American League
Melky Cabrera's RBI single put the Yankees in front during a three-run eighth inning and New York hung on to beat the Chicago White Sox 6-5 on Friday night, snapping Jose Contreras' winning streak at 17 decisions.
Kyle Farnsworth (3-4) pitched a perfect eighth and Mariano Rivera worked the ninth for his 20th save in 22 chances. Rivera allowed two runs before he got pinch-hitter A.J. Pierzynski to fly out to right with a runner on third to end it.
PHOTO: AP
Contreras (9-1) allowed Alex Rodriguez's leadoff single in the eighth before he was relieved by Matt Thornton, who allowed a single to Jorge Posada and walked Bernie Williams to load the bases.
Athletics 15, Red Sox 3
At Boston, Oakland finally gave Barry Zito some run support, spotting him to a 7-0 lead and then piling on eight unearned runs in the eighth inning to beat the Red Sox, snapping the All-Star left-hander's three-game losing streak.
Mark Ellis homered and matched a career high with five RBIs, and Milton Bradley returned to the lineup with three RBIs and a homer-saving catch for the A's, who reached a season high in runs and hits (16). Mark Kotsay had three hits.
That was plenty for Zito (9-6), who had gotten a total of one run in support in his previous three starts. Oakland's only representative in this week's All-Star game, Zito allowed two runs, six hits, four walks, a hit batter and a wild pitch.
Tigers 10, Royals 9
At Detroit, Carlos Guillen hit a game-winning homer off Jeremy Affeldt with one out in the ninth inning, lifting the Tigers over Kansas City.
The Tigers overcame a 4-0 deficit against Kansas City for the second straight game and earned their 10th consecutive win over the Royals this season.
Twins 3, Indians 2, 10 innings
At Minneapolis, Jason Tyner's RBI single in the 10th inning helped the Twins beat Cleveland.
Torii Hunter got things going in the 10th with a one-out single off Edward Mujica (0-1). He advanced to third on a single by Jason Kubel, and Tyner followed with a rope to right field that scored Hunter, who had three hits in the game.
Tyner, who was just recalled from Triple-A Rochester on Thursday night to replace the injured Lew Ford, had two hits and two RBIs on the night and got a big bear hug from teammate Justin Morneau before he reached the pitcher's mound after the winning hit.
Rangers 2, Orioles 1
At Baltimore, Kevin Millwood and three relievers combined on a six-hitter, and Texas capitalized on one shaky inning by Kris Benson to slip past the Orioles.
After scoring 15 runs one night earlier, the Rangers got their only runs on fourth-inning sacrifice flies by Michael Young and Mark Teixeira.
Baltimore got its lone run on a sacrifice fly by Melvin Mora.
Mariners 5, Blue Jays 3
At Toronto, Gil Meche won his fifth straight decision and Adrian Beltre drove in two runs to lead Seattle past the Blue Jays.
Meche (9-4) beat the Detroit Tigers on Sunday -- the last game before the All-Star break -- and Toronto on Friday night -- the first game after it.
Angels 4, Devil Rays 0
At Anaheim, California, John Lackey pitched a five-hitter for his second consecutive shutout, Vladimir Guerrero was 3-for-4 with a tiebreaking home run, and Los Angeles defeated Tampa Bay.
The Angels, who were nine games under .500 and a season-worst seven games out of first place on June 30, are 9-1 since then. The shutout was their fourth in nine games, one more than they had through their first 80 contests.
National League
AP, CHICAGO
Steve Trachsel won his seventh straight start, and the New York Mets used a four-run fourth inning to defeat the Chicago Cubs 6-3 on Friday.
Down 2-1 after three innings, the Mets had four hits in the fourth and got help when Ronny Cedeno's throwing error allowed two runs to score, sending Greg Maddux to his fifth straight loss.
Trachsel (9-4) gave up two runs on three hits in six innings. The former Cub hasn't lost since May 17, a span of 10 starts. He retired 13 of 15 batters after a two-run first inning, giving up a single and a walk.
The Mets won their third straight game.
Cardinals 5, Dodgers 0
At St. Louis, Chris Carpenter threw a two-hitter and David Eckstein had four hits to help the Cardinals to their fifth straight victory.
Chris Duncan hit a two-run homer off Derek Lowe (7-6) in the third inning for the Cardinals, who had needed extra innings to win their previous three games, including a 14-inning victory over the Dodgers on Thursday in the series opener. Juan Encarnacion added a solo homer in the eighth off Danys Baez.
Marlins 3, Astros 1
At Miami, Rookie Anibal Sanchez outdueled Roger Clemens, and Reggie Abercrombie hit a two-run homer to lead Florida over the Astros.
Reds 3, Rockies 1
At Cincinnati, Adam Dunn homered on a pitch he wasn't supposed to reach, and Aaron Harang became Cincinnati's first 10-game winner.
Pirates 7, Nationals 4
At Pittsburgh, Jason Bay drove in two runs and Jose Bautista homered among his three hits, helping the Pirates beat Washington.
The Nationals played their first game since making a number of moves during the All-Star break, including an eight-player deal that landed them starting outfielder Austin Kearns and shortstop Felipe Lopez from the Cincinnati Reds.
Diamondbacks 4, Brewers 3
At Phoenix, Johnny Estrada hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning to give Arizona a win over Milwaukee.
Giants 5, Phillies 3
At San Francisco, Barry Bonds made a significant contribution to the Giants' victory over Philadelphia without getting a hit.
The 41-year-old slugger walked twice, scoring both times, stole a base and made a sliding catch in left field to help the Giants start the second half with a win.
Braves 15, Padres 12, 11 innings
At San Diego, Adam LaRoche homered twice and drove in five runs, including two on an 11th-inning double, to help Atlanta to a wild win that snapped San Diego's five-game winning streak.
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