American Leagues
Kelvim Escobar outpitched Mike Mussina (7-3) and the Toronto Blue Jays sent the banged-up New York Yankees to yet another home loss, 6-2 Friday night.
New York has lost five in a row at Yankee Stadium, its longest skid since the middle of the 2000 season. The Yankees' ninth defeat in 10 home games dropped them out of the AL East lead for the first time this year. They trail Boston by a half-game.
The game began about a half-hour late because of rain, and the crowd of 34,134 had little to cheer about after Jason Giambi's RBI double in the first inning. Escobar (2-1) and the Blue Jays' bullpen kept the fans quiet on a chilly, damp night.
PHOTO: AP
The Yankees played without two of their top hitters. All-Star center fielder Bernie Williams was placed on the 15-day disabled list because of torn cartilage in his left knee -- he's expected to miss four to six weeks -- and shortstop Derek Jeter was scratched right before gametime with mild stiffness in his left hamstring.
Tigers 3, White Sox 2
In Chicago, Mike Maroth won for the first time in 10 decisions this season, pitching seven strong innings for Detroit.
Maroth (1-9) gave up three hits, two walks and struck out three to snap an 11-game losing streak. He won for the first time since Sept. 16, 2002, against Kansas City.
Dmitri Young hit an RBI double off Kelly Wunsch to score Ramon Santiago with the go-ahead run in the eighth inning. Santiago reached against Tom Gordon (2-4) on a throwing error by third baseman Joe Crede.
Chris Spurling pitched two scoreless innings for his second save.
Red Sox 9, Indians 2
In Boston, Derek Lowe pitched a four-hitter for his first complete game of the season and Nomar Garciaparra extended his hitting streak to 23 games to lead Boston.
Lowe (4-3) got all the support he needed in a six-run first inning against Ricardo Rodriguez (2-5). He allowed just four balls to leave the infield and recorded 17 outs on grounders.
He improved his home record to 3-0 with a 1.53 ERA. On the road, he's 1-3 with an 11.57 ERA.
Rangers 5, Orioles 3
In Arlington, Texas, Rafael Palmeiro homered and drove in three runs to lead Texas to its season-high seventh straight win.
Palmeiro hit a two-run blast in the first and added an RBI single off Pat Hentgen (1-1) in the fifth that put Texas ahead 4-3. It was Palmeiro's first homer since hitting his 500th on May 11, a span of 27 at-bats. Ismael Valdes (4-2) gave up three run in six innings for the win and Ugueth Urbina pitched the ninth for his 16th save.
Athletics 4, Royals 1
In Oakland, California, Mark Mulder fell one out short of his third shutout of the season, pitching an eight-hitter to lead Oakland over Kansas City.
Mulder held the Royals scoreless until Brent Mayne's RBI groundout with one out in the ninth inning before finishing his major league-leading fifth complete game.
Mulder (7-2) walked two and struck out six to move into a tie for the most wins in the majors. He made quick work of the opposition once again, needing only 2 hours, 5 minutes for the game.
Eric Byrnes went 2-for-3 with a walk to increase his career-best hitting streak to 14 games, and Eric Chavez homered for Oakland.
Mariners 5, Twins 2
In Seattle, Mark McLemore homered, Jamie Moyer (7-2) won again and Mike Cameron made two highlight-reel defensive plays to lead Seattle.
Cameron stole a home run from Torii Hunter to end the first and added an unassisted double play in the seventh, catching a fly by Cristian Guzman and stepping on second base to get Jacque Jones.
McLemore, starting at third base for the injured Jeff Cirillo, hit his second home run of the season, giving the Mariners a 4-1 lead in the second.
Brad Radke (5-4) took the loss.
Devil Rays 3, Angels 1
In Anaheim, California, Jeremi Gonzalez earned his first major league victory in nearly five years, and rookie Rocco Baldelli went 4-for-5 with a home run to lead Tampa Bay.
Gonzalez (1-1) held the defending World Series champions hitless the first time through the order before giving up a two-out homer in the third inning by Adam Kennedy. Their only other hit off Gonzalez was a two-out single in the fourth by Scott Spiezio.
The right-hander went six innings in his second start of the season, winning for the first time since June 28, 1998, for the Chicago Cubs at Kansas City. He had elbow surgery in 1998 and '99 before the Cubs released him in 2001.
Jarrod Washburn (4-5) allowed three runs and 11 hits in 7 2-3 innings after going 5-0 in his previous seven career starts against Tampa Bay.
National Leagues
JD Drew tripled home the go-ahead run in the 10th inning and the St. Louis Cardinals, down to their last strike before Scott Rolen hit a three-run homer in the ninth, rallied past the Pittsburgh Pirates 10-8. Albert Pujols didn't homer for the first time in five games, but had a career-high five hits _ including an RBI single in the two-run 10th against reliever Brian Meadows (0-1) Friday night.
