Roy Halladay threw a three-hitter with nine strikeouts, and Eric Hinske's two-run homer off Randy Johnson sent the Toronto Blue Jays to a 2-0 victory over the punchless New York Yankees on Friday.
The Blue Jays won their fourth straight game and sent New York (9-14) to its third consecutive loss -- the Yankees have managed just two runs since Tuesday.
"For me, it's a challenge going against a team like this and an opposing pitcher like that. I look forward to it," Halladay said. "It was a special game for us."
Halladay (4-1) walked one in his seventh career shutout and 17th complete game, second this season.
Johnson (2-2) allowed seven hits in his 93rd complete game, first this year. He struck out nine and walked three in a game that lasted just 2 hours, 8 minutes.
"That was a classic pitching duel," Torre said. "We're not hitting, but you can't diminish what that kid did tonight. He was dynamite. He was in complete control of the game," Yankees manager Joe Torre said.
Gregg Zaun drew a one-out walk from Johnson in the seventh inning, and Hinske -- the lone left-handed hitter in Toronto's lineup -- pulled an 0-2 pitch over the right-field fence for the only runs of the game.
Indians 6, Royals 0
In Cleveland, C.C. Sabathia pitched seven shutout innings in his first start since signing a two-year, US$17.75 million contract extension as Cleveland handed Hansas City its ninth straight loss.
Sabathia (2-0) had his third straight strong start since being activated from the disabled list on April 16. The left-hander was never in trouble in holding the staggering Royals (5-18) to three hits. He walked one and struck out four.
Kansas City has lost nine in a row for the first time since 2001.
Ben Broussard had three RBIs and Ronnie Belliard drove in two runs off Zack Greinke (0-2) for Cleveland.
Travis Hafner went 3-for-3 with an RBI for the offensively challenged Indians, who came in batting a major league-worst .226.
Orioles 5, Devil Rays 0
In Baltimore, Erik Bedard pitched five-hit ball for eighth innings to lead Baltimore over Tampa Bay for its season-high sixth straight victory.
Devil Rays manager Lou Piniella watched from the press box at Camden Yards as he began serving a three-game suspension for his team's involvement in two bench-clearing scuffles in a game against Boston on April 24. Bench coach John McLaren ran Tampa Bay.
Miguel Tejada, Jay Gibbons and Javy Lopez homered as Baltimore dealt the Devil Rays their season-worst fifth consecutive loss. Tampa Bay is 1-8 on the road.
Bedard (2-1) retired 14 of the first 15 batters he faced, allowing only a two-out single to Nick Green in the third. Jorge Julio gave up a hit in the ninth but finished the Orioles' second shutout of the season.
Hideo Nomo (2-3) allowed five runs and eight hits, walked one and struck out three.
Rangers 7, Red Sox 2
In Arlington, Texas, Park Chan-ho limited Boston to just three hits over seven innings and Alfonso Soriano hit a tiebreaking two-run homer as Texas downed Boston.
Park (3-1) had a season-high seven strikeouts. Except for a rough fourth inning, the right-hander had little trouble against the World Series champions, who lost their third straight game.
Tim Wakefield (2-1) retired 12 in a row until David Dellucci led off the decisive sixth with a single. Dellucci scored on Hank Blalock's single to tie the game 2-all, and Soriano followed with his fifth homer.
Blalock, 5-for-37 his previous nine games, also had an RBI double.
The Red Sox played without manager Terry Francona. Bench coach Brad Mills filled in as Francona served the first of his three-game suspension resulting from the bench-clearing scuffles in Tampa Bay last weekend.
Tigers 3, White Sox 2, 11 innings
In Chicago, Nook Logan tripled in the go-ahead run in the 11th inning to lead Detroit over Chicago.
Carlos Pena led off the 11th against Shingo Takatsu (0-1) with a walk and moved up to second on a sacrifice before Logan drove a pitch into the alley in right center to make it 3-2.
Jamie Walker (1-0) got the win with a scoreless 10th, and Franklyn German pitched the 11th for his first save and finished off a game that lasted 4 hours, 10 minutes.
The White Sox have lost three in a row after opening the season 16-4.
Twins 7, Angels 4
In Minneapolis, Michael Cuddyer had two doubles and three RBIs, and Carlos Silva survived a rough first three innings to lead Minnesota over Los Angeles.
After falling behind 4-1 early, the twins rallied for their fourth straight win. Lew Ford singled home the tying run in the sixth before Cuddyer's RBI-double gave the Twins a 5-4 lead. Cuddyer's two-run double in the eighth completed the scoring.
Silva (2-0) gave up four runs and 11 hits in seven innings, but was able to get out of a couple of jams to win his sixth straight decision. Silva has not lost since Aug. 13, 2004, at Cleveland, a span of 12 starts.
Angels starter Paul Byrd (1-3) gave up five runs -- three earned -- and nine hits in 6 2-3 innings with three strikeouts.
