By ANNE M. PETERSON
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez scored twice and the LA Galaxy defeated the Portland Timbers 3-1 Sunday in a testy match that saw a pair of players sent off because of red cards.
Chicharito’s early strike and an own goal put the Galaxy up 2-0 in the first 16 minutes. The victory snapped a two-game losing streak for Los Angeles (3-2-0).
Defender Bill Tuiloma scored the lone goal for the Timbers, who lost for the first time at home and are 1-2-3 in their first five games.
Timbers defender Pablo Bonilla was sent off with a straight red late in the first half, leaving Portland down with to 10 players the rest of the way. The Galaxy’s Marco Delgado was ejected after his second yellow in the 61st.
A commotion early in the second half resulted in yellow cards for the Galaxy’s Nick DePuy and Portland’s Sebastian Blanco. Chicharito was handed a yellow for another testy exchange between the two teams in the 57th.
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Chicharito scored off Samuel Grandsir’s cross in the 9th minute before the own doubled the lead in the 16th.
Tuiloma scored on a free kick in the 51st minute to close the gap to 2-1. It was his second goal of the season.
Chicharito’s second goal — his fourth of the season — extended the Galaxy’s lead in the 59th minute.
Brazilian Douglas Costa left the Galaxy’s last game because of a hamstring injury. He was listed as questionable against Portland but did not play.
The Timbers started Blanco for the first time this season. Blanco missed the first half of last season because of injury but returned in June to help Portland reach the MLS Cup final.
With a foul in stoppage time, Diego Chara tied the MLS career record for fouls with 756.