SCOREBOARD
Friday, April 20
New York at Boston (7:05 p.m. EDT). The Red Sox host the Yankees in the first of a three-game series.
STARS
Thursday
-Alex Rodriguez, Yankees, hit a three-run, two-out homer in the ninth to give New York an 8-6 victory and complete a three-game sweep of Cleveland.
-Manny Ramirez and Alex Cora, Red Sox. Ramirez hit a tying, two-run homer in the eighth inning and Cora had a go-ahead triple in the ninth in a 5-3 win over Toronto.
-J.J. Hardy, Brewers, had three hits, including a two-run homer, and four RBIs to help Milwaukee to a 7-5 win against Pittsburgh.
-Jeff Kent, Dodgers had three hits, two RBIs and scored two runs in an 8-1 win over Colorado.
AMAZING A-ROD
Gonzalez (2001) for the second-fastest to 10 homers behind Mike Schmidt (12 games in 1976), according to Elias. A-Rod is the first player with two game-ending homers this early in the season since Philadelphia’s Pat Burrell had two in the first nine games in 2002.
STREAKING
David Wright’s two-season hitting streak reached 26 games Thursday night, extending his franchise record and the Mets beat Florida 11-3.
OUT
Seattle ace Felix Hernandez will likely miss two to three starts with a muscle strain inside his right elbow and forearm. Hernandez had allowed just four hits in 17 scoreless innings – including a one-hitter at Boston last week – before he left his start Wednesday night against Minnesota after just one-third of an inning. He allowed three runs, walked two, threw a wild pitch that scored a run, then waived trainers out to the mound to remove him from the game because of the elbow tightness. The 21-year-old right-hander will not throw for five days, then will play catch.
ROLE REVERSAL
San Diego pitcher Jake Peavy drove in two runs with his first career triple and added a double for the Padres, who beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 11-6 on Thursday. He struck out eight but allowed five runs on 10 hits and two walks, and his ERA rose from 0.90 to 2.49 in the win.
SWEEPS
New York beat Cleveland 8-6 on Thursday to complete a three-game sweep of the Indians. … Minnesota held on to beat Seattle 6-5 to sweep the Mariners. … J.J. Hardy had four RBIs and Milwaukee beat Pittsburgh 7-5 to sweep the Pirates.
TRADE
The Texas Rangers and Red Sox swapped minor league pitchers Thursday, with left-hander Daniel Haigwood going to Boston for right-hander Scott Shoemaker and cash.
SPEAKING
“We needed this win going to Boston. Every game in Boston is a war.” – Alex Rodriguez, after his three-run homer capped a four-run ninth inning in New York’s 8-6 win over Cleveland.
SEASONS
April 20
1910 – Addie Joss of Cleveland pitched the second no-hitter of his career, a 1-0 win over the White Sox in Chicago.
1912 – Fenway Park was opened in Boston and the Red Sox defeated the visiting New York Yankees 7-6 in 11 innings. Tiger Stadium in Detroit also opened its doors as the Tigers defeated the Cleveland Indians 6-5.
1916 – The Chicago Cubs played their first game at Weeghman Park – renamed Wrigley Field in 1926 – defeating the Cincinnati Reds 7-6 in 11 innings.
1920 – Manager Gavvy Cravath of the Philadelphia Phillies inserted himself as a pinch hitter and beat the New York Giants with a three-run homer, 3-0. It was his last in the majors.
1937 – Gee Walker hit for the cycle on opening day to lead the Detroit Tigers to a 4-3 win over Cleveland. Walker hit the cycle in reverse order: home run, triple, double, single.
1938 – Cleveland’s Bob Feller pitched the first of 12 career one-hitters, beating the St. Louis Browns 9-0.
1939 – In his first major league game, Ted Williams hit a 400-foot double in four at-bats as the Boston Red Sox lost 2-0 to New York at Yankee Stadium.
1967 – Tom Seaver of the New York Mets recorded his first major league victory with a 6-1 triumph over the Chicago Cubs. Seaver went 7 2-3 innings and gave up eight hits and one run.
1982 – The Atlanta Braves recorded their 12th consecutive victory from the beginning of the season – a 4-2 decision over Cincinnati in Atlanta – and eclipsed the major league record set a year earlier by the Oakland A’s.
1988 – The Baltimore Orioles set a major league record with their 14th straight defeat at the start of the season, losing to the Milwaukee Brewers 8-6.
1990 – Seattle’s Brian Holman lost his bid for baseball’s 13th perfect game with two outs in the ninth inning on Ken Phelps’ pinch-hit home run in the Mariners’ 6-1 victory over the Oakland Athletics.
1997 – The Chicago Cubs stopped their season-opening losing streak at 14 games, rallying in the sixth inning to beat the New York Mets 4-3 in the second game of a doubleheader. The Mets won the opener 8-2. Chicago’s 0-14 start set a National League record and was the second worst behind the 1988 Baltimore Orioles, who began 0-21.
2001 – Carlos Delgado of the Blue Jays hit three homers for the second time this season, as Toronto beat the Kansas City Royals 12-4.
2006 – Julio Franco became the oldest player in major league history to hit a home run when he hit a two-run, pinch-hit shot in the eighth inning to help the New York Mets rally for a 7-2 win over San Diego. Franco, 47, replaced Athletics pitcher Jack Quinn in the record book who was 46 years, 357 days old when he homered on June 27, 1930.
Today’s birthday: Chris Duffy, 27.