American League
A Late-game collapse by the New York Yankees bullpen wasted another quality start by Taiwanese rookie right-hander Wang Chien-ming (
Wang, who left the game with a 4-3 lead after seven solid innings of work, was denied a chance to pocket his fifth big league win when fellow relievers Tom Gordon yielded the game-tying run on an RBI single to Miguel Tejada in the bottom of the eighth and Mike Stanton eventually lost the game in the bottom of the tenth on a walk-off home run to Brian Roberts.
PHOTO: AP
Two first-inning runs by the Yankees offense gave New York a great start against Baltimore righty Sidney Ponson, but the 4-1 Yankees' lead was quickly reduced to a one-run advantage in the sixth inning when veteran slugger Rafael Palmeiro smashed an 1-2 offering from Wang over the right field fence for a two-run blast.
Groundouts represented the bulk of Wang's three-run, seven-hit night, as 12 of the 17 outs recorded against him (not counting three strikeouts and a double play) came by ways of grounders, but the long balls really hurt him in the game as all three of the runs off him came on home run plays; Larry Bigbie's solo shot in the opening inning, then Palmeiro's two-run home run in the sixth.
He was struck by a line-drive hit on his throwing arm to start the game, but Wang still managed to pitch well.
"I'm sure he'll [Wang] be sore. I never dreamed he'd be as effective as he was," said Yankees manager Joe Torre, according to a report on the Major League Web site. "The kid was great tonight. Unfortunately, we couldn't take advantage of it," Torre said.
With the loss, the Yankees fell to 39-38 for the year, 5-1/2 games behind the Boston Red Sox, the American League Eastern Division leaders, with four games left before the annual All-Star break.
Rookie second baseman Robinson Cano and Japanese standout Hideki Matsui homered for the Yankees to provide most of the power on the offense in an losing effort.
Palmeiro's 563rd homer ties Reggie Jackson for ninth place. The two-run drive gave Palmeiro 1,813 RBIs, pushing him past Frank Robinson into 15th place.
B.J. Ryan (1-1) pitched two perfect innings for the Orioles, who improved to 6-2 against New York.
INDIANS 12, RED SOX
Travis Hafner hit a grand slam off Keith Foulke in a five-run ninth inning, doubled twice and drove in six runs to lead Cleveland to a 12-8 win over Boston on Tuesday.
After Jhonny Peralta's leadoff single in the eighth off Mike Timlin and Casey Blake's one-out double, Foulke (5-4) relieved and allowed Hafner's run-scoring groundout and Victor Martinez's RBI single.
Foulke, who blew a save for the third time in 18 chances, gave up Jody Gerut's double with one out in the ninth, then retired Aaron Boone on a flyout.
Peralta singled tie the score 8-8, and Grady Sizemore and Blake walked before Hafner's 13th homer of the season.
Matt Miller (1-0) pitched 2 1-3 scoreless innings, and Bob Wickman retired the Red Sox in order on three pitches in the bottom of the ninth.
Angels 5, Rangers 1, 11 innings
At Arlington, Texas, Garret Anderson hit a grand slam in the 11th inning and Los Angeles won its eighth straight.
It Anderson's seventh career slam, his first since May 8, 2003, and it came on an 0-1 pitch from Brian Shouse, a left-handed reliever brought in specifically to face him after the Angels loaded the bases with none out against Kameron Loe (0-1).
Brendan Donnelly (6-2) retired the top three hitters in Texas' lineup in the 10th, and Francisco Rodriguez worked the 11th.
White Sox 2, Tigers 1
At Detroit, Mark Buehrle outdueled Nate Robertson to win his ninth straight decision, and Jermaine Dye hit a tiebreaking home run.
Buehrle (10-1) allowed one run and eight hits in 6 2-3 innings, struck out six and walked none. He got his final out by picking Nook Logan off first with one out in the seventh following a single.
Dustin Hermanson escaped a ninth-inning jam for his 18th save in 19 chances.
Chicago, which leads the AL Central, broke a two-game losing streak and improved to a major league-best 51-24.
Robertson (3-6) allowed two runs and six hits in seven innings, struck out nine and walked two.
National League
AP, Washington
Ryan Drese pitched eight strong innings, Wil Cordero hit a tiebreaking sacrifice fly for his first RBI of the season and the Washington Nationals beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 2-1 Tuesday for their 15th victory in 17 home games.
Drese (2-1), who allowed five runs and eight hits over three innings at Pittsburgh on June 21, won a pitchers' duel against Josh Fogg (4-4), winless in five starts since defeating Florida on June 1.
Acquired on waivers from Texas on June 10, Drese gave up one run and five hits in eight innings.
Chad Cordero pitched a perfect ninth for his major league-leading 26th save, his 23rd straight. He tied the franchise record for consecutive saves set by Montreal's Mel Rojas in 1996.
Mets 8, Phillies 3
At New York, Mike Piazza drove in three runs with a single and his ninth home run of the season and Carlos Beltran had a double and triple.
