MAJOR LEAGUES
Taiwanese pitcher Chen Wei-yin had a record 13th win in an MLB season on Wednesday as the Baltimore Orioles completed a three-game sweep of the Chicago White Sox.
The 29-year-old leftie threw 7-1/3 innings to help Baltimore win the game 4-3 at US Cellular Field in Chicago, Illinois.
Photo: AFP
The win extended Baltimore’s commanding lead in the American League East to 9.5 games over the Toronto Blue Jays, with less than six weeks left in the regular season.
In his latest outing, Chen threw 86 pitches and allowed three runs over six hits, with two of the runs coming in the first inning on a homer by Avisail Garcia. He struck out seven and walked one.
It was the fourth consecutive quality start by a Baltimore pitcher in their past four games. The Orioles pitching staff gave up only seven runs over the four-game period, compared with a total of 21 runs scored against the White Sox and the Cleveland Indians.
Photo: AFP
“I would say everyone else is pitching better than me, but I think it’s a really good competition out there. We all try to pitch better than each other,” Chen said through an interpreter.
After falling to a 0-2 deficit in the first inning, Baltimore took the lead in the fourth on two homers by Steve Pearce and Nelson Cruz. Adam Jones added another solo home run in the sixth to make it 4-2.
Baltimore’s lead was trimmed in the bottom of the sixth and the White Sox looked menacing again in the eighth with Alexei Ramirez on second and Alejandro de Aza on first following back-to-back singles.
Right-handed reliever Darren O’Day struck out the next two batters to secure the one-run lead and a win for Baltimore.
Chen’s 13th victory followed his previous record of 12 wins in an MLB season, which he set in 2012 — his first year in the US majors after being signed by the O’s from Japan.
He had only seven wins last season, when he was on the disabled list for almost two months with an injury to his right oblique.
Right-hander Wang Chien-ming holds the record of most wins by a Taiwanese pitcher in the MLB at 62-34 from 2005 to last year.
In the American League on Wednesday, the Los Angeles Angels beat Boston 8-3 to extend their lead over West divisional rivals Oakland to 1.5 games after the A’s were defeated at home by the non-contending New York Mets.
However, the Angels’ victory was marred by the loss of pitcher Garrett Richards to a nasty knee injury.
Angels’ slugger Josh Hamilton broke out of a 5-for-41 hitting slump by hitting two sacrifice flies and a single that brought home the final run in the ninth inning. Howie Kendrick drove in two runs for the Angels, who have won seven of eight.
Richards sustained a patella injury in his left knee while running to cover first base in the second inning. He was 7-2 in his previous 11 starts and his expected absence will be a blow to Los Angeles’ rotation.
The A’s slipped further behind with an 8-5 home loss to the Mets.
Lucas Duda hit a three-run homer and Eric Campbell also cleared the fences for New York, with both coming in a five-run third inning that effectively decided the game.
Mets’ starter Zack Wheeler (9-8) allowed two earned runs while working 5-2/3 solid innings. He is 6-0 with a 2.12 ERA over his nine outings since June 30.
In Milwaukee, Toronto’s Jose Bautista hit a three-run homer to cap a five-run sixth which lifted the Blue Jays 9-5 over the Brewers.
The loss snapped National League Central leaders Milwaukee’s five-game winning streak.
Colby Rasmus also homered for Toronto, who had won only one of their previous seven games in a lengthy road trip.
The homers made a winner of R.A. Dickey (10-12), who gave up five runs in 5-2/3 choppy innings, and left after Carlos Gomez’s two-run homer in the bottom of the sixth made it 7-5.
Atlanta’s Justin Upton dropped a routine fly ball in the ninth inning which set the stage for Gaby Sanchez’s game-winning sacrifice fly, giving Pittsburgh a 3-2 win over the Braves.
The Pirates snapped a seven-game losing skid and ended Atlanta’s five-game winning streak.
Pittsburgh closer Mark Melancon (2-3) worked a perfect ninth inning to earn the win.
Washington pinch-hitter Anthony Rendon’s RBI single in the bottom of the ninth inning lifted the surging Nationals past Arizona 3-2 for their ninth-straight victory.
Elsewhere on Wednesday it was:
‧ Padres 4, Dodgers 1
‧ Cardinals 7, Reds 3
‧ Tigers 6, Rays 0
‧ Phillies 4, Mariners 3
‧ Giants 8, Cubs 3
‧ Rockies 5, Royals 2
‧ Indians 5, Twins 0
‧ Astros 5, Yankees 2
‧ Rangers 5, Marlins 4
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