Mike Sweeney's two-out, two-run double in the ninth inning skidded past Toronto third baseman Eric Hinske, giving the Kansas City Royals a 4-3 victory over the Blue Jays.
Sweeney's hit off Terry Adams (3-2) gave the Royals back-to-back victories for the first time since April 9-11, when they took three in a row from Cleveland.
PHOTO: AP
Adams gave up a single to Desi Relaford to open the ninth but got two outs before Carlos Beltran walked in front of Sweeney's hit.
"I made the pitch I needed to make, and he put the ball on the ground," Adams said Wednesday. "It's out of my hands after that."
Hinske let the ball play him. It got past his backhand try and went down the left-field line.
"The ball stayed down, and I just couldn't get to it," Hinske said.
Chris Gomez's single in the eighth off reliever Nate Field (2-0) gave the lead to Toronto, which stranded 13 runners and left the bases loaded three times.
Indians 6, Red Sox 4
In Boston, Cliff Lee pitched six strong innings, Jody Gerut had three hits and Tim Laker homered for Cleveland, which took advantage of three Boston errors to win for just the second time in eight games.
Lee (4-0) gave up two runs on six hits and three walks while striking out eight in six innings. Rafael Betancourt struck out the side in the ninth for a save, but not before giving up two runs.
Tim Wakefield (2-2) allowed a season-high six earned runs on eight hits.
Angels 11, Yankees 2
In New York, Jose Guillen and Adam Kennedy homered to support Aaron Sele, and Anaheim handed the Yankees just its third loss in 14 games.
Casey Kotchman broke the game open with a three-run double in the eighth inning as Anaheim scored five times for an 8-2 lead. The surging Angels have won 10 of 11 and have the best record in the American League at 23-11.
Sele (2-0) allowed two runs and six hits in six innings in beating Javier Vazquez (3-4).
Matt Morris pitched eight solid innings, helping the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Atlanta Braves 5-2 Wednesday night for their third straight victory.
So Taguchi and Jim Edmonds homered, and Edgar Renteria had two hits and two RBIs in support of Morris (4-3), who beat Mike Hampton (0-4). Morris allowed two runs on six hits in beating the Braves for the first time in six career decisions. Jason Isringhausen worked the ninth for his sixth save.
Atlanta got a two-run homer from J.D. Drew, but lost for the sixth time in seven games.
Marlins 5, Astros 2
In Houston, Dontrelle Willis pitched a six-hitter and Mike Lowell homered twice to lead Florida over Houston.
Willis (4-1) got the third complete game of his career, beating Wade Miller (4-3), who left in the sixth inning because of tightness in his neck.
Lowell's second homer put Marlins ahead in the sixth. Jeff Conine followed with an RBI single to make it 3-1. Conine also homered in the eighth.
Mets 1, Diamondbacks 0
In Phoenix, Kazuo Matsui's home run to start the game gave Tom Glavine and New York the victory over Randy Johnson and Arizona.
Both Glavine and Johnson allowed three hits. Glavine (5-2), who has not thrown a complete game in two years, struck out three and walked two in 7 2-3 innings. Bradon Looper pitched 1 1-3 innings for his fifth save in six chances.
Johnson (3-4), pulled for a pinch hitter in the seventh, struck out seven and walked two.
Dodgers 4, Cubs 0
In Los Angeles, Wilson Alvarez held Chicago scoreless into the eighth inning, Alex Cora hit a two-run homer and Los Angeles won its sixth in a row.
Alvarez (2-0) allowed five hits in 7 2-3 innings and struck out eight.
Cora's made it 4-0 in the seventh with an 18-pitch at-bat. He fouled off 14 consecutive pitches by Matt Clement before driving the ball into the bullpen in right field. Clement (5-2) gave up four runs and seven hits in six-plus innings.
Yankees catcher Jorge Posada left Wednesday's game against the Anaheim Angels after getting hit in the face with a throw while breaking up a double play.
He walked off the field under his own power and was taken to a hospital for X-rays on his nose.
Posada, a four-time All-Star, slid short and wide of second base on Hideki Matsui's second-inning grounder. But a submarine relay from rookie shortstop Alfredo Amezaga ricocheted off Posada's shoulder or chest and hit him in the nose. Posada covered his face with his hands and stayed down for several moments while a trainer and manager Joe Torre attended to him. When Posada stood up, blood could be seen trickling from his nose.
Posada ranks second in the AL in slugging (.656) and leads the Yankees with 23 RBIs. He's hitting .302 with eight homers.
Rey Ordonez a Cub
Three-time Gold Glove shortstop Rey Ordonez agreed to a minor league contract with the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday, one week after Alex Gonzalez broke a bone in his right wrist.
Ordonez, 33, had just 117 at-bats last season, hitting .316 with three homers and 22 RBIs for Tampa Bay in his first season after leaving the New York Mets, his team from 1996 to 2002.
He went to spring training with San Diego, then left camp March 20, handing the shortstop job to rookie Khalil Greene.
Gonzalez will be out six-to-eight weeks after he was struck by the ball during a checked swing on a pitch from Arizona's Mike Koplove.
Ordonez won Gold Gloves from 1997-1999 and holds six NL fielding records, including most consecutive errorless games by a shortstop in one season (100 in 1999) and fewest errors by a shortstop in one season (four in 1999).
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