Most Viewed Stories
MLB Capsules - AL: Lewis throws eight scoreless innings in Rangers' win
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Colby Lewis got the best of Tampa Bay ace David Price.
Lewis scattered four hits over eight innings, Elvis Andrus had two RBIs and the Texas Rangers beat the Rays 3-0 on Wednesday.
"It was a pretty good battle with some pretty good pitchers," Texas manager Ron Washington said. "(Lewis) pitched really well, especially facing a guy like Price. Very nice win."
Price (6-5) allowed three runs, five hits, one walk and struck out eight in eight innings.
"Anytime you go against No. 1, he's definitely doing his job, and all I was trying to do was go out there and match him," Lewis said.
Lewis (5-5) struck out eight and walked two. Neftali Feliz allowed a leadoff single to Ben Zobrist in the ninth before wrapping up his 11th save and completing the shutout.
"He was definitely more aggressive," Rangers catcher Yorvit Torrealba said of Feliz, who has struggled recently.
Nelson Cruz put the Rangers ahead 1-0 on a fifth-inning RBI single, and Andrus made it 3-0 in the eighth when he hit a two-out single to right off Price — one pitch after Craig Gentry and Ian Kinsler pulled off a double steal to get into scoring position.
"If the runners are not on second and third there, that ball Elvis hit is just a normal out," Washington said. "Since we had runners on second and third, the corners had to come in and we pushed something pass them."
Gentry had a double, while Kinsler drew the only walk off Price in the eighth. Texas stole four bases overall during the inning.
The Rangers took two of three from the Rays and are 7-3 over the last 10 games, while the Rays have lost eight of 12 and now head off on an 11-game, 12-day road trip that begins Thursday night at Seattle.
"We pitched well enough and played well enough to win," Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon said. "But we didn't hit and that's been our problem."
Price faced the Rangers for the first time since losing both of his starts in last year's American League Divisional Series. In four previous regular-season outings against Texas, the left-hander went 0-2 with a 7.45 ERA.
"Price was throwing the ball well, and Lewis was awesome," Rangers DH Michael Young said.
Zobrist doubled in the first and went to third with two outs on a passed ball, but was left stranded when Rays slugger Evan Longoria struck out. No other Tampa Bay runner reached second base over the next six innings.
Tampa Bay's Sam Fuld singled and stole second with two outs in the eighth. The Rays failed to capitalize when John Jaso hit a fly ball to left.
"You can't win if you don't (score), so it's tough," Price said. "Those guys are out there trying and it's not easy for them."
Notes: Rangers LHP Matt Harrison (left index finger blister) said after the game that he has been scratched from his scheduled start on Thursday night at Cleveland. "It's better to take care of it now," said Harrison, who hopes to throw off a bullpen mound this weekend. ... Cruz has driven in seven runs over his last nine games. ... Tampa Bay RF Matt Joyce, who entered with the major league-best .370 batting average, went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts. ... Texas pitching coach Mike Maddux (daughter Lexie) and first base coach Gary Pettis (son Kyler) will miss part of the upcoming four-game series with the Indians to attend high school graduations. ... Rays CF B.J. Upton was hitless in three at-bats and is 3 for 30 with 15 strikeouts over his last 11 games.
Other AL Capsules
Burnett finally wins on road as Yankees edge Oakland
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — A.J. Burnett settled down after an early homer to snap an 11-start road winless streak, and Nick Swisher homered against his former team to help New York beat Oakland for the 10th straight time, 4-2 on Wednesday.
Derek Jeter got his 2,984th hit and Alex Rodriguez drove in a run for the Yankees, who have their longest winning streak against the A's since winning 14 straight from 1956-57.
Josh Willingham hit a two-run homer and Gio Gonzalez (5-3) took his first loss since April for Oakland, which was swept by the Yankees in a three-game series and has lost 23 of the last 26 meetings against New York.
Burnett (6-3) had not won a game away from Yankee Stadium since last July in Cleveland, going 0-5 with a 5.64 ERA in his previous 11 road starts. Willingham homered in the first inning, but Burnett gave up two runs and three hits in seven innings to give the Yankees a season-long four-game win streak.
Mariano Rivera finished for his 14th save in 17 chances and first since May 10.
Gonzalez allowed four runs five hits and four walks in 6 1/3 innings.
Indians 13, Blue Jays 9
TORONTO (AP) — Matt LaPorta hit a three-run homer and Cleveland built a big lead from the start, helping Josh Tomlin beat Toronto.
Down 12-0, Toronto became the first major league team in 30 years to hit three straight triples. Eric Thames, Rajai Davis and Jayson Nix accomplished the feat in the fifth inning — Montreal was the last club to do it, with Mike Gates, Tim Raines and Tim Wallach against San Diego on May 6, 1981.
