AMERICAN LEAGUE
Texas pitcher Yu Darvish held Detroit scoreless into the seventh inning as the Rangers beat the Tigers 10-3 on Thursday to notch their seventh straight win.
Darvish (2-0) showed impressive poise in the opener of a four-game set at Comerica Park, allowing one run over 6-1/3 innings in his toughest test since moving over from Japan.
Mike Napoli homered for the fourth straight game as Texas won a reprise of last year’s AL Championship Series.
The Rangers are 6-0 on the road, equaling a team record set in 1989.
Detroit starter Adam Wilk (0-2) gave up 10 hits in four-plus innings.
RAYS 9, BLUE JAYS 4
In Toronto, Evan Longoria hit a two-run homer as Tampa Bay ended a 10-game road trip on a high, beating Toronto.
Longoria went 3-for-4 with a season-high four RBIs and reached base four times as the Rays tagged Henderson Alvarez (0-1) for a career-worst six earned runs in 6-1/3 innings.
Desmond Jennings added a solo shot for the Rays.
Tampa Bay starter Jeremy Hellickson (2-0) gave up two earned runs in 5-2/3 innings.
YANKEES 7, TWINS 6
In New York, Curtis Granderson hit three home runs in the first four innings and matched a career high with five hits, powering New York to a tight win over Minnesota.
Granderson homered in each of his first three at-bats, driving in four runs, and helped Yankees starter Phil Hughes (1-2) take the win despite giving up four runs in the first inning.
Granderson got two chances to tie the major league record of four homers in a game. In the sixth, he singled and in the eighth, he hit a dribbler down the first base line.
Granderson became player to hit three homers in a game this year. His first two came off starter Anthony Swarzak (0-3).
Mariano Rivera worked a perfect ninth for his third save of the season and record 606th of his career.
In other AL action, it was:
‧ Orioles 5, White Sox 3
‧ Indians 2, Mariners 1
‧ Athletics 4, Angels 2
NATIONAL LEAGUE
AP, MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN
Los Angeles’ Matt Kemp hit his seventh home run of the season as the Dodgers beat the Milwaukee Brewers 4-3 on Thursday and avoided a three-game sweep.
Andre Ethier and Juan Rivera added RBI singles, while third baseman Jerry Hairston Jr made two big late-inning defensive plays for the Dodgers.
Los Angeles starter Aaron Harang (1-1) went six innings and Javy Guerra pitched a scoreless ninth, his sixth save in seven opportunities this season.
ASTROS 11, NATIONALS 4
In Washington, Houston set a franchise record by hitting three triples in the first inning, scoring five runs in the frame to set up a win over Washington.
The Astros had a season-high 17 hits, with Brian Bogusevic and Jason Castro getting three each, and ended a four-game skid.
Starter Bud Norris (1-0) pitched six innings for the win and helped himself with a two-run single.
The Nationals entered with a major league-leading 1.92 ERA, but they allowed more runs and hits than they had in any of their first 13 games.
Nationals starter Edwin Jackson (1-1) gave up five runs in five innings.
In other NL action, it was:
‧ Reds 6, Cardinals 3
‧ Marlins 5, Cubs 3
‧ Braves 10, Diamondbacks 2
‧ Phillies 2, Padres 0
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