LDN - Sports

Baseball roundup: Ohtani shows speed as Angels rout Royals

[April 13, 2018] Nick Tropeano threw 6 2/3 scoreless innings in his first major league start in nearly two years to help lift the Los Angeles Angels to a 7-1 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Thursday night at Kauffman Stadium.

The Angels' offense continued to batter opposing pitchers, getting 15 hits, and a new wrinkle showed in Shohei Ohtani's game -- speed.

Ian Kinsler homered in the first inning, but the game-breaking blow came in the seventh on a three-run triple by Ohtani. He was timed at 11.49 seconds to third base, the fifth fastest time in the majors this year. It also turned a tight 3-0 game into 6-0.

For Tropeano (1-0), it was his first major league start since July 18, 2016, with the right-hander out the past 21 months after undergoing Tommy John surgery. The right-hander gave up six hits, walked two and struck out six while making 88 pitches.

Giants 7, Padres 0

Right-handers Chris Stratton and Derek Law combined on a one-hitter as San Francisco blanked San Diego at Petco Park.

The Padres' lone hit was a third-inning single to right off Stratton by pitcher Clayton Richard, who was pinch-hitting hitting for Padres starter Bryan Mitchell.

It marked the first time since 1935 (Pittsburgh's Mace Brown) that a team's only hit was by a pitcher who did not start the game. It also marked the first time in Padres history that their only hit in a game was by a pitcher.

Stratton (1-1) allowed four baserunners over seven innings and faced only one threat when he issued back-to-back walks with one out in the fifth. He had four strikeouts. The Padres hit only four flies to the outfield.

Red Sox 6, Yankees 3

Rick Porcello took a no-hitter into the seventh inning and Mookie Betts had two RBIs as host Boston doubled up New York.

Porcello (3-0) ended up allowing two hits before departing after the seventh. The right-hander struck out six and didn't issue a walk as Boston improved its record to 10-2.

Andrew Benintendi, Mitch Moreland and Eduardo Nunez had two hits apiece for the Red Sox, who prevailed on a night that featured heavy rain through the first five innings. Moreland entered after Boston first baseman Hanley Ramirez departed in the first inning when he suffered a bruised right wrist after being hit by a pitch from Yankees starter Sonny Gray (1-1). The Red Sox said X-rays were negative.

Indians 9, Tigers 3

Francisco Lindor hit a leadoff homer and a two-run double, and Cleveland completed a sweep of a four-game series against visiting Detroit.

Trevor Bauer (1-1) tossed seven strong innings for his first win this season. He gave up two runs on seven hits with seven strikeouts.

Lindor scored three runs along with his three RBIs to lead the Indians' offense. Jose Ramirez smashed a two-run homer during a four-run second while Jason Kipnis had three hits, a run scored and two RBIs. No. 9 hitter Bradley Zimmer contributed three hits and scored a run, and Tyler Naquin scored twice.

Cardinals 13, Reds 4

Jose Martinez homered and drove in six runs as St. Louis waded through the exhausted bullpen of host Cincinnati in a rout.

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Marcell Ozuna, Paul DeJong and Yadier Molina also belted solo homers for St. Louis. The Cardinals drew a season-high 11 walks, including five in a row during a seven-run seventh inning that reduced the game's remainder into a slog to the final out.

Martinez opened the inning with a liner into the left field seats for his third homer, followed by Molina's 438-foot blast into the upper deck in left-center for his fourth long ball. Cincinnati relievers Zack Weiss and Tanner Rainey then teamed up for five straight free passes, with Dexter Fowler and Tommy Pham netting RBIs from their walks.

Pirates 6, Cubs 1

Gregory Polanco hit a pair of solo homers as Pittsburgh cruised past host Chicago.

Polanco homered in the first inning off Kyle Hendricks (0-1) and in the seventh off left-hander Justin Wilson. Polanco, who did not hit his first homer until May 11 last season, recorded his third career multi-homer game. He also increased his major league-leading RBI total to 15, which is 20 shy of his total in 108 games last season.

Francisco Cervelli hit a three-run shot and Adam Frazier also homered as Pittsburgh (9-3) improved to 5-1 on the road. The Pirates are also off to their best start since opening 1992 with 10 wins in 12 games.

Rockies 5, Nationals 1

DJ LeMahieu hit two home runs, including one on the third pitch of the game, propelling visiting Colorado past Washington in the opener of a four-game series.

Right-hander Chad Bettis (2-0) pitched seven strong innings and combined with two relievers on a four-hitter, helping the Rockies improve their road record to 5-3 this season.

LeMahieu also doubled twice, his fourth and fifth of the season, in a 4-for-5 performance. Bettis allowed just the one run in seven innings, limiting the Nationals to three hits. He walked two and struck out five.

Twins 4, White Sox 0

Minnesota first baseman Joe Mauer reached 2,000 career hits with two run-producing singles and right-hander Jose Berrios tied a career high with 11 strikeouts in seven scoreless innings in a victory over visiting Chicago.

Mauer had three RBIs, singling in the second run of a two-run third inning and singling in two runs with one out in the seventh to raise his batting average to an American League-high .412. He joined Kirby Puckett (2,304) and Rod Carew (2,085) as the only players with 2,000 hits in franchise history.

Berrios (2-1) gave up three singles, one of the infield variety, and hit one batter while making his second scoreless start of the season. He threw a three-hit shutout in a 7-0 victory at Baltimore on April 1.

--Field Level Media

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