American League
Mariano Rivera became the 17th player to earn 300 saves, and a surging Derek Jeter hit one of the New York Yankees' four homers in a 7-5 victory over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays on Friday night.
PHOTO: EPA
Javier Vazquez (5-4) pitched six-plus innings for the victory, and Rivera worked a scoreless ninth for his American League-leading 17th save. He became the first Yankee to record 300 in his career, and is the fourth pitcher to get 300 with one team, joining Trevor Hoffman, Dennis Eckersley and Jeff Montgomery.
PHOTO: AP
"I don't care how many saves other people have," Jeter said. "The way he's gotten them -- not in the regular season, but more importantly in the postseason -- I think you have to put him at the top of the list."
Jeter continued his climb out of a season-long slump with three hits for the third straight game.
PHOTO: REUTERS
The win put the Yankees a season-best 11 games over .500 at 29-18.
Gary Sheffield, Hideki Matsui and Ruben Sierra also homered.
"It was a good game," Tampa Bay manager Lou Piniella said. "We just couldn't keep them in the ballpark. That's really the story."
Sierra's two-run homer off Doug Waechter (2-5) in the fourth wiped out a 2-0 deficit.
Blue Jays 5, Rangers 4
In Toronto, Carlos Delgado hit a two-run homer in a four-run first, and Ted Lilly worked six innings for just the second time this season to lead Toronto past Texas for its fourth straight win.
Rod Barajas homered and tied a career high with four RBIs for the Rangers.
Barajas ended Texas' streak of 19 consecutive scoreless inning with a sacrifice fly in the second.
Lilly (3-2) won for the first time in five starts, allowing one run on six hits, while striking out four and walking a season-high five.
Rookie Jason Frasor pitched the ninth for his third save.
R.A. Dickey (4-5) lost his fourth straight start.
Indians 1, Athletics 0
In Cleveland, Casey Blake hit the third pitch by reliever Jim Mecir into the left-field bleachers to give Cleveland the victory over Oakland.
Blake lined a 1-1 pitch from Mecir (0-4) for his sixth homer -- and second game-winning shot this season at Jacobs Field.
Jose Jimenez (1-3) pitched a scoreless ninth for his first American League win.
Oakland starter Barry Zito pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing three hits and five walks while striking out seven.
The two teams were a combined 1-for-15 with nine strikeouts with runners in scoring position.
Orioles 7, Tigers 5
In Detroit, Miguel Tejada and Luis Matos homered as Baltimore beat Detroit to snap a seven-game losing streak.
B.J. Surhoff went 3-for-5 with an RBI for the Orioles, who bounced back with a win after being outscored 41-17 in a three-game series against the Yankees.
The Tigers had 10 hits, a night after tying a team record with 27 in a 17-7 win over the Kansas City Royals.
Baltimore starter Eric Dubose (4-3) allowed three runs and six hits in five-plus innings. He walked five and struck out five.
Jason Johnson (3-6) faced his former team for the first time since leaving as a free agent in the offseason, allowing six runs and eight hits in 4 2-3 innings.
Red Sox 8, Mariners 4
In Boston, Pedro Martinez remained undefeated against Seattle, and David Ortiz's grand slam capped a five-run fifth inning for Boston.
Manny Ramirez hit his 13th homer for Boston, which has won eight of 10.
Bret Boone and Rich Aurilia each had of the ninth to send Chicago past Anaheim for its eighth win in 10 games.
Juan Uribe tripled off the center-field wall against Ramon Ortiz (1-4) to start the ninth.
After Frank Thomas was intentionally walked, Carlos Lee fouled out before Jose Valentin was also intentionally walked to load the bases.
Konerko, whose two-run homer in the sixth tied the game at 2, hit a 2-2 pitch to the warning track in right-center to score Uribe.
Shingo Takatsu (3-0) pitched the top of the ninth for the victory in the opener of a three-game series between division leaders.
The Angels have lost four straight, all by one run.
National Leauge
Craig Wilson hit a game-winning home run in the 10th inning Friday night to give the Pittsburgh Pirates a 5-4 victory and doubleheader sweep of the Chicago Cubs.
Rob Mackowiak hit his first career grand slam with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, giving the Pirates a 9-5 win in the first game.
"It's just hard to imagine ever having a better day than this," Mackowiak said.
Mackowiak, who became a father for the first time earlier in the day, also hit a two-run homer in the ninth inning of the nightcap to tie it at 4. He entered as a defensive replacement for center fielder Ruben Mateo in the seventh, and hit the first pitch he saw from LaTroy Hawkins in the ninth to tie it at 4.
"Obviously, having your first child is a big event in itself, then to come back at night and hit a game-winning and a game-tying home run ... well, it's just hard to describe."
Wilson's homer off Francis Beltran, his 11th of the season, gave the Pirates their first doubleheader sweep since June 18, 2003, against Montreal.
Marlins 2, Mets 1
In Miami, Dontrelle Willis allowed four hits and one run in seven innings to beat New York, winning for only the second time in his last six starts for Florida.
Luis Castillo had three hits, scored a run and drove in another for the Marlins, who beat the Mets for the ninth time in their last 11 meetings dating to last season.
And Willis (5-3) beat the Mets for the fourth time in as many starts against them, yielding only two runs in 28 innings in those matchups.
