Randy Johnson outdueled Mark Mulder in a matchup of two of Major League Baseball's best left-handed pitchers, and Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez each had two RBIs in a 5-0 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday.
The victory was only the third in 11 games on a season-high 12-game trip for the Yankees, whose three-error performance in an 8-1 loss Friday night prompted angry New York manager Joe Torre to call a closed-door meeting.
"I thought we played with a lot more intensity today," Jeter said. "It doesn't hurt that Randy pitched well, too."
PHOTO: AP
Johnson (6-5) allowed four two-out hits in seven innings to bounce back from losses in consecutive starts. He got his 252nd win to pull ahead of Cardinals Hall of Famer Bob Gibson for 41st place on the career list. Johnson struck out seven and walked none.
"Certainly, we're closer to the team you saw today than last night," Torre said. "Last night was just a horrible experience for all us. We just have to build on something."
Braves 5, Athletics 3
In Atlanta, John Smoltz pitched his first complete game in six years and Andruw Jones hit a pair of two-run homers for the Braves.
Brian McCann, 21, added his first MLB homer for the Braves, who started four rookies. The 28-year-old Jones was the oldest everyday player in the lineup.
Smoltz (5-5) gave up five hits in his 48th career complete game and first since April 30, 1999, against Cincinnati. He struck out four, walked three and threw 106 pitches.
Cubs 7, Red Sox 6
In Chicago, Todd Walker had three hits against his former team and Henry Blanco delivered a go-ahead sacrifice fly to help the Chicago Cubs rally for a victory over Boston.
Walker singled off Wade Miller (2-2) in the sixth inning for his third hit, raced to third on Todd Hollandsworth's double past third and scored on Blanco's fly to center for a 5-4 lead.
Hollandsworth added an RBI single in the eighth and finished with three hits and three RBIs.
Nationals 2, Mariners 1
In Washington, Jose Guillen's bases-loaded single snapped a seventh-inning tie and propelled the Nationals to their ninth straight win.
The Nationals' winning streak is the franchise's longest since the Montreal Expos won 10 straight from June 6-16, 1997. Washington improved to 12-1 on a 14-game homestand that concludes today.
John Patterson (3-1) allowed a run on six hits over seven innings. He walked one and struck out five to win for the first time in six starts since April 26.
Chad Cordero pitched the ninth for his 18th save.
J.J. Putz (1-2) was the loser.
Astros 6, Blue Jays 3
In Houston, Morgan Ensberg hit a three-run homer with two outs in the ninth inning, leading the Astros to their fourth straight victory.
The Houston bullpen wasted another strong start by Roger Clemens, but Ensberg's 14th homer gave the Astros 10 wins in 15 games, as well as their first four-game winning streak since the first week of the season.
Chris Burke hit a one-out single in the ninth and stole second. After Scott Schoeneweis (2-2) intentionally walked Craig Biggio, Miguel Batista came in and got Lance Berkman on a fly to center field before Ensberg's homer.
Clemens allowed three hits in seven innings, and the Astros took a 3-1 lead to the ninth. But closer Brad Lidge (2-2) blew a save for the first time since May 24, costing Clemens his 333rd victory.
Clemens finished with seven strikeouts and joined Nolan Ryan as the only pitchers to surpass 4,400 career strikeouts. Clemens now has 4,404, while Ryan is the all-time strikeout leader with 5,714.
Reds 10, Orioles 1
In Cincinnati, Felipe Lopez hit his second career grand slam off Daniel Cabrera (5-5) and singled home two more runs for the Reds.
Given a big early lead, Brandon Claussen (3-3) held the AL's top hitting lineup to three hits over a career-high eight innings. The left-hander lost his shutout when Sal Fasano homered with two outs in the eighth.
Adam Dunn added a two-run shot for the Reds, who have homered 15 times in the last five games against Tampa Bay and Baltimore.
