Taiwanese right-hander Wang Chien-ming (王建民) flirted with perfection on Saturday as he pitched the New York Yankees to an 8-1 victory over the Seattle Mariners.
Wang retired the first 22 batters he faced, becoming the first Yankee starter to pitch eight innings this season.
He baffled the Mariners with an effective sinker through seven-and-a-third innings, inducing 12 ground-ball outs, retiring six on flyouts and striking out four before Ben Broussard ruined the bid for a perfect game, as well as a no-hitter and shutout, with his second home run of the season.
PHOTO: AP
Richie Sexson led off the eighth with a comebacker, leaving Wang five outs shy of a perfect game. But Broussard, who was hitting .188 this season, launched an 0-1 pitch over the wall in right-center field.
Jose Guillen followed with a single. Wang then got Kenji Johjima to ground into an inning-ending double play.
Wang was given a standing ovation by the crowd as he walked to the dugout.
The last Yankee to pitch a perfect game at Yankee Stadium was David Cone against Montreal on July 18, 1999, in a 6-0 victory.
That year ended with manager Joe Torre winning his third World Series title with New York.
Randy Johnson is the last pitcher to throw a perfect game, achieving the feat for the Arizona Diamondbacks in a 2-0 win over the Atlanta Braves on May 18, 2004.
Wang was also bidding to become the second player to throw a no-hitter this season. Mark Buehrle tossed one for the Chicago White Sox on April 18 against Texas.
Meanwhile, former Yankee Jeff Weaver lost for the fifth time in as many starts.
The Yankees held just a 1-0 lead against Weaver before erupting for five runs in the sixth inning. Derek Jeter highlighted the inning with a two-run double.
Bobby Abreu led off the sixth with a bunt single, Alex Rodriguez followed with a single to center and Jason Giambi walked to load the bases. Weaver then hit Hideki Matsui with a pitch to force in a run and Jorge Posada lined an RBI single.
After Robinson Cano struck out and Doug Mientkiewicz grounded into a fielder's choice, Melky Cabrera walked and Jeter doubled in two to make it 6-0.
Twins 2, Red Sox 1
At Minneapolis, Johan Santana picked up the win in a five-inning outing, beating Boston's Julian Tavarez, who turned in his best start of the year.
Jason Bartlett's infield single in a two-run second inning was enough to beat Tavarez (1-3), who struck out seven while allowing four hits, two runs and three walks in six innings.
The only score against Santana (4-2) came on a bloop double by Dustin Pedroia that hit the white line with two outs in the fourth and drove in Wily Mo Pena.
White Sox 6, Angels 3
At Anaheim, California, Jon Garland won for the first time this season and Chicago ended a five-game losing streak.
Garland (1-2), an 18-game winner in each of the past two seasons, gave up three runs and eight hits over seven-plus innings. Bobby Jenks, the fourth Chicago pitcher, worked a perfect ninth for his ninth save in 10 attempts.
After squandering an early 3-0 lead, the White Sox went ahead in the sixth against John Lackey (4-3). A.J. Pierzynski doubled just inside the left-field line and Joe Crede's two-out single made it 4-3.
Orioles 8, Indians 2
At Baltimore, Daniel Cabrera pitched seven innings of three-hit ball and Ramon Hernandez homered and drove in four runs for Baltimore.
Hernandez hit a three-run homer in the first inning and added a sacrifice fly in a three-run second. Jay Payton had three hits, two RBIs and scored twice for the Orioles, who had gone 16 games without scoring more than seven runs.
Cabrera (2-3) gave up one run, struck out six and walked four in his sharpest performance of the season.
Tigers 7, Royals 5
At Kansas City, Missouri, Craig Monroe hit a tiebreaking two-run single in the eighth inning to lift Detroit to its sixth straight victory.
Magglio Ordonez, who homered in the sixth for Detroit, doubled home the tying run off Joaquim Soria in the eighth.
Rangers 11, Blue Jays 4
At Arlington, Texas, Michael Young homered and had five RBIs, including a two-run double that keyed a six-run third inning off Toronto ace Roy Halladay and Texas extended Toronto's losing streak to five games.
Halladay (4-1), who pitched a five-hitter against Texas on Monday, gave up nine runs and 12 hits in five innings. He struck out three and walked two. He had lasted at least six innings in each of his first six starts.
Rangers starter Vicente Padilla (1-4) allowed two runs and six hits in seven innings to win for the first time since last Sept. 23 over Cleveland. He struck out three and walked one.
