American League
Pedro Martinez beat Roy Halladay for the second time this month in a matchup of Cy Young pitching award winners Tuesday, leading the Boston Red Sox over the Toronto Blue Jays 4-2.
PHOTO: AP
Toronto's Terry Adams nearly hit Manny Ramirez in the head in the eighth, and the Boston slugger walked out from the plate as the benches emptied.
"The first thing the umpire said was it wasn't on purpose," Boston manager Terry Francona said. "It wasn't guys looking to go to fight. These guys are competitive, and Manny just reacted."
Martinez (2-1) retired 15 of his first 17 batters, allowing two runs and five hits, and Keith Foulke pitched a perfect ninth for his fourth save, completing a five-hitter.
"I felt a lot better inside here than last time," said Martinez, who gave up seven earned runs against Baltimore last Thursday. "I felt loose and didnt have a hard time warming up. I had my normal routine back, and that was the difference."
Halladay (1-3) gave up three runs and nine hits in six innings. While Boston won for the fourth time in five games. Toronto lost its fourth straight and dropped to 3-10, matching its worst start (1981).
Orioles 9, Devil Rays 1
In Baltimore, Sidney Ponson (2-0) needed just 88 pitches in a four-hitter, and Rafael Palmeiro drove in three runs as Baltimore beat Tampan Bay for its fifth straight win.
Melvin Mora homered, and Miguel Tejada and Javy Lopez both had three hits.
Royals 15, Indians 5
In Cleveland, Matt Stairs' eighth grand slam followed an intentional walk to Juan Gonzalez. Stairs matched a career-high with six RBIs, helping Kansas City beat Cleveland and end a six-game road losing streak.
Brian Anderson (1-0) became the first Royals' starter to win, allowing four runs -- two earned -- and seven hits in six innings.
Twins 6, Tigers 4
In Minneapolis, Lew Ford, Michael Ryan and Nick Punto each drove in two runs to lead Minnesota past Detroit for its sixth straight victory.
Ryan, a seldom-used outfielder who beat out Ford this spring as the last position player on the roster, went 3-for-3 for the Twins.
Mariners 2, Athletics 1
In Seattle, Raul Ibanez homered to tie the game in the seventh and then again in the ninth to give Seattle a victory over Oakland.
Ibanez hit a 2-2 pitch off Jim Mecir (0-1) to right to end the game. It was his first career multihomer game.
Rangers 6, Angels 3
In Anaheim, California, Brad Fullmer homered and drove in two runs to give Texas to a win in his first game at Anaheim since leaving as a free agent in the offseason to give.
Kenny Rogers (3-0) allowed two runs and seven hits in five innings, striking out three and walking two. Jeff Nelson pitched a hitless eighth inning, and Francisco Cordero put runners on first and second in the ninth before inducing Vladimir Guerrero to ground out for his third save.
Yankees 11, White Sox 8
In Chicago, Alex Rodriguez got the Yankees going with an unlikely bunt single as New York scored seven first-inning runs.
The Yankees got back to .500 with their biggest first inning in nine years as they routed Mark Buehrle (1-1) in a game delayed twice by rain. Jorge Posada drove in four runs and had three hits, including a two-run single in the first and a solo homer in the eighth. Miguel Cairo capped the first-inning outburst with a three-run double.
National League
Jose Vidro led off the eighth inning with a tiebreaking home run as the Montreal Expos snapped an eight-game losing streak by beating the New York Mets 2-1.
Montreal had been on its worst skid since the 2000 season. The Expos are the first team to not score more than four runs in any of its first 14 games since the 1988 Texas Rangers.
Marlins 3, Phillies 1
In Philadelphia, Dontrelle Willis allowed an unearned run in 6 2-3 innings, leading the Marlins to their 11th straight victory over the Phillies.
Willis (3-0) struck out in his first at-bat, snapping his streak of 10 consecutive hits, dating to last season and including the playoffs.
Reds 3, Braves 2
In Cincinnati, Barry Larkin singled home a pair of runs -- his first RBIs since opening day -- and the Reds rallied past the Atlanta Braves.
Sean Casey had three hits, including two doubles off John Thomson (1-1), and drove in a run.
Atlanta managed only four hits in all, including two infield singles.
Cubs 9, Pirates 1
In Pittsburgh, Alex Gonzalez homered, doubled and drove in four runs and the Chicago Cubs beat up on Ryan Vogelsong for the second time in a week, defeating the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Corey Patterson, Todd Walker and Michael Barrett also homered to back Carlos Zambrano (2-0). The Cubs won for the fifth time in seven games and ended the Pirates' three-game winning streak.
Brewers 4, Diamondbacks 2
In Milwaukee, Lyle Overbay and Junior Spivey, two of the six players the Milwaukee Brewers got for Richie Sexson, each had three hits in the win over Arizona.
Altogether, the four everyday starters who came over in the Sexson trade went 8-for-16 with Craig Counsell and Chad Moeller also collecting singles against their former team.
Cardinals 5, Astros 3
In Houston, Reggie Sanders homered in the third inning and snatched away a Jeff Bagwell shot at the right-field wall in the fifth. Albert Pujols added a two-run homer to help the Cardinals break a four-game losing streak at Houston.
Jeff Suppan (1-2) allowed one run and five hits in six innings, and Jason Isringhausen got five outs for his second save.
Rockies 7, Dodgers 1
In Denver, Vinny Castilla homered and drove in two runs, and Charles Johnson and Jeromy Burnitz hit back-to-back homers in the second inning to help end the Dodgers' five-game winning streak.
Padres 9, Giants 5
In San Francisco, Barry Bonds homered in his seventh straight game, but San Francisco lost to San Diego.
Bonds is one short of matching the major league record for consecutive games with a homer -- shared by Dale Long (1956), Don Mattingly (1987) and Ken Griffey Jr. (1993).
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