Mariners 4, Athletics 2
In Oakland, California, Ichiro Suzuki had three hits with a triple and two RBIs in his American League-leading 13th multihit game, and Seattle beat Oakland for its third win in four games.
Bret Boone led off the eighth with a solo home run off Ricardo Rincon for his 999th career RBI and Aaron Sele (2-2) outdueled Dan Haren to end a two-start losing streak, calmly working out of trouble in six strong innings for one of his best starts since rejoining his former team.
Jamie Moyer puts his 4-0 record on the line Saturday for the Mariners, who are looking good during a difficult stretch in which they play 12 of 15 games on the road until May 11.
Eric Chavez and Mark Ellis each had two hits for the A's, who again struggled to provide their starting pitcher with enough run support.
Mike Matheny hit a tiebreaking homer in the sixth inning and the San Francisco Giants turned Brett Tomko's four-hitter into a 3-2 victory over the Pirates on Friday.
Jason Ellison singled to start a two-run first inning against Mark Redman (1-2) and had three consecutive hits, giving him eight in a row over four games, until he struck out to start the seventh.
Tomko (2-3) shook off a two-run fourth inning in which the Pirates got three of their four hits to win his second in a row after an 0-3 start, pitching his 10th career complete game. The Giants scored only three runs combined in the losses.
"I've never seen it before where an entire lineup is going through a funk," said Jack Wilson, who is hitting .169 after getting 201 hits last season. "To have so many guys in your everyday lineup not hitting, that's tough. Everybody's frustrated."
Despite the previous lack of support for Tomko, the Giants looked ready to have a big first inning, leading 2-0 only three batters into the game while ending the Pittsburgh staff's streak of 18 consecutive scoreless innings.
"I hadn't seen that in a while," Tomko said of the early lead.
The Pirates were coming off consecutive 2-0 victories over Houston.
Nationals 5, Mets 1
In Washington, Livan Hernandez worked his way in and out of trouble for eight innings and hit one of Washington's three solo homers in a win over New York.
Jose Guillen delivered his team-leading sixth homer hours after the Nationals announced they were exercising his US$4 million contract option for 2006, and Brian Schneider also hit one out.
Vinny Castilla added a two-run ground-rule double as the Nationals (12-11) avoided dropping below .500 for the first time since April 11.
Hernandez (3-2) was far from perfect, but he did what he does best: chew up innings, saving a beleaguered bullpen. The right-hander led the National League in complete games and innings the last two seasons, and on Friday he threw 130 pitches. He allowed nine hits, with one run, two walks and five strikeouts.
Mets starter Jae Seo (1-1), who beat the Nationals last week with six innings of one-run ball, allowed just three hits -- but all landed in bullpens.
Marlins 6, Phillies 4
In Philadelphia, A.J. Burnett pitched seven strong innings, Juan Encarnacion drove in three runs and Florida held out Philadelphia for its eighth win in 10 games.
Encarnacion tripled and homered, Miguel Cabrera went 4-for-5 with three doubles and a homer and Damion Easley also connected for Florida.
Chase Utley hit a solo shot and Jim Thome added a two-run double for the Phillies, who have lost five of seven.
Burnett (3-1) allowed two runs and five hits, striking out eight. Todd Jones earned his first save.
Randy Wolf (1-3) gave up four runs and eight hits in five innings. He fell to 2-12 with a 5.93 ERA against the Marlins.
Cubs 3, Astros 2
In Houston, Greg Maddux outpitched Roger Clemens in a rare duel between 300-game winners, and Jeromy Burnitz hit a tiebreaking homer in the seventh inning to lead Chicago over Houston.
Maddux (1-1) got his 306th career win and first since the Cubs' 2004 season-finale against Atlanta. He lasted six innings, giving up two runs on seven hits with three strikeouts and one walk.
Clemens (1-1) pitched seven strong innings, allowing three runs on seven hits and striking out five while walking two. He even went 2-for-2 at the plate, only the second multihit game of his 22-year career.
Burnitz went 3-for-4, driving in two runs and finishing only a triple short of the cycle to decide the first matchup between 300-game winners in almost 18 years.
Cardinals 6, Braves 5
In Atlanta, Tim Hudson and Mark Mulder were roughed up in their first starts against each other, and Albert Pujols hit a two-run homer that carried St. Louis past Atlanta.
Hudson (2-1) gave up four runs in the first inning and left after the sixth, saddled with a line that showed nine hits and six runs -- twice as many runs as he gave up in his first four starts, covering 28 innings.
Given a 4-0 lead before he took the mound, Mulder (3-1) couldn't hold it. Andruw Jones hit a two-out, two-run double in the bottom half of the first, then Brian Jordan tied it up with a two-run homer in the third.
Mulder pitched seven innings, giving up eight hits and five runs -- four earned.
