American League
Kevin Brown gave the Yankees a big boost by pitching into the seventh inning in his first start in more than seven weeks, and Alex Rodriguez homered and drove in two runs in New York's 2-1 victory Friday night over Baltimore.
On the night before baseball's trade deadline -- with speculation swirling about whether the Yankees will be able to strike a deal with Arizona for Randy Johnson -- Brown was impressive. Brown (8-1), activated from the disabled list before the game after being sidelined since June 10 with a lower back spasm and an intestinal parasite, allowed one run and four hits in 6 1-3 innings. He struck out five and walked two, throwing 88 pitches.
"It was great to be back on the mound," said Brown. "When you go out there, you realize how much you miss it."
Tom Gordon struck out the side in the eighth, and Mariano Rivera got three outs for his major league-leading 36th save. Daniel Cabrera (8-5) took the loss for the Orioles, who scored on a homer by B.J. Surhoff in the third.
"It was a well-played game all around," said Orioles manager Lee Mazzilli, who fell to 2-9 against the team he used to coach for.
Red Sox 8, Twins 2 In Minneapolis, Bronson Arroyo pitched seven-plus sharp innings, Gabe Kapler drove in three runs as Boston ended Minnesota's four-game winning streak. Arroyo (4-7) frustrated the Twins, allowing two runs off eight hits and striking out eight in his first start since last week's bench-clearing brawl at Fenway Park with the Yankees. The fight started after Arroyo hit Alex Rodriguez with a pitch and led to six players being suspended and/or fined. Boston got 11 hits off starter Kyle Lohse (4-8), who also walked four batters. Tigers 5, White Sox 4 In Detroit, Bobby Higginson drew a tiebreaking walk with two out in the eighth inning to help Detroit hand Chicago its sixth straight loss. Damaso Marte (4-4) loaded the bases in the eighth. Alex Sanchez led off with an infield single, Carlos Guillen singled with one out and Rondell White walked with two out to load the bases. Marte then walked Higginson on a 3-2 pitch. Esteban Yan (1-2) got two outs for the win and Ugueth Urbina pitched a perfect ninth for his 17th save in 19 opportunities. Dmitri had a two-run homer for the Tigers. Carlos Lee drove in two runs for the White Sox. Rangers 7, Athletics 5 In Arlington, Texas, Laynce Nix and Michael Young hit consecutive two-run singles with two out in the bottom of the eighth inning as Texas rallied from an early four-run deficit to beat Oakland reclaim first place in the American League West. Oakland starter Rich Harden held the Rangers hitless until the fourth, and he left after six with a 4-2 lead. But the bullpen failed, and Chad Bradford (5-5) took the loss. Frankie Francisco (2-1) pitched a hitless eighth for the victory, ending a six-game winning streak for the A's. Texas had lost three straight and five of six. Francisco Cordero allowed Damian Miller's RBI double in the ninth but stranded him at second for his 31st save in 33 chances. Angels 6, Mariners 5 In Anaheim, California, Bengie Molina hit a two-run, go-ahead single with two outs in the eighth inning as Anaheim got homers from Robb Quinlan and Jose Guillen to beat Seattle. Molina, whose two-run shot in the ninth tied Thursday night's game before the Mariners won it in the 13th, lined an 0-1 pitch to left-center against J.J. Putz (0-3) to score Garret Anderson and Darin Erstad.
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