PITCHER AARON HARANG starred as the Los Angeles Dodgers continued their strong start to the MLB season last night, while the Boston Red Sox powered their way to a ten-run victory over Tampa Bay.
Harang recorded nine consecutive strikeouts, a Dodgers record, as he guided the Californians to a narrow victory over local rivals the San Diego Padres. 9-8 at the close of play, the win was Los Angeles’s seventh in eight matches.
A three-run seventh inning helped the Padres recover from an 8-3 deficit, but their profligacy in the opening exchanges stymied hopes of a more dramatic comeback.
Elsewhere, the Boston Red Sox disposed of the Tampa Bay Rays 12-2. After suffering a night of unmitigated humiliation in Detroit last week, pitcher Josh Beckett returned to something approaching his best form, giving away just six hits and one run over eight frames.
Victory was to come with a major caveat, however: star performer Jacoby Ellsbury was forced off with what was later diagnosed as a partial disclocation of his shoulder injury.
League highlights:
- Alex Rodriguez tied Ken Griffey Jr in fifth place on the all-time homers list as the New York Yankees thrashed the Los Angeles Angels 5-0.
- The Texas Rangers took their sixth win in eight games this season with a 4-1 victory over the Minnesota Twins.
- Matt Cain shutout the Pittsburgh Pirates as the San Francisco Giants eased to a 5-0 win.
- Jayson Werth struck the game-winning single as the Washington Nationals needed 13 innings to beat the Cincinnati Reds 2-1.
- The Chicago White Sox edged the Detroit Tigers 5-2, while Bryan LaHair hit a grand slam in the Chicago Cubs’ 9-5 win against the St Louis Cardinals.
- A seven-run first inning saw the Cleveland Indians to an 8-3 win over the Kansas City Royals, while the New York Mets overcame the Philadelphia Phillies 5-2.
- Carlos Gonzalez scored the go-ahead run to see the Colorado Rockies to a 7-6 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks, while Bartolo Colon impressed in the Oakland Athletics’ 4-0 defeat of the Seattle Mariners.
