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Curt Schilling gets shelled in Kansas

Curt Schilling gave up six runs and nine hits in his first start since April and Kansas City beat Boston 7-4 on Thursday, the Royals' fourth win in five games since snapping a franchise-record 19-game losing streak.

Schilling (5-6) went five innings in his first start since April 23, a loss to Tampa Bay. He walked one and had five strikeouts.

"I didn't feel like I had super stuff and I didn't feel like I had bad stuff," Schilling said. "I felt normal."

The six-time All-Star went on the disabled list on April 29 with a right ankle bruise after going 1-2 in three starts. He missed 69 games, then was 4-3 with nine saves in 11 opportunities while filling in for injured closer Keith Foulke. It was his first regular bullpen work since 1992.

"In the fifth inning I thought I got more comfortable," Schilling said. "I didn't throw my first split until the ninth hitter of the game, which is not something that happens to me a lot. I only think I threw three in the first four innings. A lot of that was confidence. I didn't feel real comfortable with it."

Emil Brown was 3-for-3 for the Royals, including a 422-foot solo homer off Jonathan Papelbon in the eighth. Denny Hocking and Paul Phillips, the Nos. 8 and 9 hitters, had RBI singles to left in the second and Terrence Long followed with an RBI single to center for a 3-0 lead. All three singles were hard hit.

White Sox 2, Twins 1, 10 innings

At Minneapolis, Timo Perez hit a go-ahead single in the 10th inning, and Chicago beat Minnesota after wasting a lead with two outs in the ninth.

Jon Garland was in position to tie the California Angels' Bartolo Colon for the American League lead in wins at 17 before Minnesota rallied in the ninth. Damaso Marte walked Justin Morneau with one out, Dustin Hermanson relieved and Michael Ryan hit a two-out line drive that deflected off first baseman Paul Konerko's glove and rolled down the right-field line for an RBI double.

Hermanson (1-2) blew a save for the third time in 34 chances.

Athletics 11, Tigers 1

At Detroit, Barry Zito didn't give up a run in six strong innings while Mark Ellis, Dan Johnson and Jay Payton homered to lead Oakland.

Zito (12-10) gave up four hits, three walks and struck out six. He started in place of Rich Harden, who had a shoulder injury.

The A's won their second straight -- after dropping seven of nine -- to avoid losing a fourth consecutive series.

Detroit's Mike Maroth (11-12), who had won three straight decisions, had his worst outing of the year, lasting just 3 2-3 innings. He gave up a season-high eight runs and 10 hits.

Bobby Kielty and Johnson had two RBIs apiece. Jason Kendall and Ellis each had three hits.

Yankees 6, Blue Jays 2

At New York, Gary Sheffield and Alex Rodriguez hit consecutive first-inning home runs to back another strong start by Shawn Chacon, and New York took three of four games from Toronto.

Chacon improved to 3-1 with a 1.80 ERA with the Yankees after going 1-7 with a 4.09 ERA for Colorado. He worked seven innings, allowed six hits, struck out six, and walked four.

The Yankees needed just five pitches to take the lead against Gustavo Chacin (11-7).

Derek Jeter singled on Chacin's second pitch, and Hideki Matsui singled the next pitch for the 500th hit of his major league career. Sheffield followed with a three-run homer for his 27th of the season. It was the 442nd of his career, tied for 30th all-time.

Rodriguez followed with his 37th homer. It was his 22nd at Yankee Stadium this season, a record for a right-handed hitter. The old mark of 19 was set by Joe DiMaggio in 1937 and matched by Sheffield last season.

Mariners 8, Rangers 2

At Arlington, Texas, Jeff Harris limited Texas to just four singles and an unearned run in his second career start and Ichiro Suzuki hit his third career grand slam to lead Seattle.

Harris (1-1), a 31-year-old rookie recalled from Triple-A Tacoma to make the start, went seven innings and threw 94 pitches. He benefited from four double plays.

Seattle managed just three hits over seven innings against Joaquin Benoit (3-4), who retired 19 batters in a row at one point but still lost his third straight start.

Suzuki hit a grand slam in a five-run ninth, his 13th homer this season. Raul Ibanez also homered for the Mariners.