Brewers 4, Reds 3
In Milwaukee, Lyle Overbay homered in his first two at-bats Milwaukee's win over Cincinnati.
Overbay hit a three-run homer in the first and a solo shot in the third off Cincinnati starter Brandon Claussen (1-2). He also doubled and walked in his fourth career four-RBI game.
Gary Glover (2-1) went 5 1-3 innings, striking out four and walking two. He gave up a run-scoring single to Rich Aurilia in the second but was otherwise in command until the sixth.
Derrick Turnbow got the final three outs for this third save.
Padres 5, Diamondbacks 4,
15 innings
In San Diego, Phil Nevin's bases-loaded single in the 15th inning gave San Diego a -4 victory over Arizona, which had its six-game winning streak snapped.
Nevin, who earlier had extended his career-high hitting streak to 13 games, hit a line drive into left field off Diamondbacks closer Brandon Lyon (0-2) to score Xavier Nady with the winning run.
Nady drew a leadoff walk against Lyon before Dave Roberts laid down a sacrifice bunt. Mark Loretta then blooped a single to center field that Luis Terrero dove for and fielded on a hop. Lyon intentionally walked Brian Giles before Nevin hit a 1-1 fastball.
Loretta tied his career high with five hits.
Chris Hammond (2-0) pitched two perfect innings for the win. Hammond combined with relievers Scott Linebrink, Rudy Seanez and Akinori Otsuka to retire the final 16 Arizona batters they faced.
Veteran slugger Kazuhiro Kiyohara hit his 500th career home run Friday as the Yomiuri Giants downed the Hiroshima Carp 12-4.
Kiyohara connected off Hiroshima pitcher Koji Hiroike with a solo homer in the eighth inning as the Giants snapped a six-game losing streak.
"With just one homer to go, I was over-swinging," said Kiyohara. "In that at-bat, I just tried make contact and swung as hard as I could. I hope this homer sparks the team and gets us going."
The 37-year-old infielder is playing his 20th season in Japanese professional baseball.
Kiyohara spent the first 11 seasons with the Pacific League's Seibu Lions before joining the Giants as a free agent in 1997.
He become the eighth player in the history of Japanese baseball to reach the 500 mark. Sadaharu Oh, who currently manages the Pacific League's Softbank Hawks, is Japan's all-time leader with 868 homers.
Yomiuri starter Tetsuya Utsumi picked up the win after holding the Carp to three runs on seven hits over seven innings.
Yoshinobu Takahashi had three homers for Yomiuri. Shinnosuke Abe, Hiroki Kokubo and Takayuki Shimizu also homered.
In Yokohama, Kenshin Kawakami gave up five hits over seven scoreless innings as the Central League-leading Chunichi Dragons downed the Yokohama BayStars 9-4.
Alex Ochoa hit a three-run homer in the first and Tyrone Woods added a two-run blast in the third to lead the Chunichi attack.
At Jingu Stadium, Alex Ramirez hit a solo homer in the sixth inning to lift the Yakult Swallows to a 2-1 win over the Hanshin Tigers.
Yakult starter Shugo Fujii held the Tigers to one run on four hits over seven innings for the win.
In the Pacific League, Saburo Omura singled home the game winner in the eighth as the front-running Lotte Marines rallied to defeat the Softbank Hawks 6-5 for their eighth straight victory.
Naoyuki Shimizu picked up the win despite giving up four runs and seven hits in 8-1/3 innings.
At Sapporo Dome, Cliff Brumbaugh went 3-for-5 with three RBIs as the Orix Buffaloes downed the Nippon Ham Fighters 6-2.
Jeremy Powell struck out seven and limited the damage to a run and six hits over seven strong innings for his third win in as many starts.
At Fullcast Stadium, Masahiko Kaneda allowed four runs and seven hits in 6-2/3 innings of work for his first win this season as the Rakuten Eagles downed the Seibu Lions 6-4 to snap an 11-game losing streak.
Daisuke Matsuzaka took the loss despite fanning seven in a complete game effort.
Alex Rodriguez seems to be in a constant struggle to be understood. His talent and work ethic are unquestioned, but some people are less sure of his motivations.
The latest example was Friday, when Rodriguez took steps to dissolve a memorabilia company that bears his name after it tried to capitalize on his three-homer game.
Rodriguez, the Yankees' third baseman, became the first player ever to drive in 10 runs in a game at Yankee Stadium in a 12-4 victory over the Angels on Tuesday. By Thursday, a company called A-Rod Authenticated was running radio advertisements for signed baseballs commemorating that performance, with a price of US$399.
Rodriguez said that he never signed any baseballs, and that he was never approached about marketing his performance. He said his feelings about Tuesday's game are "very special and very sincere" and that he would not try to cash in on it.
"It's just not part of what I'm doing," Rodriguez said. "It's upsetting to me that someone would take action before even coming to me, or promote something I had nothing to do with."
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