American League
Paul Quantrill and Mariano Rivera made sure the New York Yankees held off Tampa Bay for the second straight night.
Quantrill relieved Javier Vazquez (10-5) with a two-ball count and the bases loaded in the sixth inning and escaped the jam, and New York beat the Devil Rays 5-4 Friday.
PHOTO: EPA
"I'm not too sure of how many people I'd want to do that to," Yankees manager Joe Torre said after putting the pressure on Quantrill.
Rivera gave up a run in the ninth, then retired Rocco Baldelli on a foul popup with the bases loaded to end it.
"We're getting our chances to put some runs on the board. Now we can't get them," said Baldelli,.
Jorge Posada hit a go-ahead, two-run single for the Yankees, who have won two straight against the Devil Rays after losing five of six to the New York Mets and Detroit.
Tampa Bay, which has lost seven of 10 to the Yankees, dropped to 4-6 in July after going 20-6 in June.
Jesus Colome (2-2) allowed one run in two-thirds of an inning.
Indians 5, Athletics 4
In Cleveland, pinch-hitter Lou Merloni's two-run single capped Cleveland's three-run ninth inning off Octavio Dotel to beat Oakland.
Merloni ripped the first pitch from Dotel (1-1) down the left-field line with the bases loaded to score Omar Vizquel and Travis Hafner before being mobbed by his teammates.
Angels 5, Blue Jays 4
In Toronto, Bartolo Colon pitched seven strong innings for his second win in his last 11 starts, and Vladimir Guerrero drove in three runs as Anaheim edged Toronto.
Colon (6-8) entered with the highest ERA among American League starters at 6.57. The 31-year-old right-hander, who signed a four-year, US$51 million contract during the offseason, allowed four runs -- three earned -- on five hits and lowered his ERA to 6.38.
Francisco Rodriguez pitched a perfect eighth, and Troy Percival worked the ninth for his 14th save in 18 chances.
Reigning AL Cy Young pitching award winner Roy Halladay (7-6) gave up five runs on a career-high 12 hits -- all singles -- in six innings.
White Sox 6, Mariners 2
In Chicago, Carlos Lee homered twice and drove in five runs, and Jon Garland (7-5) pitched seven solid innings to help Chicago down Seattle.
The Mariners have lost a season-high seven straight games. At 32-52, Seattle is 20 games below .500 for the first time since Aug. 5, 1994. They've also lost 10 straight on the road.
Magglio Ordonez went 2-for-4 with an RBI for Chicago in his first game since coming off the disabled list. The All-Star slugger missed 36 games after tearing cartilage in his left knee.
Red Sox 7, Rangers 0
In Boston, Johnny Damon went 4-for-5 with two homers and four RBIs and Bronson Arroyo allowed three hits in eight innings for his first win since May 15.
Boston won its fourth straight, its longest streak since winning five in a row May 21-26. Damon extended his hitting streak to 14 games with a first-inning single.
Arroyo (3-7) matched his season high with seven strikeouts and allowed just one hit after the first inning.
National League
Tomas Perez's pinch-hit, RBI single in the 10th inning Friday helped the Philadelphia Phillies overcome a five-run deficit and two three-run homers by Rafael Furcal to beat Atlanta 7-6 in 10 innings.
Chase Utley hit a solo homer off John Smoltz with one out in the ninth to tie it at 6 and Mike Lieberthal had four RBIs, including a three-run homer in the eighth.
"It's great to come back and win the game, especially against one of the best closers," Perez said.
Billy Wagner (3-0) got the final two outs in the 10th for his second win in two nights.
"I didn't throw a bad pitch and I blew a save," Smoltz said. "I could tell him it's coming 19 more times and he wouldn't hit it."
Ricky Ledee led off the 10th with a single off Antonio Alfonseca (5-3). After David Bell hit into a fielder's choice, Lieberthal walked. Perez then lined a single down the right-field line, scoring Bell.
Cardinals 6, Cubs 1
In St. Louis, Jason Marquis kept Chicago reeling while St. Louis got home runs from Edgar Renteria, Albert Pujols, Jim Edmonds and Tony Womack.
Greg Maddux (7-7) gave up three of the homers as the Cardinals won their ninth in a row at home, including the first seven games of a nine-game homestand
Marquis (9-4) faced his former mentor, Maddux, for the third time this season. He beat him for the first time, allowing a run on nine hits in eight-plus innings for his career-high ninth win, one more than his 2002 total with the Braves.
Mets 6, Marlins 3
In Miami, Ty Wigginton homered and had an RBI double, and Mike Cameron also homered for New York, which scored four runs in the eighth inning to beat Florida and win for the seventh time in nine games. South Korea's Choi Hee-seop hit a two run homer against his former high school teammate Jae Seo.
Seo, who entered 3-1 with a 1.52 career ERA against the Marlins, allowed seven hits and three runs in six innings.
Choi finished with two hits against Seo, raising his career average against him to .500 (4-for-8).
Dan Wheeler (3-0) pitched 1 2-3 scoreless innings and Braden Looper pitched a perfect ninth for his 18th save in 20 chances.
But Wigginton put the Mets ahead for good with a double off Josias Manzanillo (1-2) in the eighth.
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