Astros sink Twins

LOS ANGELES (AFP) — The Houston Astros launched their latest Major League Baseball playoff campaign with a 6-4 victory over Minnesota on Saturday as the regular season's three best teams, Atlanta, Baltimore and the Los Angeles Dodgers, were beaten.

The Philadelphia Phillies shocked the Braves 3-0 in Atlanta, the Texas Rangers beat the Orioles 3-2 in Baltimore and the Arizona Diamondbacks pounded the Dodgers 11-2 in Los Angeles in another brutal playoff outing for Dodgers star pitcher Clayton Kershaw.

"Disappointing, embarrassing… There's no excuses," three-time Cy Young Award-winner Kershaw said after allowing six runs and recording just one out in the first inning against the Diamondbacks in the shortest post-season start of his career.

Ketel Marte got the game started with a line drive to center field that bounced off the glove of center fielder James Outman, allowing Marte to reach second.

Two pitches later, Corbin Carroll singled in a run and Tommy Pham followed with a single before Christian Walker smacked a run-scoring double.

Gabriel Moreno then belted a monster three-run homer and three batters later, with one more run scored, Kershaw was pulled for rookie Emmet Sheehan.

The Diamondbacks would add three more runs in the second inning and one each in the seventh and eighth before the demoralized Dodgers managed to put a couple of runs on the board.