Beltre and Robinson Chirinos homered to help Yovani Gallardo win for the first time since last July as the Texas Rangers beat the Minnesota Twins 9-6 on Saturday.
The home run wasn’t anything unusual — he’s got 466 of those his 21-year major league career. But he led off the second inning by beating out a ground ball to shortstop, no easy feat for a 39-year-old who has spent almost a month on the disabled list this year with a strained left hamstring.
The infield single led to a six-run rally to help the Rangers overcome an early 2-0 deficit.
”Speed kills – don’t you know that?” a grinning Beltre said. ”Over the last week or so, we’ve been able to find out how to get guys on, and now we’re getting more consistent in bringing those guys in.”
Eddie Rosario homered and drove in four runs for the Twins, while Logan Morrison also homered and Mitch Garver had three hits. Minnesota lost its third straight when it couldn’t overcome a short start from veteran Jake Odorizzi (3-5).
The Twins did rally for three runs in the ninth and had the tying run at the plate with two outs. But Rangers closer Keone Kela struck out Morrison with the bases loaded to end the game, earning his 18th save in 18 chances.
Gallardo (1-0) was making his second start for Texas after opening the year with Cincinnati. He promptly fell behind 2-0 just five pitches into the game before turning it around and pitching into the sixth inning.
Joe Mauer led off the bottom of the first with a sharp single to left. Then Rosario hit the first pitch he saw into the right-field seats for his 17th home run of the season.
But Gallardo settled down, at one point retiring 12 of 13. Morrison’s two-run homer with one out in the sixth inning ended Gallardo’s day, but he earned his first victory since July 29, 2017, when he was pitching for Seattle.
Odorizzi retired the side in order in the first inning, but the Rangers knocked him out in a six-run second. The big blows were two-run singles by Delino DeShields and Nomar Mazara.
Beltre’s second hit of the inning finally spelled the end for Odorizzi, who lasted just 1 2/3 innings. It was the shortest start of his career, other than a one-inning start in 2017 that he was forced to leave due to an injury.
”It just started to unravel,” Twins manager Paul Molitor said. ”A couple guys got on, then he slipped on the mound, then he hit a guy, and even later in the inning after he’d given up some, we still had chances. He got ahead of Mazara 0-2, Beltre he got ahead of, but we just couldn’t finish.”
Odorizzi, the Twins’ opening day starter Youth Derwin James Jersey , has seen his ERA climb steadily in his last six outings. He’s allowed 25 earned runs in 25 2/3 innings over that stretch, driving his ERA to a season-high 4.97.
”It’s upsetting and frustrating . It’s not something I take lightly.” Odorizzi said. ”I take a lot of pride in getting guys out. Trust me, I’m more frustrated about this than anybody in this clubhouse. This has been one of the tougher stretches in my short big league career.”
HIT BATTER BEEF
Rangers 3B Jurickson Profar was hit by pitches three times on Saturday, tying a team record that he also matched just two weeks ago. But the Rangers were not happy with the circumstances surrounding the third time it happened.
Profar stole second base in the fourth inning when the Rangers were leading 9-2. The next time Profar came to bat, Twins reliever Addison Reed threw three inside fastballs, finally hitting him in the leg with the third one.
”I thought the intent there was excessive, especially they tried to dial him up three different times,” Rangers manager Jeff Banister said. ”The guy’s playing baseball hard. I guess you can just look at it that there’s a difference in what they’re focusing in on and what we’re focusing in on.”
Molitor didn’t try to rationalize Reed’s approach to Profar, but he also didn’t deny that the dugout took notice when Profar stole a base with a seven-run lead.
”The thought process between the unwritten rules of the game is not clearly defined,” Molitor said. ”What I might think and what he might think might be different things. I was surprised that (Profar) ran with the score the way it was, when he did. And getting hit there was something that Banister felt wasn’t appropriate.”
ROMERO TO ROCHESTER
After the game the Twins optioned rookie RHP Fernando Romero to Triple-A Rochester, with a corresponding move to be announced on Sunday. Romero, who made his major league debut on May 2 and won his first two starts, is 3-3 with a 4.38 ERA in 10 starts.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Rangers: 1B Joey Gallo left the game in the third inning with left hamstring tightness. He was replaced by Ronald Guzman.
Twins: 3B Eduardo Escobar returned to the starting lineup for the first time since he was hit by a pitch on the right elbow in the first inning of Thursday’s game against Boston.
