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Red Sox beat Mariners in 10th inning

Boston Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek runs down the Seattle Mariners' Mark McLemore for an out in the seventh inning at Boston's Fenway Park, Sunday. The Red Sox went on to beat the Mariners, 7-6, in 10 innings. PHOTO: AP

American League

Kevin Millar hit a game-winning double off the glove of leaping center fielder Mike Cameron with two outs in the 10th inning, sending the Boston Red Sox over the Seattle Mariners 7-6.

Boston won its third in a row and sent the AL West-leading Mariners to their season-high fourth straight loss.

"We just have to stay with it," Seattle's Mark McLemore said Saturday. "It's just the way the season goes sometimes."

After Seattle tied it on Cameron's RBI single with two outs in the ninth, Boston bounced back.

Damian Jackson singled with one out against Kazuhiro Sasaki (1-2), then Arthur Rhodes relieved and retired David Ortiz on a popup.

Millar followed with a deep fly to left-center and Cameron almost made yet another sensational catch. The Gold Glover jumped in front of the Green Monster, but the ball popped out of his mitt and bounced off the wall as Cameron banged into it.

"I thought I had it and when I hit the Monster it probably just popped out," Cameron said.

Orioles 7, Yankees 2

In New York, Rodrigo Lopez outpitched Mike Mussina with a six-hitter, and Brook Fordyce drove in three runs as Baltimore beat New York for the second day in a row.

Jay Gibbons homered and Tony Batista added a two-run double for the Orioles.

Jorge Posada homered for the Yankees, who saw their AL East lead over Boston trimmed to five games. Lopez (6-8) struck out a career-high 10 in his second complete game this season and the third of his career.

Mussina (14-7) pitched into the ninth inning, when the Orioles broke it open with four runs. He gave up six runs and nine hits in 8 1-3 innings, with no walks and four strikeouts.

White Sox 13, Rangers 2

In Chicago, Frank Thomas homered twice and drove in five runs as the Chicago White Sox routed the Texas Rangers for their sixth straight victory.

Carlos Lee homered and had four RBIs, and Jose Valentin and Joe Crede hit consecutive shots for the AL Central leaders. Texas has lost three in a row after winning a season-high eight straight.

Mark Buehrle (11-12) pitched six strong innings, allowing an unearned run and four hits. He is 9-2 over his last 14 starts.

Dan Wright pitched the final three innings for his first major league save. Ismael Valdes (7-8) took the loss.

National League

Neifi Perez doubled home Yorvit Torrealba with the go-ahead run in the eighth inning as the San Francisco Giants won their fifth straight with a patchwork lineup, beating the Florida Marlins 3-2 Saturday.

The teams and fans at Pacific Bell Park observed a moment of silence before the game for Bobby Bonds, the former San Francisco star who died of cancer earlier in the day. His son, Barry, will be away from the Giants indefinitely.

"As soon as we got here and we knew that Barry Bonds' father died, it was sad," Perez said. "But we're professionals. We have to play the game, and we're glad we won the game for him."

Jeffrey Hammonds homered for the Giants, who also rested regulars Rich Aurilia, Benito Santiago and Marquis Grissom. But after a strong start from Dustin Hermanson and outstanding relief by Jim Brower (8-4), San Francisco got its sixth straight home victory -- and its 21st in the last 24 games for the NL West leaders.

The Marlins lost their fifth straight. Josh Beckett (6-7) struck out six during seven strong innings for Florida.

"[Beckett] had pitched a good game, but I had to have a strike," manager Jack McKeon said of his decision. "I went with our experienced guy, and he got it ... Of course, then the little guy hit one probably further than he'd hit one all season."

Cardinals 5, Phillies 3

In St. Louis, Sterling Hitchcock won in his St. Louis debut, pitching an inning of scoreless relief as the Cardinals beat Philadelphia.

Jim Edmonds had four hits and Matt Morris allowed a run over five innings in his first start since July 21 for the Cardinals, who defeated the Phillies for the first time in eight games.

Morris gave up six hits and struck out one in his first game since being hit by a line drive by San Diego's Mark Kotsay and breaking his hand.

Braves 5, Rockies 4

In Denver, Mike Hampton won in his return to Coors Field, earning his ninth straight victory as the Atlanta Braves held off the Colorado Rockies.

Gary Sheffield had a three-run double, Andruw Jones hit his 31st homer and Javy Lopez got three hits for Atlanta, which has won six straight over the Rockies.

John Smoltz struck out the side in the ninth for his 44th save in 47 chances.

Chin-hui Tsao (2-2) took the loss.

For the results of other MLB games, see the Scoreboard on p19.
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