Armando Benitez, facing his former team for the first time since they traded him to the New York Yankees last July, pitched a perfect ninth for his 19th save in 20 chances.
Reds 7, Expos 6
In Montreal, Ken Griffey hit his 493rd homer, Sean Casey had four hits and three RBIs as Cincinnati held on for a win over Montreal.
Griffey hit a two-run shot off Claudio Vargas (4-2) following Casey's RBI double in the fifth to tie Yankees first baseman Lou Gehrig for 20th on the all-time home run list.
Cory Lidle (4-4) allowed five hits and five runs in 6 2-3 innings.
Danny Graves pitched a perfect ninth for his major league-leading 22nd save in 26 chances.
Tony Batista and Brad Wilkerson homered for Montreal, which saw its National League-worst record drop to 15-32.
Phillies 3, Braves 2, 10 innings
In Philadelphia, Tomas Perez tied it with an RBI double in the eighth inning and won it with a homer in the 10th as Philadelphia edged Atlanta.
Perez, starting in place of injured slugger Jim Thome, slammed a 2-1 fastball off Antonio Alfonseca (5-1) into the seats in right-center for his fourth homer of the season.
Tim Worrell (1-1) pitched two scoreless innings in relief for the victory.
Philadelphia's Randy Wolf, who missed his last start because of elbow tendinitis, allowed six hits and one earned run, walked two and struck out four in six innings.
Dewayne Wise homered for Atlanta, which lost three players to injuries. The Braves scratched first baseman Julio Franco minutes before the game due to back problems, then lost outfielder Chipper Jones and Franco's replacement Adam LaRoche in the first two innings.
Cardinals 2, Astros 1, 10 innings
In Houston, Ray Lankford scored on Octavio Dotel's balk in the 10th inning as St. Louis thwarted Houston's late rally.
A pitching duel between Houston's Roger Clemens and St. Louis' Chris Carpenter was overshadowed by the game's wacky and thrilling ending.
Dotel (0-3) walked Lankford to start the 10th, and Scott Rolen singled to send Lankford to third. With Jim Edmonds at the plate, Dotel feined a throw toward the plate and third-base umpire Hunter Wendelstedt ruled it was a balk, allowing Lankford to score the winning run.
Jason Isringhausen (3-1) gave up three hits -- including Lance Berkman's RBI double in the ninth inning -- in two innings and got the win.
Carpenter allowed only a pair of singles and held the NL's top offense scoreless for eight innings.
Clemens went seven innings, allowing up six hits and a fourth-inning homer to Scott Rolen with six strikeouts.
Padres 5, Brewers 3
In Milwaukee, Mark Loretta hit a go-ahead RBI single in the seventh inning and Brian Lawrence tied a career high with 10 strikeouts in seven innings as San Diego downed Milwaukee.
Pinch-hitter Sean Burroughs hit his first homer of the season, and Jay Payton drove in two runs for the Padres.
Lawrence (7-3) allowed two runs -- one earned -- and four hits, and didn't walk a batter for the first time this season. He fanned 10 for the third time in his career, and first since Aug. 2, 2002, against Cincinnati.
Akinori Otsuka pitched a hitless eighth, and Trevor Hoffman allowed an RBI double by Geoff Jenkins in the ninth before finishing for his 13th save in 14 chances.
Brewers starter Doug Davis (3-4) did not allow a hit until Payton's infield single leading off the fifth.
Giants 4, Rockies 2
In San Francisco, Barry Bonds hit a two-run walkoff homer with two outs in the ninth to lead the San Francisco past Colorado for its season-best seventh straight victory.
Bonds connected for his 13th homer of the year and No. 671 of his career on a 3-2 pitch from Tim Harikkala. It came after Shawn Chacon blew his second save in two nights when he allowed a two-run single to Marquis Grissom in the ninth that tied it.
It was Bonds' 10th career walkoff homer and first since last Aug. 10 against Atlanta. He's homered three times in his last four games.
Jim Brower (2-3) pitched the ninth for the win.
Diamondbacks 6, Dodgers 3
In Los Angeles, Randy Johnson pitched into the seventh inning and Luis Gonzalez hit a two-run homer as Arizona beat Los Angeles to end a four-game losing streak.
Johnson (6-4), earning his second win in as many starts since his perfect game against Atlanta, gave up three runs on six hits in 6 1-3 innings.
He struck out four and walked one as the Diamondbacks won for just the fourth time in 16 games. The Dodgers have lost 12 of 14.
Elmer Dessens pitched 1 2-3 innings for his second major league save, and first since he was with Cincinnati in 2000.
Wilson Alvarez (2-2) pitched just two innings before leaving with a strained left hip and the Dodgers trailing 2-0.
The Seattle Mariners designated 33-year-old outfielder Quinton McCracken for assignment on Friday and called up right-hander Clint Nageotte from Triple-A Tacoma.
Nageotte was expected to be available for Friday night's game in Boston. The move left Seattle with 15 days to trade, release or outright McCracken, who has hit .150 in 19 games this season.
The 23-year-old has worked only as a starter in Tacoma this season, going 4-3 with a 4.66 ERA in nine games. In 48 1-3 innings, he had 42 strikeouts and 25 walks.
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