White Sox stun Indians

Relief pitcher Shingo Takatsu of the White Sox, the all-time saves leader in Japan, pitches against the Indians at US Cellular Field in Chicago, Illinois, Wednesday. The White Sox scored five runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to defeat the Indians 9-8. PHOTO: AFP

American League

Sandy Alomar Jr. hit a sacrifice fly to cap a five-run rally in the bottom of the ninth inning and the Chicago White Sox startled the Cleveland Indians 9-8 Wednesday.

"I always think I'm going to win and you have to get 27 outs, but when you are behind by that many runs, it's very difficult," Alomar said.

Magglio Ordonez hit a two-run homer in the ninth off David Riske to cut the deficit to 8-6.

After a double and an error, Joe Crede and Timo Perez followed with RBI singles off Rafael Betancourt (2-3) to tie the game. Alomar drove home Crede with the winning run.

Mike Jackson (1-0) got the victory with two hitless innings of relief. Juan Uribe and Crede also homered for Chicago.

"It's fun to watch if you are a fan, but if you are in the dugout it gets intense every day, day-in and day-out," White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said.

The Indians scored six runs in the fourth inning, highlighted by Ronnie Belliard's three-run double. Cleveland pushed the lead to 8-2 on Omar Vizquel's two-run homer in the sixth off Chicago starter Scott Schoeneweis.

Red Sox 6, Devil Rays 0

In Boston, Curt Schilling pitched his best game with Boston and Jason Varitek hit a two-run homer for the team's shut out of Tampa Bay for a fourth straight victory.

Schilling (3-1) struck out eight, walked none and allowed five hits in 7 1-3 innings.

Yankees 5, Athletics 1

In New York, Jose Contreras earned his first win of the season, Jorge Posada and Jason Giambi homered, and New York sent Oakland to its fifth consecutive loss.

Derek Jeter's hitless skid reached 32 at-bats, but his teammates did more than enough to beat Mark Mulder. Giambi and Gary Sheffield each had an RBI single in a three-run first inning, helping the Yankees win their second game in a row since getting swept by the Boston Red Sox last weekend.

National League

After appealing his suspension, Alex Gonzalez homered and Josh Beckett pitched seven innings Wednesday, leading the Florida Marlins to a 9-4 victory over the Colorado Rockies.

Gonzalez was suspended three games for his part in a bench-clearing brawl last week in Philadelphia. He will not serve the penalty until a hearing is held.

Beckett (2-2) gave up four runs and struck out seven. The World Series MVP avoided losing three straight starts for the second time in his career.

"He had enough to get them out," Florida manager Jack McKeon said. "This park is tough on any pitcher. You can take Cy Young or Nolan Ryan, put them in here everyday and you're going to give up a few runs."

Jason Jennings (1-3) was tagged for six runs and walked four in five innings.

Miguel Cabrera, Mike Lowell and Choi Hee-seop also homered for the Marlins.