Eric Byrnes hit a three-run homer with two outs in the ninth inning off Kansas City closer Mike MacDougal, boosting the Oakland Athletics over the error-plagued Royals 7-6 Saturday.
Shortstop Angel Berroa, whose fielding error had allowed an unearned run earlier in the game, fumbled a potential double-play grounder with one out in the ninth and the Royals ahead 5-4.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Byrnes extended his hitting streak to 21 games when he connected against MacDougal (1-3) for a 7-5 lead. MacDougal has blown four of 16 save chances.
A's shortstop Miguel Tejada made a diving catch on Ken Harvey's liner up the middle for the final out with runners on first and third. Tejada also hit a three-run homer.
Jim Mecir (1-0) pitched one inning of hitless relief for the win. Keith Foulke got his 13th save despite allowing Joe Randa's RBI single in the ninth.
Blue Jays 10, Red Sox 7
In Toronto, Dave Berg homered and tied a career high with four RBIs as the Toronto Blue Jays set a franchise record for victories in any month by beating the slumping Boston Red Sox.
Mike Bordick hit a two-run homer in a five-run sixth inning for the Blue Jays, who went 21-8 in May. Toronto had twice won 20 games in a month.
Manny Ramirez and Kevin Millar homered for the Red Sox, who lost their season-high fourth in a row.
Tanyon Sturtze (5-4) got the last out of the sixth for the win. Cliff Politte pitched the ninth for his ninth save in 12 chances.
Casey Fossum (4-4) allowed a career-high nine runs on nine hits in 5 1-3 innings.
Mariners 5, Twins 2
In Minneapolis, Edgar Martinez and Ichiro Suzuki hit solo home runs, leading Ryan Franklin and the Seattle Mariners over the Minnesota Twins for their fifth straight victory.
Franklin (4-3) gave up two runs and seven hits in seven innings. Kazuhiro Sasaki pitched the ninth for his ninth save in 13 chances.
Suzuki homered, doubled, singled and scored twice as the Mariners won for the 12th time in 15 games.
Martinez's home run came in the fifth inning off Rick Reed (3-6) and made it 4-0. Suzuki homered in the seventh for a 5-1 lead.
Reed, who entered the game with a 1.82 career ERA against Seattle, allowed nine hits and five earned runs over seven innings.
Tigers 4, Yankees 2
In Detroit, Dmitri Young hit a tiebreaking RBI single in the seventh inning to lead the Detroit Tigers over the New York Yankees.
The loss was New York's second in its last 11 games against the Tigers and ended its three-game winning streak.
On Sunday, Roger Clemens will try for his 300th career victory when he starts for the Yankees at Comerica Park.
Adam Bernero (1-6) ended his team-record 17-start winless streak, allowing two runs on three hits and a walk in seven innings. He matched a career high with seven strikeouts in his first win since beating Montreal on June 10, 2002. Franklyn German pitched the ninth for his third save.
Jeff Weaver (3-4) faced the Tigers for the first time since going from Detroit to the Yankees in a three-way trade last July. He allowed three runs on 10 hits and a walk in seven innings.
Angels 6, Devil Rays 1
In St. Petersburg, Florida, Kevin Appier came within one strike of his first shutout since 2001, pitching the Anaheim Angels past the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Travis Lee hit an RBI double on a 2-2 pitch with two outs in the ninth inning for Tampa Bay's only run.
Appier (4-2) improved to 8-0 lifetime against the Devil Rays, giving up eight hits while walking four and striking out one.
Appier came close to his first complete game since Sept. 25, 2001, when he beat the Montreal Expos 2-0 while pitching for the New York Mets. After Lee doubled, Francisco Rodriguez relieved and got the final out.
Benji Gil had two RBIs, while Chone Figgins went 2-for-4, drove in one run, stole two bases and scored three times for the Angels.
Tampa Bay starter Joe Kennedy (3-5) left after one inning because of stiffness in his left shoulder. The Devil Rays said a preliminary examination by a team doctor determined the injury was not serious.
