Fielder ends HR drought, Rangers beat Mariners 5-0
Texas Rangers Prince Fielder is congratulated after his solo home run during the second inning of the MLB American League baseball game against the Seattle Mariners Tuesday, April 15, 2014, in Arlington, Texas. AP
ARLINGTON, Texas—Prince Fielder and Kevin Kouzmanoff hit back-to-back home runs, and Robbie Ross limited Seattle to five singles in seven-plus innings as the Texas Rangers beat the Mariners 5-0 Tuesday.
Fielder ended a 13-game homerless streak to start the American League season with his new team, hitting a line drive to right-center off former Texas first-round pick Blake Beavan (0-1) leading off the second inning. Two pitches later, Kouzmanoff went deep to left.
Kouzmanoff also had two doubles, the second one driving in two runs to put the Rangers up 4-0 in the eighth. Ross (1-0), a former reliever, got his first win as a starter in his third try as the Rangers recorded their third straight win by shutout and fourth in seven victories overall.
Fielder’s homer drought was the second-longest of his career to start the season. He twice went 14 games before his first long ball—in 2008 and 2010.
At Cincinnati, Mike Leake doubled and hit a two-run homer to end Gerrit Cole’s winning streak and lead the Cincinnati Reds to a 7-5 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates that completed two days full of homers and delays.
First, the National League Central rivals completed a game that was suspended in the sixth inning because of rain the previous night. Andrew McCutchen doubled and came around on Russell Martin’s single in the seventh inning, giving the Pirates an 8-7 win.
Leake, who has the most hits by a major league pitcher since 2010, doubled and scored in the third. He hit his third career homer in the sixth off Cole (2-1), who had won his last six starts.
Todd Frazier hit his second homer in two games and Joey Votto had four hits.
Neil Walker hit three of Pittsburgh’s seven homers in the two games.
The teams wore their customary uniforms for the completion of the suspended game, then switched to commemorative No. 42 Jackie Robinson jerseys for the later game.
Also in the NL, Giancarlo Stanton equaled a career high with five RBIs, including a three-run homer off Stephen Strasburg, as the Miami Marlins broke an eight-game losing streak by beating the Washington Nationals 11-2, while Hector Sanchez singled home the winning run with two outs in the 12th inning as the San Francisco Giants beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 3-2.
The St. Louis Cardinals downed the Milwaukee Brewers 6-1, the New York Mets trounced the Arizona Diamondbacks 9-0 and the Colorado Rockies were 3-2 winners over the San Diego Padres.
In the AL, Josh Donaldson drove in Jed Lowrie with an 11th-inning double as the Oakland Athletics overcame Mike Trout’s game-leveling homer in the ninth to beat the Los Angeles Angels 10-9..
Also, the Chicago White Sox edged the Boston Red Sox 2-1, the Kansas City Royals beat the Houston Astros 4-2 and the Toronto Blue Jays downed the Minnesota Twins 9-3.
