American League
The Cleveland Indians sent the New York Yankees to their most-lopsided loss ever, romping 22-0 Tuesday night behind an AL record-tying six hits by Omar Vizquel.
PHOTO: AP
The Yankees' lead in the AL East was cut to 3 1/2 games by Boston, which beat Anaheim 10-7.
PHOTO: AP
New York starter Javier Vazquez (13-8) was knocked out in the second inning, Cleveland took a 15-0 lead in the fifth and Jody Gerut and Victor Martinez hit three-run homers off Esteban Loaiza in the ninth.
To make it worse for New York, owner George Steinbrenner was on hand to watch.
The Yankees had never lost by more than 18 runs, falling 24-6 at Cleveland on July 29, 1928, and 19-1 at home against Detroit on June 17, 1925. Previously, the Yankees' biggest shutout loss was 15-0 at home against the Chicago White Sox on May 4, 1950.
Jake Westbrook (12-6) improved to 6-1 in his last nine starts, allowing five hits in seven innings.
Cleveland, which had season highs for runs and hits (22), set a team record for largest shutout win, topping its 19-0 rout of Boston on May 18, 1955.
Vizquel had a chance for a seventh hit, but flied out. Many AL players have had six hits in a game.
Red Sox 10, Angels 7
In Boston, Manny Ramirez homered twice, Curt Schilling moved into a tie for the major league lead with 17 wins and the streaking Boston Red Sox beat the Anaheim Angels.
Boston won its season-high seventh straight and for the 13th time in 14 games to take a 2-game lead over the Angels in the AL wild-card race. Anaheim had won 10 of 11.
The Red Sox cut New York's lead in the AL East to 3 games with the Yankees losing 22-0 to Cleveland. Boston has trimmed seven games from its deficit since Aug. 15.
Schilling (17-6) pitched into the eighth inning and matched Oakland's Mark Mulder for the major league lead in wins.
John Lackey (11-11) lasted 3 1-3 innings -- the first time in 12 starts he failed to go at least five innings.
Alfredo Amezaga hit his first career grand slam in the ninth for the Angels. Keith Foulke got the last three outs for his 25th save in 30 opportunities.
Mariners 7, Blue Jays 5
In Toronto, Ichiro Suzuki got three hits to finish with 56 in August, the most in a month by a major leaguer in 68 years, and the Seattle Mariners rallied past the Toronto Blue Jays for their season-high fifth straight victory.
The last player to get so many hits in a month was Cleveland's George Weatherly in July 1936.
Suzuki, chasing George Sisler's major league record for hits in a season, finished 3-for-5 and has 212 hits. Sisler got 257 hits for the St. Louis Browns in 1920.
Suzuki set a club record for hits in a month, two more than Alex Rodriguez had in August 1996. Suzuki is hitting .463 since the All-Star break.
Scott Atchison (2-2) pitched 1 1-3 innings for the win and J.J. Putz got his sixth save. Kerry Ligtenberg (1-6) took the loss.
Athletics 7, White Sox 2
In Chicago, Rich Harden pitched seven solid innings to help the Oakland Athletics match a season high with their eighth straight win, beating the Chicago White Sox.
Adam Melhuse homered and had three hits for the A's, who won for the 13th time in 14 games. They extended their lead in the AL West to three games over Anaheim.
Harden (9-5) won his sixth straight decision and has not lost since a 10-3 defeat at Anaheim on June 21, a span of 13 starts. He allowed one run on four hits, while striking out five and walking none.
Felix Diaz (1-4) took the loss.
Orioles 10, Devil Rays 6, 12 innings
In St. Petersburg, Florida, Melvin Mora and Jay Gibbons homered in the 12th inning and the Baltimore Orioles outlasted Aubrey Huff and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
Huff homered twice. He hit a tying home run with two outs in the ninth, then tied it again with an RBI single in the 11th.
Mora hit his 23rd homer leading off the 12th against Lance Carter (3-3). After B.J. Surhoff had an RBI single, Gibbons hit a two-run homer to make it 10-6.
Gibbons also homered in the third, and he tied a career-high with four hits.
Surhoff hit a go-ahead single in the 11th inning, giving Baltimore a 6-5 lead. Huff's single off Buddy Groom (4-1) evened it, but Tampa Bay eventually lost its fourth in a row.
Royals 9, Tigers 8
In Kansas City, Aaron Guiel's sacrifice fly capped a three-run rally in the bottom of the ninth inning and the Kansas City Royals rallied over Detroit.
With the Royals trailing 8-6, Abraham Nunez hit a leadoff single for his fourth hit. Ugueth Urbina (4-6) walked Calvin Pickering and gave up a bunt single to John Buck, loading the bases.