Tigers 6, Rockies 4
In Denver, Brandon Inge hit a tiebreaking single in the sixth inning, Rondell White had three hits and drove in two runs, and Detroit beat Colorado.
Detroit didn't waste any time after managing one run in its previous two games, scoring twice in the first inning on a fielder's choice and Craig Monroe's run-scoring single. The Tigers had four hits in the inning, three short of their total the day before, and finished with 12 to end a six-game losing streak to Colorado.
Preston Wilson ended a 1-for-10 slump with three hits, including an RBI single in the first inning for Colorado, which has lost four of five since starting interleague play this week.
Jeremy Bonderman (7-4) allowed four runs and eight hits in six innings for his second win in six starts. Troy Percival pitched the ninth for his fourth save in six opportunities.
The Tigers tagged Rockies starter Jason Jennings (3-7) for five runs.
Mets 5, Angels 3, 10 innings
In New York, Cliff Floyd hit a three-run homer with two outs in the 10th inning and Marlon Anderson had a tying inside-the-park home run in the ninth, lifting the New York Mets to a comeback victory over the Los Angeles Angels.
Floyd connected on a 3-2 pitch from reliever Brendan Donnelly (4-2) after just missing a homer earlier in the at-bat. It was his 15th homer of the season and came after he had struck out three times.
Darin Erstad's RBI single against Braden Looper (2-1) had put the Angels ahead 3-2 in the top of the 10th.
Jose Reyes, celebrating his 22nd birthday, popped a single to left leading off against Donnelly. Mike Cameron walked but Donnelly came back to strike out Carlos Beltran and Mike Piazza. That brought up Floyd, who sent a shot over the center-field fence.
Twins 5, Dodgers 3
In Los Angeles, Justin Morneau homered and drove in four runs, Torii Hunter added a solo shot and Minnesota beat Los Angeles.
Carlos Silva (5-3) allowed three runs and seven hits, including homers by Jason Grabowski, Choi Hee-seop and Jeff Kent in six innings. Silva, the
Derek Lowe (5-6) allowed five runs and eight hits in six innings, striking out five and walking none.
Choi, who hit two home runs Friday night, including the game-winning shot in the ninth inning, led off the sixth with a 137-meter (458-foot) drive near the back of the right field pavilion for his ninth of the season. One out later, Kent's 13th home run narrowed the gap to 5-3.
But J.C. Romero pitched two perfect innings with four strikeouts and Joe Nathan got three outs for his 18th save in 20 opportunities.
Padres 2, White Sox 1
In San Diego, Ramon Hernandez homered with one out in the ninth inning to tie it, and Damian Jackson had a bases-loaded single as San Diego rallied to beat the Chicago White Sox.
The National League West-leading Padres won for just the third time in 10 games, a span in which they've scored just 21 runs.
Hernandez homered to left on a 2-2 pitch from Dustin Hermanson (0-2), who blew his first save in 16 chances. He was trying to preserve a win for left-hander Mark Buehrle, who has four straight no-decisions.
Sean Burroughs followed with a single to left, pinch-hitter Robert Fick singled to right and pinch-hitter Mark Sweeney was intentionally walked to load the bases.
Scott Linebrink (3-1) pitched the ninth for the win.
Indians 7, Giants 6
In San Francisco, Ronnie Belliard had three hits, a homer and drove in two runs, helping Cleveland become the latest team to beat up on San Francisco ace Jason Schmidt (3-3).
Grady Sizemore and Victor Martinez also had two RBIs apiece to back Jason Davis (3-2), who allowed three runs and nine hits in seven innings. The Indians assured themselves of at least a .500 finish on their season-high 12-game road trip, winning for the sixth time with one game left.
Bob Wickman came in with two men on and none out in the ninth and allowed both runners to score. He put two more men on before striking out J.T. Snow to end the game for his 16th save in 19 chances.
The Giants (25-35) lost for the 13th time in 15 games, falling 10 games under .500 for the first time since finishing 68-94 in 1996.
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