Barry Zito pitched into the eighth inning for his second victory in nine starts as the Oakland Athletics beat the Seattle Mariners 5-2 on Thursday.
Five players drove in a run as Oakland salvaged a four-game split of the American League West series with the division leaders.
PHOTO: AP
"We've still got a long way to go, but if we'd lost today, it would have been a longer way to go," Oakland manager Ken Macha said. "This was a good split. We should feel we can play with these guys."
After a lengthy stretch of bad innings and bad luck, Zito (8-5) finally got back on track with one of his better starts in two months. The AL Cy Young pitching award winner, who blew a six-run lead in his last start, allowed 10 hits -- but nine were singles.
"I was throwing strikes more consistently, and they noticed and started hacking," Zito said. "I felt good, and my pitch count was low. I gave up a lot of singles, and a lot of times you can't defend against that. I kept them away from any big innings."
Keith Foulke got the final four outs for his 22nd save in 25 chances.
Edgar Martinez hit his 17th homer of the season for the Mariners.
Ryan Franklin (6-7) lost his third straight start, allowing a season-high 10 hits in 5 1-3 innings.
Devil Rays 6, Red Sox 5, 10 innings
In St. Petersburg, Florida, Marlon Anderson singled with two outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the 10th inning to give Tampa Bay a victory over Boston.
Anderson delivered the game-winning hit off Mike Timlin (3-3) after Aubrey Huff and Travis Lee singled, and Al Martin, whose two-run homer off Brandon Lyon tied the game at 5 in the eighth, drew an intentional walk with one out.
Travis Harper (1-4) pitched two scoreless innings for the win.
Manny Ramirez homered twice and drove in three runs for the Red Sox. David Ortiz and Trot Nixon also homered for the Red Sox.
Orioles 6, Blue Jays 5
In Baltimore, Jeff Conine went 3-for-4 with a two-run homer to back a solid pitching performance by Jason Johnson as Baltimore beat Toronto.
Melvin Mora had two hits and drove in two runs to help the Orioles win their second straight after a five-game skid.
Johnson (7-3) gave up four runs and eight hits over seven innings to earn his first win in eight decisions against the Blue Jays. Jorge Julio got the final four outs for his 17th save.
Eric Hinske homered, and Shannon Stewart and Carlos Delgado each had three hits for the Blue Jays, who have lost five of six. Doug Davis (4-6) allowed three runs on nine hits in four-plus innings.
Indians 4, Twins 1
In Minneapolis, C.C. Sabathia threw a four-hitter and Jody Gerut homered to help Cleveland hand Minnesota its fourth straight defeat.
Sabathia (8-3) won his fourth straight decision, walking one and striking out five in his first complete game this season and the third of his career.
Matthew LeCroy homered in the ninth to break up the shutout bid, but Minnesota lost for the 14th time in 19 games.
Shane Spencer went 2-for-3 with two RBIs for Cleveland, which won the first meeting of the season between the AL Central foes.
Kenny Rogers (7-4) gave up three runs, six hits and four walks in 6 2-3 innings _ and was ejected when he hit a batter with a pitch.
Royals 3, Tigers 2
In Kansas City, Missouri, Michael Tucker homered and Jeremy Affeldt pitched seven strong innings to lead Kansas City past Detroit.
The defeat made Jeremy Bonderman (2-13) the major leagues' first 13-game loser.
Affeldt (5-4) gave up five hits and two runs in seven innings as the Royals improved to 6-0 against the Tigers.
Mike MacDougal pitched the ninth for his 22nd save.
Kansas City's Carlos Beltran singled in the sixth inning, stole second, and scored the tiebreaking run on Ken Harvey's single.
Rangers 6, Angels 5
In Anaheim, California, Hank Blalock homered twice and doubled, helping Tony Mounce earn his first major league win as Texas beat Anaheim.
The 28-year-old Mounce, who missed the entire 2001 season after having reconstructive surgery on his left elbow, was making just his fifth big league start since being called up from minor league team Oklahoma on June 13.
Mounce (1-2) went 5 1-3 innings and gave up three runs on six hits.
Blalock hit a solo home run off Kevin Appier (6-5) in the first inning and added another solo shot against Scot Shields in the sixth, his 14th homer and first career multihomer game.
Ugueth Urbina struck out two in a perfect ninth for his AL-leading 23rd save in 27 chances.
Juan Gonzalez hit a two-run single and Kevin Mench doubled home two runs as the Rangers scored four times off Appier in the third inning to take a 5-2 lead.