The Cardinals trailed 6-1 and 7-2 before getting two late-inning three-run homers, Tino Martinez's shot in the eighth off Brian Boehringer and Rolen's in the ninth off closer Mike Williams.
The Pirates still had a chance to win it, with Jeff Reboulet's double scoring the tying run in the bottom of the ninth. But Cal Eldred (3-1) got Kenny Lofton to fly out with the bases loaded to send the game into extra innings.
The Pirates have lost 15 of 19 overall. Lofton homered to extend his hitting streak to 21 games, the NL's longest this season.
Rockies 10, Giants 7
In Denver, Todd Helton had four hits and four RBIs in Colorado's victory over the San Francisco Giants, who lost Barry Bonds to an injured right leg.
The five-time MVP strained his patella tendon in the fourth inning when he jumped up against the wall on Preston Wilson's double. He stayed in the game, but came out and limped to the dugout after lining a single off the wall to lead off the fifth.
Bonds will have an MRI exam in Denver on Saturday, and Giants manager Felipe Alou said it was unlikely he would be able to play.
Jose Hernandez hit his third homer in four games for the Rockies, who won for just the second time in seven games but improved their NL-best home record to 16-7.
Helton finished a triple short of the cycle and hit his first homer in nearly a month.
Benito Santiago homered and drove in three runs for San Francisco, which has lost nine of 14.
Dodgers 6, Brewers 4
In Milwaukee, Shawn Green hit a go-ahead three-run homer exactly one year after his four-home run game at Miller Park as Los Angeles beat Milwaukee for its eighth straight victory.
Green hit reliever John Foster's first pitch into the right-field bullpen, erasing Milwaukee's 4-3 lead with one out in the seventh. He went 3-for-5 with four RBIs.
A year ago at the same ballpark, Green went 6-for-6 with seven RBIs and set a major league record with 19 total bases.
Odalis Perez (3-3) scattered nine hits and gave up four runs in six innings for the victory. Guillermo Mota pitched three innings for his first major league save in his 198th appearance.
Glendon Rusch (1-8) lost for the seventh straight time. He allowed five runs on nine hits in 6 1-3 innings.
Mets 6, Braves 5
In Atlanta, Jeromy Burnitz hit a grand slam in his first game back from the disabled list, and defensive replacement Tsuyoshi Shinjo threw out Chipper Jones at the plate for the final out to preserve New York's victory.
Armando Benitez walked two batters with two outs in the ninth, and Julio Franco grounded a single to center. Shinjo, who entered in the eighth as the Mets shuffled their outfield, charged hard and made a perfect, one-hop throw home.
The Mets have won five of six after a four-game losing streak. Steve Trachsel (3-2) won his third straight start.
Phillies 4, Expos 2
In Montreal, Kevin Millwood won his fifth straight decision, and Bobby Abreu and Placido Polanco homered to lead Philadelphia over Montreal.
Millwood (7-1) allowed two runs and six hits in seven innings as Philadelphia ended Montreal's three-game winning streak. It was the ninth time Millwood has allowed two runs or fewer in 11 starts this season.
Jose Mesa pitched the ninth for his 13th save, becoming the 10th pitcher to record 100 saves for two teams. Mesa also had 104 saves with Cleveland from 1992-1998.
Marlins 8, Reds 4
In Cincinnati, Jeff Austin let the first seven Marlins reach base, setting up a five-run rally that sent Florida to a victory over Cincinnati.
Austin's quick meltdown allowed the Marlins to end a six-game losing streak and provide manager Jack McKeon with a pleasant homecoming. McKeon led the Reds to 96 wins in 1999, when he was the NL Manager of the Year, but was fired after they finished second in 2000.
Brad Penny missed his start because of the flu. Left-hander Tommy Phelps (1-0) took Penny's place and got his first major league victory, pitching a day ahead of schedule. He gave up five hits and one run in 5 1-3 innings.
Astros 7, Cubs 5
In Houston, Jose Vizcaino hit a three-run homer off Mark Prior in Houston's six-run first inning.
The Astros won for the 11th time in 14 home games and moved within a half-game of the first-place Cubs in the NL Central. Chicago has lost five of seven.
Prior (5-2), trying to win his fourth straight decision, also allowed a two-run single by Orlando Merced in the first, and another run scored on an RBI grounder by Jeff Kent.
The seven runs -- six earned -- allowed by Prior in 6 2-3 innings equaled a career high.
Diamondbacks 5, Padres 3
In Phoenix, Danny Bautista hit a tiebreaking three-run homer in the eighth inning for his first longball in more than a year as Arizona handed San Diego its ninth consecutive loss. Bautista also had a pair of singles, one driving in a run, to help the Diamondbacks beat the Padres for the eighth time in a row at home.
Bautista, who missed most of last season with a dislocated shoulder, had not homered since May 3, 2002, a span of 152 at-bats.
Mike Koplove (2-0) pitched a perfect eighth for the victory.
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