Roger Clemens earned his 299th career victory, scattering nine hits in six innings against his former team on Wednesday to lead the New York Yankees to a 4-2 victory over the Boston Red Sox.
Raul Mondesi singled in the go-ahead run in the seventh inning to put the Yankees back into sole possession of first place in the American League East and move Clemens (6-2) one win from becoming the 21st pitcher in baseball history with 300 wins.
He is scheduled to try for the milestone victory at Yankee Stadium on Monday against the Red Sox, his team for the first 13 years of his career.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Jason Giambi hit a solo homer for the Yankees, while Nomar Garciaparra hit a solo shot for Boston.
Mariano Rivera got the last four outs for his fourth save.
Twins 4, Athletics 3
In Oakland, California, Dustan Mohr drove in the go-ahead run in the eighth inning to spoil a strong start by Barry Zito and players kept their tempers in check as Minnesota beat Oakland.
The Twins scored the tying run in the eighth off Ricardo Rincon, who allowed a leadoff single to Cristian Guzman. LaTroy Hawkins (4-0) pitched a 1-2-3 seventh for the win and Eddie Guardado worked the ninth for his 11th save in as many chances.
Indians 4, Tigers 0
In Cleveland, CC Sabathia pitched six innings before leaving with a sprained left ankle as Cleveland sent Detroit to its ninth shutout loss. Shane Spencer drove in two runs for Cleveland, which has won three in a row for the first time this year and has five victories in its last six games.
Detroit lost its seventh straight game. The Tigers are a major league-worst 9-35.
Rangers 8, Devil Rays 7
In Arlington, Texas, rookie Mark Teixeira homered, tripled and drove in a career-high four runs as Texas extended its season-best winning streak to five games with a victory over Tampa Bay.
Ruben Sierra's run-scoring single in the seventh inning off Jesus Colome (1-2) put the Rangers up 8-7. Sierra ended a 16-game stretch without an RBI when he drove in Rafael Palmeiro, who led off the seventh with a double.
White Sox 6, Blue Jays 5
In Chicago, Carlos Lee hit a two-run homer with two outs in the eighth inning as Chicago rallied to beat Toronto. Lee connected off Cliff Politte (1-3) for his eighth homer, one pitch after he nearly struck out on a check swing.
Damaso Marte (2-0) pitched one-third of an inning for the win and Billy Koch got the final three outs for his fifth save in seven chances.
Royals 14, Mariners 5
In Seattle, Carlos Beltran hit two three-run homers and Kansas City tied a team record by hitting six home runs as the Royals beat Seattle to break a four-game losing streak.
Michael Tucker had a two-run shot, and Joe Randa and Raul Ibanez added solo homers in the seventh and eighth innings, respectively, after Seattle erased a 6-1 deficit to make it 6-5 in the fifth. Seattle's Freddy Garcia (3-6) gave up the first three homers, losing his third straight start.
Orioles 7, Angels 6
In Anaheim, California, Tony Batista drove in three runs and Geronimo Gil singled home two more as Baltimore ended a six-game road losing streak with a win over Anaheim.
Baltimore ended a string of seven straight losses to the Angels, its longest skid in the series since the teams began playing in 1961.
Austin Kearns' bases-loaded double completed a six-run fourth inning Wednesday as the Cincinnati Reds rallied to beat the Atlanta Braves 9-3 and slow their remarkable surge.
Adam Dunn later added a pinch three-run homer, his major league-leading 17th, as the Reds won for the 11th time in 15 games, a resurgence that is starting to win over fans. The crowd of 33,355 was the largest since opening day.
Pirates 5, Cubs 2
In Pittsburgh, Kenny Lofton's aggressive baserunning led to Pittsburgh's first two runs and Jeff D'Amico made another strong start in beating Chicago.
Jack Wilson and Brian Giles homered in a span of five pitches in the sixth inning as Kerry Wood (4-2) failed for the fourth straight start to win his 50th career game. Wood allowed a season-high five runs in 5 1-3 innings.
Mets 5, Phillies 4
In New York, Tony Clark singled home the winning run in the ninth inning as New York ended Philadelphia's three-game winning streak.
Marco Scutaro opened the ninth with a single off Terry Adams (0-2) and moved to second on Roberto Alomar's groundout. Clark then lined a single to right field and Scutaro scored without a throw.
Expos 7, Marlins 2
In Montreal, Ron Calloway drove in two runs with one of Montreal's six doubles, rookie Claudio Vargas won his second straight decision and Montreal sent Florida to its fifth loss in succession.
The Expos have won seven of nine games overall.
Calloway's double off Carl Pavano (3-5) capped a three-run fourth inning as the Expos overcame an early 2-0 deficit.
Vargas (2-1), acquired from Florida along with Cliff Floyd last July 11 in the deal that sent Pavano to the Marlins, allowed six hits and two runs in 6 2-3 innings.
Alex Gonzalez hit his ninth homer for Florida, which fell to 3-6 under new manager Jack McKeon.
Brewers 10, Padres 0
In Milwaukee, Geoff Jenkins homered in his first three at-bats off Jake Peavy (4-4) as Milwaukee beat San Diego to extend its winning streak to three for the first time this season.
Wayne Franklin (3-4) pitched a two-hitter for his first complete game. Rondell White beat on an infield hit leading off the second, and pinch-hitter Ramon Vazquez singled to center leading off the ninth. Jenkins hit a two-run homer in the first to put Milwaukee ahead, then hit solo homers in the fourth and sixth innings.
Cardinals 7, Astros 4
In Houston, Woody Williams won his ninth straight decision and St. Louis' Cal Eldred got Houston slugger Jeff Bagwell to ground into a game-ending double play with the bases loaded. Albert Pujols homered and drove in four runs for the Cardinals.
Giants 6, Diamondbacks 0
In Phoenix, Jason Schmidt threw a four-hitter in his second shutout of the season and Marquis Grissom homered twice as San Francisco beat Arizona.
Barry Bonds doubled in three runs in the fifth inning, but left in the bottom of the seventh with a mild sprain of his right ankle.
He was hurt when he stepped on first base while running out a groundout in the top half of the inning.
Dodgers 3, Rockies 2
In Los Angeles, Japanese pitcher Kazuhisa Ishii allowed two runs in six-plus innings and struck out a season-high eight as Los Angeles beat Colorado.
Eric Gagne closed out the Dodgers' season-high sixth win in a row with his 17th save in 17 opportunities. Alex Cora had two hits, including an RBI single, and scored a run for Los Angeles.
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