Albert Pujols and Edgar Renteria hit three-run homers in an eight-run second inning as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the San Francisco Giants 9-5 on Thursday to avoid a four-game sweep.
"Most of the first three days you've just got to give their pitchers credit for making quality pitches at the right time," Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said. "I really thought the club geared up to salvage something."
The Giants were trying to complete the franchise's first four-game sweep at St. Louis since the great Christy Mathewson finished off the Cardinals on May 9, 1912.
Instead, the Cardinals roughed up Kirk Rueter, with Pujols and Scott Rolen hitting consecutive homers in the second and Renteria connecting earlier in the inning.
Rueter (7-3) gave up eight runs on nine hits in only three innings.
Jason Simontacchi (6-4) pitched into the seventh for the win. He allowed a two-run homer to Jose Cruz Jr.
Astros 7, Brewers 3
In Houston, Jeriome Robertson won his sixth consecutive decision, and Jeff Bagwell and Geoff Blum each hit a three-run homer to lift Houston over Milwaukee.
Robertson (7-3) hasn't lost in 12 starts since April 25 against the New York Mets and leads the team in wins.
The rookie left-hander allowed three runs and seven hits in 7 1-3 innings, the longest outing of his career. Octavio Dotel got five outs for his third save, keeping the Astros tied with St. Louis for first place in the National League Central.
Richie Sexson hit his 23rd home run for the Brewers.
Phillies 12, Cubs 2
In Philadelphia, Placido Polanco had three hits and three RBIs and Brett Myers pitched into the seventh inning to lead Philadelphia to a victory over Chicago.
The Phillies have won 13 of their past 16 games, including eight of nine, to cut Atlanta's lead in the NL East to four-and-a-half games.
Damian Miller hit a two-run homer for the Cubs, who have lost seven of nine.
Jim Thome was 3-for-4 with two RBIs and Marlon Byrd went 3-for-3 with two walks as the Phillies racked up 14 hits.
Myers (8-6) allowed two runs and eight hits in 6 1-3 innings to win his third start in a row.
Expos 5, Braves 4
In Atlanta, Claudio Vargas won his third consecutive start and Endy Chavez and Michael Barrett provided the offense as Montreal remained unbeaten in Atlanta this year.
Third-place Montreal, which began the season with a three-game sweep at Turner Field, moved within six games of the NL East-leading Braves, who have lost three of four and six of nine. The Braves are 16-19 in the NL East.
Vargas (6-3) allowed eight hits and three runs in 7 1-3 innings without walking a batter. The rookie was replaced by closer Rocky Biddle, who gave up a two-run single to Gary Sheffield that made it 5-3.
Biddle got in a ninth-inning jam, but Julio Manon came in to retire Sheffield on one pitch for his first career save.
Barrett hit a two-run homer and Chavez a two-run triple as the Expos built a 5-0 lead. Vargas improved to 4-1 with a 1.80 ERA in his last seven starts.
Pirates 8, Reds 7
In Pittsburgh, Matt Stairs hit two-run homers off Ryan Dempster in consecutive at-bats and Pittsburgh held off Cincinnati's third comeback attempt in three nights, avoiding another near-collapse by closer Mike Williams.
Williams was brought in to protect an 8-5 lead in the ninth, but the Reds quickly scored twice on Jose Guillen's single, Ken Griffey Jr.'s double, a walk and Aaron Boone's two-run single. Boone drove in four runs.
But Williams recovered to strike out Russell Branyan, then got Kelly Stinnett to hit into a game-ending double play for his 21st save in 25 opportunities. Stinnett also struck out with the bases loaded to end the seventh inning.
Diamondbacks 8, Rockies 4
In Denver, rookie Brandon Webb pitched seven strong innings and Chad Moeller drove in three runs to lead Arizona past Colorado for a split of their four-game series.
Moeller hit one of the Diamondbacks' four home runs. Steve Finley had a two-run homer, and Shea Hillenbrand and Robby Hammock added solo shots as Arizona won for the 13th time in 15 games.
Webb (5-2), who threw a seven-hit shutout against Detroit on Sunday, allowed one run and eight hits.
Padres 7, Dodgers 4
In Los Angeles, Ryan Klesko hit a two-run homer as San Diego sent Kevin Brown to his third straight loss, beating Los Angeles for a three-game sweep.
Gary Bennett doubled home two runs and Adam Eaton (3-7) won for the first time in five starts, helping the Padres extend their longest winning streak of the season to five games -- one more than their longest of last year.
The Dodgers have lost a season-worst six straight games and nine of 10, after winning 10 of their previous 11. They remain 5 1/2 games behind San Francisco in the NL West.
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