Japanese slugger Hideki Matsui drove in three runs and Andy Pettitte pitched into the eighth inning Wednesday to lead the New York Yankees to a 8-5 win over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
The Devil Rays outhit New York 10-7, but hurt themselves by issuing a team-record 12 walks.
PHOTO: AP
"It tough baseball to watch," Yankees manager Joe Torre said. "But you are out there trying to score runs, and if that is how it happens, that's OK. They kept missing in the same place. That is a compliment to the hitters because they were patient enough not to get overanxious."
Matsui, who leads major league rookies with 52 RBIs, had a two-run double in the first off Rob Bell (0-2). He also drew a bases-loaded walk during New York's five-run fourth.
Pettitte (8-6) allowed four runs on 10 hits in 7 1-3 innings in improving to 10-1 in his career against the Devil Rays.
The Devil Rays have walked 24 batters in the first three games of a four-game series, including 20 the past two nights.
"It's tough to win that way," said Devil Rays manager Lou Piniella, who had little else to say after his team's seventh loss in eight games.
Mariano Rivera pitched the ninth inning for his 11th save in 12 chances.
Red Sox 11, Tigers 2
In Boston, Nomar Garciaparra homered to cap a nine-run outburst in the eighth inning Wednesday as the Boston Red Sox beat the Detroit Tigers 11-2.
Garciaparra connected for a three-run shot, a day after going 5-for-5. The star shortstop is batting .427 in June.
Jason Varitek also homered for Boston, which improved to a season-best 12 games above .500. In addition, he doubled and singled, threw out two baserunners and tagged out the potential tying run at the plate in the sixth inning.
Royals 3, Indians 1
In Cleveland, rookie Angel Berroa and Desi Relaford hit RBI singles in the 10th inning as Kansas City beat Cleveland to continue its recent domination of the American League Central.
The first-place Royals improved to 23-6 within their division. Kansas City is 9-3 in its last 12 games.
Raul Ibanez doubled off David Riske (1-1) to open Kansas City's 10th and Michael Tucker sacrificed. With Cleveland's infield playing on the grass, Berroa lined a single over their heads into right.
Jason Gilfillan (1-1) pitched one inning for the win and Mike MacDougal worked the 10th for his 18th save in 22 opportunities.
Orioles 9, Blue Jays 2
In Toronto, Melvin Mora homered, doubled and singled in his return to the Baltimore lineup and Sidney Ponson pitched another complete game as the Orioles beat Toronto.
Mora had not played since being hit in the right hand by a pitch from Atlanta's Greg Maddux last Friday. After missing four games, Mora came back to go 3-for-5, raising his AL-leading average to .366, and score three times.
Rangers 9, Athletics 8
In Arlington, Texas, Rafael Palmeiro homered twice and Michael Young hit a tiebreaking single in the eighth inning as Texas rallied to beat Oakland.
Young's two-out single off Jim Mecir (1-1) brought home Donnie Sadler, who had tripled before pinch-hitter Michael Lamb was hit by a pitch, to make it 7-6. Hank Blalock then had a two-run single.
The Rangers trailed 6-2 before Palmeiro, who had hit just two homers his previous 23 games, homered in the sixth and seventh innings. Alex Rodriguez also homered for the Rangers.
Twins 6, White Sox 5
In Minneapolis, Jacque Jones hit a solo homer off Billy Koch in the 11th inning to give struggling Minnesota a victory over Chicago. Jose Valentin hit a three-run homer for the White Sox, who blew a 5-1 lead and missed a chance to take the first two of this three-game series.
Angels 6, Mariners 3
In Anaheim, California, David Eckstein went 4-for-4 with a homer and double, driving in three runs to lead Anaheim over Seattle.
Shawn Wooten homered and doubled for the Angels, helping Ramon Ortiz win his fifth straight start. Anaheim won for only the third time in 10 games. The defending World Series champions trail the AL West-leading Mariners by 12 1/2 games.
Brooks Kieschnick led off the 10th inning with a pinch-hit homer and Geoff Jenkins added a three-run home run as the Milwaukee Brewers defeated the Chicago Cubs 12-6.
Kieschnick, used both as a reliever and a pinch-hitter by the Brewers, homered off Cubs reliever Todd Wellemeyer (1-1), who gave up all six runs -- five earned -- in the 10th Wednesday.
Pirates 6, Expos 5
In Montreal, pinch-hitter Kenny Lofton drove in the go-ahead run with a sacrifice fly as Pittsburgh scored three unearned runs in the ninth inning then held on to beat Montreal.
Expos reliever Joey Eischen (1-1) walked pinch-hitter Adam Hyzdu to begin the ninth and bounced his throw to second on pinch-hitter Abraham Nunez's bunt back to the mound. His throwing error allowed Hyzdu to advance to third.
Lofton then hit a deep drive off TJ Tucker, scoring Hyzdu.
