox.

Athletics place Wuertz on 15-day DL, recall Ross

TORONTO (AP) — The Oakland Athletics placed right-hander Michael Wuertz on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left hamstring Wednesday and recalled right-hander Tyler Ross from Triple-A Sacramento.

Wuertz was injured while working out before a recent game and had been unavailable for the past few days, manager Bob Geren said. Wuertz’s only appearance this season was a scoreless inning against Seattle on opening day. The move was retroactive to April 2.

Ross went 1-4 with a 5.49 ERA in 26 games with Oakland last season, his first in the major leagues. He pitched in five games during spring training, going 1-0 with a 0.59 ERA, giving up one run and striking out 10 in 15 1-3 innings. 

No first pitch for Killebrew at Twins home opener

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Hall of Famer Harmon Killebrew won’t be traveling to Minnesota to throw the first pitch before the Twins home opener Friday.

Killebrew was diagnosed with esophageal cancer in December. He says Wednesday that a trip from Arizona to Minnesota would disrupt his treatment schedule, so he’ll stay "with a resolve to defeat this disease."

He says he’s making progress, and he’s hopeful for a full recovery.

Twins legend Tony Oliva will throw the first pitch instead. It will be caught by Casey Killebrew, Harmon’s grandson.

The Twins’ home opener is Friday against the Oakland Athletics.