Gary Sheffield homered off Daniel Cabrera two innings after the Baltimore starter hit him with a pitch, leading Detroit to an 8-4 victory on Monday night.
Cabrera hit Sheffield in the third inning, and the two had to be pulled apart during a bench-clearing incident in the fifth before Sheffield broke a tie with a two-run homer estimated at 124m. Sheffield watched the drive sail into the left-field stands from home plate before he slowly trotted around the bases.
Cabrera (1-3) issued a season-high six walks in five innings and has walked 11 in his last two starts. He allowed five runs and four hits as his winless streak stretched to four.
PHOTO: AP
Blue Jays 6, Rangers 1
At Toronto, Roy Halladay threw a five-hitter and Aaron Hill hit a two-run homer for the Blue Jays.
Troy Glaus and rookie Adam Lind also homered for the Blue Jays (13-12).
PHOTO: AP
Halladay (4-0) struck out eight and walked none in his second complete game of the season. He went 10 innings in his first, leading Toronto to a 2-1 victory over Detroit on April 13. Halladay has worked at least seven innings in each of his past five starts.
Angels 3, Royals 1
At Kansas City, Missouri, Vladimir Guerrero doubled home two runs in the first inning and John Lackey pitched into the seventh to lead Los Angeles.
Reggie Willits and Orlando Cabrera hit one-out singles off Odalis Perez (2-3) and Guerrero, who has 23 RBIs in 24 games, doubled high off the wall in straightaway center, missing a homer by about 47cm.
Lackey (4-2) went 6 1-3 innings, giving up eight hits and one run. He struck out seven and walked only one.
One day after the death of teammate Josh Hancock, the St. Louis Cardinals lost 7-1 to Milwaukee on Monday night, struggling at the plate and in the field.
Starter Kip Wells (1-5) balked in a run in the second inning and gave up seven runs over six innings. Adam Kennedy was thrown out trying to stretch a single into a double in the fourth, and shortstop David Eckstein was left holding the ball with nowhere to throw as a second run crossed the plate after a triple by Milwaukee's Kevin Mench in the sixth.
Jeff Suppan (4-2), a former Cardinal and teammate of Hancock's, gave up one run and eight hits for the Brewers in his 16th career complete game.
Pirates 3, Cubs 2
At Pittsburgh, Jason Bay hit a one-out homer in the eighth, an inning after the Pirates had tied the game on Ronny Paulino's double.
Bay's homer, an opposite-field shot off Michael Wuertz (0-1) that barely reached the right-field bleachers, was his fourth of the season and his 100th with the Pirates.
Salomon Torres, the Pirates closer who had been scored upon in six of his previous eight appearances, pitched a scoreless ninth for his eighth save in 11 opportunities. Matt Capps (2-0) won it by pitching the eighth.
Braves 5, Phillies 2
At Atlanta, Andruw Jones hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning for the Braves.
Pitching with a "JH" on the front of his jersey, Braves starter Hudson allowed only four hits over eight innings though he didn't get a decision. Hudson was good friends with Josh Hancock, the St. Louis pitcher who died early on Sunday in a car crash. The two played together at Auburn in 1997, leading the Tigers to the College World Series.
Marlins 9, Mets 6
At New York, Hanley Ramirez homered, Miguel Cabrera drove in two runs and Florida chased emergency Mets starter Chan Ho Park early.
Alfredo Amezaga also homered and Josh Willingham had a two-run single during Florida's five-run rally in the third inning, which started with a two-out single by pitcher Scott Olsen (3-1), who gave up four runs -- two earned -- and 10 hits in six-plus innings.
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