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Boston slugs away at the NY Yankees

Sammy Sosa of the Chicago Cubs hits a 2-run home run against the St. Louis Cardinals at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois, on Friday. The Cardinals beat the Cubs 11-8. PHOTO: AFP

American League

The Boston Red Sox hit a record seven home runs off the New York Yankees, and those weren't the only things flying into the stands.

David Wells tossed his glove and hat into the seats after getting tagged as the Red Sox played their own version of the Boston pops on the Fourth of July, powering past New York 10-3 Friday.

Switch-hitter Bill Mueller homered from both sides of the plate, Jason Varitek and David Ortiz each homered twice and Manny Ramirez also connected.

All of Boston's runs came on homers, making it easy for Derek Lowe (10-3) to win his career-high seventh straight decision.

Mueller's drive into the upper deck in the ninth inning marked Boston's seventh of the game, one more than the Yankees had ever allowed.

Wells (10-3) set a career high for most homers allowed and matched the team record -- in just 5 2-3 innings. He was the fifth pitcher to serve up five, and he and Jeff Weaver are the only ones to do it at Yankee Stadium.

Orioles 8, Blue Jays 5

Boston's Bill Mueller hits his second home run of the game in the ninth inning against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium in New York, on Friday. The Red Sox won 10-3 and set a Yankee Stadium record of seven home runs by an opposing team. PHOTO: REUTERS

Brook Fordyce doubled in two runs to give the Baltimore the lead during an eight-run eighth inning, and the Orioles went on to beat Toronto.

All eight runs scored with two outs. The Orioles got seven hits, two walks and sent 12 players to the plate in the inning.

Toronto's Kelvim Escobar took a 5-0 lead into the eighth, then allowed a two-out, two-run single to Jeff Conine and a single by Jay Gibbons before being replaced by Aquilino Lopez (1-2).

Tony Batista hit an RBI double, and B.J. Surhoff tied the game with a double to right-center. Brook Fordyce, who started the inning with a groundout, doubled into the gap in right-center to make it 7-5.

Philadelphia Phillies manager Larry Bowa and plate umpire Tim Tschida argue after Bowa was ejected in the eighth inning against the Florida Marlins, in Philadelphia, on Friday. PHOTO: AP

Brian Roberts capped the uprising with an RBI single.

Travis Driskill (2-3) got the win despite yielding Eric Hinske's first career grand slam, and Jorge Julio worked the ninth for his 18th save.

Devil Rays 4, White Sox 3

Carl Crawford hit his first homer since opening day, a three-run drive with one out in the ninth inning that gave Tampa Bay Devil Rays a victory over the Chicago White Sox.

Crawford also hit a three-run homer in the ninth to beat Boston on March 31. This time he drove an 0-1 pitch from Billy Koch (5-5) into the right-field seats after Javier Valentin walked and pinch-hitter Al Martin singled.

Jesus Colome (2-4) pitched one inning and won despite giving up a solo homer to Brian Daubach in the top of the ninth. Roberto Alomar drove in Chicago's other two runs for his first RBIs with the White Sox.

Tampa Bay won consecutive games for the first time since May 15-16. Chicago, which had won six of its previous seven, came within two outs of climbing over .500 for the first time since May 2.

White Sox starter Bartolo Colon allowed one run and eight hits in 6 2-3 innings before departing with a 2-1 lead. Koch blew a save for the fourth time in 15 chances.

Twins 9, Indians 2

Justin Morneau and Corey Koskie each hit a two-run homer, and Rick Reed won for the first time since May 25 as Minnesota beat Cleveland in a game that featured five ejections after the benches cleared in the third inning.

Minnesota snapped a four-game losing streak and won for only the sixth time in 20 games.

One night after the Twins accused Cleveland pitcher C.C. Sabathia of throwing at their hitters, Minnesota's Torii Hunter took exception to an inside pitch from Jason Davis and shouted at him.

Davis yelled at Hunter to get back in the box, and both benches and bullpens cleared as players poured onto the field.

Angels 1, Athletics 0

Aaron Sele and three relievers combined on a two-hitter as Anaheim beat Oakland.

Benji Gil had two hits and scored the game's only run on David Eckstein's suicide squeeze as the Angels won for the sixth time in eight games.

It was the third time Oakland has been shut out in the last eight games.

Sele (5-6) went the first five innings, his limit mandated by manager Mike Scioscia for at least a couple starts. Francisco Rodriguez pitched two scoreless innings, Brendan Donnelly threw a perfect eighth and Troy Percival worked a 1-2-3 ninth for his 18th save in 19 opportunities.

Mark Mulder (11-6) was just as effective, allowing three hits in his major league-leading sixth complete game.

Royals 9, Tigers 8

Michael Tucker had four hits and three RBIs as Kansas City held off Detroit. Ken Harvey also drove in three runs for the Royals, who remain first in the AL Central and have their best record (46-38) through 84 games since the 1989 club was 47-37.

Rookie Nate Field (1-0) got his first major league win with 1 1-3 innings of one-hit relief. Detroit scored three in the ninth to cut it to 9-8, but Mike MacDougal retired pinch-hitter Kevin Witt on one pitch for his 23rd save in 28 chances.

Nate Cornejo (3-7) went three-plus innings and was charged with seven runs on nine hits.

Rangers 7, Mariners 3

Juan Gonzalez hit a three-run homer -- his first in almost a month -- and Texas used a five-run fourth inning to rally past Seattle.

