American League
Hank Blalock hit his second three-run double of the game in the 12th inning and the Texas Rangers denied Roger Clemens his 299th career win, beating the New York Yankees 8-5 Friday night.
PHOTO: AP
Blalock also connected off Clemens in the second to give him a career-high six RBIs.
The Rangers snapped a three-game losing streak after being swept in Boston, where all the talk was about whether Clemens would skip his start Wednesday to win his 300th game at home.
Texas manager Buck Showalter took that personally, upset everyone was already assuming Clemens would beat the Rangers. But Texas got to the Rocket early, breaking out to a 5-1 lead and handed the Yankees their fourth loss in five games.
The Yankees tied it at 5 in the eighth on Raul Mondesi's RBI single. New York almost won it in the ninth, but left fielder Donnie Sadler threw out Bernie Williams at the plate on John Flaherty's single.
RA Dickey (3-1) pitched two scoreless innings for the win and Ugueth Urbina got his 11th save.
Juan Acevedo (0-3) took the loss.
Angels 6, Red Sox 5
In Boston, Brad Fullmer was 3-for-4 with an RBI double in the seventh that gave Anaheim its first lead of the game after the Angels rallied from a four-run deficit.
Francisco Rodriguez (4-1) blew a 5-4 lead in the seventh but got the win when the Angels took the lead back in the eighth.
Troy Percival pitched the ninth for his sixth save in as many opportunities. Alan Embree (2-1) gave up one run on two hits and a walk in one inning. Boston made it 5-all on Johnny Damon's RBI single in the seventh.
But the Angels took the lead back when Eric Owens singled, went to third when David Eckstein faked a bunt and slapped a single through the drawn-in infield and scored on Adam Kennedy's grounder.
Twins 18, White Sox 3
In Minneapolis, Torii Hunter and Bobby Kielty each hit a three-run homer in Minnesota's rout of Chicago and struggling lefty Mark Buehrle.
Kielty drove in a career-high five runs, Hunter had four RBIs and A.J. Pierzynski went 4-for-4 for the Twins, who roughed up Buehrle for a career-worst 10 runs in his sixth straight loss.
Buehrle (2-7) gave up 10 hits, nine earned runs and two walks in 3 1-3 innings.
Minnesota hit four homers and got 20 hits in support of Brad Radke (5-3), who allowed three runs in seven innings to win his fourth straight start.
Tom Prince hit a solo shot and Doug Mientkiewicz added a two-run homer for the Twins.
Mariners 6, Tigers 3
In Detroit, Edgar Martinez homered in his third straight game and drove in three runs, leading Gil Meche and Seattle over Detroit.
John Olerud scored twice for the AL West-leading Mariners, who have won nine of 13. The Tigers dropped 21 games below .500 at 9-30.
Meche (5-2) won for the fourth time in five starts, allowing three runs on six hits in six-plus innings. Kazuhiro Sasaki got his fifth save in nine chances.
Jeremy Bonderman (2-6) gave up four runs on five hits and a career-high five walks over five-plus innings in his eighth career start. He struck out a career-high seven.
Indians 3, Athletics 2
In Cleveland, Omar Vizquel's speed and Ellis Burks' clutch hitting helped Cleveland halt Mark Mulder's five-game winning streak.
Vizquel singled with two outs in the eighth, stole second and scored on Burks' single to snap a 2-2 tie.
Billy Traber (1-2) got his first major league win by striking out two in a hitless eighth inning, and Danys Baez pitched a perfect ninth for his seventh save.
Indians starter C.C. Sabathia struck out a season-high eight in seven strong innings, allowing home runs to Carlos Hernandez and Miguel Tejada.
Burks tied it at 2 with a two-run homer in the sixth.
Mulder (6-2) lost for just the second time in his last 14 decisions. He allowed seven hits in his fourth complete game of the year. Oakland lost for only the third time in 14 games.
Devil Rays 5, Orioles 1
In Baltimore, Aubrey Huff doubled twice, singled and drove in two runs as Tampa Bay handed Baltimore its sixth consecutive loss.
Seth McClung (4-1) pitched 6 1-3 innings of four-hit ball for the last-place Devil Rays, who have won two straight and five of seven.
The Orioles again played without manager Mike Hargrove, whose mother died May 12. He is expected to rejoin the team for Saturday's game.
Bench coach Sam Perlozzo went 4-8 in two stints as interim manager in Hargrove's absence.
Jason Johnson (4-2) took the loss.
