Hideki Matsui drove in the tiebreaking run in the seventh inning, then preserved the lead with a sensational catch to rally the New York Yankees past the Baltimore Orioles 8-5 Thursday.
First, Matsui hit a sacrifice fly to cap a three-run uprising that gave the Yankees a 6-5 lead.
Then, in the bottom of the seventh, with two on and two out, he robbed Larry Bigbie with a running, backhanded stab of an opposite-field line ball near the wall.
PHOTO: REUTERS
"I knew [the ball] was tailing away, and I didn't think he was going to get it," Bigbie said.
Matsui lost his hat as he rolled on the warning track after hitting the padding, but the ball remained secure in his glove.
"When it was hit, I had the feeling I could catch up to it," Matsui said. "But then the ball started spinning farther away from me."
Undaunted, Matsui closed the gap.
"You know he had a chance by how hard he was running after it," Yankees manager Joe Torre said. "When he jumped, I still held my breath because I knew he had to crash into the wall."
Matsui's heroics made a winner of Andy Pettitte (14-7), who allowed five runs and 11 hits in six-plus innings. The left-hander improved to 17-4 lifetime against Baltimore, including 11-2 at Camden Yards.
"The guys swing the bats well here and have scored some runs for me when I haven't been able to throw a strong game," Pettitte said.
Jorge Posada hit a two-run homer in the ninth, and Bernie Williams went 3-for-3 with two RBIs and two walks to help New York maintain its three-game lead over Boston in the AL East.
The Yankees had lost three of four, but Torre believes Matsui's catch just might get them on a roll.
"It was unbelievable. That's the kind of play that can start a winning streak," Torre said.
Indians 8, Twins 3
Travis Hafner hit for the cycle and Brian Anderson came within two outs of a shutout as Cleveland beat Minnesota.
Hafner homered in the first inning, doubled in the fourth and reached on an infield single in the seventh against Twins starter Brad Radke (8-10). Hafner then tripled to right-center field in the eighth off James Baldwin.
``As soon as it left the bat, guys jumped off the bench and were rooting hard for him to have enough gas to get there,'' Anderson said.
Red Sox 4, Athletics 2
Manny Ramirez hit a game-tying homer in the ninth inning, and Bill Mueller drove in the go-ahead run with a sacrifice fly as the Boston Red Sox beat the Oakland Athletics 4-2 in 10 innings.
It's the first time in 59 games the A's have failed to win when taking a lead into the ninth.
Rangers 6, Tigers 3
In Arlington, Texas, John Thomson pitched seven innings on two days rest and Shane Spencer homered as Texas took advantage of three Detroit errors.
Thomson (10-10) started Monday against Detroit, but he threw only 20 pitches before a rain delay of almost two hours.
Blue Jays 5, Mariners 2
In Seattle, Carlos Delgado hit his 33rd home run and Kelvim Escobar earned his career-high fourth straight victory as Toronto beat Seattle.
Angels 5, White Sox 1
In Anaheim, California, Tim Salmon homered and Scot Shields got his first win since rejoining the starting rotation as Anaheim beat Chicago.
AP, PITTSBURGH
Garrett Stephenson made his second straight strong start, limiting Pittsburgh to five hits over eight innings, and Tino Martinez homered as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Pirates 4-3.
Albert Pujols extended the majors' longest hitting streak this season to 28 games with a first-inning single on Thursday that led to the Cardinals' first run. The streak is the longest in the majors this season, and the Cardinals' longest since Ken Boyer's 29-game streak in 1959.
St. Louis has now won five of its last six games and six of its last eight to tie Houston for first place in the National League Central.
"We had to work hard to get the three [wins] here," manager Tony La Russa said. "This was work ball, not playing ball."
Stephenson (7-11) retired his first 12 batters before Matt Stairs doubled to lead off the fifth. Stephenson struck out three and walked none, and Jason Isringhausen got his 13th save in 14 opportunities.
Pirates manager Lloyd McClendon was ejected for the fourth time this season after screaming at umpires Eric Cooper and Mike Reilly during the fourth inning. As Reilly tried to steer McClendon toward the dugout, the manager angrily tossed his hat and threw down his sunglasses.
Cubs 7, Astros 1
In Chicago, Alex Gonzalez homered and drove in three runs, and five Chicago pitchers combined on a five-hitter as the Cubs beat the Houston Astros 7-1 to create a tie in the NL Central.
The Astros had been in sole possession of first place since July 9, leading by as many as four games. But the Astros dropped three of four to the Cubs, falling into a first-place tie with St. Louis. Chicago is just a half-game out.
Dodgers 6, Marlins 4
In Miami, Adrian Beltre and Jeromy Burnitz hit two-run homers, and Eric Gagne extended his major-league record for consecutive saves at the start of a season as the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Florida Marlins 6-4.
Florida had beaten the Dodgers the previous two games with walk-off, extra-inning homers.
But Gagne struck out the side on 10 pitches for his 40th save this season.
Braves 7, Padres 4
In Atlanta, Russ Ortiz became the first 17-game winner in the majors, and Javy Lopez hit two more homers as Atlanta defeated San Diego.
Phillies 4, Brewers 3
In Philadelphia, Placido Polanco's solo homer sparked a three-run rally, and Mike Williams got his first save with the Phillies as Philadelphia beat Milwaukee.
Chase Utley, playing his first game since being recalled from minor league team Scranton on Wednesday, had three hits and an RBI.
He and Polanco also turned a double play in the eighth inning to snuff out a Brewers rally.
Reds 3, Diamondbacks 2
In Cincinnati, Aaron Harang won his second start, and D'Angelo Jimenez and Sean Casey delivered clutch singles as Cincinnati snapped a 16-game losing streak to Arizona.
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