RA Dickey (4-3) allowed two hits over three scoreless innings of relief as the Rangers handed Seattle a rare road loss. The Mariners' 30-14 road record is the best in the majors.

Ugueth Urbina got two outs for his American League-leading 24th save in 28 chances.

Gonzalez's homer, which put Texas up 4-3, was his first since June 8. He hadn't homered at home since May 7. Seattle's Freddy Garcia (9-7) had won his previous six decisions.

National League

Jim Edmonds and Albert Pujols hit consecutive homers in the first inning, and Tino Martinez tied a season high with four RBIs as the St. Louis Cardinals beat Kerry Wood and the Chicago Cubs 11-8 Friday.

Moises Alou hit three homers and tied a career best with five RBIs, but the Cubs lost for the eighth time in 10 games. It was the first three-homer game of his career.

Sammy Sosa hit his 511th career homer, tying Mel Ott for 16th place on the career list.

Brett Tomko (5-5) gave up three runs and seven hits in six innings, struck out five and walked one.

Wood (8-6), who had won his previous three decisions, gave up seven runs, six hits and six walks, tying a season-high. He lasted three-plus innings, his shortest outing since April 9, 2001, at Montreal.

Rockies 8, Brewers 6

Jay Payton and Juan Uribe drew bases-loaded walks from Leo Estrella in the eighth inning as Colorado rallied past Milwaukee.

With the bases loaded and one out, left fielder Geoff Jenkins made a spectacular diving catch near the line to rob Larry Walker of a hit. But Estrella (2-1) then walked Payton and Uribe.

Luis Vizcaino replaced Estrella, who was ejected along with manager Ned Yost as they separately exchanged words with plate umpire Mark Carlson while leaving the field.

Steve Reed (5-1) threw 1 1-3 innings of scoreless relief, and Justin Speier pitched the ninth for his third save in five chances.

Marlins 2, Phillies 1

Derrek Lee hit a go-ahead single off Jose Mesa with two outs in the ninth inning, leading Florida past Philadelphia.

Florida, which has won three of its last four games, was held to one hit -- a Juan Pierre single leading off the game -- over the first eight innings. The Marlins scored a run in the fourth off Kevin Millwood on a walk, a steal and a groundout.

Mesa (3-5) walked Mike Lowell with two outs in the ninth, and Juan Encarnacion singled Lowell to third. Lee followed with a single up the middle on a 3-2 fastball.

Braden Looper (4-2) pitched 1 2-3 innings and won despite allowing the tying run in the eighth.

Mets 7, Reds 2

Tom Glavine pitched seven strong innings for his first victory since May 18, and Jeromy Burnitz hit a long three-run homer as New York beat Cincinnati.

Burnitz had three hits, including one of the longest homers in Great American Ball Park's inaugural season. His decisive drive in the seventh inning was estimated at 444 feet.

The Mets, who had 14 hits, batted around in the seventh for four runs off Jimmy Haynes (1-8) and two relievers, sending the Reds to their ninth loss in 13 games. Cincinnati had four errors, pushing its major league-leading total to 80.

Glavine (6-8) emerged from his deep slump by giving up only four hits, including the first of Jose Guillen's two solo homers, on a humid, 87-degree afternoon.

Pirates 3, Astros 2

Reggie Sanders homered in the eighth and Pittsburgh, accustomed to losing in the late innings, came back to beat Houston.

The Pirates have lost 15 times when leading or tied after six innings, including twice in the previous three games against the Cincinnati Reds.

Pittsburgh reliever Mike Williams, who squandered a lead Wednesday night in his team's loss to the Reds and nearly did it again Thursday in the Pirates' 8-7 victory, pitched a perfect ninth for his 23rd save in 27 chances.

Braves 8, Expos 6

Andruw Jones homered for the second straight game and Russ Ortiz won his fourth straight start to lead Atlanta past Montreal.

Jones had four hits, Rafael Furcal added two RBIs, and Robert Fick and Javy Lopez had two hits apiece for the Braves, who won for only the fourth time in 10 games. They beat the Expos for the first time in five tries this season at Turner Field.

Ortiz (11-4) moved into a tie with Colorado's Shawn Chacon for the most victories in the NL. He fell behind 4-1, then settled down and retired 10 of his last 12 batters.

John Smoltz pitched the ninth for his 31st save in 33 chances.

The Braves closed to 4-3 with two runs in the fourth, then went ahead with four in the sixth, knocking out Tomo Ohka (7-8) in the process.

Diamondbacks 3, Dodgers 1

Quinton McCracken hit a two-run single in the 10th inning and Arizona sent Los Angeles to its season-high seventh straight loss.

The Diamondbacks loaded the bases in the 10th for the fourth time in the game. Tom Martin (0-2) opened the inning by giving up consecutive singles to Alex Cintron and Luis Gonzalez before Guillermo Mota allowed a single to Shea Hillenbrand.

Giants 8, Padres 6

Barry Bonds hit a two-run homer, his 25th, to highlight a five-run fourth inning and J.T. Snow also connected as San Francisco ended San Diego's five-game winning streak.

The NL West-leading Giants beat the last-place Padres for the sixth time in seven games this year.

Jesse Foppert (5-7) allowed five runs and six hits in five innings. Tim Worrell pitched a perfect ninth for his 19th save in 23 chances.

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