AL CAPSULES: Texas' Profar belts HR in first MLB at-bat

Sports

September 3, 2012

AL CAPSULES: Texas' Profar belts HR in first MLB at-bat

ASSOCIATED PRESS Associated Press Mon Sep 03, 2012, 10:51 AM CDT

CLEVELAND — Jurickson Profar made quite a debut at age 19, homering in his first major league at-bat and doubling his next time up as the Texas Rangers beat Cleveland 8-3 Sunday.

Profar opened the third inning with a drive over the right-field wall, connecting on a 2-1 pitch from Zach McAllister (5-6). The teen finished 2 for 4 as a late substitute after second baseman Ian Kinsler was scratched with a stiff back.

Josh Hamilton, Adrian Beltre and David Murphy all hit solo home runs in the Texas fifth.

Derek Holland (10-6) gave up two runs over seven innings as the AL West-leading Rangers took two of three in the series. Texas matched its best record through 133 games, having also gone 79-54 in 1999.

Profar is the first player to homer his first time up in a Rangers uniform. The last player to do it in franchise history was Brant Alyea for the Washington Senators in 1965. The Senators moved to Texas in 1972.

ATHLETICS 6, RED SOX 2

Seth Smith hit a two-run homer, Stephen Drew hit his first home run since joining Oakland and the Athletics beat Boston for their season-best ninth straight win.

Brett Anderson (3-0) won his third straight start since returning from a 14-month absence to recover from Tommy John surgery. It was a big boost for the AL wild-card leading A's down the stretch after losing Bartolo Colon to a 50-game suspension.

This is the club's longest winning run since 10 in a row from June 8-18, 2006, the last year the A's reached the playoffs.

The A's won their eighth in a row against the Red Sox to match their longest winning streak in the rivalry since the Philadelphia A's did so May 2-28, 1932.

Daisuke Matsuzaka (1-4) was tagged for six runs and seven hits in 3 2-3 innings.

ORIOLES 8, YANKEES 3

Mark Reynolds hit a three-run shot in the sixth inning for his second two-homer game of the weekend series and the Baltimore Orioles closed in on the AL East-leading New York Yankees.

Randy Wolf (1-0) made his first appearance for Baltimore when starter Chris Tillman left with right elbow stiffness after the third inning. He helped the Orioles pull within two games of the Yankees with 3 1-3 effective innings.

Reynolds made the ballpark in the Bronx his personal launching pad in this key matchup between the top two teams in the division. He homered twice in Friday's victory then got Baltimore on the scoreboard Sunday when he hit a mammoth drive leading off the fifth inning.

Reynolds' 16th homer with none out in the sixth finished Hughes (13-12) and put Baltimore ahead 5-3.

RAYS 9, BLUE JAYS 4

David Price earned his AL-leading 17th victory by pitching 6 2-3 solid innings and Ben Francisco homered in his first start for Tampa Bay as the Rays beat Toronto.

Carlos Pena also homered as the Rays won for only the third time in nine games, pulling within 3 1/2 games of the AL East-leading New York Yankees. The Yankees begin a three-game series at Tampa Bay on Monday.

Price (17-5) gave up two runs, six hits and four walks while striking out five in a rebound game after a rare bad outing in Texas, where he was tagged by the Rangers for six runs and 10 hits.

Blue Jays ace Ricky Romero (8-13) lost his 12th straight decision. He allowed a run in the first inning, then faced seven batters in the second and all of them reached base.

MARINERS 2, ANGELS 1

Jesus Montero hit another home run off Angels ace Jered Weaver, leading Hisashi Iwakuma and the Seattle Mariners past Los Angeles.

Carlos Peguero also homered against Weaver. Iwakuma (6-3) pitched 7 1-3 scoreless innings and helped end the Angels' five-game winning streak.

Montero singled early, then hit his 15th home run of the season in the fourth. He has four homers in nine career at-bats against Weaver (16-4).

Tom Wilhelmsen allowed a run in the ninth when Howie Kendrick singled home pinch-runner Vernon Wells, but retired Erick Aybar to convert his 22nd save in 25 tries.

ROYALS 6, TWINS 4

Tony Abreu drove in three runs and the Kansas City Royals beat Minnesota to avoid a three-game sweep.

Abreu's three RBIs matched his career high, set on Sept. 18, 2007, while with Arizona at Colorado.

Tim Collins (5-2) got a blown save and also got the win.

Esmerling Vasquez (0-1), who was making his first big league start after 141 relief appearances, allowed five runs on seven hits and three walks in 5 2-3 innings.

Greg Holland struck out all three batters he faced in the ninth for his 10th save in 12 chances.

TIGERS 4, WHITE SOX 2

Justin Verlander shut down Chicago after the first inning and Delmon Young hit a tiebreaking three-run homer in the sixth to lift the Tigers to a share of first place in the AL Central.

Alejandro De Aza hit Verlander's second pitch of the night over the wall in right field, but the Detroit ace was outstanding after that. Verlander (13-7) allowed four hits in eight innings, striking out 11 with two walks. The Tigers swept the three-game series to pull even with the White Sox atop the division.

Chris Sale (15-6) allowed four runs and five hits in six innings.

Jose Valverde allowed a run in the ninth but held on for his 28th save in 32 chances.

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