TORONTO — Gustavo Chacin made a strong first start, Jason Phillips hit a tiebreaking double and B.J. Ryan got his second save, leading the Toronto Blue Jays over the Minnesota Twins 6-3 Thursday night.
Chacin (1-0) allowed three runs and six hits in 6 2/3 innings. He struck out four and walked one. The left-hander went 13-9 with a 3.72 ERA in his rookie season.
Ryan, signed to a $47 million, five-year contract — the richest ever for a reliever — entered in the ninth to loud cheers. He walked one and struck out one.
Lyle Overbay tripled and hit an RBI single for the Blue Jays, who took two of three in the opening series. Despite all the offseason additions to Toronto's roster, attendance was just 16,221.
DEVIL RAYS 2, ORIOLES 0: At Baltimore, Mark Hendrickson pitched a three-hitter and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays won their first game for rookie manager Joe Maddon. After scoring 25 runs in the first two games of the three-game series, the Orioles failed to get a runner past second base against Hendrickson (1-0). The 6-foot-9 left-hander walked one and struck out five in his fifth career complete game — the third against Baltimore.
Hendrickson outpitched Kris Benson (0-1), who allowed two runs and four hits over seven innings in his debut with the Orioles. Benson struck out three and walked three.
The victory enabled the Devil Rays to avoid the first 0-3 start in franchise history.
Carl Crawford singled in a run and Jonny Gomes hit a sacrifice fly in the third inning for the Devil Rays.
TIGERS 10, RANGERS 6: At Arlington, Texas, knuckleballer R.A. Dickey (0-1) allowed six home runs, tying the post-1900 major league record in the Texas Rangers' 10-6 loss to the Tigers. Five of the homers were solo shots. The only major league pitcher to give up more homers was Charlie Sweeney of the St. Louis Maroons, who allowed seven at the Detroit Wolverines in an American Association game on June 12, 1886 (see story in baseball briefs at right).