American League Game Capsules - Chicago Tribune

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American League Game Capsules - Chicago Tribune Apr 7th 2012, 07:32 Arlington, TX — Michael Young singled home the go-ahead run in the bottom of the sixth, while Ian Kinsler hit a solo homer and scored two runs as the Texas Rangers opened their season with a 3-2 win over the Chicago White Sox on Friday. Josh Hamilton went 2-for-3 with an RBI and run scored for Texas, which began its quest for a third straight American League pennant. Colby Lewis (1-0) allowed two runs on seven hits and one walk in six innings while striking out nine. Joe Nathan picked up his first save as a Ranger with a 1-2-3 ninth. Adam Dunn tied an MLB Opening Day record with his eighth home run while John Danks (0-1) gave up three runs on six hits in six innings. Robin Ventura, who played for the White Sox from 1989-98, made his managerial debut for Chicago. Final Score: Baltimore 4, Minnesota 2 Baltimore, MD (Sports Network) - Jake Arrieta tossed seven shutout innings and the Baltimore Orioles celebrated the 20th anniversary of Camden Yards with a 4-2 win over the Minnesota Twins in the season opener for both clubs on Friday. Arrieta (1-0) yielded just two hits while fanning four and walking two batters in his first career Opening Day start. Jim Johnson got the final two outs in the top of the ninth to earn his first save of 2012. Nick Markakis led the offensive charge for the O's, going 2-for-3 with a two- run home run, three RBI, and two runs scored while Matt Wieters knocked in the other run on an RBI groundout. The Orioles look to rebound from a poor 2011 campaign in which they went 69-93 and finished last in the AL East. Carl Pavano (0-1) was tagged with the loss after giving up four runs on five hits over seven full frames. Josh Willingham crushed a two-run homer for the Twins, who finished last in the AL Central a year ago with a 63-99 mark, their worst record since losing 102 games in 1982. Final Score: Tampa Bay 7, New York 6 St. Petersburg, FL (Sports Network) - After Evan Longoria sent Tampa Bay into the postseason on the final day of last year's regular season, the Rays kicked off 2012 with another dramatic come-from-behind victory over the New York Yankees. Carlos Pena, who launched a grand slam in his first at-bat since rejoining the Rays, singled in the game-winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning as the Rays defeated the Yankees, 7-6, in the season opener for both teams. Fernando Rodney (1-0) tossed a 1-2-3 ninth for the Rays, who used Boston's monumental September collapse to sneak into the postseason last year as the wild-card. They rallied from a 7-0, eighth-inning deficit in the 162nd game last year to beat the Yankees 8-7 in 12 innings. Longoria, who went 3- for-3 with two runs scored and an RBI on Friday, laced the game-winning home run. Newly acquired designated hitter Raul Ibanez smacked a three-run home run, while Alex Rodriguez went 2-for-3 with two runs scored and Robinson Cano added two hits for New York. Mariano Rivera (0-1) registered 44 saves a year ago, but blew his first opportunity for one in 2012. Final Score: Seattle 7, Oakland 3 Oakland, CA (Sports Network) - Chone Figgins and Kyle Seager each knocked in two runs, helping the Seattle Mariners beat the Oakland Athletics, 7-3, in the opener of a two-game series. These two teams started the United States leg of their schedules on Friday after kicking off the Major League Baseball season with two games at the Tokyo Dome in Japan in late March. Ichiro Suzuki and Jesus Montero each drove in a run for the Mariners, who had 13 hits. Jason Vargas (1-0) gave up two runs on five hits over 5 1/3 innings to pick up his first win of the season. He improved to 1-3 in six games in Oakland. Overall against the A's, Vargas is 4-4 in 11 games (nine starts). Yoenis Cespedes hit a two-run homer and became the first player in Oakland Athletics history to homer twice in his first three major league games. Since 1918, the only other Athletic to homer twice in his first three games is fellow Cuban, Bert Campaneris. Brandon McCarthy (0-1) allowed five runs -- two earned -- on seven hits over five full frames. He fell to 2-6 lifetime against Seattle. Final Score: LA Angels of Anaheim 5, Kansas City 0 Anaheim, CA (Sports Network) - Jered Weaver tossed eight scoreless innings of four-hit ball and struck out 10 and the Angels scored five runs in the bottom of the eighth inning for a 5-0 victory over the Royals on Friday in the season opener for both teams. The teams combined for just seven hits over the first 7 1/2 innings, but the Angels tallied three straight singles off reliever Aaron Crow (0-1) to load the bases with one out in the bottom of the eighth. Peter Bourjos fell behind new pitcher Greg Holland 0-2 but sent a dribbler toward shortstop Alcides Escobar, who bobbled the ball slightly as the Angels scored the first run. Erick Aybar then broke the game open, lacing a three-run triple down the right-field line to give the Angels a 4-0 lead before Torii Hunter added an RBI single to account for the final score. Albert Pujols made his regular-season debut for the Angels and finished 0- for-3 with a walk, while Weaver (1-0) improved to 3-1 in opening day starts. Kansas City starter Bruce Chen allowed just three hits in six innings, but was lifted in the seventh for Crow. Jeff Francoeur had the only extra-base hit for the Royals, who finished 20 games below .500 at 71-91 last season. 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