It took two pitches for Adrian Gonzalez to make a major difference with the Dodgers.
Gonzalez hit a three-run homer a couple of hours after arriving at his new address, giving Clayton Kershaw all the offensive support he needed in 8-2 victory over Josh Johnson and the Miami Marlins on Saturday night in Los Angeles.
“It means a lot to have Adrian here because it gives us a lot more confidence,” Dodgers slugger Matt Kemp said. “I mean, this is a guy that can drive in 100-plus runs every year and is a possible 40-home run guy. He really knows the National League well and he’s had a lot of success here, so he’s definitely going to help us tremendously.”
Los Angeles acquired Gonzalez, Carl Crawford, Josh Beckett and Nick Punto earlier in the day in a blockbuster trade with Boston. During a postgame press conference at home plate with Beckett and Punto, Gonzalez wore a Mickey Mouse T-shirt — even though he was 35 miles from Disneyland.
Royals 10, Red Sox 9
In Boston, Just a few hours after their blockbuster traded with the Dodgers, the Red Sox squandered a six-run lead in a loss to the Royals.
Tony Abreu singled home the go-ahead run off Junichi Tazawa in the 12th inning as the Red Sox wasted a season-high 20 hits.
The Red Sox took a 9-3 lead after four innings lead thanks to four hits from Gonzalez’s replacement, Mauro Gomez, including his first major league homer.
The Royals made it 9-all with six runs in the seventh — all of them with two outs, including a game-tying, two-run triple by Mike Moustakas.
Mike Aviles hit a three-run homer for Boston, which essentially conceded the season by sending three of its underperforming stars to Los Angeles in a salary purge that will save more than $250 million through 2018.
Orioles 8, Blue Jays 2
In Baltimore, J.J. Hardy homered and scored three runs, rookie Steve Johnson allowed four hits over six innings and the Orioles (69-57) equaled their win total of last season with 36 games remaining.
Winners of 14 of 20 since Aug. 3, the Orioles are tied for the second wild card and just four games out of first place in the AL East.
Blue Jays right fielder Jose Bautista was put back on the disabled list with discomfort in his left wrist, one day after returning from a 5½-week DL stint with inflammation in that wrist.