Ruben Gotay followed with an RBI single and Alexis Gomez grounded into a run-scoring fielder's choice to tie it at 8. Guiel, who was 0-for-5 and the only starter on either team without a hit entering the at-bat, then lifted a deep fly to center.
Jeremy Affeldt (3-3) allowed a run and two hits in the ninth, but got the win.
Dmitri Young homered and drove in three runs, and Ivan Rodriguez went 4-for-4 for the Tigers, who blew an early 5-0 lead.
Twins 8, Rangers 5, 11 innings
In Minneapolis, Torii Hunter hit a three-run homer with two outs in the bottom of the 11th inning to lead the Minnesota Twins over the Texas Rangers.
Hunter drove in a career-high six runs and Justin Morneau also homered for the Twins, who maintained their seven-game lead over Cleveland in the AL Central.
Juan Rincon (11-6) earned the win after getting two outs in the 11th. Joe Nathan got the first out, but had to leave when he tried to field a ball with his pitching hand and cut his ring finger.
Alfonso Soriano and Rod Barajas had two RBIs each for Texas, which dropped 4 games behind Oakland in the AL West -- the most the club has been out of first place this season. The Rangers are also four games behind Boston in the AL wild-card race.
With two outs in the 11th, Shannon Stewart singled off Carlos Almanzar (7-3) and Jacque Jones followed with an infield single before Hunter hit his 18th home run.
National League
Josh Beckett pitched a six-hitter for his first regular-season shutout and Juan Pierre hit a two-run single to lead the Florida Marlins over the New York Mets 5-0 on Tuesday night in their fifth consecutive victory.
Beckett (6-8) struck out two and walked none to win for only the second time since May 20, when he beat Houston 4-3. He also drove in a run with a bases-loaded walk.
Florida, three games back in the NL wild-card race, won for the eighth time in 10 games to move six games over .500 for the first time since June 24.
The Marlins took advantage of a career-high seven walks by Steve Trachsel (10-12), who lost his fourth straight start.
Expos 8, Cubs 0
In Montreal, Livan Hernandez allowed three hits in eight scoreless innings, and Brad Wilkerson and Maicer Izturis each hit home runs.
Hernandez (10-12) also had two hits -- including an RBI single -- for the Expos. He allowed Moises Alou's single in the second, Derrek Lee's single in the fourth, and Michael Barrett's single in the fifth. Hernandez also walked four, combining with T.J. Tucker on Montreal's 10th shutout.
Chicago, tied with San Francisco atop the wild-card standings -- a half-game ahead of San Diego -- has lost four of five after losing just once in its previous nine games.
Mark Prior (4-4) allowed four runs in the first, including Wilkerson's leadoff homer. He gave up six hits and five runs in five innings.
Braves 5, Phillies 3
In Philadelphia, Mike Hampton pitched two-hit ball over eight innings and Andruw Jones hit a two-run homer to lead Atlanta.
Eli Marrero went 3-for-4 and Julio Franco had two RBIs for the Braves, who went 20-8 this month, marking just their second 20-win August since moving to Atlanta from Milwaukee after the 1965 season. They also did it in 1999, going 21-7.
The Braves got another strong effort from Hampton (11-9), who walked one and struck out one while improving to 10-2 in his last 12 starts.
Eric Milton (13-3) gave up seven hits, three runs -- two earned -- and walked five in six innings.
Astros 8, Reds 0
In Cincinnati, Jeff Kent homered twice and Houston hit three straight shots in the fifth inning.
Carlos Beltran, Jeff Bagwell and Lance Berkman hit consecutive home runs for the Astros, winners of a season-high five straight and eight of nine overall.
Brandon Backe (2-2) scattered three hits over six shutout innings to win for the first time in three career starts. Relievers Chad Qualls, Mike Gallo and Dan Wheeler allowed a combined three hits over the final three innings for Houston's 11th shutout of the season.
Aaron Harang (8-7) allowed four homers and lost for the fourth time in five starts.
Cardinals 9, Padres 3
In St. Louis, Jim Edmonds homered twice, giving him seven in six games, and the Cardinals powered past the Padres.
Albert Pujols and Edgar Renteria each homered and had three hits for the NL Central leaders. Reggie Sanders also had three hits, and drove in a run.
Woody Williams (10-7) became the fifth member of the Cardinals' rotation to reach double figures in victories.
The Cardinals beat up on 13-game winner Brian Lawrence (13-11) and the San Diego bullpen to win their fourth in a row, and lowered their magic number for clinching the division to 16.
Brian Giles homered, and Ryan Klesko and Ramon Hernandez each had an RBI for the Padres.
