Rangers top Tigers, improve to 9-1

Author: 
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Publication Date: 
Tue, 2011-04-12 22:24

The AL champions improved to 9-1, the top record in the majors and matching the best 10-game start in team history.
Rangers closer Neftali Feliz retired the first two batters in the ninth inning before Ryan Raburn doubled. The Rangers then intentionally walked Miguel Cabrera , bringing Victor Martinez to the plate as the potential winning run. Martinez grounded out on a 2-0 pitch to end it.
Michael Young and Mitch Moreland hit RBI doubles in the seventh inning as Texas equaled the start of its 1989 club.
Ogando (2-0) gave up just two hits, walked one and struck four over seven innings in his second start in the majors. His outing was cut short by fluid under a callus on his right index finger. Ogando pitched six scoreless innings last week with a blister on the same finger.
Verlander (1-1) lost despite pitching a six-hitter. He also struck out four and walked one in his 119-pitch performance.
Indians 4 Angels 0: In Anaheim, California, Mitch Talbot took a shutout into the ninth inning, and Asdrubal Cabrera and Matt LaPorta homered to lead Clevelabd to its eighth straight win.
The winning streak is Cleveland’s longest since a 10-game stretch in August 2008. The Indians, coming off a sweep at Seattle, have started out 4-0 on the road for the first time since 1998 (6-0). Their 8-2 start overall is their best since 2002, when they opened 12-1.
Talbot (1-0) came within three outs of his first big-league shutout, allowing five hits and two walks while striking out four. He was lifted after Bobby Abreu led off the ninth with a double on Talbot’s 112th pitch.
Vinnie Pestano retired the final three batters in order.
Angels starter Tyler Chatwood (0-1) gave up four runs, four hits and four walks in five innings in his major league debut.
Rays 16 Red Sox 5: In Boston, Sam Fuld went 4 for 6 with a two-run homer, drove in three runs and fell a single shy of the cycle to lead the Tampa Bay.
Johnny Damon had three hits, including a solo homer, and three RBIs, and John Jaso and Reid Brignac also drove in three runs apiece for the Rays. Jeremy Hellickson (1-1) gave up two runs, five hits, walked five and struck out one in 5 1-3 innings to earn the win.
Jacoby Ellsbury hit a solo homer for the Red Sox, Adrian Gonzalez had a run-scoring triple and Carl Crawford went 2 for 5 against his former team to raise his average to .163.
Daisuke Matsuzaka (0-2) lasted just two-plus innings, giving up seven runs on eight hits. Tampa Bay sent 10 batters to the plate in the second, scoring six runs on three consecutive two-run hits after the Japanese right-hander loaded the bases with no outs.
Athletics 2 White Sox 1, 10 innings: In Chicago, Kurt Suzuki hit a go-ahead home run in the 10th inning, and Oakland capitalized on Juan Pierre’s dropped fly ball in the ninth to tie it.
The White Sox wasted a dominant pitching performance by Mark Buehrle with their second ninth-inning implosion of the season. Buehrle was lifted after eight scoreless innings and 99 pitches. He allowed only three baserunners — none past first base.
Matt Thornton, who already had two blown saves in two opportunities, came on and allowed a leadoff double to Andy LaRoche in the ninth. One out later, Daric Barton hit a deep fly that Pierre dropped in the left-field corner, allowing the tying run to score.
Suzuki put the A’s ahead on a two-out solo shot off Jesse Crain (0-1).
Tyson Ross (1-0) pitched three scoreless innings in his major-league debut for the win and Brian Fuentes pitched a perfect 10th for his fourth save.
Mariners 8 Blue Jays 7: In Seattle, Luis Rodriguez fought off nine pitches from Shawn Camp before delivering a game-winning single, and the Seattle Mariners rallied from a seven-run deficit in the final three innings to stun the Toronto Blue Jays 8-7 on Monday night.
Camp (0-1) played only a part in Toronto’s bullpen collapse.
Milton Bradley hit a solo home run in the seventh inning and the Blue Jays’ bullpen began to waste away the lead in the eighth. A walk and two singles chased Davis Purcey and loaded the bases. Octavio Dotel walked in two runs and Mark Rzepczynski walked in another before allowing a single to Justin Smoak that scored two and pulled Seattle within one.
Michael Saunders led off the ninth inning with a double down the left field line and Ryan sacrificed him over to third. Ichiro Suzuki was intentionally walked and stole second to set up the game winning hit. Josh Lueke (1-0) picked up his first career win.
 

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