Thursday’s AL Capsules

Thursday’s AL Capsules

CLEVELAND — Russell Branyan hit a two-out, two-run single in the ninth inning Thursday night, rallying the Cleveland Indians to a crazy 8-7 win over the Boston Red Sox.

Cleveland overcame three errors in one inning by third baseman Andy Marte, a blown save by Kerry Wood and an eighth-inning disruption by two unruly fans.

Adrian Beltre’s two-out, two-run homer in the ninth off Wood (1-2) put Boston ahead 7-6.

The Indians quickly loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom half against Daniel Bard (1-2). Bard, closing while Jonathan Papelbon is on the bereavement list, then struck out Travis Hafner and retired Jhonny Peralta on a foulout.

But Branyan delivered, looping a single over second baseman Dustin Pedroia in shallow right field.

BALTIMORE (AP) — Jake Arrieta pitched six innings of four-hit ball to win his major league debut, and Baltimore ended its 10-game losing streak against New York.

Arrieta gave up three runs and outpitched veteran A.J. Burnett (6-4), who came in 11-2 lifetime against Baltimore and 5-0 at Camden Yards.

Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez left the game after the first inning. The team did not give the reason for his departure, but the premature exit occurred four days after he was pulled from a game against Toronto with groin tightness.

Although Arrieta’s arrival didn’t get a fraction of the attention that Stephen Strasburg received in Washington on Tuesday, there was still a buzz in the ballpark — and more fans in attendance (27,064) than in each of the previous two games of the series.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Brett Cecil won his fifth consecutive start, Alex Gonzalez homered and drove in two runs and Toronto beat Tampa Bay.

Cecil (7-2) allowed one run and three hits over 6 2-3 innings. The left-hander has given up six earned runs in 36 1-3 innings over that stretch.

The Blue Jays had been outscored 19-1 in losing the first two games of the three-game series.

Carlos Pena hit his 129th homer with Tampa Bay, which set a franchise record. The Rays have won six of nine against Toronto this season.

Rays right-hander Wade Davis (5-6) gave up three runs and seven hits in seven-plus innings.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Wilson Betemit hit solo home runs from both sides of the plate and Joakim Soria picked up his 14th save in a hairy ninth inning and Kansas City beat Minnesota.

Betemit hit one left-handed in the second inning after Mitch Maier’s two-run shot to help the Royals jump out to an 8-1 lead, then hit one from the right side in the ninth. It was the sixth time in franchise history that a player has homered from both sides of the plate in the same game.

The Twins scored five runs in the seventh inning, then got two more in the ninth off Soria on a double by Joe Mauer and a single by Justin Morneau.

But Michael Cuddyer lined out to right field with the tying run on first base to end the game.

Bruce Chen (3-0) earned the win for the Royals.

A poor start from Scott Baker (5-5) and some uncharacteristically sloppy defense snapped a six-game winning streak at jam-packed Target Field, where they had their 28th sellout in 29 games.

CHICAGO (AP) — John Danks pitched seven innings of one-hit ball, Omar Vizquel homered and had a suicide-squeeze bunt, and Chicago beat Detroit.

A.J. Pierzynski also homered for the White Sox, who have won two straight games — just their fourth winning streak of any kind this season.

The only hit off Danks (5-5) was Carlos Guillen’s second-inning single. A pair of relievers finished the combined three-hitter, with Bobby Jenks getting his 10th save.

Vizquel connected for his first home run since last Aug. 7. It was the 2,724th hit for the 43-year-old infielder, tying Roberto Alomar for 54th on the career list.

Max Scherzer (2-6) allowed three runs and five hits in 7 1-3 innings. The Tigers are 6-12 during a recent slide.

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Trevor Cahill allowed one run in a career-high eight innings to win his fourth straight start and the Oakland Athletics beat nemesis Ervin Santana and the Los Angeles Angels.

Ryan Sweeney scored three times and Daric Barton drove in one run and scored two for the Athletics.

The A’s struck for two runs in the fourth and three in the fifth against Santana (6-4), who came into the game with an 11-2 record and a 1.50 ERA in 19 career appearances against Oakland. His ERA was the lowest any pitcher with at least 10 starts had against the A’s.

Cahill (5-2) was nicked only by an RBI single from Bobby Wilson in the fifth while extending his run of strong starts.

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Josh Hamilton homered for the fourth time in seven games, Michael Young went 3 for 4 with a homer, and Texas won its third straight over Seattle.

Hamilton got the Rangers’ offense rolling with a two-run homer in a three-run first.

Hamilton had three RBIs, giving him 13 during a seven-game homestand. Hamilton has driven in at least one run in seven straight games, the longest streak by a Ranger this season.

Texas improved to 8-2 against Seattle this season, outscoring the Mariners 31-6 in the final three games of the four-game series.

Tommy Hunter (2-0) allowed three runs — two earned — and five hits in six innings of his second major league start this season.

Ryan Rowland-Smith (0-5) allowed eight runs — four earned — and 11 hits over 5 2-3 innings.