AMERICAN LEAGUE
Grady Sizemore homered in his return for Cleveland after major knee surgery as the Indians beat Baltimore 4-2 on Sunday to deal the Orioles their seventh straight loss.
Sizemore, who hadn’t played since May last year when he underwent microfracture surgery on his left knee, homered in his second at-bat off Brad Bergeson (0-2) and doubled in the fifth.
Photo: AFP
Carlos Santana and Travis Hafner also homered for the first-place Indians, who have won seven in a row at home and 11 of 13. Fausto Carmona (1-2) allowed just one earned run and five hits in seven innings.
Brian Roberts went 3 for 4 for the Orioles, who have lost eight of 10.
YANKEES 6, RANGERS 5
In New York, Eric Chavez singled home the game-winning run in the eighth inning and the Yankees hit three homers off previously untouchable Alexi Ogando to beat the Rangers.
Robinson Cano, Russell Martin and Curtis Granderson all homered to help the Yankees take two of three in a rematch of last year’s American League championship -series, which Texas won in six games to capture their first pennant.
Adrian Beltre homered and doubled for the Rangers, who have dropped four of five since opening the season 9-1.
Ogando had allowed just four hits over 13 shutout innings in his previous two starts this season.
RED SOX 8, BLUE JAYS 1
In Boston, Jacoby Ellsbury hit a three-run homer and Jarrod Saltalamacchia drove in three runs to give the Red Sox consecutive victories for the first time this season.
Jon Lester (1-1) allowed one run, six hits and three walks, while striking out five in six solid innings.
Jesse Litsch (1-1), making his third start since shoulder surgery in August last year, gave up six runs on eight hits.
The Red Sox entered the game with a 3-10 record, the worst in the major leagues.
TWINS 4, RAYS 2
In St Petersburg, Florida, Brian Duensing allowed two runs over seven innings and Matt Tolbert had an RBI triple as Minnesota stopped a four-game losing streak.
Duensing (1-0) gave up seven hits, walked two and struck out five.
Tolbert tripled and Jason Repko had an RBI single during a three-run fifth inning against Jeremy Hellickson (1-2), which gave Minnesota a 4-2 lead.
In other AL play, it was:
‧ Angels 4, White Sox 2
‧ Mariners 3, Royals 2
‧ Athletics 5, Tigers 1
NATIONAL LEAGUE
AP, LOS ANGELES
Matt Kemp hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Los Angeles Dodgers a 2-1 victory over the St Louis Cardinals on Sunday, ending their five-game losing streak.
Kemp homered to center field on the first pitch from Ryan Franklin (0-2). Andre Ethier led off the inning with a double off Trever Miller, extending his major league-leading hitting streak to 14 games.
Jonathan Broxton (1-0) got the win despite giving up a two-out RBI single in the top of the ninth by David Freese.
DIAMONDBACKS 6, GIANTS 5
In Phoenix, Arizona, Stephen Drew drove in the winning run in the 12th inning as Arizona rallied to beat San Francisco.
Giants reliever Dan Runzler had only allowed one base runner over 2-1/3 innings before walking Justin Upton and Chris Young with one out in the 12th. Javier Lopez then came in for Runzler (1-2) and gave up Drew’s grounder to right field.
Josh Collmenter (1-0) pitched two perfect innings for the win as the Diamondbacks ended a four-game losing streak.
Buster Posey and Pablo Sandoval hit back-to-back home runs in the sixth inning and Aubrey Huff also homered for the Giants, who had their four-game winning streak broken.
PADRES 8, ASTROS 6
In Houston, Texas, Will Venable hit a two-run single in a four-run eighth inning to lead San Diego to victory.
Heath Bell got his 38th consecutive save after loading the bases with one out in the ninth. He got the last two batters on a strikeout and groundout.
Trailing 6-4 at the start of the eighth, the Padres got one run on Jason Bartlett’s one-out RBI single. Pinch-hitter Brad Hawpe then walked to load the bases before Venable singled to right field off Mark Melancon (1-1).
PIRATES 7, REDS 6
In Cincinnati, Ohio, Andrew McCutchen opened the game with a homer, then singled home the game-winning run in the eighth inning to lift Pittsburgh over the Reds.
McCutchen and Jose Tabata started the game with back-to-back homers — only the third time that’s happened in Pirates history. McCutchen singled off Logan Ondrusek (2-1) for the winning run.
Chris Resop (1-0) got the win for the Pirates, who had lost five of six coming into the game.
NATIONALS 8, BREWERS 4, 1ST GAME; NATIONALS 5, BREWERS 1, 2ND GAME
In Washington, Danny Espinosa followed up a three-run homer in the opening game with a bases-loaded triple in the seventh inning of the second to lead Washington’s doubleheader sweep of Milwaukee.
In the opener, Ivan Rodriguez also hit a three-run homer and Jason Marquis allowed two runs and nine hits in seven-plus innings.
Yovani Gallardo (1-1) yielded seven runs on 10 hits to pick up the loss.
In the second game, Livan Hernandez (2-1) allowed one run and six hits and struck out three in seven innings. He retired the first eight batters he faced in his longest outing this season.
In other NL play, it was:
‧ Rockies 9, Cubs 5
‧ Phillies 3, Marlins 2
‧ Mets 3, Braves 2
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