Cardinals 9, Reds 6
In St. Louis, Bo Hart, Jim Edmonds and Scott Rolen homered in the first inning, leading Matt Morris and St. Louis over Cincinnati.
The Cardinals connected early against Paul Wilson (5-5). He started a few hours after drawing a five-game suspension for his actions in a brawl against the Cubs last week, a penalty that is set to begin today. Ken Griffey Jr. hit his 476th career homer, passing Stan Musial and Willie Stargell for 21st place. Griffey's three-run shot in the Reds first was his first homer in 92 at-bats, and his eighth of the year overall.
Diamondbacks 3, Astros 2
In Phoenix, Lyle Overbay homered and Elmer Dessens earned his first victory since May 25 as Arizona beat Houston for its eighth successive win. The Diamondbacks swept consecutive three-game series from the Astros and Cincinnati to build their longest winning streak since they won eight straight last Aug. 9-17.
Phillies 8, Braves 1
In Atlanta, Philadelphia's Vicente Padilla pitched four-hit ball over seven innings for his third win over Atlanta this season.
Mike Lieberthal drove in three runs for the Phillies, who jumped ahead of Greg Maddux just two pitches into the game after Jimmy Rollins hit an RBI triple. Maddux (6-7) lasted only five innings, giving up seven hits and six runs -- four earned -- to surpass his loss total for all of last season.
Padilla (6-7) beat the Braves twice during a 10-day span in April, including a four-hit shutout at Turner Field. He faced Atlanta again last week, going 7 1-3 innings but not getting a decision in Philadelphia's 3-2 victory. His mastery continued as he limited the Braves to three singles and Robert Fick's RBI double. At one point, he retired 14 consecutive hitters.
Mets 6, Marlins 3
In New York, rookie Jose Reyes drove in three runs, and Steve Trachsel pitched seven sharp innings and had a sacrifice fly as New York Mets ended their four-game losing streak with a win over Florida.
Trachsel (6-5) allowed three runs and eight hits while striking out five.
Closer Armando Benitez, who blew a save in the ninth inning of Sunday's 7-3 loss to the New York Yankees, came in with the bases loaded and none out in the eighth and retired six straight for his 18th save in 23 chances.
Taiwanese women’s doubles star Hsieh Su-wei and Australian teenager Maya Joint on Tuesday eased into the Eastbourne Open quarter-finals in England as Hsieh prepares for the Wimbledon Championships next week. Four-time Wimbledon women’s doubles champion Hsieh and 19-year-old Joint fired two aces and converted five of eight break points to defeat Japan’s Shuko Aoyama and Poland’s Katarzyna Piter 6-3, 6-3 in 58 minutes on the grass court. Hsieh and Joint are today to face fourth seeds Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic and Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko, who advanced on Monday with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Quinn Gleason of the US and
BEAT THE HEAT: A brutal heat wave in the US has made cooling breaks standard. Dortmund’s coach said the weather could shape the destiny of the tournament Chelsea on Tuesday beat Esperance of Tunisia 3-0 to set up a FIFA Club World Cup last-16 tie against SL Benfica, who earlier defeated Bayern Munich 1-0, as furnace-link heat and the threat of thunder and lightning wreak havoc at the tournament. Elsewhere, minnows Auckland City claimed a memorable draw against Boca Juniors, while Los Angeles bowed out of the tournament with a stalemate against Flamengo. In Charlotte, Andreas Schjelderup scored the only goal for Benfica in their Group C clash with Bayern in front of 33,287 fans, finishing first-time from a cutback by his fellow Norwegian Fredrik Aursnes in the 13th
REUNION: Former Barcelona players Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba and Miami coach Javier Mascherano are to face their former coach Luis Enrique Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi faces a tantalizing reunion with former club Paris Saint-Germain in the FIFA Club World Cup last 16 after both sides on Monday progressed to the knockout phase. Miami drew 2-2 with Palmeiras to go through second in Group A, after the Brazilian side fought back from two goals down to seal top spot. They now face an all-Brazil clash against Botafogo, who lost 1-0 to Atletico Madrid, but progressed from Group B in second at the expense of the Spaniards. Champions of Europe PSG won the group with a 2-0 victory over Seattle Sounders, paving the
The New Taipei Kings claimed the inaugural Taiwan Professional Basketball League (TPBL) championship on Sunday, defeating the Kaohsiung FamilyMart Aquas 108-89 in the final. Playing at home, the Kings pulled ahead with Jeremy Lin’s (林書豪) clutch three-pointers, securing their victory over the Aquas in the TPBL final. The Kings came out strong in the first quarter, dominating to build a 35-18 lead. By halftime, they had stretched their advantage to 61-38. In the third quarter, the Aquas narrowed the deficit to 12 points, but Lin stepped up, sinking several tough three- pointers to extend the lead. In the final quarter, the Kings pushed the
RSS