The Mets won for fourth time in the last five games and drew back to .500 at 38-38 as they started a stretch of 10 straight games against division opponents.
Piazza hit a fifth-inning single that put the Mets ahead 3-1 and homered in the sixth off Amaury Telemaco. With 387 homers, Piazza moved within two of Johnny Bench for 46th place on the career list.
Victor Zambrano (4-6) allowed one run, four hits and three walks in five innings, striking out a season-high seven.
Rookie Robinson Tejeda (1-1) gave up two runs, three hits and five walks in four innings.
Cubs 2, Brewers 0
At Chicago, Carlos Zambrano allowed just three hits in eight innings, and NL batting leader Derrek Lee hit his 23rd homer.
Jerry Hairston also drove in a run with a single, and the Cubs won their third straight.
Zambrano (5-4) was 1-3 in his previous eight starts. Since pitching seven scoreless innings in his last win at San Diego on June 5, he had allowed 18 runs over 13 innings in three starts.
Doug Davis (9-7) allowed just two runs and four hits in seven innings. He struck out nine and walked two.
Braves 9, Marlins 1
At Miami, Marcus Giles homered and Atlanta spoiled Dontrelle Willis' bid to become the first 13-game winner in the majors, beating Florida for its fifth straight victory.
Jorge Sosa (4-1) held Florida to four hits -- including Carlos Delgado's 15th homer -- in six crisp innings for his second win in four starts since moving into Atlanta's rotation June 14.
Giles' homer was the first allowed by Willis (12-3) in 12 starts since April 23. Julio Franco had three RBIs for Atlanta, which has won seven of eight and 10 of 12.
Cardinals 2, Reds 1
At St. Louis, Mark Mulder ended a string of poor starts and Reggie Sanders backed him with a two-run homer.
The Cardinals have won three of four, giving them an NL-best record of 48-28. They sent the Reds to their 15th loss in 17 road games.
In 6 1-3 innings, Mulder (9-5) gave up seven hits with five strikeouts and three walks.
Sanders, batting cleanup instead of Jim Edmonds against left-hander Brandon Claussen (4-5), hit his 16th homer and second in two games after Albert Pujols singled with two outs in the first inning.
Rockies 6, Astros 5
At Denver, Roger Clemens allowed just four hits in seven innings and left with a lead, but Garrett Atkins hit a grand slam in the eighth off Russ Springer (1-3).
David Cortes (1-0) worked a scoreless eighth, and Brian Fuentes finished for his ninth save in 11 chances.
Houston's Craig Biggio was hit by a pitch in the fifth inning against Jason Jennings, tying Don Baylor's post-1900 major league record of 267 times getting hit. Biggio has been hit 11 times this season -- his 10th time in double digits in 12 seasons.
Padres 8, Dodgers 3
At Los Angeles, Brian Lawrence pitched shutout ball into the eighth inning and Robert Fick drove in three runs, leading San Diego over Los Angeles.
The Padres increased their NL West lead over second-place Arizona to four games.
The Dodgers, whose entire offense consisted of a bases-loaded walk and a two-run wild pitch, are 6 games off the pace.
Lawrence (5-6) was charged with two runs and five hits in 7 1-3 innings. He improved to 10-5 against the Dodgers. Elmer Dessens (0-1) allowed three runs -- one earned -- in five innings.
Giants 11, Diamondbacks
At Phoenix, Jason Schmidt outpitched Brad Halsey for the second time in six days and San Francisco snapped its four-game losing streak.
Moises Alou drove in three runs with a single and a sacrifice fly, Mike Matheny drove in two with a double and a single, and Jason Ellison, Omar Vizquel and Pedro Feliz had run-scoring singles.
Schmidt (6-3) gave up three runs, nine hits and three walks in six innings, improving to 8-0 in his last 12 starts against Arizona. Halsey (4-7) allowed five runs -- four earned -- and eight hits in 5 1-3 innings.
Notebook
With his 75th birthday approaching next week, New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner made it official Tuesday: Son-in-law Steve Swindal will follow him as head of Major League Baseball's most storied team.
Steinbrenner did not say when Swindal would take over.
At a news conference on June 15, Steinbrenner mentioned in passing that Swindal was "going to carry on."
"Yes, Steve will be my successor," Steinbrenner said through spokesman Howard Rubenstein in an e-mail response to questions from AP.
"I also have other sons, daughters, sons-in-law and daughters-in-law coming along and they will remain involved. As I have said many times, `You must let the young elephants into the tent.'"
Swindal, 50, is married to Steinbrenner's daughter, Jennifer. He said there was no way he would be as hands-on as his father-in-law.
"I think that's impossible. My inherent style is more delegation," Swindal said Tuesday during a telephone interview from Tampa, Florida. "I don't think there could ever be another George Steinbrenner. He is Mr. Yankee and has represented them for 32 years. I could only could only hope to surround myself with the best, brightest baseball minds and do a lot of listening."
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