AMERICAN LEAGUE
Chris Davis, Adam Jones and Steve Pearce homered as the Baltimore Orioles defeated the Minnesota Twins 6-0 in the American League on Sunday.
Taiwan’s Chen Wei-yin pitched five strong innings before leaving with a strained right oblique as the Orioles won for the sixth time in eight games.
Photo: AFP
Chen (3-3) was breezing through the Twins lineup, allowing no runs and five hits while striking out three in five innings. He has allowed no more than three runs in seven of his eight starts this year.
“I didn’t hear oblique, I’m hearing a cramp maybe,” Orioles manager Buck Showalter told the club’s Web site. “We’ll take a look at it tomorrow and see where we are, get an evaluation. I’m only thinking good things.”
“Will only know about things after a checkup at the hospital tomorrow [Monday],” Chen wrote in Chinese on his Facebook page.
Tommy Hunter, Darren O’Day, Brian Matusz and Pedro Strop combined for four innings of three-hit relief for Baltimore.
Looking for his fifth straight quality start, Scott Diamond (3-3) struggled all game. In 5-2/3 innings he allowed nine hits and tied a career high by giving up six earned runs.
Nick Markakis and Manny Machado began the game with singles, and after Jones grounded into a double play, Davis unloaded a huge shot to straightaway center field. His 11th homer made it 2-0.
Chris Snyder had an RBI single in the second, but ended the inning when he was thrown out at the plate trying to score from first on a double by Markakis.
Markakis went two for four and is hitting .519 (27 for 52) against Minnesota since the start of last season. It is the highest average by any major league hitter with at least 40 plate appearances against any opponent in that span.
Markakis also had an outfield assist in the second inning, throwing out Justin Morneau, who tried to stretch a single into right into a double.
Jones lined a solo home run to left in the third, with the ball ricocheting off a railing just over the wall and up into the second deck.
Baltimore loaded the bases with one out in the fifth inning, but could only push across one run — on Davis’ groundout — to make it 5-0.
Pearce hit a solo homer in the sixth.
Four times in the first five innings Minnesota’s leadoff man singled, but the Twins failed to score.
Brian Dozier was caught stealing, Morneau was thrown out by Markakis, Joe Mauer was stranded at first and Trevor Plouffe got stuck at second.
Additional reporting by staff writer, with CNA
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