The Devil Rays demoted reliever John Rocker to Double-A Orlando.
Blue Jays 18, Royals 1
In Kansas City, Missouri, Vernon Wells homered, doubled twice and singled as Toronto rapped 22 hits and trounced Kansas City.
Wells drove in four runs and scored three. Every Toronto starter had at least one hit and scored a run.
The Blue Jays set season highs for runs and hits. Kansas City hurt itself by throwing five wild pitches, three of them allowing runs to score.
Shannon Stewart and Tom Wilson each had three hits. Stewart left after seven innings and his replacement, Reed Johnson, had two hits.
It was 5-0 before Toronto broke open the game by getting four runs in the sixth inning and seven more in the eighth.
Mark Hendrickson (4-4) limited the Royals to one run in seven innings.
Chris George (4-3) gave up five runs on seven hits in five innings, and was hit by two line drives.
National League
JD Drew hit a mammoth two-run homer off the top of the right-field video board as the St. Louis Cardinals ended the Chicago Cubs' five-game winning streak with a 7-4 victory Friday night.
Woody Williams (5-0) went eight innings for the Cardinals, who won for only the third time in 10 games. But they're 9-1 the last two seasons at Busch Stadium against the Cubs.
Chicago manager Dusty Baker let starter Matt Clement (2-5) bat in the sixth with runners at the corners even though he'd thrown 96 pitches and was trailing 5-4 -- Cubs relievers threw 10 innings in a 17-inning victory over the Brewers on Thursday.
Drew missed the previous two games with a sore back. His third homer off a belt-high fastball from Clement in the fifth was estimated at 514 feet, the longest drive to right field since the Cardinals began charting distances in 1988.
Brewers 12, Reds 3
In Milwaukee, Wes Helms went 4-for-5 with a grand slam and Geoff Jenkins also drove in four runs as the Milwaukee Brewers snapped a five-game losing streak by defeating Cincinnati.
The Brewers, who set an NL record for strikeouts with 24 in a 17-inning loss to the Chicago Cubs on Thursday, whiffed seven times Friday night.
Wayne Franklin (2-4) struck out nine, three more than his previous career high and the most by a Milwaukee pitcher this season, in six innings.
Franklin had a 7.56 ERA in his first eight starts, and Milwaukee manager Ned Yost served notice that the left-hander's spot in the rotation was not assured if he continued to pitch poorly.
Astros 4, Phillies 2
In Houston, Lance Berkman hit a go-ahead single in the eighth inning and the Houston bullpen was brilliant again as the Astros beat the Philadelphia Phillies.
Geoff Blum hit a two-run homer for the Astros, who won for the 12th time in 15 games. The bullpen added three scoreless innings to lower its ERA to 2.68.
With the score tied at 2 in the eighth, Jeff Bagwell doubled to the left-field corner and Jeff Kent singled to left field off Turk Wendell (0-1).
Octavio Dotel (3-1) got the win. Billy Wagner worked a perfect ninth for his 10th save in 11 opportunities.
Braves 6, Padres 4
In San Diego, Robert Fick doubled home the go-ahead run in the eighth inning, and the Atlanta Braves overcame a strange inside-the-park homer by Sean Burroughs to beat the San Diego Padres.
Atlanta improved to 29-13, the best record in the majors, while the Padres (13-29) lost for the 15th time in 18 games and have the worst mark in the NL.
Fick's RBI double into the right-field corner off Charles Nagy (0-1) drove in Andruw Jones, who led off with a single, for a 5-4 lead. After Javy Lopez singled, pinch-runner Darren Bragg scored on a throwing error by third baseman Burroughs.
Dodgers 2, Marlins 1
In Los Angeles, Shawn Green hit a two-run double in the eighth inning against reliever Armando Almanza as the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Florida Marlins, spoiling a masterful effort by Carl Pavano.
Pavano, obtained last August from Montreal in the trade for Cliff Floyd, allowed four hits and no walks over seven scoreless innings.
But the right-hander, coming off a 106-pitch effort in his previous outing, was pulled after 100 pitches by new manager Jack McKeon.
Almanza (3-2) started the eighth and gave up a leadoff single to Mike Kinkade. He batted for Larry Barnes after Barnes was announced as the pinch-hitter for Dodgers starter Darren Dreifort (3-3).
Expos 4, Rockies 1
In Denver, Michael Barrett hit a two-run homer in the ninth inning and Livan Hernandez came up with a quality start at Coors Field as the Montreal Expos beat the Colorado Rockies.
