MAJOR LEAGUES
Taiwanese left-hander Chen Wei-yin threw seven scoreless innings on Wednesday against the Boston Red Sox to win his seventh game of the season and help the Baltimore Orioles clinch the three-game series at home with a 6-0 win.
Chen collected seven strikeouts — a season high — while scattering four hits to improve his record to a team-leading 7-2 over 13 games. He has not lost a game since May 3.
Photo: USA TODAY
It was the first game this season in which he did not give up any runs. In the process, Chen also managed to induce three inning-ending double plays.
The 28-year-old from Greater Kaohsiung was in command early on, retiring the first 11 batters he faced, before Dustin Pedroia’s hit with two outs in the fourth.
Even then, right-fielder Nick Markakis was able to grab the shot off the wall before making a perfect throw so that shortstop J.J. Hardy could tag a sliding Pedroia at second.
He faced the minimum number of hitters — 15 — over five innings, during which time he did not allow two base runners in any single inning.
In other play, Yu Darvish pitched his first complete game in the majors, and Choo Shin-soo broke a long hitless streak with a three-run double as the Texas Rangers denied Miami’s bid for a record interleague winning streak, beating the Marlins 6-0 on Wednesday.
Darvish (7-2) struck out the side in the eighth to end a streak of one baserunner in each of the first seven innings for the Marlins.
The Japanese ace finished his 73rd career start with his 10th strikeout, getting Garrett Jones swinging to complete a six-hitter.
Cincinnati’s Johnny Cueto matched his career high with 12 strikeouts in six innings, and Joey Votto and Jay Bruce — the missing core of Cincinnati’s batting order for much of the season — each drove in runs, leading the Reds past the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-0.
Cueto (6-5) followed his shortest start of the season with one of his most dominating. He gave up three singles and did not walk a batter, leaving after his 112th pitch.
Votto doubled home a pair of runs off Ryu Hyun-jin (7-3), who had won his past four starts.
The Tampa Bay Rays downed the St Louis Cardinals 6-3 to end a club-record 31-inning scoring drought, while Reid Brignac hit a three-run homer in the ninth inning to lift the Philadelphia Phillies past the San Diego Padres 3-0.
Colorado pitcher Tyler Matzek allowed just two hits for the first seven innings of his major league debut as the Rockies trounced the Atlanta Braves 8-2, and Jose Abreu hit an early homer then singled to start a seven-run burst in the sixth inning to lead the Chicago White Sox past the Detroit Tigers 8-2.
The Milwaukee Brewers beat the New York Mets 3-1, the Minnesota Twins downed the Toronto Blue Jays 7-2, the Houston Astros defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-1 and the Pittsburgh Pirates were 4-2 winners over the Chicago Cubs.
The Kansas City Royals downed the Cleveland Indians 4-1, the New York Yankees beat the Seattle Mariners 4-2, the Washington Nationals thrashed the San Francisco Giants 6-2 and the Oakland Athletics slugged past the Los Angeles Angels 7-1.
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