The Indians scored four times while chasing Kyle Drabek in the first inning. LaPorta's shot highlighted an eight-run third.
Tomlin (7-2) allowed six runs and eight hits in six innings to match Boston's Jon Lester for the AL lead in wins. He walked one and struck out a career-high seven.
Davis homered off Tomlin and drove in four runs.
The Indians, who finished with 18 hits, have won two straight after losing five of six.
Drabek (3-4) allowed four runs and three hits in the shortest start of the rookie's career.
White Sox 7, Red Sox 4
BOSTON (AP) — Paul Konerko hit a go-ahead single in the seventh inning and a two-run homer in the ninth to lead Chicago in a sweep of the three-game series.
Boston, which had two hits over the last seven innings, lost a fourth straight for the first time since a six-game, season-opening slide.
Gavin Floyd (6-5) allowed four runs in 6 2/3 innings. Sergio Santos pitched the ninth for his ninth save in 10 opportunities.
Matt Albers (1-3) replaced Tim Wakefield to start the seventh and retired just one of the four batters he faced, allowing singles to the other three, including one to Konerko.
Konerko's homer was the 377th of his career, tying Norm Cash and Jeff Kent for 64th place all-time. He has 12 this season and two in his last two games.
The White Sox won their seventh straight game at Fenway Park, their longest winning streak there since they won seven in 1958-59.
White Sox shortstop Alexei Ramirez was 3 for 5 with three runs and an RBI. He was 9 for 14 in the three games.
Orioles 2, Mariners 1
SEATTLE (AP) — Adam Jones had three hits against his former team, including the go-ahead homer into the upper deck in the eighth inning, to lead Baltimore.
Jones turned on a fastball from Jamey Wright (1-2) and homered into the second level seating in left field to give Baltimore the lead.
Jim Johnson (4-1) allowed one hit while retiring four batters to pick up the victory, and Kevin Gregg pitched the ninth inning to earn his ninth save.
Making his season debut, Brian Matusz lasted 5 2/3 innings, allowing one run and four hits, striking out three.
Michael Pineda was just as strong for Seattle. He retired 11 of 12 batters in the middle innings before running into trouble in the seventh.
Royals 2, Angels 0
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Billy Butler hit a game-winning, two-run homer in the ninth inning for Kansas City.
Jeff Francoeur singled with one out before Butler connected off Scott Downs (3-2). The ball hit behind the outfield padding in left-center field and bounced back into play, and the umpires initially ruled it a double before video showed it to be a home run.
Tim Collins (3-2), the fifth Royals pitcher, pitched 1 1/3 innings for the win.
Felipe Paulino, who made his first start of the season after 19 relief appearances, held the Angels to four singles over five innings, striking out four without an issuing a walk.
Angels rookie Tyler Chatwood went 7 2/3 innings and gave up five singles.
Tigers 4, Twins 2
DETROIT (AP) — Miguel Cabrera hit a three-run homer in the third inning and Rick Porcello pitched into the seventh for Detroit.
The Tigers swept the three-game series and have won four straight, while the Twins have lost 10 of 12, falling to 17-37 for the worst record in baseball.
Drew Butera hit a two-run homer in the seventh to pull Minnesota within two, but the Twins failed to take advantage of loading the bases later in the inning.
Porcello (5-3) gave up two runs and six hits over 6 2/3 innings. Joaquin Benoit pitched a perfect eighth and Jose Valverde closed the game to earn his 14th save in as many chances.
Scott Baker (2-4) allowed four runs and seven hits over six innings.
Detroit has won nine straight against the Twins dating to late last season, its longest win streak against them since winning nine consecutive games during the 1949 and 1950 seasons, when they were the Washington Senators.
Other AL News
Angels' Haren cuts short bullpen session
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Los Angeles Angels right-hander Dan Haren cut short a throwing session in the bullpen Wednesday after feeling discomfort in his lower back.
"The lower back kind of tightened up," Haren said after the Angels' 2-0 loss to the Kansas City Royals. "It was in the middle of my pitching motion. I went down, I think to my knees. It came out of nowhere. It hurt enough for me to go down. "
Haren is scheduled to start Saturday against the New York Yankees, but manager Mike Scioscia said he's not sure whether that will happen.
"The bullpen was going really well. I was loose," Haren said. "It feels better now than when it happened. We got on it and treated it right way. There's nothing structural."
The team plans to have Haren examined before making a decision on his next start.
"It depends on tomorrow," Haren said. "I'll wake up tomorrow and go in and get evaluated. I did a lot of work today. Thursday was going to be an off day anyway. Time will tell."
