Giant slayer

SAN FRANCISCO (Yonhap) ― Ryu Hyun-jin of the Los Angeles Dodgers picked up his 12th win of the Major League Baseball season on Sunday against the San Francisco Giants, holding the National League West rivals to three earned runs in six innings.

Ryu also struck out seven and walked one in his six frames to improve to 12-5 for the year. His ERA went up slightly from 3.39 to 3.44.

Ryu is well ahead of the pace from his rookie season in 2013, when he didn’t get his 12th win until Aug. 13. He ended last season at 14-8 with a 3.00 ERA.

With the win, the Dodgers improved to 59-47, best in the NL West, while the Giants fell to 57-48, 1 1/2 games back of L.A.

Ryu retired the first six batters he faced on just 17 pitches, but walked Dan Uggla to start the third inning. He struck out the next two batters before giving up two straight singles, the latter an infield hit by Hunter Pence that gave the Giants a 1-0 lead.

The Dodgers tied things up in the fourth on Juan Uribe’s RBI single.

In the bottom half of the inning, Brandon Crawford hit a two-out single to restore the Giants’ one-run lead.

The Dodgers weren’t going away, putting runners on second and third with one out. Adrian Gonzalez went down swinging on a pitch down in the dirt with two strikes, and when catcher Buster Posey threw to first to complete the strikeout, the speedy Dee Gordon charged home from third to tie the game again.

Later in the same inning, Hanley Ramirez hit a go-ahead single, and Carl Crawford followed up with a triple that brought home Ramirez for a 4-2 lead.

Ryu gave up a solo shot to Posey with two outs in the fifth but the Giants couldn’t get any closer. Ryu retired the side in order in the sixth and handed things over to the bullpen to start the seventh.

Before Sunday, Ryu had been 7-2 with a 2.73 ERA in 10 starts on the road. 

A’s down Rangers 9-3

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) ― It doesn’t matter to John Jaso whether he’s Oakland’s leadoff batter, as long as he’s playing. For the Athletics, he’s extremely important at the top of the order, especially with Coco Crisp hurting.

Jaso drove in three runs Sunday night, helping Scott Kazmir and Oakland beat the Texas Rangers 9-3. The A’s catcher had a run-scoring single during a five-run second inning and added a two-run double in the fifth.

“I like (leadoff) because I’m in the lineup,” Jaso said. “I don’t care where.”

Manager Bob Melvin said Crisp, who has led off in 69 of the Athletics’ 105 games, was going back to Oakland to be examined by the doctors who have been treating a recurring neck injury.

“When Coco’s out, we certainly need a guy against right-handers,” Melvin said. “(Jaso) takes a lot of pitches, and he can be aggressive.”

Jaso was leading off for the 15th time this season and has had at least one hit each game while batting .380 (19 for 50) in that role. He entered the game with an overall .360 on-base percentage.

The Athletics’ first three batters ― Jaso, Stephen Vogt and Yoenis Cespedes ― each had a double and a single, and Josh Reddick added three singles.

Kazmir (12-3) moved into a tie for the American League lead in wins while allowing seven hits in five innings. He walked two and struck out two.

“It was maybe not his best command at times,” Melvin said. “But seeing him be so good this season, that five-inning outing doesn’t look so good.” 


Red Sox end 5-game skid

ST. PETERSBURG, Florida (AP) ― The Tampa Bay Rays didn’t like the way David Ortiz acted after he helped beat them with a three-run homer, and now it’s back on between the teams at the bottom of the AL East.

Ortiz’s shot off Chris Archer lifted the Boston Red Sox to a 3-2 victory Sunday that ended their five-game losing streak and also stopped the Rays’ nine-game winning string.

Archer (6-6) made a point of saying he didn’t appreciate Ortiz staring him down and flipping his bat before beginning his home run trot.

“He’s not the right guy to be saying that, I don’t think,” Ortiz said.

“He’s got two days in the league,” the slugger said, adding a couple of expletives.

Ortiz’s 25th home run came after a walk and Dustin Pedroia’s infield single in the third inning, giving Boston a 3-0 lead. It was his fifth homer in seven games and his 29th at Tropicana Field, most among visiting players.

Toronto 5, NY Yankees 4

Washington 4, Cincinnati 2

Philadelphia 4, Arizona 2

Cleveland 10, Kansas City 3

NY Mets 2, Milwaukee 0

Minnesota 4, Chicago White Sox 3

Miami 4, Houston 2

St. Louis 1, Chicago Cubs 0

LA Angels 2, Detroit 1

Baltimore 3, Seattle 2

Pittsburgh 7, Colorado 5

Atlanta 8, San Diego 3