Jae Seo pitched into the ninth inning to win for the first time in more than six weeks and Tsuyoshi Shinjo hit a two-run double to lead New York to a 4-2 victory over Atlanta.
On a rainy day at Shea Stadium, the Mets had their former ace Mike Hampton (2-3) in constant trouble. New York put the leadoff man on base in each of the first five innings and had a runner in scoring position in each of those frames.
Seo (2-2) benefited from the early offense in his second straight strong start against the first-place Braves. He got a no-decision last Sunday despite holding the NL's top-scoring team to one run in seven innings.
Seo allowed two runs and six hits, leaving following Chipper Jones' leadoff double in the ninth.
The Mets also kept the Braves in the ballpark, preventing Atlanta from breaking the NL record for homers in a month. The Braves' 55 home runs in May tied the New York Giants (July 1947) and St. Louis Cardinals (April 2000) for most in any month.
Chicago Cubs 1, Houston Astros 0
In Chicago, after striking out five times over 15 scoreless innings, Sammy Sosa hit an RBI single in the bottom of the 16th to give the Chicago Cubs a 1-0 win over the Houston Astros on Saturday.
Pitchers ruled a blustery, 48-degree day at Wrigley Field, with the Cubs setting a team record by striking out 23 times.
Sosa had been 0-for-6 and was getting booed before his one-out single off Ricky Stone (4-1) won it. Sosa has struck out eight times in 11 at-bats since coming off the disabled list Friday. Todd Wellemeyer (1-0) got his first major league win with two innings of relief.
The tough conditions set up a pitching duel between Carlos Zambrano and Houston's Roy Oswalt, who was activated from the disabled list before the game.
Zambrano allowed just three hits in eight innings, including just one in the first seven. And Oswalt gave up just five hits with no walks and eight strikeouts in seven innings.
Pirates 4, Cardinals 3
In St. Louis, Kenny Lofton went 0-for-5 and ended his 26-game hitting streak, but Pittsburgh defeated St. Louis and previously unbeaten Woody Williams.
The Pirates have won five of six, including the first two games of the three-game series. The Cardinals fell to 2-4 on a 13-game homestand, their longest of the season.
Lofton batted .406 (43-106) during his streak, which fell one shy of the team record set by Jimmy Williams in 1899.
Marlins 3, Reds 2
In Miami, Dontrelle Willis pitched seven strong innings and hit his first major league home run, leading Florida over slumping Cincinnati. Willis (3-1) allowed one run and five hits while striking out eight.
Willis also came through at the plate, delivering a solo home run off Danny Graves (3-4) to snap a 1-1 tie in the fifth.
Giants 2, Rockies 1
In San Francisco, rookie Jesse Foppert struck out a career-high eight batters and added an RBI triple for his first major league hit, leading San Francisco over Colorado.
The Giants won their fourth straight to start a 12-game homestand, the team's longest winning streak since getting six consecutive victories from May 3-9.
Foppert (3-4) had not won in his previous three starts. He allowed one run and three hits in seven innings, walking two. Tim Worrell got his 14th save in 16 chances.
Dodgers 3, Brewers 0
In Los Angeles, Kevin Brown scattered six hits in eight innings to win his sixth straight decision, and Fred McGriff hit the 487th home run of his career as Los Angeles Dodgers beat Milwaukee.
Brown walked none and struck out six before being relieved by Eric Gagne to start the ninth. Gagne earned his 19th save and 27th straight dating back to last year. Brown has been outstanding since losing to San Francisco on April 18th, allowing eight earned runs in eight starts spanning 58 innings (1.24 ERA). He has allowed 37 hits while walking nine and striking out 54.
Padres 8, Diamondbacks 7
In San Diego, pinch-hitter Lou Merloni drove in the go-ahead run in San Diego's two-run eighth inning with a sacrifice fly in a win over Arizona.
Merloni's sacrifice fly off Oscar Villarreal, Arizona's third pitcher in the inning, gave San Diego just its sixth win in 33 games. The Padres went 5-24 in May, their worst month in team history.
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