Five for Five: MLB teams in California win on Wednesday

Posted: Aug 29, 2012 10:56 PM by Andrew Masuda

All five California teams in the Major Leagues on Wednesday.

Wilson ends 2-month skid, Angels rout Red Sox 10-3
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) - Kendrys Morales and Chris Iannetta hit early two-run homers, C.J. Wilson snapped his 11-start winless skid and the Los Angeles Angels jumped all over new Boston starter Zach Stewart in a 10-3 victory over the Red Sox on Wednesday night.

Torii Hunter, Alberto Callaspo and Erick Aybar all contributed run-scoring doubles during the three innings pitched by Stewart (0-1), who yielded 10 hits and fell behind 9-1 in a horrific Red Sox debut. Five Angels had multihit games, led by Hunter's 3-for-4 effort with two RBIs.

Wilson (10-9) got plenty of help in his first victory since June 26, ending a dismaying two-month stretch of futility by the Angels' $77.5-million left-hander.

Surging Athletics beat slumping Indians 8-4
CLEVELAND (AP) - Josh Donaldson hit a three-run homer and five Oakland Athletics pitchers combined to beat the Cleveland Indians 8-4 on Wednesday night.

Oakland took over the AL wild-card lead by one game over Baltimore with its 11th win in 13 games as Travis Blackley (5-3) gave up two runs over 5 2-3 innings. Ryan Cook got four outs for his 13th save.

Donaldson connected off rookie Corey Kluber (0-3) in the fourth inning for a 3-2 lead. Shoddy fielding by the Indians, losers of 13 of 14, helped the Athletics later extend the lead.

Jason Donald's homer in the third broke the Indians' 24-inning scoreless streak, but they fell to 5-26 since July 27.

Pence, Arias lead Giants over Astros 6-4
HOUSTON (AP) - Hunter Pence hit a three-run homer and Joaquin Arias drove in two with a triple to help the San Francisco Giants to a 6-4 win over the Houston Astros on Wednesday night.

Pence has been a nightmare for the Astros since they traded him away in July 2011, hitting four homers in just seven games against his former team with the Phillies and Giants.

The Giants had a 1-0 lead before Pence's 19th homer pushed the lead to 4-0 and elicited the loudest cheers of the night from the sparse crowd.

Houston cut the lead to 1 before Arias' triple in the sixth inning, which came after an error by the Astros, pushed the advantage to 6-3.

George Kontos (1-0) struck out four in 2 2-3 scoreless innings for his first big league win. Dallas Keuchel (1-7) took the loss.

Blanton, Ellis lead Dodgers over Rockies 10-8
DENVER (AP) - Joe Blanton pitched effectively into the eighth inning for his first win with the Los Angeles Dodgers and A.J. Ellis hit his first career grand slam in a 10-8 win over the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday.

Hanley Ramirez, another mid-season acquisition by the Dodgers, also homered in his second straight game to help the Dodgers withstand a late rally that saw Colorado score seven runs in the eighth inning.

Blanton (9-12), who was 0-3 with a 7.71 ERA in four previous starts since joining the Dodgers in an Aug. 3 trade with Philadelphia, struck out five and walked one in 7 1-3 innings.

Drew Pomeranz (1-8) lost his fifth consecutive decision since his lone win of the season July 6 against Washington. He allowed six runs on six hits, walked none and struck out four.

New owners watch Padres beat Braves 8-2
SAN DIEGO (AP) - With their new owners watching, Chase Headley and the San Diego Padres beat the Atlanta Braves 8-2 Wednesday for their ninth win in 10 games.

Headley hit a two-run single and left-hander Eric Stults won his fourth straight decision as the Padres took two of three from the Braves, who lead the NL wild-card race.

The third generation of the O'Malley family was introduced at a news conference earlier Wednesday, promising to run the Padres in the same first-class manner that Walter and Peter O'Malley once ran the Dodgers. The new ownership group includes Peter O'Malley's sons, Kevin and Brian, and nephews Peter and Tom Seidler. It also includes San Diego businessman Ron Fowler, the executive chairman who has been designated as the team's control person. The group bought the Padres for $800 million from John Moores.