Detroit prevails in 11th

Associated Press

DETROIT — Alex Avila’s two-run homer with two outs in the bottom of the 11th inning gave the Detroit Tigers a wild 13-12 victory over Boston on Sunday, leaving the Red Sox winless in three games under new manager Bobby Valentine.

Detroit trailed 10-7 when Miguel Cabrera tied the game with a three-run shot off Alfredo Aceves in the ninth. Boston then scored twice in the 11th, but Mark Melancon (0-2) couldn’t hold the lead.

Cabrera and Prince Fielder singled before a wild pitch sent Cabrera to third and Delmon Young’s sacrifice fly cut the margin in half. Avila followed with a drive to right and Cody Ross tried to make a leaping catch, but the ball appeared to hit a restraining gate just above the wall before caroming back onto the field.

Duane Below (2-0) got one out for the win — even though Detroit manager Jim Leyland said he wouldn’t be available — and the Tigers completed a three-game sweep in a game that lasted 4 hours, 45 minutes.

Boston is without newly acquired closer Andrew Bailey, who had surgery on his right thumb. Melancon and Aceves are the primary candidates to close in Bailey’s absence, and both blew saves on Sunday.

RAYS 3

YANKEES 0

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Jeremy Hellickson came within one out of a three-hitter on his birthday and Tampa Bay beat New York to complete a season-opening sweep and match the best start in club history.

Carlos Pena and Jeff Keppinger homered for Tampa Bay, which also started with three consecutive wins in 2002.

New York is 0-3 for the first time since 1998, when it went on to win 114 games and the World Series. The last time the Yankees and Red Sox both opened with three straight losses was 1966, according to STATS LLC.

Celebrating his 25th birthday, Hellickson (1-0) limited the Yankees to three doubles. The 2011 AL Rookie of the Year walked four, struck out four and was one out from his third career complete game and second shutout when he was replaced by Fernando Rodney after 118 pitches.

Rodney, an offseason addition to the bullpen, got the win in Friday’s season opener and then earned saves in each of the next two games.

Pena homered off starter Phil Hughes (0-1) in the third. Another offseason acquisition, Keppinger hit a solo shot off Boone Logan in the sixth.

RANGERS 5, WHITE SOX 0

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Matt Harrison pitched six scoreless innings, and Josh Hamilton, Adrian Beltre and David Murphy homered to power Texas over Chicago.

Hamilton’s first homer of the season was a 441-foot blast that landed in the second deck of seats high above the Rangers’ bullpen in right-center field. That was leading off the sixth against Gavin Floyd (0-1), putting Texas up 4-0 right after Harrison threw his last pitch.

Harrison (1-0) worked out of a jam in the top of the sixth when A.J. Pierzynski struck out with two runners on base. He struck out three and walked two while giving up four hits.

Mark Lowe, Robbie Ross and Koji Uehara each worked a scoreless inning of relief for Texas

Floyd gave up five runs — four earned — in 5 2-3 innings, striking out three and walking two.

ORIOLES 3, TWINS 1

BALTIMORE (AP) — Jason Hammel took a no-hitter into the eighth inning in his Baltimore debut and the Orioles beat Minnesota for a three-game sweep.

Hammel (1-0) faced the minimum 21 batters through seven innings, allowing two walks, before Justin Morneau ended the no-hit bid with a leadoff double off the right-field wall in the eighth.

Josh Willingham followed with an RBI double and Sean Burroughs drew a one-out walk before Hammel finished by striking out Luke Hughes and retiring Ben Revere on a fly to right.

Jim Johnson worked the ninth to earn his second save and complete the two-hitter.

Hammel came to Baltimore in February in the trade that sent Jeremy Guthrie to Colorado.

J.J. Hardy homered for the Orioles, who have won seven straight over the Twins by a collective score of 39-9. The streak began with a four-game sweep last August in Minnesota.

The Twins scored only five runs in the series. The only other times Minnesota started 0-3 were 1969 and 1981.

Twins starter Anthony Swarzak (0-1) performed admirably in place of Liam Hendriks, hospitalized over the weekend with apparent food poisoning. Swarzak, normally a long reliever, gave up one run and four hits in five innings.

ROYALS 7, ANGELS 3

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Eric Hosmer and Billy Butler homered and drove in three runs apiece, and Kansas City beat Los Angeles to take two of three in their season-opening series.

Jonathan Sanchez (1-0) got through five innings to win his first start with the Royals, who dampened the revamped Angels’ much-hyped home debut with two victories after getting shut out on opening day.

Albert Pujols went 2 for 3 with a double and two walks, driving in his first run for the Angels with a first-inning groundout. Los Angeles’ new $240 million slugger went 3 for 10 with two doubles in his first three games at Angel Stadium.

Vernon Wells homered in the eighth, but Ervin Santana (0-1) yielded seven hits and six runs while failing to get out of the sixth inning.

With two on, Jonathan Broxton struck out Torii Hunter, Wells and Kendrys Morales for an impressive finish to his first save for the Royals.

INDIANS 4, BLUE JAYS 3

CLEVELAND (AP) — Carlos Santana hit two home runs on his 26th birthday, Derek Lowe pitched seven strong innings and Cleveland beat Toronto for its first win.

Santana opened the second inning with a drive to center. He connected a second time off Joel Carreno (0-1) in the fifth, a two-run shot to right that broke a 2-all tie.

It was Santana’s second career multihomer game. On his last four birthdays, including two years in the minors, Santana is 10 for 17 with five homers and 13 RBIs.