Montreal has won four of its past five games, rebounding from a 4-2 loss to Colorado on Thursday night.
Barrett homered off Nelson Cruz (3-4) to put the Expos ahead 3-1. Orlando Cabrera hit an RBI single later in the inning, but Rockies right fielder Larry Walker cut down Endy Chavez at the plate to prevent another run.
Colorado had a runner on second with one out in the eighth, but couldn't convert. The Rockies had won three in a row.
Luis Ayala (3-1) got the win and Rocky Biddle got his 11th save.
Giants 7, Mets 5
In San Francisco, Edgardo Alfonzo homered and drove in four runs against his former team, and Yorvit Torrealba hit a tiebreaking, two-run single in the eighth inning to send the San Francisco Giants over the New York Mets.
Mets star Mike Piazza left in the first inning with a strained right groin after trying to avoid an inside pitch from Jason Schmidt. X-rays were inconclusive, and Piazza is expected to be placed on the 15-day disabled list.
Rich Aurilia singled and Barry Bonds doubled ahead of Torrealba, who entered when catcher Benito Santiago was ejected one inning earlier for arguing balls and strikes. Torrealba grounded a single up the middle off Armando Benitez through a drawn-in infield.
The Giants won their second in a row after losing a season-high five in a row.
Pirates 8, Diamondbacks 5
In Phoenix, Randall Simon hit a three-run homer off Matt Mantei in the 12th inning to lift the Pittsburgh over the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Mantei (3-2), pitching his second inning, walked Brian Giles with one out, then Aramis Ramirez singled just beyond the glove of third baseman Matt Williams.
Simon hit Mantei's first pitch into the right-field seats for his fourth home run of the season. As he trotted around the bases, he exchanged words with Mantei and both dugouts were warned by the umpires.
‘AWFUL PERFORMANCE’: Golden State were always chasing the game after failing to threaten from long range, making just eight of 33 three-point attempts Aaron Gordon on Monday scored 38 points as the Denver Nuggets shrugged off the absence of Nikola Jokic to halt the Golden State Warriors’ seven-game winning streak with a 114-105 victory over their Western Conference rivals. A dazzling display from Gordon inspired what was ultimately a comfortable win for Denver, who were missing regular starters Jokic and Jamal Murray from their lineup. The absentees were barely felt by Denver, who startled the Warriors early at San Francisco’s Chase Center and led for most of the game. The Warriors threatened to stage a late rally after slashing the Nuggets’ fourth-quarter lead from 15 points
The US’ bid for a fourth consecutive CONCACAF Nations League title came to a stunning end as they fell 1-0 to Panama after a stoppage-time goal from Cecilio Waterman on Thursday in Inglewood, California. Despite dominating possession, the US struggled to break down a resilient Panama side for long periods. Panama spent the bulk of the match defending, but pounced on a giveaway by the US before substitute forward Waterman sent a shot from the right side of the area to the bottom left corner late in stoppage time. Up next for Panama in tomorrow’s final is to be Mexico, who beat
DOMINATION: McLaren drivers Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris took the first two spots as Mercedes’ George Russell and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen followed them Australian Oscar Piastri yesterday roared back from season-opening disappointment in his home race by winning the Formula One Chinese Grand Prix from pole position in a McLaren one-two with championship-leading teammate Lando Norris. George Russell finished third for Mercedes, ahead of Red Bull’s reigning champion Max Verstappen with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Saturday’s sprint winner Lewis Hamilton fifth and sixth respectively. Piastri’s win denied Norris a third victory in a row, including last year’s Abu Dhabi season-ender, but left champions McLaren unbeaten in two races so far this year. “Mega job guys. The car was very, very lovely,” Piastri said
TO FINAL FOUR: France had 22 chances and scored two goals, while Croatia could not manage a single shot on target in 120 minutes. Les Bleus won 5-4 on penalties France on Sunday overturned a two-goal deficit to qualify for the UEFA Nations League Final Four by eliminating Croatia 5-4 on penalties after a 2-0 victory in their quarter-final second leg at the Stade de France. Dayot Upamecano scored the winning spot kick in a nail-biting shootout in which France keeper Mike Maignan made two saves, sending Les Bleus into the semi-finals against Spain. Michael Olise opened the scoring and Ousmane Dembele doubled their lead 10 minutes from time to send the tie into extra time after their 2-0 loss in Split, Croatia, on Thursday. France had a total of
RSS