American League roundup

[April 16, 2009]  ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) -- On a night when every major league player was wearing No. 42, Texas Rangers second baseman Ian Kinsler dominated a game just like Jackie Robinson once did.

Kinsler hit for the cycle while going 6-for-6 and scored five times, matching team records for hits and runs, and the Rangers snapped a five-game losing streak with a 19-6 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday.

"He took over the game, he certainly did," manager Ron Washington said. "From the first pitch, from every aspect."

The Rangers trailed 2-0 when Kinsler doubled on the first pitch he saw, and he quickly scored to cut the deficit in half.

By the time Kinsler got ready to bat in the sixth inning, Texas had built a big lead and the All-Star was able to pursue a personal accomplishment. With a long fly ball to the right-center field gap, he got the triple needed to complete the fourth cycle in Rangers history.

"I wasn't going to stop at second, regardless if (the outfielder) came up clean or not. I was going to give it a shot," Kinsler said.

After sliding head-first into third, Kinsler got up and slapped his hands together, then scored on Michael Young's groundout to make it 15-4.

Kinsler wasn't finished.

He added an RBI double in the eighth, making him the only Texas player with six hits in a nine-inning game. Alfonso Soriano had a six-hit game in May 2004, in 10 innings.

"That was just a monster game. It's one thing to hit for the cycle," Young said. "But to add a couple of more hits to it, too, it's an incredible game."

Enough to overshadow a five-hit game for Marlon Byrd and Nelson Cruz matching the AL home run lead with his fifth -- a grand slam on reliever Radhames Liz's first pitch that gave the Rangers a 10-3 lead. The slam accounted for half of the eight unearned runs in the fourth, when Kinsler had two singles.

Kris Benson (1-1), who missed the last two seasons after surgery to repair a torn right rotator cuff, hadn't won since Sept. 21, 2006, when he was pitching for Baltimore. The right-hander allowed four runs in six innings.

Orioles starter Mark Hendrickson (1-1) allowed seven hits and four walks in 3 2-3 innings, but only two of the nine runs against him were earned.

"It was a combination of things. The pace wasn't good, he had a lot of deep counts," manager Dave Trembley said. "It wasn't a good game, it wasn't a clean game in a lot of ways."

The Rangers had 19 hits and their 19 runs were the most scored in the majors this season -- and their most since a 30-3 victory in Baltimore on Aug. 22, 2007.

Kinsler's third homer of the season was a solo shot in the third, before Byrd's RBI double broke a 3-3 tie and put Texas ahead to stay. After Cruz's slam, rookie Elvis Andrus had a triple and scored on Kinsler's second hit of the inning.

"Opening day is pretty special, your first game in the big leagues is pretty special," Kinsler said. "As far as performance on the field, this one has to top that."

Red Sox 8, Athletics 2

At Oakland, Calif., Tim Wakefield took a no-hitter into the eighth inning and finished with a four-hitter for Boston.

Wakefield (1-1) got within five outs of the first no-hitter of his 17-season career, nearly becoming the second-oldest pitcher to accomplish the feat after Nolan Ryan.

Kurt Suzuki broke it up with a one-out single to left for the A's, and Landon Powell had an RBI single later in the inning. Wakefield gave up Matt Holliday's run-scoring double in the ninth, but escaped one last jam before getting hugs and congratulations from each of his teammates.

Brett Anderson (0-2) allowed just five hits and two walks through seven innings.

Mariners 11, Angels 3

At Seattle, Ken Griffey Jr. hit career home run No. 613 and his 400th as a Mariner in his second home game of his return season in Seattle.

Ichiro Suzuki had two hits in his season debut following his first career stint on the disabled list, including his first grand slam in six years during a seven-run seventh inning, to tie Isao Harimoto's Japanese record with hit No. 3,085.

Griffey's fifth-inning homer off starter Angels' Jered Weaver, his first as a Mariner in Seattle in 10 years, broke a 2-2 tie. Then Suzuki, who was out due to a bleeding ulcer, golfed a full-count pitch from Jason Bulger into the right-field bleachers.

Blue Jays 12, Twins 2

At Minneapolis, Aaron Hill went 4-for-5 with one of Toronto's four home runs in four innings against Twins starter Scott Baker.

Hill and Scott Rolen hit two-run shots against Baker, who came off the disabled list to make a forgettable first start of the season. Vernon Wells and Michael Barrett also went deep, sending Baker to an early exit.

The night was far more memorable for Blue Jays starter Scott Richmond (1-0), who got one out in the seventh before being removed and yielded just four hits, two runs (only one earned, due to a wild pitch) and three walks.

Indians 5, Royals 4

At Kansas City, Mo., Travis Hafner's second double keyed a three-run seventh inning, and the Indians picked up their first road win of the year while avoiding a three-game sweep.

Jensen Lewis (1-0) issued three straight walks in the bottom of the seventh but still got the victory in relief of Aaron Laffey. Kyle Farnsworth (0-2) gave up three runs while getting only one out in relief for the Royals.

The Indians took the lead on an RBI single by Mark DeRosa, who has a five-game hitting streak and seven RBIs in eight games.

After Victor Martinez walked, Hafner hit an RBI double and Shin-Soo Choo made it 5-3 with a sacrifice fly.

Yankees 4, Rays 3

At St. Petersburg, Fla., Andy Pettitte pitched into the eighth inning, Robinson Cano hit a two-run homer and Derek Jeter singled in the go-ahead run in the ninth to lead the Yankees.

Jeter also doubled in the eighth and scored the tying run on Johnny Damon's double off J.P. Howell. He delivered the tiebreaking run against Troy Percival (0-1) following a one-out double to Cody Ransom.

New York concluded a nine-game, opening road trip and returns home for Thursday's debut of the $1.5 billion new Yankee Stadium.

Tigers 9, White Sox 0

At Detroit, Armando Galarraga threw 6 1-3 scoreless innings and Placido Polanco drove in three runs for the Tigers.

Galarraga (2-0) gave up four hits and two walks while striking out five. He left to a standing ovation after walking Paul Konerko with one out in the seventh. Jose Contreras (0-2) yielded five runs -- three earned -- on five hits in 5 2-3 innings

Detroit took a 2-0 lead in the fifth inning. Josh Anderson and Ramon Santiago walked, and after Curtis Granderson hit into a force at second, Polanco sent a shot over Brian Anderson's head in center for a two-run double.

[Associated Press; By STEPHEN HAWKINS]

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