Orioles 2, Angels 0

At Baltimore, Rodrigo Lopez scattered seven hits over seven innings and Javy Lopez hit a two-run homer as Baltimore blanked Anaheim to snap a five-game losing streak.

Rodrigo Lopez (13-7) struck out five, walked one and worked out of several jams in helping the Orioles avoid a three-game sweep. He is 5-1 with a 1.70 ERA in seven career games against the Angels.

Los Angeles starter John Lackey gave up nine hits in his first complete game of the season. Lackey (10-5) was 4-0 in seven starts since July 9.

Lackey extended his run of innings without yielding a home run to 62, the third-longest streak in the majors this season, before Javy Lopez connected in the fourth.

Indians 12, Devil Rays 4

At St. Petersburg, Florida, Ronnie Belliard hit his first career grand slam during a seven-run third inning to lead Cleveland past Tampa Bay.

Jose Hernandez went 3-for-5 with three RBIs for Cleveland, which stayed less than a percentage point behind the New York Yankees and Oakland in the American League wild-card race. The Indians have won seven of eight.

Eduardo Perez homered and tied a career-high with four RBIs for Tampa Bay, which lost for the fourth time in 13 games.

Cliff Lee (14-4) allowed four runs and four hits over six innings. He is 5-0 in his last eight starts.

Scott Kazmir (7-9) lasted 2 1-3 innings, giving up eight runs -- four earned -- and eight hits.

Ken Griffey Jr. hit his 30th homer and Brandon Claussen won his fifth straight decision as the Cincinnati Reds beat the Washington Nationals 5-3.

Claussen (9-8) gave up one unearned run, six hits and two walks over 5 2-3 innings. He is 5-0 with a 2.77 ERA over his last six starts.

With one out in the ninth and the Reds ahead 5-1, Cincinnati's Kent Mercker hit pinch-hitter Brian Schneider then allowed Brad Wilkerson's two-run homer. David Weathers, Cincinnati's sixth pitcher, gave up a single to Jose Vidro to bring the tying run to the plate before getting the last two outs for his 11th save.

Washington starter Livan Hernandez (14-6), meanwhile, has won two of his past 10 outings. He was charged with four runs and 10 hits -- nine singles and Griffey's line shot to right on a 3-2 pitch leading off the seventh.

Griffey and Sean Casey had three hits for Cincinnati, and Felipe Lopez and Austin Kearns had two each. Griffey is hitting .457 with five homers and 11 RBIs over an 11-game hitting streak.

Marlins 3, Brewers 1, 10 innings

At Milwaukee, Juan Pierre's run-scoring single off Jose Capellan with two outs in the 10th allowed Florida to avoid a three-game sweep.

Pierre hit a hard grounder that first baseman Lyle Overbay couldn't handle, scoring Alex Gonzalez from third. Pierre then swiped second base, his 42nd of the year but first in 13 games and the Marlins' first in 11 games. Jeff Conine singled him home for a 3-1 lead off rookie Capellan (0-1).

Antonio Alfonseca (1-1) got the win with a perfect ninth inning and Todd Jones pitched the 10th for his 29th save.

Brewers hard-luck left-hander Doug Davis was denied his 10th win for the 12th straight time despite allowing just one earned run on five hits in seven stellar innings. Marlins starter Ismael Valdes allowed just one run on eight hits through five innings.

Cardinals 6, Pirates 3

At Pittsburgh, Jim Edmonds and Albert Pujols homered in the first to get St. Louis off to its customary fast start in Pittsburgh, and Tony La Russa passed Sparky Anderson to move into third place on the manager wins list with 2,195, trailing only Connie Mack (3,731) and John McGraw (2,763).

Matt Morris (14-5) allowed two runs and nine hits in seven innings, improving to 6-0 at Pittsburgh in seven career starts, and Jason Isringhausen got four outs for his 34th save. Pujols' homer was his 16th at PNC, the most among opposing players, and St. Louis improved to 10-3 against the Pirates this season.

Dave Williams (10-10) gave up five runs and eight hits in six innings.

Mets 3, Diamondbacks 1

At Phoenix, Pedro Martinez took a no-hitter into the sixth inning and Victor Diaz homered and added a sacrifice fly as New York edged Arizona.