The 30-year-old Haren has been one of the American League's top pitchers this season, going 5-2 with a 2.29 ERA in 13 games — 12 of them starts. He's among the league leaders in innings with 86 1-3, strikeouts with 74 and opponent batting average of .212.
We're going to take this thing one step at a time and get him evaluated back in California," Scioscia said. "Dan felt a twinge in his back throwing a side piece. We didn't get specific about what he was feeling. He was hurting. We don't know to what extent.
"He says he'll be fine, but we'll get him evaluated. He walked off, so that's always a good sign. Things like that are part of a major league season. That's why we have a depth chart to hopefully absorb it."
Los Angeles Angels charter makes emergency landing
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A charter flight carrying members of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim home from an away game at Kansas City made an emergency landing at Los Angeles International Airport Wednesday after reporting a mechanical problem, officials said.
Airport spokeswoman Katherine Alvarado said the Delta Air Lines Inc. plane with some 60 people aboard landed shortly after 9 p.m. TV footage showed passengers calmly exiting the plane onto the tarmac as fire trucks waited nearby.
"Nothing like an emergency landing at LAX to scare the crap out of us...good to be home," Angels TV announcer Victor Rojas posted in an online tweet as the plane landed.
Team spokesman Tim Mead told KCAL-TV that the team usually lands at Orange County's John Wayne airport, but was redirected to LAX due to what the pilot had referred to as possible hydraulic problems.
Angels manager Mike Scoscia told KCAL that "it was much ado about nothing."
"They told us there was a problem with the hydraulics, it wasn't serious, that it was manageable. I guess they had to manually put the landing gear down, and after that it took us a little longer to land, that's why we diverted to LAX and we were fine."
The club lost to the Royals earlier Wednesday 2-0.
Delta did not immediately respond to a telephone message left by The Associated Press after business hours.
Matusz activated, Fox designated for assignment
SEATTLE (AP) — The Baltimore Orioles have activated starter Brian Matusz off the 15-day disabled list and will make his season debut against the Mariners. The move was announced before Wednesday's game in Seattle.
The left-hander had been on the disabled list since March 30 with a strained left intercostal muscle. He made three rehab starts in the minors, allowing two earned runs on nine hits while striking out 10 in 15 innings.
Matusz has tied a career high with a six-game winning streak that dates to last season. He was 10-12 with a 4.30 ERA in 32 starts in 2010. Matusz was 6-0 with a 1.57 ERA over his final eight starts. Baltimore won all eight games.
To make room on the roster, the Orioles designated utility man Jake Fox for assignment.
Twins' Mauer to catch three innings in Fort Myers
DETROIT (AP) — The Minnesota Twins have some potentially good news about Joe Mauer.
Mauer is scheduled to catch three innings Thursday at an extended spring training game in Fort Myers, Fla. The 2009 AL MVP and three-time batting champion has been out since April 14 with leg weakness and an injured right shoulder.
Minnesota manager Ron Gardenhire said Wednesday that Mauer is healthy, but he won't play for the Twins until he's able to catch regularly for them.
Mauer is hitting .235 with no homers and four RBIs over nine games in the first season of his $184 million, eight-year contract. He had surgery on his left knee in the offseason and played sparingly during spring training.
Ordonez to join Triple-A Toledo on Friday
DETROIT (AP) — Detroit outfielder Magglio Ordonez is scheduled to join Triple-A Toledo for a rehabilitation assignment. Ordonez has been on the disabled list since May 11 because of weakness in his surgically repaired right ankle. He has struggled to recover after breaking his ankle sliding into home plate last July. He's hitting .172 with one home run and five RBIs in 26 games this season.
Ordonez is to begin the stint Friday night, when Toledo begins a four-game series at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
The Tigers are hoping Ordonez can return to form and provide another big bat in the middle of the lineup along with Miguel Cabrera, Victor Martinez and Brennan Boesch.
Boston LHP Hill leaves with left forearm injury
BOSTON (AP) — Red Sox reliever Rich Hill left Wednesday's game in the seventh inning with a left forearm injury after facing just one Chicago White Sox batter. The left-hander, who had pitched eight scoreless innings in his other eight outings this season, clutched his pitching elbow with his right hand after walking Adam Dunn on seven pitches.
Manager Terry Francona and a trainer rushed to the mound and Hill, who had retired 24 of the 30 batters he faced before Wednesday, went to the clubhouse. He was replaced by Daniel Bard, who retired two batters to escape a bases-loaded jam.
Thome leaves game early with quad injury
DETROIT (AP) — Minnesota Twins designated hitter Jim Thome left Wednesday night's game against the Detroit Tigers with a leg injury. Trevor Plouffe pinch-hit for Thome in the sixth inning, with the Twins losing 4-0. The team later announced that Thome had a mild strain of his left quadriceps. His status is day-to-day.
