Woody Williams took a no-hitter into the eighth inning as the St. Louis Cardinals beat Toronto 13-5 Thursday in a game the Blue Jays played under protest.
Williams held Toronto hitless until Orlando Hudson singled with one out in the eighth. He also hit a bases-loaded triple and drove in four runs.
The Blue Jays lodged their protest in the second inning after an umpire's reversal on a fly ball cost them a triple play. With Eduardo Perez on second base and Tino Martinez on first, Mike Matheny hit a shallow fly ball and left fielder Frank Catalanotto tried for a shoestring grab. Third-base umpire Kerwin Danley ruled it was a catch, and the Blue Jays trapped Perez and Martinez off base.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Cardinals manager Tony La Russa sprinted onto the field to argue, and after the umpires huddled for several minutes, they ruled it a base hit and the St. Louis runners re-emerged from the dugout, loading the bases.
Williams (8-1) gave up one hit in eight shutout innings, striking out five and walking one. He dominated the team he played for from 1993-98, allowing only Hudson's clean single to right field on a 1-2 pitch.
Cubs 8, Devil Rays 1
In Chicago, Sammy Sosa hit an RBI single in the first inning and also reached on an error during Chicago's seven-run third as the Cubs routed Tampa Bay.
Sosa, in a batting tailspin since coming off the disabled list Friday, went 1-for-4 and is now 4-for-24 in his last six games.
Braves 8, Rangers 4
In Atlanta, Javy Lopez hit a tiebreaking homer in the seventh inning as the Atlanta completed a sweep of Texas.
Lopez, who had missed five straight games with a sore hamstring, led off the seventh by knocking a 0-1 pitch from Aaron Fultz (1-1) into the left-field stands.
Gary Sheffield also homered for the Braves, who extended Texas' longest losing streak of the season to six games.
Rockies 7, Indians 4
In Denver, Bobby Estalella homered and drove in three runs and Larry Walker had three RBIs as Colorado swept an American League opponent for just the third time in its history.
The Rockies have won eight straight at home and four straight overall.
Padres 5, Tigers 1
In San Diego, Keith Lockhart hit a go-ahead homer in the sixth inning as San Diego avoided a three-game sweep.
The Tigers (16-41) are once again saddled with baseball's worst record, having given it up for one day to the Padres. San Diego (18-43) pulled percentage points ahead. The Padres also snapped a five-game losing streak to the Tigers dating to the last three games of the 1984 World Series, which Detroit won 4-1.
Mariners 5, Phillies 4
In Philadelphia, Mike Cameron's three-run homer off Jose Mesa in the ninth inning led Seattle over Philadelphia for its ninth straight victory.
After rallying in the top of the ninth, the Mariners escaped a bases-loaded jam when Japanese pitcher Kazuhiro Sasaki struck out Jim Thome and retired Bobby Abreu on a fly ball.
The Mariners trailed 4-2 when Bret Boone hit a single to start the ninth and John Olerud walked. Cameron then fouled off two consecutive bunt attempts before hitting an 0-2 pitch into the left-field bullpen.
Yankees 10, Reds 2
In Cincinnati, Hideki Matsui responded to a batting-order demotion with a two-run homer and three doubles as the Yankees earned a long-awaited win in Cincinnati.
The Yankees won the 1961 World Series against the Reds, but got swept when they returned in 1976 against the Big Red Machine. They also dropped the first two games of their interleague series, and some of the 42,282 fans that showed up for the final game waved brooms with '76 inscribed in red.
Pirates 5, Red Sox 4
In Pittsburgh, Kenny Lofton homered and hit a tiebreaking sacrifice fly in the eighth inning for Pittsburgh, which beat Boston to snap a three-game losing streak.
Astros 11, Orioles 1
In Houston, Roy Oswalt struck out a season-high 11 and Brian Hunter drove in four runs with four hits as Houston completed a three-game sweep of Baltimore.
Expos 8, Angels 7, 14 innings
In San Juan, Puerto Rico, Ron Calloway, filling in for the injured Vladimir Guerrero, hit a game-ending, two-run single with two outs in the 14th to lead Montreal over Anaheim.
White Sox 3, Diamondbacks 2, 10 innings
In Phoenix, Frank Thomas homered and doubled home the go-ahead run in the 10th inning as Chicago beat Arizona to snap a five-game losing streak.
Twins 5, Giants 2
In San Francisco, Kyle Lohse shut down San Francisco for eight innings and Eddie Guardado closed out Minnesota's win.
A.J. Pierzynski drove in two runs and Cristian Guzman had three hits for the Twins, who won two of three in this interleague series between division leaders.
Dodgers 5, Royals 2
In Los Angeles, Kevin Brown pitched seven strong innings to win his seventh straight decision as Los Angeles beat Kansas City.
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