Devil Rays 3, Athletics 2
At St. Petersburg, Florida, Brendan Harris hit a game-winning RBI single in the 12th inning and Ty Wigginton hit two solo homers to lead Tampa Bay.
Ben Zobrist, who was in a 1-for-25 slump, had a one-out infield single off Jay Marshall (1-2) in the 12th. He went to second on a wild pitch and scored on Harris' two-out hit down the right-field line.
Barry Bonds is beating the Phillies whether they pitch to him or not.
Bonds hit his 744th career home run in the San Francisco Giants' 9-4 victory over Philadelphia on Saturday, moving him within 11 of Hank Aaron's record of 755.
A night earlier, the Giants scored three runs in both the seventh and eighth innings after walks to the slugger on the way to a 6-2 win.
Bonds led off the second inning Saturday and sent the first pitch from Jon Lieber over the fence in center for his 10th homer of the year, a drive that traveled an estimated 438 feet. Bonds connected for the fifth time in his career against Lieber, who has given up eight total hits to Bonds.
The 42-year-old Bonds rounded the bases to cheers as "744" flashed on the scoreboard. Eliezer Alfonzo added a solo shot to start the seventh for his first homer of the year and Pedro Feliz hit a three-run homer in the eighth.
Astros 13, Cardinals 0
At St. Louis, Matt Albers pitched shutout ball into the eighth inning for his first majors win and fellow rookie Hunter Pence hit a grand slam for his first career homer in Houston's win over St. Louis.
The defending World Series champion Cardinals, in last place in the NL Central, have lost six of seven.
The Cardinals also announced during the game that ace pitcher Chris Carpenter will undergo arthroscopic elbow surgery early next week, a procedure that will sideline him at least three months.
Cubs 5, Nationals 3
At Chicago, Aramis Ramirez homered and Chicago benefited from three bases-loaded walks by an emergency reliever to win for the seventh time in eight games.
Rich Hill (4-1) allowed six hits and a run in six innings, sending Washington to its fourth straight loss.
The Cubs climbed back to .500 (14-14) for the first time since they were 3-3 on April 8.
Dodgers 6, Braves 3
At Atlanta, Derek Lowe outpitched Tim Hudson, giving up three hits and an unearned run in seven innings for Los Angeles in a matchup of first-place teams.
Lowe (3-3) had eight strikeouts and walked two batters. After giving up a leadoff double to Willie Harris in the fifth, Lowe retired the last nine batters he faced.
Hudson (3-1) also pitched well, giving up three runs and seven hits in eight innings. He took his first loss in eight career starts against the Dodgers.
Wilson Betemit, normally the Dodgers' starting third baseman, hit a pinch-hit homer off Hudson in the eighth. Betemit, the former Brave, was hitting only .125 with no homers when he was benched by manager Grady Little.
The Braves mounted a rally in the ninth, scoring two runs before Takashi Saito got the final out for his ninth save.
Brewers 6, Pirates 3
At Milwaukee, Jeff Suppan won his fifth straight start, J.J. Hardy hit a three-run homer and Milwaukee improved to 10 games over .500 for the first time since 1998.
Suppan (5-2) pitched five innings, allowing two runs and eight hits. The Brewers' prized free agent acquisition in the offseason is 5-0 with a 2.06 ERA in five starts.
Rockies 9, Reds 7
At Cincinnati, Chris Iannetta and Matt Holliday hit two-run homers off Cincinnati's battered bullpen, powering Colorado to the win.
Colorado won back-to-back games for only the third time this season and clinched its first winning series on the road. The Rockies hadn't won a series since taking two of three from Arizona at Coors Field to open the season.
A local prep star and a balanced offense helped the Rockies pull it off.
Right-hander Aaron Cook (1-1) got his first career victory over the team he followed as a youth. Cook won a high school baseball championship in nearby Hamilton, Ohio, where he lives in the offseason.
Brian Fuentes pitched the ninth for his seventh save in eight tries.
Mets 6, Diamondbacks 2
At Phoenix, Jorge Sosa outpitched reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Brandon Webb, Shawn Green homered and drove in three runs and New York beat Arizona for its 13th straight victory at Chase Field.
Carlos Delgado was 2-for-2 with a double, two walks and two runs scored for the Mets, who won their fourth straight overall.
Sosa (1-0), making his first start of the season after being recalled from Triple-A New Orleans earlier in the day, allowed two runs and four hits over six innings.
Miguel Montero had a two-run, pinch-hit double for the Diamondbacks, who have lost five straight for the second time this season. Arizona has not beaten New York at home since May 11, 2004.
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