Brewers 4, Pirates 2
In Milwaukee, the Milwaukee Brewers snapped a 12-game losing streak and avoided their worst month in franchise history.
The Brewers went 6-21 in August, barely avoiding their worst month in franchise history -- 6-22 by the Seattle Pilots in August 1969. Still, it was their worst month since moving to Milwaukee in 1970, displacing the 6-20 mark from July 2001.
Reliever Matt Wise (1-1) pitched 3 2-3 scoreless innings for his first win since April 6, 2001, when he was with Anaheim. Dan Kolb got three outs for his 35th save.
Milwaukee starter Doug Davis was hit on his left forearm by a line drive off Tike Redman's bat in the second inning and had to leave the game. The team said X-rays were negative and he was day-to-day.
John Van Benschoten (0-2) walked his first three batters and allowed four runs in the first inning of his third career big league start.
Giants 9, Rockies 5
In San Francisco, Yorvit Torrealba and Marquis Grissom homered, and Ray Durham hit a tiebreaking three-run double for the Giants.
Barry Bonds went 1-for-2 with a double and remained at 696 career home runs, but the Giants got enough offense from other sources to move into a virtual tie with the Chicago Cubs for the wild-card lead, a half-game ahead of San Diego.
Brett Tomko (8-6) won his third straight decision, which included his first career shutout last Thursday -- a four-hitter in a 5-0 win over the Florida Marlins. Dustin Hermanson got three outs for his eighth save.
Jeff Francis (0-2) allowed eight runs and seven hits in 4 1-3 innings in his second career start.
Dodgers 4, Diamondbacks 1, 13 innings
In Phoenix, Steve Finley hit a three-run double off Brian Bruney (3-4) in the 13th in his return to Arizona, lifting the Los Angeles Dodgers over the Diamondbacks.
Finley also homered off Randy Johnson as he faced Arizona for the first time since the Diamondbacks traded him on July 31.
Dodgers closer Eric Gagne (5-3) pitched two scoreless innings for the win, and Giovanni Carrara pitched a perfect 13th for his second save.
Johnson struck out a season-high 15 and allowed three hits and one walk in eight innings. He increased his major league-leading strikeouts total to 242, and left him with 4,113 in his career -- 23 shy of tying Steve Carlton for the most by a left-hander.
Jason Giambi walked into the New York Yankees' clubhouse on Tuesday with pink in his cheeks, optimism in his voice and no idea when he'll be able to play again.
The former AL MVP, recovering from a benign tumor, intestinal parasite, strained groin and respiratory infection, saw teammates for the first time since July 27, when he left the Yankees in Toronto for tests that diagnosed the tumor.
He looked far healthier than a month earlier and said he will have a better idea by the weekend when he can rejoin the lineup. He had been working out since Aug. 11 at the team's training complex in Tampa, Florida, and started taking batting practice on Sunday.
"I made some big strides," said Giambi, who received hugs from teammates welcoming him back. "Over the last three days, I was able to hit and take some live BP [batting practice]. It got me encouraged that there's a shot."
Yankees manager Joe Torre isn't counting on having the five-time All-Star back in New York's lineup this season but said it's possible Giambi could return in about 10 days as designated hitter. Giambi, who hasn't played since July 23, is batting just .221 with 11 homers and 36 RBIs, going hitless in his last 21 at-bats.
Giambi and the Yankees haven't specified where the tumor is or what treatment he has received. Giambi was evasive when asked about for specifics about the tumor and wouldn't say whether he's still under treatment.
"I'm not going to get into that," he said. "I took care of Jason as a human being. Now I'm back to a baseball player.
"I've got a lot of my strength back," he said. "My tiredness is starting to go away. That's the biggest thing."
If the 33-year-old first baseman makes quick progress, he could be sent for a rehabilitation assuagement before minor league seasons end in early September.
Borders a twin
Veteran catcher Pat Borders was traded to the Minnesota Twins by the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday for minor league outfielder B.J. Garbe.
The 41-year-old Borders, the MVP of the 1992 World Series with the Toronto Blue Jays, hit .189 with one home run and five RBIs in 19 games with the Mariners this season. In 36 games with Triple-A Tacoma, he hit .255 with five homers and 13 RBIs.
"If we could have gone with three catchers, he would have been a guy I would have loved to have here all year," Seattle manager Bob Melvin said. "Who is to say down the road that he doesn't come back here, but given an opportunity to get into the playoffs, we all feel very good about that."
Garbe was the Twins' first-round pick in 1999. He hit .201 with three homers and 35 RBIs this season with Double-A New Britain. He was assigned to Double-A San Antonio by the Mariners.
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