UP NEXT
Rangers: RHP Bartolo Colon (4-4, 4.91 ERA) returns to Target Field to face his former teammates in the series finale Sunday afternoon. Colon went 5-6 in 15 starts for the Twins last season as he helped them clinch the second AL wild card spot.
Twins: RHP Jose Berrios (7-5, 3.51) will be looking for his first victory since June 7 as Minnesota tries to avoid being swept. In his last two starts he’s allo
BOSTON — Their bats clearly on fire, the Boston Red Sox head to New York this weekend for the latest chapter of the rivalry with the New York Yankees.
But first, there’s work to do at home.
After blowing a 6-0 lead but surviving to move back into first place in the American League East, the Red Sox go for the series and season sweep of the floundering Los Angeles Angels at Fenway Park on Thursday night.
With Steven Wright hitting the disabled list with left knee inflammation, left-hander Brian Johnson (1-2, 4.50 ERA) gets the start for Boston against rookie righty Jaime Barria (5-3 Youth Uchenna Nwosu Jersey , 3.40) in Thursday night’s finale — before the three games in the Bronx.
The Red Sox, who have scored 48 runs in their last six games, hit the halfway mark of their schedule by moving a half-game ahead of the Yankees at 54-27. They have outscored the Angels 45-10 in five games this season.
Johnson started in the fifth game of the season, allowing one run on six hits in six innings at Miami. He now makes his eighth career start and second of the season. This will be his first start against Angels, although earlier this season, Johnson pitched three scoreless innings of relief in Boston’s three-game sweep in Anaheim.
The Red Sox are a season-high 27 games over .500. They are 3-3 against the Yankees, who are off Thursday before the third series of the season between the rivals.
J.D. Martinez hit his 25th homer of the season Wednesday, already one more than Mookie Betts‘ club-leading total last season. Martinez is the seventh Red Sox player with at least 25 homers in half a season.
“He’s becoming a leader of the team in the clubhouse,” Boston manager Alex Cora said after Wednesday’s game.
Martinez, asked if he sets offensive goals before the start of the season, said, “Nah. My goal is to not give an at-bat away, you know?”
While his team did rally from six runs down to make a game of it Wednesday, Los Angeles manager Mike Scioscia didn’t have much to be happy about following the 9-6 defeat.
The Angels, who have lost five straight and 12 of their last 16 games, got bad news before the game regarding Zack Cozart and then saw just-recalled reliever Jake Jewell carted off the field after suffering what appeared to be a serious ankle injury.
“Hoping everything is OK with Jewell,” Cora said. “Everyone in the dugout and clubhouse will be praying for him.”
Cozart will likely miss the remainder of the season after surgery to repair a torn labrum in his non-throwing shoulder.
“Zack Cozart received a second opinion on his left shoulder after experiencing continued discomfort during his progressions,” the Angels said in statement. “After additional imaging and clinical examination, it was recommended that he undergo surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder. Zack will undergo surgery in Los Angeles in the near future. We will update with additional information when appropriate.”
As far as the Angels’ current situation, Scioscia said, “We’ll keep battling Youth Terrelle Pryor Sr. Jersey , but at some point obviously we need to put both ends together, get the pitching we need and get some early runs, get the game on our terms and start to do things the way we can.”
Jewell, appearing in his third major league game after arriving earlier in the day, was injured covering home plate on a wild pitch in the eighth inning.
“It was sad, really sad,” Los Angeles catcher Martin Maldonado said. “Young guy or an old guy, it’s hard to see a teammate go down like that.”
It was back in 2014 that Angels right-hander Garrett Richards suffered a season-ending injury while covering first base at Fenway.
Jewell and infielder Nolan Fontana had been recalled, while Akeel Morris was sent back to Salt Lake City and Tuesday night loser John Lamb hit the 10-day disabled with left shoulder and elbow inflammation.
The Angels also said rookie Shohei Ohtani with have his left elbow re-evaluated Thursday — amid talk he could return as a hitter this season while not pitching.
“If he was solely a DH, he would have been cleared right away,” general manager Billy Eppler said on MLB Radio, “but because you are wanting that ligament to heal, to get that impact he brings on the mound, you want to — I don’t want to coin it the danger zone — but you want to get to the point where you are feeling that area has plenty of time to scar and heal.
“That’s what the three-week prescription is for, to buy you that time of scarring and healing.”
Barria, who allowed one run in five innings in his last start,has gone an impressive 3-1 with a 3.10 ERA on the road. He has never faced the Red Sox.
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30.10.2018 03:14
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