Lowe (1-0) got 15 outs on grounders and allowed two unearned runs in his Indians debut. Chris Perez pitched a shaky ninth for the save. Toronto loaded the bases, but Perez got slugger Jose Bautista to pop out to end it.

Associated Press

CHICAGO (AP) — Adam LaRoche homered and matched a career high with four hits, and the Washington Nationals again rallied late against Kerry Wood and Carlos Marmol, scoring five runs in the eighth to beat the Chicago Cubs 7-4 on Sunday.

LaRoche drove a two-run shot off Matt Garza in the fourth. The Cubs chased Gio Gonzalez with three in the bottom half to go up 4-2. But Washington sent up 11 batters in the eighth and hammered Wood (0-1) and Marmol again after they faltered in a 2-1 loss on Thursday.

Ryan Mattheus (1-0) got the win. Henry Rodriguez struck out three in the ninth, and four relievers combined to shut out the Cubs over the final 5 1-3 innings after Gonzalez struggled.

METS 4, BRAVES 2

NEW YORK (AP) — Lucas Duda homered twice and became the first player to take advantage of the pulled-in fences at Citi Field, leading R.A. Dickey and the Mets over Atlanta.

David Wright kept hitting with a homer and two singles as the Mets improved to 2-0 for the first time since 2009.

Josh Thole lined a go-ahead single with two outs in the fifth inning off well-traveled Livan Hernandez, making his first regular-season relief appearance since his major league debut in 1996.

Martin Prado hit a two-run homer for Atlanta.

Dickey (1-0) kept the Braves off-balance with his knuckler for six innings, allowing five hits and working around four walks.

DIAMONDBACKS 5, GIANTS 4

PHOENIX (AP) — Aaron Hill hit two homers, Chris Young had a pair of run-scoring doubles and the quick-striking Diamondbacks beat San Francisco.

The kings of the comeback last season, the Diamondbacks have been fast starters in 2012, scoring seven runs the first two innings their first two games.

Hill drove in three of those: A solo homer off Madison Bumgarner (0-1) in the first inning and a two-run shot in the second. Young also hit the first of his RBI doubles in the first, giving starter Daniel Hudson (1-0) just enough cushion to open with a victory after struggling early last season.

J.J. Putz worked a perfect ninth for his second straight save.

Pablo Sandoval and Brett Pill each hit two-run homers for the Giants.

BREWERS 6, CARDINALS 0

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Corey Hart homered twice, Zack Greinke pitched four-hit ball for seven innings and the Brewers beat the Cardinals.

Rickie Weeks homered while Aramis Ramirez and Carlos Gomez added RBI doubles for the Brewers. Ryan Braun had a pair of doubles and drew a walk after going 0 for 5 on Friday.

Greinke (1-0) continued the dominant form he showed at Miller Park all last season. He didn’t walk a batter and struck out seven.

Adam Wainwright (0-1), who missed all of the 2011 season after having elbow surgery, went 5 2-3 innings, giving up four hits and three runs with a walk and six strikeouts.

PIRATES 2, PHILLIES 1, 10 INNINGS

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Alex Presley singled with two outs in the bottom of the 10th to lift the Pirates over Philadelphia.

Rod Barajas, brought in by the Pirates to provide some power, doubled off Philadelphia reliever Joe Blanton (0-1) leading off the inning and pinch-runner Mike McKenry came home three batters later when Presley beat out an infield single.

Juan Cruz (1-0), a non-roster invitee to spring training, won in relief. Presley had two of Pittsburgh’s six hits.

Cliff Lee gave up one run in six innings for Philadelphia.

ASTROS 7, ROCKIES 3

HOUSTON (AP) — The National League’s youngest team gave baseball’s oldest player fits.

J.D. Martinez homered and drove in three runs and the Astros beat 49-year-old Jamie Moyer and the Rockies.

Jordan Schafer homered leading off for the Astros and Martinez’s two-run shot in the fourth made it 3-0.

With gray stubble covering his chin and hair of the same color peeking out the edge of his cap, Moyer (0-1) become the oldest player to appear in a game since 1980, when 54-year-old Minnie Minoso played in a game for the White Sox, according to statistics provided by the Rockies from the Elias Sports bureau.

Houston starter Lucas Harrell (1-0) yielded three hits in seven scoreless innings for the win.

Moyer allowed five hits and three runs in five innings.

MARLINS 8, REDS 3

CINCINNATI (AP) — Giancarlo Stanton led Miami out of its early slump, getting three hits and driving in three runs, and the Marlins beat the Cincinnati Reds for their first victory of the season.

Omar Infante, Hanley Ramirez and John Buck homered for the Marlins. Infante also had a double and a triple. With a chance to become the first Marlin to hit for the cycle, Infante flied out in the ninth inning.

Stanton, who went by the name “Mike” when he hit 34 homers last season, provided the go-ahead runs with a bases-loaded single off Mat Latos (0-1).

Ricky Nolasco (1-0) gave up six hits in eight innings, including Joey Votto’s first homer since signing a new contract.

DODGERS 6, PADRES 5, 11 INNINGS

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Dee Gordon singled in the go-ahead run with two outs in the 11th inning and the Dodgers, who blew a five-run lead in the fifth, beat San Diego for their third straight win.

It was Dee’s third hit of the night. He also walked twice, stole three bases and scored twice.

A.J. Ellis, who homered in the fourth, started the winning rally with a leadoff single off Anthony Bass (0-1) and was sacrificed by Justin Sellers. With two outs, Gordon singled down the right field line to bring in Ellis from second.

Todd Coffey (1-0) pitched the 10th for the win and Javy Guerra pitched the 11th for his second save in as many chances.