The Mets completed their first four-game sweep in more than two years and have won eight of their last 10 to move within 1 1/2 games of Philadelphia in the National League wild-card race. New York beat Arizona 14-1 and 18-4 the previous two games.

Martinez (13-5) snapped his two-game losing streak, limiting Arizona to two hits in six innings. He had six strikeouts to pass Mickey Lolich for 15th place on the career list with 2,835. The right-hander also walked four and hit a batter.

Arizona scored on Chad Tracy's leadoff homer off Roberto Hernandez in the eighth.

Braden Looper pitched the ninth for his 26th save in 31 chances.

Arizona's Javier Vazquez (10-13) allowed four hits and two runs in seven innings.

Rockies 5, Dodgers 4

At Los Angeles, Matt Holliday hit a three-run homer, Aaron Cook won his third straight start, and Colorado beat Los Angeles for its first series victory at Dodger Stadium since August 2001.

Dustan Mohr and Aaron Miles also homered to help the Rockies take two of three from the Dodgers. Colorado entered the series with a 7-24 record in its last 31 games in Los Angeles, including an 0-3 mark this season.

Cook (3-1) allowed two runs and eight hits in five innings. Brian Fuentes worked the ninth for his second save in two nights and 23rd in 26 chances.

Brad Penny (6-8) was the loser. The Dodgers have lost four of their last five to drop a season-worst 13 games below .500. They trail NL West-leading San Diego by 6 1/2 games.

Tomonori Maeda hit a pair of homers Thursday to lead the Hiroshima Carp to a 7-5 win over the Hanshin Tigers.

Maeda hit a solo homer in the fourth inning at Hiroshima Stadium and then added another solo blast in the sixth to give the Carp a three-run lead. Shigenobu Shima and Koichi Ogata also homered for the Carp.

Mike Romano worked six innings to pick up his first win in over a month.

The Tigers, who lost for the second straight night, saw their lead in the Central League standings over the second-place Chunichi Dragons reduced to 2-1/2 games.

Three other games were postponed due to rain and heavy winds from an approaching typhoon.

Former Hanshin Tigers manager Senichi Hoshino returned to Japan from the US on Thursday saying he doesn't want to talk about becoming the manager of the Yomiuri Giants.

"The Giants? I have nothing to say about that," Hoshino said on his official Web site. "I've decided that I'm not going to say anything about it and I don't care how persistent they [the media] are."

Hoshino has been mentioned as a possible candidate to replace current manager Tsuneo Horiuchi, who is likely to step down at the end of the this season.

The Giants have struggled this season and currently sit in second last place in the Central League standings with a 48-63 record, 17-1/2 games behind the Tigers.

Hoshino is a regular visitor to the US, where he provides Major League Baseball analysis for Japanese TV.

As a player in the 1970s, Hoshino developed a reputation for beating the Giants and was the winning pitcher when the Chunichi Dragons put a halt to Yomiuri's nine straight Japan Series championships between 1965 and 1973.

As a manager, the 58-year-old Hoshino most recently led the Tigers to the Central League pennant in 2003, their first in 18 years. He stepped down as manager after the 2003 season for health reasons and currently serves as a senior director for the Tigers.

Ponson arrested

Sidney Ponson is in legal trouble again after being arrested on a drunken-driving charge.

The Baltimore Orioles pitcher, who started the 2004 season as the team's ace, was arrested early Thursday. It's the latest alcohol-related legal problem for Ponson, who was charged in January with driving under the influence in Florida -- a case that has not yet been resolved.

That arrest came less than a month after he spent 11 days in an Aruban jail following a Christmas Day fight at a beach in his native country. He apologized for the fight and reached a settlement that involved community service and a charitable contribution.

Ponson's arrest stunned an organization that in January 2004 signed the right-hander to a three-year, US$22.5 million contract.

"I just think he needs some help," Orioles interim manager Sam Perlozzo said Thursday before Baltimore's game against the Los Angeles Angels. "I don't know if it's alcohol or what it is, he obviously just needs some help, period."

Maryland Transportation Authority Police arrested Ponson on Interstate 95, just south of Baltimore, officer Pamela Thorne said.

Authorities said Ponson was stopped for tailgating, given a field sobriety test and charged with driving under the influence. At the station, he refused a breath test, which carries an automatic 120-day suspension of his license for a first offense.
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