New York Yankees first baseman Greg Bird hits second two run home run in the sixth inning against the Minnesota Twins at Yankee Stadium. PICTURE: USA TODAY Sports

The Sports Xchange/New York

Rookie first baseman Greg Bird hit two, two-run home runs while right-hander Nathan Eovaldi took a perfect game into the sixth inning as the New York Yankees beat the Minnesota Twins 4-3 on Wednesday.
Bird became the third Yankee since 1914 with a multi-home-run game within his first five major-league games.
“It was a good day,” said Bird, who is filling in for the injured Mark Teixeira. “We’re just trying to win games here.
“Anything I can do to help. That’s all I’m trying to do, nothing more, nothing less.”
Bird’s performance helped the Yankees win for the sixth time in seven games since last Thursday after he was recalled from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and made his debut in an 8-6 win at Cleveland.
Bird connected on a 0-1 changeup off Ervin Santana (2-4) in the fourth inning and sent it to the second deck in right field.
Two innings later, Bird drove a 1-0 fastball into the Yankees’ bullpen beyond the center field wall.
The second home run earned the 22-year-old a curtain call from the 38,086 fans at Yankee Stadium after he was urged out off the dugout by right fielder Carlos Beltran.
Bird’s first career home run was actually a subplot at the time because Eovaldi (13-2) retired the first 12 hitters on 56 pitches.
He retired four more before losing his perfect-game bid with one out in the sixth when catcher Chris Herrmann blooped a 101 mph fastball behind third baseman Chase Headley and into shallow left field.
“It came in so fast,” Herrmann said of the pitch that he managed to connect with. “By the time I swung, I was starting my swing, the ball was already in the catcher’s glove, it seems like.”
Herrmann’s single actually began a three-run inning for Minnesota with Joe Mauer driving in two runs, while Trevor Plouffe drove in another with a single.
“I felt really good today,” Eovaldi said after allowing three runs and four hits in seven innings.
“I felt locked in from the first pitch. I’m aware of it but just try to go out there and stay aggressive and keep attacking the hitters.”
Santana lost his fourth successive decision and allowed the two home runs among seven hits in 7-2/3 innings.  “To me, it was only one bad pitch. It was the changeup, that’s it,” Santana said of Bird’s first homer.
“The other one was a very good pitch. He hit it very good. I know probably in another park, that’s a double.
“Here, it’s a joke.”

Three successive homers power Rangers past Mariners
The Texas Rangers hit three successive home runs in a four-pitch sequence against Seattle left-hander Joe Beimel in the seventh inning to break open a close game and roll to a 7-2 victory over the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday.
Texas led 3-2 going into the bottom of the seventh against Beimel when designated hitter Mitch Moreland crushed a two-run homer that just cleared the fence in right.
First baseman Mike Napoli followed with a 446-foot homer to center and then shortstop Elvis Andrus lined a homer to left, giving the Rangers back-to-back-to-back homers for the eighth time in franchise history.
“It was a big inning for us,” said Moreland, who had three RBIs. “We had two big innings today and that happened to be a good one late in the ball game.
“It gave us a little extra cushion there, and I was glad I was able to get a decent pitch and get us started. You’ve got to tip your hat to everybody today.”
The last time Texas hit three consecutive homers was May 26, 2012, against the Toronto Blue Jays. “It was kind of like I was throwing though mud,” said Beimel, who begun the seventh inning in an ominous tone when he hit lead-off batter Choo Shin-soo. “I haven’t had my stuff in like a week and a half, I think. Today was definitely no exception.”
Left-hander Derek Holland, who made his first start for the Rangers since April 10 after recovering from a strained left shoulder muscle, was overshadowed by the outburst.
He allowed two runs on eight hits in 6-1/3 innings. He struck out six and did not walk a batter.
Holland did not give up a run until Seattle designated hitter Mark Trumbo homered in the fifth. He had pitched just one inning before getting hurt in his first start of the season was glad to be back in the mix.
“It’s huge,” he said. “I’ve got to go out there every time and help these guys win. “I’ve got to give them a chance to win, and today I thought I did a good job. I battled.” Texas scored three runs in the first inning off Seattle left-hander Mike Montgomery with Moreland hitting an RBI single, while Andrus had a two-run single. Montgomery (4-6) allowed three runs on six hits in six innings. He walked four and struck out three.

Strasburg climbs all over Rockies as Nats rally for win
Washington right-hander Stephen Strasburg smothered the Colorado hitters once more and Jayson Werth broke a tie with a two-run triple in the eighth inning as the Nationals beat the Rockies 4-1 on Wednesday.
Both teams scored on wild pitches and the Nationals tallied all their runs with two outs as they won back-to-back games for the first time since July 30 with the victory over a slumping Rockies team.
Strasburg (7-6) came off the disabled list Aug. 8 and on that day limited the Rockies to one run and three hits in seven innings with no walks and 12 strikeouts in Washington.
While winning for the first time in three starts at Coors Field and picking up his 50th career victory on Wednesday, Strasburg allowed one unearned run and two hits in seven innings. He struck out five without issuing a walk.
“He went out there from pitch one to the last pitch that he threw... it was total control of the game,” said Nationals closer Jonathan Papelbon, who earned his third save with the Nationals since being acquired in a July 28 trade.
“He knew exactly what he wanted to do and executed it.”
In three starts since being reinstated from the disabled list, Strasburg is 1-1 with a 1.35 ERA, two walks and 25 strikeouts.
Strasburg gave up a run in the second. Washington first baseman Ryan Zimmerman made an error on a ball hit by Ben Paulsen, allowing the Colorado first baseman to reach second. He then took third on a groundout and scored on a wild pitch.
The pitcher retired 17 of the final 18 batters he faced, including the final 10 after Paulsen reached base. “I think teams try to get me early,” Strasburg said. “Because I know when I get a feeling, when I start to settle down, command all my pitches, it’s a little bit tougher.”
Rockies starter Jorge De La Rosa pitched six scoreless innings and departed with a 1-0 lead before Gonzalez Germen came on in the seventh and gave up a two-out double to right fielder Bryce Harper.
Germen then walked third baseman Yunel Escobar on four pitches and shortstop Ian Desmond on five to load the bases, then threw a wild pitch that tied the score at 1-1.
Rafael Betancourt (2-4) retired the first two batters he faced in the eighth before catcher Wilson Ramos singled and pinch hitter Clint Robinson walked, bringing up Werth, who lined an opposite-field triple to right to put the Nationals ahead.
Zimmerman’s single to shallow right brought in Escobar in the top of the ninth to complete the scoring. The win was Washington’s 11th in the past 31 games and it nudged the Nationals back over .500 at 60-59.