Red Sox rally past Rangers

BOSTON (AP) ― Instant replay, meet the Pesky Pole.

David Ortiz hit a three-run homer high over Fenway Park’s right-field foul pole on Wednesday, helping the Boston Red Sox rally for a 4-2 victory over the Texas Rangers. The fair call was confirmed by a replay review, according to Major League Baseball’s replay Twitter account.

“It was pretty close, but I knew it was fair,” said Ortiz, who watched the ball sail into the seats before leaving the batter’s box. “I wanted to make sure it was fair. I wanted to keep watching it.”

The Rangers took a 2-1 lead in the top of the eighth and brought in Neal Cotts to face Ortiz with one out and two on in the bottom half. Ortiz, who had been 0 for 5 with five strikeouts against Cotts, lined a 1-1 fastball down the right-field line.

Because the ball was much higher than the pole, which was named for former Red Sox shortstop Johnny Pesky, it was hard to tell where it crossed into foul territory. The pole is just 302 feet from home plate. “From our angle, it’s extremely difficult to tell,” Red Sox manager John Farrell said. “We felt like it would be inconclusive at best with any type of replay that was available.”

Umpire Jerry Meals signaled a home run. Rangers manager Ron Washington waited until Ortiz crossed home plate and came out to ask for a review. After a brief chat with home plate umpire Jordan Baker, the crew went to the visitors’ dugout and returned a short time later to confirm the original ruling.

Tigers topple Dodgers

LOS ANGELES (AP) ― Victor Martinez helped the Detroit Tigers overcome the struggles of Joe Nathan.

The Detroit Tigers’ closer blew a three-run lead in the ninth inning Wednesday night against the Dodgers.

But Martinez picked him up in a big way with a leadoff home run in the 10th against Los Angeles closer Kenley Jansen, and Detroit pulled out a 7-6 victory in which both pitching staffs made a combined 382 pitches during the 4 hour, 16-minute marathon.

Oakland 7, Minnesota 4

Kansas City 7, Tampa Bay 3

Colorado 10, Chicago White Sox 4

Cleveland 2, San Diego 0 Gm. 1

San Diego 2, Cleveland 1 Gm. 2

Toronto 7, Houston 3

Baltimore 5, NY Yankees 4

Washington 10, Miami 7

Milwaukee 9, Philadelphia 4

Atlanta 4, NY Mets 3

Chicago Cubs 7, Pittsburgh 5

LA Angels 2, Seattle 0

Arizona 7, San Francisco 3

Cincinnati 4, St. Louis 0