Associated Press
The American League roundup …
MINNEAPOLIS ó As Danny Valencia’s three-run homer barely reached the seats in left field to give the Minnesota Twins a 7-0 lead in the eighth inning, Brian Duensing was worried his chances for a second career shutout left the ballpark with it.
He lobbied briefly to stay in the game, and that was enough for Ron Gardenhire.
Duensing overcame a shaky start to throw a six-hitter and Valencia had three hits and three RBIs to help the Twins beat the Tampa Bay Rays 7-0 on Monday.
“He said, ‘I’m going back out there,'” Gardenhire said. “There was no question about it. He was going back out, which was kind of neat. And we were going to let him.”
Duensing (6-7) struck out seven and walked four for his second career shutout, throwing a career-high 119 pitches to give struggling closer Matt Capps the day off.
David Price (8-7) gave up four runs on five hits with six strikeouts in six innings for the Rays.
Michael Cuddyer added a solo homer and Tsuyoshi Nishioka had a two-run double for the Twins.
Blue Jays 9, Red Sox 7
BOSTON ó Travis Snider had three doubles and drove in a pair of runs and Aaron Hill homered as Toronto became the latest team to rough up John Lackey.
Hill also had an RBI single and Rajai Davis added two doubles for the Blue Jays, who had lost nine of 14.
The Blue Jays scored a run in the first, two in the second and chased Lackey (5-8) with four in the third. In seven Fenway starts, heLackey is 3-4 with a 9.17 ERA.
Toronto starter Brandon Morrow (5-4), allowed four runs on five hits, walking three and striking out five over five-plus innings. It was his third victory in four starts.
Snider, recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas on Sunday, doubled in his first three at-bats. He was sent down on April 29 after hitting just .184 in 25 games.
White Sox 5, Royals 4
CHICAGO ó A.J. Pierzynski scored the winning run on a balk called on Aaron Crow in the ninth and the White Sox beat Kansas City after the Royals had tied it on a homer first ruled a triple in the top of the inning.
With the Royals trailing 4-3 in the ninth, Eric Hosmer led off with what appeared to be a homer off White Sox closer Sergio Santos (3-3). Second base umpire Alfonso Marquez signaled the ball was in play as Hosmer advanced to third. Royals manager Ned Yost contested the call, and the umpire reviewed it. Moments after the review, Marquez signaled a homer.
Crow (2-2) got the loss.
Mariners 2, Athletics 1
OAKLAND, Calif. ó Michael Pineda and three relievers combined on a three-hitter and Josh Bard hit his first home run of the season for Seattle.
Justin Smoak added a tiebreaking RBI double in the seventh inning for the Mariners, who opened a key seven-game road trip against division rivals with their third win in four games.
Rangers 13, Orioles 4
ARLINGTON, Texas ó Endy Chavez had his first four-RBI game in more than eight years with a long home run and a double in the Texas Rangers’ 13-4 victory over the Baltimore Orioles and former manager Buck Showalter.
Adrian Beltre also homered for the Rangers. Michael Young had a single, double and an RBI triple while David Murphy drove in a pair of runs with three hits.
Chavez snapped a 6-for-39 slide when he pulled a pitch down the right-field line for a two-run homer that broke a 2-all tie.
Colby Lewis (8-7) won his third straight decision over his last four starts.
Angels 5, Tigers 1
LOS ANGELES ó Torii Hunter and Vernon Wells homered, Joel Pineiro yielded five hits over seven solid innings, and the Los Angeles Angels beat the Detroit Tigers 5-1 for their ninth win in 11 games.
Erick Aybar and Mark Trumbo had RBI singles for the Angels, who have surged into first place in the AL West with 14 wins in 19 games overall, winning six straight series.